Golden Spoon Investor

"You said construction on the Bundang Mega Port begins next month, right?"

Chairman Park Tae-hong, seated at the head of the table with one leg crossed, asked the question. From the sofa to his right, Chief Secretary Gil Sung-ho promptly replied.

"Yes. All the administrative procedures have already been completed. They only need to select a new construction company, and then they'll break ground immediately."

"They said the commercial area will exceed nine thousand three hundred pyeong—that's quite a scale."

"I've heard that in addition to shopping facilities, they plan to bring in a post office, a bank, an automobile showroom, and even a Seongnam City Hall branch office. The goal is to create a kind of integrated lifestyle shopping center where everything can be handled in one place."

Chairman Park gave a small nod.

"The new town has brought in a lot of residents, but there aren't enough spaces for dining and leisure, and convenience facilities are still lacking. If a large-scale integrated lifestyle shopping center goes up, it should have strong prospects."

"There should also be the advantage of being the first mover."

"Exactly."

Chairman Park picked up the teacup in front of him, took a sip of coffee, set it back down, and continued.

"The effects of the IMF crisis are still lingering, and liquidity in the market isn't abundant. I trust there are no issues with the financing plan for the construction costs?"

"Fortunately, the sale of Daheung Textiles is proceeding smoothly, and WB Bank—our group's new primary banking partner—has agreed to provide up to fifty billion won in loans, with the Bundang Mega Port site as collateral."

Chairman Park looked satisfied with the answer.

"The eldest is handling things well. I don't need to worry."

Chief Secretary Gil cautiously asked, watching the chairman's chuckle-filled expression.

"Doesn't it feel regretful to sell off the textile business, the very foundation of the group?"

"It would be a lie to say I feel no regret. But as my eldest said, if we cling to the past, we cannot move forward."

With an expression of serene detachment, Chairman Park spoke. At that, Gil Sung-ho lowered his head respectfully.

"You're absolutely right."

At that moment, a knock sounded at the door, and Chief Manager Jung Yoon-kyung, dressed in a two-piece suit and wearing horn-rimmed glasses, stepped inside.

"Sorry to interrupt."

"What is it?"

"Chairman Shim In-yeol of Haecheon Group has called. Shall I connect him?"

Chairman Park Tae-hong furrowed his brow and turned his head from the sofa to look at Chief Manager Jung.

"Chairman Shim called me?"

"Yes."

"I heard he was released on bail, but why would he suddenly call me out of the blue? Did he say what it was about?"

"He said he would tell you personally."

"I see."

Though Park was acquainted with Shim through their mutual membership in the Federation of Korean Industries, they weren't close enough for Shim to call immediately after being released on bail.

What made the situation even more awkward was that Shim In-yeol was the owner of Haecheon Group, which had Bluehole Life as one of its affiliates—recently acquired by Park's second son.

"Shall I tell him you're busy?"

When Jung carefully suggested it, Chairman Park shook his head.

"No. I have no reason to avoid him. Put him through."

"Understood."

With a brief reply, Chief Manager Jung turned and left the room.

As the door closed behind her, Chief Secretary Gil Sung-ho looked at Chairman Park and said,

"Could it be about Minkook Life—or rather, Bluehole Life?"

"The acquisition process is already complete, and the signboard has been changed. At this point, a phone call from me won't change anything. And if he'd run the company properly instead of fooling around, he wouldn't have lost Bluehole Life in the first place."

Chairman Park snorted and responded curtly.

Just then, the phone rang. Chairman Park reached for the keyphone handset placed on the side table next to the sofa.

"Hello?"

[This is Shim In-yeol.]

Born in 1939 and nine years older than him, Chairman Park Tae-hong relaxed into a familiar tone.

"It's been a long time. I heard you were released on bail."

[Even if my group went into court receivership and I became a discarded man, how can this be!]

Shim's voice shot up immediately, accusatory and loud, prompting Park to knit his brows. He hadn't expected such a rude, ungracious outburst without even an initial greeting.

Still, Park kept his composure and answered in a measured voice.

"What is it about?"

[It's about your second son! I'm furious and heartbroken that we lost Minkook Life. And now he's accusing me of embezzlement and breach of trust—how can he do that!?]

Realizing the reason at once, Park made a sharp clicking sound with his tongue, his face taking on a cold edge.

"So you called me just to complain about that?"

[Tell him to withdraw the complaint immediately!]

"Huh."

Park let out a dry, incredulous chuckle. Over the line, Shim's voice continued to bristle with anger.

[He's been lucky, making some money, and now he struts around like a peacock—he's going to get badly burned!]

"What did you say?"

Park's thick brows rose. He'd been holding his temper—after all, they were both members of the same business federation, and Shim had just been released on bail and was on edge—but when Shim insulted his son, Park's patience snapped.

"You're threatening my son—saying he's going to get 'badly burned'!? Are you trying to intimidate him?"

Chairman Park Tae-hong erupted, his voice booming with fury.

The roar echoed through the room, startling even Chief Secretary Gil Sung-ho, who widened his eyes in shock.

[That's not what I meant…]

Flustered, Chairman Shim In-yeol tried to explain himself. But Park, his patience long since exhausted, cut him off, his face flushed red as he shouted savagely.

"Not what you meant? I answered your call out of pity, thinking you'd been through enough hardship—and this is what I get? You squandered everything your forefathers built, destroying the group they passed down to you, and now you dare to spew nonsense at me!?"

[Don't you think you've gone too far?]

Shim retorted stiffly, but Park scoffed openly, making sure he could hear the contempt.

"If it weren't for my self-control, I'd say far worse things—but then I'd be lowering myself to your level. Consider yourself lucky!"

[You—!]

Shim ground his teeth in rage.

Park, however, remained unmoved. His expression turned icy as he delivered a cold warning.

"Listen carefully. If you so much as touch a single hair on my son's head, I will not sit idly by. You'd better remember that."

Without waiting for a reply, he slammed the receiver down with such force it was as if he meant to smash it.

"That worthless fool, acting so high and mighty!"

Still seething, Park muttered curses under his breath, his expression stormy.

"What did Chairman Shim say to upset you so much?" Gil Sung-ho asked cautiously.

"A man whose group has already been torn apart into pieces—what kind of chairman is that!" Park snapped, breathing heavily.

"It seems Bluehole Life took legal action to recover company funds that had been embezzled over the years. And for that, he calls me to complain? No wonder he ran his company into the ground!"

Snorting hotly, Park clenched his teeth.

"Damn bastard. How dare he call my son a strutting fool!"

***

"Did that really happen?"

[Yes. From what I hear, this is the first time in recent memory that the chairman has become that angry.]

Hearing Chief Secretary Gil Sung-ho's words, Seok-won, seated at the wide desk in the chairman's office, tensed slightly.

"I feel sorry that my actions may have caused him to go through that."

[He told me not to bother you unnecessarily, but I thought you should be aware of it.]

"Of course I need to know. Thanks for letting me know."

[No problem. I'll let you go now since you must be busy.]

"All right."

Seok-won set his phone down, his expression darkening.

"How dare someone call my father like that? They must have thought I was easy to deal with."

A sharp, fierce glint appeared in his narrowed eyes.

"I'll have to make sure they never pull a stunt like this again."

He picked up the phone and dialed Landon in New York. After the ringtone sounded for a while, a hoarse voice, as if just woken from sleep, answered.

[Hmm. Yes, boss.]

"Sorry for calling so late."

[No problem. What's the matter?]

Leaning back in the soft chair, Seok-won spoke.

"You remember the task I assigned regarding Bluehole Life?"

[Are you referring to locating the assets the former chairman embezzled and hid overseas?]

"Yes."

[We assigned the investigation to the same team that handled Uh Ho-keun before. We've already made some progress, so I was going to contact you today.]

Seok-won's eyes brightened as he gripped the phone tighter.

"Did you find anything?"

[Yes. There's a 2 million square meter winery in Napa Valley, California, and a 24-hole golf course near San Francisco, all registered under a family company created by Chairman Shim In-yeol's wife and eldest son.]

"So they bought those with the money embezzled from Bluehole Life?"

[Before Bluehole Life went into court receivership, Chairman Shim set up an offshore fund in the Cayman Islands and illegally transferred a large amount of foreign currency.]

Seok-won straightened in his chair and asked,

"So they used that money to buy the winery and the golf course?"

[We haven't found definitive proof yet, but tracking the flow of funds has confirmed significant indications pointing in that direction.]

Seok-won smoothed his freshly shaved chin and muttered to himself,

"Of course. If it weren't embezzled money, they wouldn't have bothered hiding the purchases."

[Exactly. And the timing of the real estate acquisitions aligns with when the funds were moved. It's very likely these are the embezzled assets that Korean prosecutors failed to uncover.]

A deep smile spread across Seok-won's face as he absorbed the information.

"Chairman Shim's family is in the U.S. right now, isn't it?"

[Yes. From what we know, they're living in a $5 million mansion in Hillsboro, California, one of the area's most exclusive neighborhoods.]

While the company went bankrupt, leaving employees suddenly jobless and desperate, the group's owner was living it up with secretly embezzled funds—a textbook case of corporate corruption.

"The Eldorado Fund can take legal action in the U.S. on behalf of Bluehole Life for the funds Chairman Shim embezzled, right?"

[Yes. Since we acquired 100% of the shares and now fully own Bluehole Life, we have the legal rights. However, to reclaim the hidden assets, we must obtain a court ruling confirming that the property was illegally acquired.]

Being a lawyer, Landon was well aware of the procedural steps required.

"Even before a final ruling, if we have circumstantial evidence strongly suggesting the assets were acquired through criminal activity, we can file a temporary injunction to prevent them from being secretly disposed of, right?"

[That's correct.]

Seok-won bared his teeth in a grin.

"Then let's place a temporary injunction on the Hillsboro mansion and the hidden assets we've found, and file a lawsuit in the U.S. courts."

[Wouldn't it be better to gather a bit more evidence before moving forward?]

"That was my original plan, but I've changed my mind. The employees who were fired are still going through painful times. The owner's family, who should be taking responsibility, is living comfortably off the hidden company funds. I cannot allow that, even for a single day."

Though Landon was momentarily puzzled by the sudden change in strategy, the evidence already in hand was sufficient to proceed, so he didn't question it further.

[Understood. We'll proceed as you instructed.]

"Good."

After ending the call a moment later, Seok-won set down the phone, his expression cold.

"If they'd stayed put, they could have enjoyed a little longer of that luxurious life—but it's all their own fault."