Chapter 52
Translator: Dreamscribe
The loud and chaotic storm had passed.
If a storm had swept through, someone had to clean up the fallen debris and restore the collapsed buildings.
The shareholders’ meeting was precisely the beginning of that clean-up.
“This situation looks strange.”
“According to the plan, they should be undergoing rehabilitation procedures by now.”
“I wonder how much longer this company will last. I heard Jintetsu Group attached one oxygen respirator this time.”
“Yes. Still, there must be a limit. It’s literally just the level of an oxygen mask.”
To be honest, even at the level of Hanjong Group, it was hard to understand why Kwangwoon Securities suddenly took over Hanjong Shipping.
Just because they signed a contract with Jintetsu didn’t mean the shipping business would revive.
Perhaps they partnered with Kangseong and Daekwang purely to screw over Neriet, but by now Kwangwoon was surely deeply regretting it.
“Those guys probably have no idea what to do now. I doubt they bought the shares intending to take actual control.”
“Right. No matter how much a securities firm doesn’t fall under the separation of banking and commerce laws like banks do, they’re still just in the business of buying and selling, aren’t they? Especially in shipping, which is even harder to manage.”
“Exactly. That’s why they probably planned to sell off the shares at a high price and make a big score. But now they became a national hero, so now they’re stuck between a rock and a hard place. Ha!”
CEO of Hanjong Shipping, Han Goo-jung, was annoyed as if a saboteur had suddenly appeared in the carefully laid plans of Hanjong Group, but it was still fine.
Thanks to that, it looked like he could hold onto the CEO title a bit longer.
“Besides, didn’t the group make a decent profit by selling off all the remaining shares?”
“They did. Hanjong Shipping is a real golden goose, golden goose. Even at the end, it’s giving out honey.”
Now, what remained was to keep his executive position.
Currently, the largest shareholder was Kwangwoon Securities.
Although a shareholders’ meeting had been held, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Kwangwoon Securities practically held all the decision-making power.
That meant they could try to appoint a new management team here.
“But you know this too. The shipping business isn’t just hard to manage, it’s also difficult to proceed without the backing of a large conglomerate. So they have no choice but to rely on us.”
“Is that so?”
“Of course. If Hanjong Group gently persuades them by saying they’ll provide solid support from behind, Kwangwoon Securities will likely agree. Those guys aren’t interested in management right now. They’re only thinking about how to unload their shares quickly and get out.”
And CEO Han Goo-jung had something that needed to be taken care of right away.
If things had gone according to the original plan, there would’ve been no need to handle it.
But since the plan had fallen apart, it was now an extremely important issue that had to be handled under the CEO’s authority.
“But will Kwangwoon just allow it to pass?”
“Either we find a way to quietly pass it under their radar, or if that doesn’t work, we’ll have to negotiate directly with them. Kwangwoon must have a lot on their mind too. If we extend a hand, they’ll surely take it.”
“So preserving our position comes first, then.”
“Kwangwoon would have to be insane to fire us. Hanjong Group is behind us. Besides, we have the know-how and system to run the shipping business. Ignoring all that and cutting us off? That would mean turning their own shares into worthless scraps of paper.”
CEO Han Goo-jung was absolutely convinced that Kwangwoon Securities would not fire the existing executives.
For one, CEO Han Goo-jung was of the Hanjong Group bloodline himself, making his background extremely solid.
With that in mind, the executives confidently entered the auditorium where the shareholders’ meeting was being held.
“…….”
The atmosphere was icy.
The shareholders’ glares toward them were piercing.
Forcing themselves to ignore those looks, they tried to take their executive-only seats.
“Wow. I thought no way, but you really showed up. Thick-faced, aren’t you.”
“……?”
Was that directed at us?
CEO Han Goo-jung narrowed his brow and glared at the man holding the microphone on the stage.
“I am Hwang Dae-woon, CEO of Kwangwoon Securities. Thank you very much for attending the general meeting despite your busy schedules.”
A roar of applause and cheers erupted from the shareholders.
It was only natural.
Kwangwoon Securities was the hero that pulled the shareholders out of the quagmire.
“People say that Kwangwoon is trying to drive up Hanjong Shipping’s stock price to make a profit, but I promise you here and now, we will not be like the unscrupulous executives who, when the company is in crisis, are the first to abandon the shareholders and flee.”
It was another statement that provoked irritation.
Everyone knew exactly who Hwang Dae-woon was targeting with those words.
“Therefore, to mark a new start for the company, we plan to remove the name Hanjong Shipping and rename the company to Kwangwoon Shipping.”
“What, what did you just say!?”
“In addition, we plan to expel all the current executives who shamelessly continue to hold their positions.”
“What is the meaning of this!”
Unable to hold back any longer, Han Goo-jung jumped to his feet and shouted.
“A man who’s only ever played with money at a securities firm wants to run a shipping business? Do you think that’s even possible!?”
“Of course not. I have no intention of personally managing this company either. But instead of incompetent executives, we’ll appoint professional managers who are a hundred, a thousand times better and actually try to revive this company. Not an owner-centric system, but a shareholder-centric one. And even if I were to manage the company, I would still be far better than the executives who ran this company into the ground and then ran away.”
“……!”
“If any shareholder thinks I’m wrong, or has a differing opinion, please feel free to speak up.”
No one defended the executives.
On the contrary, criticism erupted from every direction.
“What kind of nerve does it take to show your face here!”
“You’re the bastards who fled the ship first!”
“Do you even own 1% of the shares!?”
“Stop muddying the waters and get lost!”
As the atmosphere turned ugly, CEO Han Goo-jung’s face turned bright red and he fled outside as if running away.
His hands and feet trembled.
It was the first time he had ever been insulted to his face like that.
Naturally so.
He was the CEO of Hanjong Shipping and a member of a major conglomerate family, who would ever dare speak to him like that?
And that man, Hwang Dae-woon of Kwangwoon Securities, was it?
“That arrogant bastard.”
Getting drunk on public praise just because he took over one company and was being called a hero by the people.
Cutting all the existing executives who understood the system and appointing professional managers?
Let’s see how well that works out.
But then, a sudden thought crossed his mind.
‘……Does he know something?’
***
“You did great today, hyung.”
“Whew. I’m sweating like crazy. Was it okay?”
“It wasn’t just okay. The shareholders’ response today was so good, I thought we were at a fan meeting or something.”
“Ugh, I don’t know. The moment I stepped up on stage, my mind went completely blank. I thought I was going to die from the nerves.”
Today, hyung stood before the shareholders as the CEO of Kwangwoon Securities and the largest shareholder of Hanjong Shipping.
Even though I wasn’t the one on stage, my heart was pounding. But hyung calmly laid out the future plans and communicated clearly with the shareholders.
Especially when he removed the executives.
Shifting from owner-focused to shareholder-focused management.
Announcing that professional managers would lead the company more transparently and reliably, it brought out an overwhelming cheer from the shareholders.
How should I put it?
Today, more than ever, I felt proud of hyung.
“Truly our guild’s best output.”
“Keuk. Damn right, man.”
Hyung also let out a sigh of relief, satisfied that the shareholders’ meeting had gone well.
But in truth, this was just the beginning.
As CEO Han Goo-jung had said, we had zero experience in managing a shipping business.
Even with professional managers, until the system was firmly in place, we would have to stay heavily involved.
“Let’s go meet that man first.”
“Ah. Director Kim Doo-young?”
“Yeah. You said that even if all the other executives had to go, that guy must stay.”
“Yes. From the profile sent over by Kangseong, he seems to have an exceptional level of attachment to the company.”
I don’t know if that person is truly qualified to become the next CEO of Hanjong Shipping no, now it’s Kwangwoon Shipping.
That is something to be determined through internal review over time.
However, my instinct chose this person.
Whether it was because I genuinely thought he had the qualities of a CEO, or for some other reason, I’m not sure.
“Just appointing an executive won’t solve everything. Now that we’ve taken control of management, we’re digging into everything that was hidden inside, and the debt is far worse than we thought.”
“How could the debt be that high?”
“No idea. We’ll have to dig deeper to find out.”
The debt publicly listed alone was 3 trillion won.
An astronomical amount.
The problem is that there may be even more, hidden below the surface.
“Ah, you’re here.”
Director Kim Doo-young, who had been waiting at the meeting location in advance, looked quite nervous.
“And the person next to you is…?”
“Ah, this is Department Head Jung Jin-ho. I’ll tell you in advance, no matter what we talk about between us, I’ll end up repeating everything to this guy like a parrot anyway. So I figured it’s better to just have him join us. Besides, he has more decision-making power than I do. Haha.”
“He must be like Zhuge Liang.”
“Yes. He’s the one who wrecked Neriet and took over Hanjong Shipping. It all came from this guy’s head.”
“!?”
At that, Director Kim Doo-young’s gaze toward me changed.
“To be honest, I was shocked. When you dismissed all the executives, I thought I’d be fired too. But I heard that while all the others were removed, I was the only one kept…”
“Yes. That was also Department Head Jung’s decision. You joined the company in its early days as a regular employee and eventually made it to executive level. On top of that, you held on to your company shares until the end. You seemed to have a deep affection for the company in many ways.”
“There must be others like me, though. And yet you let only me stay… Could it be that you know something?”
“Sorry? What do you mean by that…”
Director Kim Doo-young carefully observed both our expressions.
“Have you checked the extent of the company’s debt? You’ve taken over the company suddenly, so I doubt you’ve been able to assess everything.”
“The debt we’ve confirmed is around 3 trillion won. That’s just what’s officially disclosed. But since companies often hide liabilities without disclosing them, we’re in the middle of an investigation.”
The debt disclosed to the market isn’t everything.
Companies are obligated to disclose all liabilities, but they often exploit legal loopholes to hide significant amounts.
That’s why we were conducting a separate audit.
“Yes. If you dig through everything via internal audit, you’ll find the company’s debt is around 5 trillion won.”
“F-five trillion…!”
For a moment, my vision went blurry.
That’s way more than we expected.
How could this much debt have accumulated?
“But why did you ask if we knew something?”
Director Kim Doo-young hesitated for a moment before letting out a sigh.
“Truthfully, I’ve been very conflicted. Should I just leave this company as it is? Or should I reveal everything I know? While I was struggling with that, I got a call from Kwangwoon. They told me I was being considered as a candidate for the next management team.”
“What is it that you know…?”
“Are you familiar with something called a Debt Transfer Agreement?”
“It’s a type of contract that affiliated companies sometimes use, right?”
Debt Transfer Agreement.
It’s a contract where an affiliate borrows money in the name of the group it belongs to.
In short, the group agrees to repay the debt on behalf of the affiliate.
“But groups usually don’t want to go through with Debt Transfer Agreements. If they disclose it, the group’s debt ratio goes up and the shareholders revolt. So most of the time, they avoid disclosure and make private agreements instead.”
“Wait. Are you saying Hanjong Shipping…?”
“Isn’t it strange? Even if Hanjong Shipping was one of Korea’s top-tier shipping companies, does it make sense for them to have 5 trillion won in debt? It’s an excessive amount, far beyond what their scale should allow.”
That’s something both I and hyung had found suspicious as well.
Even if the shipping business had been struggling, it made no sense for the company to have accumulated 5 trillion won in debt.
“On top of that, it’s strange that someone would even lend that much money, knowing full well that the shipping business has collapsed due to intensified competition and decreased trade.”
“So you’re saying Hanjong Group secretly entered into a special agreement?”
“Yes. Only a handful of executives are aware of it. These are copies of those contracts.”
Contracts made through various financial institutions to raise funds.
Not a single one had been disclosed publicly.
If they had, it could have caused problems with Hanjong Group’s stock price, triggered outrage among shareholders, and above all, the funds were likely to be used for illegitimate purposes.
“There are fabricated entries in the books, debts hidden through SPCs, and even off-the-books transactions involved.”
“H-how is that even possible? In this day and age?”
“Without help from people in the government, it would be impossible. And the reason financial institutions lent money at all was because of this special clause. They believed that even if Hanjong Shipping couldn’t repay it, the group would cover the debt.”
The problem was that this special clause had loopholes.
“Since the contract was not disclosed publicly and was made secretly, if Hanjong Shipping goes bankrupt, the clause becomes void. Even if a financial institution brings out the contract, if the group denies it by claiming it’s illegal, they’ll have a hard time getting their money back. This loophole was likely exactly what the group was aiming for.”
“Then the lenders won’t just sit still, will they?”
“It seems the Chairman of Hanjong Group intended to take full responsibility. But… everyone knows. The man is on his last legs.”
At that moment, it seemed like hyung realized something too.
“So the dead man takes all the blame…”
“Yes. And the children left behind get to enjoy the money in peace. They may be fined through investigations, but that’s probably it. You know how lenient our country is when it comes to large corporations.”
In fact, Hanjong Group had already been working on its succession plan.
Unlike other groups, they had done it quietly.
And the money needed for that succession had come from here.
“The lenders must be dumbfounded too. Honestly, it’s not uncommon for conglomerates to secretly borrow money through affiliates under special clauses. This probably started out the same way. But they never imagined that the group had plans to bankrupt the affiliate.”
The financial institutions had just been doing what they’d always done.
It was Hanjong Group that had planned to stab them in the back.
They were orchestrating something extremely bold.
“I really wrestled with whether I should reveal this or not. Even if I did, who would listen to the voice of someone like me, someone with no power? So I was planning to bury it. But after I received the call from Kwangwoon, saying that I was the only executive they had decided to keep… I don’t know, it felt like some kind of sign from above.”
Director Kim Doo-young handed over all the copies in his possession.
“Right now, Kwangwoon is being hailed as a hero by the public. I believe that if this is revealed by Kwangwoon, rather than by someone like me, the impact will be far greater. And… I don’t care whether I become part of the company’s executive team. But please allow me to work for the company. I really want to revive this shipping business.”
With that, Director Kim Doo-young rose from his seat.
“…….”
Hyung and I simply stared blankly at the seat he had just left.
Who would’ve thought that the person my gut instinct picked would be holding onto a bombshell like this?
“Damn. These bastards, seriously…”
Hyung belatedly took a drink and let out a dry laugh.
“So they weren’t focused on the shipping business at all, they were pouring all their effort into creating slush funds. No wonder the succession went so smoothly without any noise.”
“Hyung, it looks like they used it as a slush fund channel to you too, right?”
“Yeah. I was wondering why they racked up so much debt. They maxed out everything they could pull in, then planned to declare bankruptcy and shut their mouths. These guys are fucking insane. How were they planning to deal with the aftermath?”
“If they had actually gone bankrupt, their plan would’ve worked. Like Director Kim Doo-young said, just a follow-up investigation and some fines later. Apparently they had help from government people too.”
“Ha. No wonder people call this place Hell Joseon. Damn it… hearing something like this out of nowhere really makes my head hurt.”
Hyung shook his head in disgust.
There’s a reason people always say to stay away from the stock market.
Every time, some outrageous, spectacular scandal unfolds that defies common sense.
As we flipped through the contracts, clicking our tongues.
“…Hm?”
The contracts I was holding all began to shimmer with a golden light, spreading out from my thumb.
‘Gold? I’ve never seen this kind of reaction before.’
Then suddenly, a realization struck me.
“Hyung. But.”
“Hm?”
“If we leak these contracts to the media and then activate the Debt Transfer Agreement clause, doesn’t that mean we don’t have to repay the 5 trillion won?”
“……Huh? Wait.”
Hyung blinked, and then a grin slowly crept across his face.
“This is fucking golden, isn’t it?”