Golden Spoon Investor

"This matter, handle it as is."

"Yes, sir."

After passing the approval folder to Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho, who sat on his right, Chairman Park Tae-hong leaned back against the plush leather sofa.

"By the way, have you heard? Honorary Chairman Jeong of Hyunwoo Group has promoted his fifth son, the one overseeing the electronics division, to co-chairman."

"Yes. I understand that very move has stirred up a lot of talk in the business community."

"Of course it has. Everyone thought the second son, Chairman Jeong Yong-gil, would be the one to inherit Hyunwoo Group. But with this sudden creation of a rivalry, people are bound to be unsettled."

Up to that point, Hyunwoo Group had maintained its position as the nation's number one conglomerate, far ahead of Saseong Group.

But the group's founder, Honorary Chairman Jeong Tae-ho, had abruptly declared his entry into politics, putting the company through a severe ordeal.

When he founded a new party and, within just a month, managed to win 31 seats in the 14th general election—enough to form a negotiation bloc in the National Assembly—it seemed he was replicating his bulldozer-like success in politics as he had in business.

Yet, after confidently throwing his hat into the ring for the 14th presidential election, Jeong Tae-ho finished only in third place, marking the start of a crisis.

During the campaign, he clashed with President Kim Seong-gyu, and afterward the retaliation came swiftly. His two sons and the group's key executives were dragged in one after another for questioning by prosecutors, forcing the family to endure a harrowing period.

Jeong himself suffered the humiliation of standing before the press line as a suspect, accused of slush funds and illegal electioneering.

Though he eventually withdrew from politics entirely, continued pressure from the Blue House forced him to step aside from management, assume the role of honorary chairman, and parcel out group affiliates to his children to run.

It was then, inevitably, that succession rumors began to surface.

Given that Honorary Chairman Jeong Tae-ho was born in 1915 and had already turned 84 this year, one could even say the matter had been delayed for far too long.

"He's been successfully running Hyunwoo Motors, and given the group's traditionally strict adherence to family hierarchy, everyone naturally assumed the second son, Chairman Jeong Yong-gil, would be the successor. The shift to the fifth son was… unexpected."

After the eldest son's death in a car accident, the second son, Jeong Yong-gil, had effectively taken on the role of the family's firstborn.

"Perhaps because he only finished elementary school due to the family's hardships, the honorary chairman always had a special fondness for his fifth son, who went on to earn an MBA from an elite American university."

Chairman Park Tae-hong smirked with a note of pride as he continued.

"Still, even with that, he's no match for my Seok-won—who not only graduated from Harvard, but did so as the top of his class."

Unlike his usual stern demeanor, whenever he spoke of his second son, Chairman Park's behavior revealed the doting pride of a father. Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho allowed himself a faint smile at the sight.

"Indeed. A master's degree can't compare with graduating first in class from Harvard."

"Of course. Naturally."

Satisfied, Chairman Park's expression soon grew serious again.

"When the line of succession seemed firmly secured with the second son, suddenly throwing weight behind the fifth… it can only stir up turmoil. It looks to me like Honorary Chairman Jeong Tae-ho may have played a bad hand."

"You don't suppose he actually intends to break the tradition of primogeniture and hand the group over to Chairman Jeong Jae-won, do you?"

Park Tae-hong's voice sank, heavy and grave.

"How could I possibly know what's truly in Jeong's heart? But one thing is certain—whenever you try to force the river against its flow, disaster inevitably follows."

Gil Seong-ho understood all too well what "turmoil" meant in this context. Choosing his words carefully, he held his tongue.

"The economy still hasn't fully recovered from the foreign exchange crisis. If Hyunwoo Group—the number one conglomerate—were to be shaken by a succession struggle, the ripple effect would be immense."

As an elder statesman of the business world, Park Tae-hong had always respected Honorary Chairman Jeong Tae-ho, the bulldozer who had built Hyunwoo Group from nothing into Korea's top conglomerate. Yet he couldn't help but feel regret at what seemed a grave misstep so late in Jeong's career.

He thought back to his own family. His eldest son was far from incompetent, but the dazzling capabilities of his second had nearly swayed his heart once.

If Seok-won hadn't declared that he'd forgo inheriting the group and instead split off to pursue his own path… I would have wrestled with the same painful dilemma.

Whether his son had made that decision out of consideration for his older brother, or simply to unleash his full talent in the investment world free from the weight of Daheung Group, Park wasn't sure. Either way, the choice had spared his family from what could have been a bitter feud. For that, he felt grateful.

Lifting his teacup, Park took a sip of the cooled green tea before setting it down again. Then, turning to his chief secretary, he asked—

"Now that Daheung Textiles has been sold, I'm considering bringing Jin-hyung back to headquarters to oversee the group as a whole. What do you think?"

Receiving his chairman's gaze, Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho answered without hesitation.

"To smoothly push forward the newly acquired discount hypermarket business, it would be best for President Park to relocate to the head office. I think that's a wise decision."

"That was my thought as well."

Chairman Park Tae-hong nodded slightly as he spoke.

"Then I intend to promote my eldest to vice chairman and have him take charge of HomeMart and Korea Express. Make the necessary preparations with that in mind."

"Understood."

Originally, he had planned to wait a few more years before promoting his eldest son to vice chairman. But watching the upheaval unfolding within Hyunwoo Group had made him change his mind.

"Children who don't fight over succession but remain affectionate brothers—that in itself is a great blessing."

As he said this, a contented smile spread across Chairman Park Tae-hong's face.

***

"Chairman."

Sitting in the wide private jet seat reclined back, Seok-won had dozed off briefly. He opened his eyes at the sound of Andrea's voice.

Andrea, wearing a fitted skirt uniform, leaned slightly forward as she looked at him.

"A call came in from Korea. It's urgent."

As he pressed the button on the armrest to bring his seat upright, Seok-won spoke.

"Could you bring me a glass of cold water?"

"Of course."

Andrea handed him the satellite phone she had been holding with a polite gesture, then stepped away.

Taking the phone, Seok-won straightened in his seat and, his voice still rough with sleep, answered.

"Hello."

[This is Ko Young-il, Chairman.]

"Did something happen with WB Bank?"

But Ko Young-il, the president of WB Bank, replied in a grim tone.

[Not with us, sir. The problem is with Daegwang Group.]

"What do you mean?"

[It looks like Daegwang Group will enter workout proceedings within the next couple of days.]

Seok-won furrowed his brow and sat forward.

"Weren't we planning to let them attempt self-restructuring first and then, around October, put only the weakest affiliates under workout?"

[That was the plan. But the liquidity shortage in the core subsidiaries—heavy industries, construction, and others—has become so severe we can't delay any longer.]

"We just provided them with four trillion won in fresh loans and even extended their short-term debt maturities by six months. Even after all that?"

[Yes, but after the restructuring announcement, the group's credit rating collapsed. Operations and production slowed drastically, and accounts receivable haven't been collected properly. Their cash reserves have been drained and are now almost gone.]

Buyers and partner companies, fearing Daegwang Group could default at any time, were shying away from new orders or delaying cash payments.

At that moment, Andrea returned and quietly placed a glass of cold water on the table before stepping away again.

Holding the satellite phone to his ear, Seok-won took a sip to moisten his throat, then spoke.

"WB Bank recently announced that it would provide two trillion won to Daegwang Securities as call money, didn't it?"

[That's correct. We were hesitant to increase the loan size given Daegwang Group's poor condition, but the government strongly insisted, leaving us no choice.]

"Even so, the fact that their liquidity problems persist means it's like pouring water into a bottomless bucket."

[On top of that, partner companies submitted payment requests to financial institutions, but over three hundred billion won in trade bills were rejected. There's even concern about a potential chain reaction of defaults among these suppliers.]

"That's truly the worst-case scenario."

[That's why the Blue House decided it could no longer wait and opted to implement the workout early.]

Seok-won nodded slightly, his expression hardening.

"If hundreds of partner companies were to default in a chain, it could deal a fatal blow to an already fragile economy. In such a case, an extreme measure was inevitable."

[I agree with you.]

Seok-won adjusted his grip on the satellite phone and spoke again.

"I understand WB Bank has significant exposure to Daegwang Group. Won't the losses be considerable?"

[Excluding the call money lent through Daegwang Securities, about three trillion won is at risk. If the workout proceeds as planned, some principal losses are likely.]

Most of the loans had been extended prior to the merger, but the potential loss was still a painful blow.

Yet, having anticipated Daegwang Group's potential default, Seok-won remained calm and asked in measured tones:

"How long will the workout period last?"

[The government plans to freeze all debts and credits for three months while the creditors quickly finalize the restructuring plan under their leadership.]

Seok-won's expression grew skeptical.

"That may work if it were only domestic financial institutions. But Daegwang has expanded aggressively overseas, meaning there are numerous foreign creditors as well. I doubt coordination will be easy."

[Foreign creditors are a problem, yes. But domestic banks—including nearly all first and second-tier lenders—as well as corporate and individual creditors, all have claims. Opposition is expected to be significant.]

"Right, corporate bonds and commercial paper aren't included in the workout, are they?"

[Correct. The issue is that, as of now, the total size of corporate bonds and commercial paper issued by Daegwang Group is a staggering 22 trillion won.]

"If all of that defaults… it would be truly catastrophic."

[On top of that, creditors, as you mentioned, reaching agreements won't be easy. The workout is likely to extend longer than the government originally planned.]

"That figures."

Seok-won spoke in a calm, measured tone.

"With this, I'd say Daegwang Group's disbandment is inevitable."

[You could say that.]

It was obvious that the collapse of the country's second-largest conglomerate would have massive repercussions.

"Once we land in Seoul, we'll go over the details again. In the meantime, if anything critical happens, contact me immediately."

[Understood.]

Ending the call, Seok-won placed the satellite phone on the table and muttered to himself with a heavy expression.

"Unlike before, I injected over 400 billion won in cash by purchasing real estate, yet it still came to this."

He had held onto a faint hope that Daegwang Group might endure the crisis without collapsing, but in the end, the workout decision was only delayed by a few days, not even a month.

"Considering the 57 trillion won in domestic and overseas debt, maybe it wasn't even enough to be called a stopgap measure."

The thought of the mass layoffs and the wave of bankruptcies among partner companies that were about to follow left Seok-won with a bitter taste.

It wasn't the government or financial institutions who would shoulder the full shock of Daegwang Group's collapse, but the group's employees and countless partner companies.