Still, I Will Live As The Son-In-Law Of A Conglomerate [EN]: Chapter 212

212. 60th. Gut-Busting (1)

The morning after meeting with Bae Jaehoon and Lee Myungjin.

Sitting by the window at a cafe on the first floor of the Standard Capital building, drinking coffee, I raised my hand when I saw Jang Minjae enter the cafe.

“Over here, brother-in-law.”

Jang Minjae is currently receiving management training in the financial sector of Shinseong Group. Given Jang Hogeon’s personality, it’s uncertain whether he will hand over the financial sector, but Jang Minjae is receiving management training and firmly believes he will inherit it. Just like in my past life.

Jang Minjae looked at me with a blank face as he waved back, then sat on the sofa opposite me.

“What’s the matter, brother-in-law?”

Jang Minjae’s voice sounded prickly. Did he hear about the war of nerves between Jang Yongjae and me?

“Is that how you greet your brother-in-law after a long time, brother-in-law?”

“I have every reason to be prickly. I heard you stirred up Yongjae hyung [older brother], didn’t you?”

Nevertheless, a brief smile flickered across Jang Minjae’s lips. I didn’t miss it and chuckled.

“I did. I wanted to deflate the arrogant eldest brother-in-law’s ego, hehe.”

“That might work on hyung, but it won’t work on me. You know that, right?”

Jang Minjae is quite the master of self-control. I couldn’t shake him by boasting about our company’s business, so I had to shake him in another way.

“Well, I know you’re more patient than your eldest brother-in-law. But isn’t that just acting to compensate for being less capable than him?”

“What did you say?”

Jang Minjae’s face, which had seemed indifferent, instantly turned red as if it would explode.

“That’s too harsh, brother-in-law!”

How furious must he be that I poked at his weakness? Jang Minjae shouted, flames blazing in his eyes, but this was just a taste of what was to come.

“That’s not all. With the creation of the integrated holding company, you’ll have to fight tooth and nail to survive, not only against your eldest brother-in-law and sister, but also against your cousins. Are you confident you can handle that level of internal competition?”

While the integrated holding company system blocked external pressure to some extent, internal competition became incredibly fierce. Surviving in that environment and becoming the chairman of Shinseong Group is much harder than debuting as an idol.

Jang Minjae shouted at me, who was grinning.

“So! Are you making fun of me now? Because it’s uncertain whether I’ll get Shinseong Group even if I work like a dog until I die?”

“Yes. I’m making fun of you, brother-in-law.”

“What? You son of a b… !”

The curse trailed off, but that was enough to show that Jang Minjae was truly angry. Not only did the curse trail off, but his buttocks even came off the sofa, and his upper body looked like it would lunge at me.

“People are watching, brother-in-law. Why don’t we sit down and talk?”

“Hooo…”

Jang Minjae sat down, took a deep breath, and emptied the water glass in front of him in one gulp.

“Even if Haedong Group, which came into my hands, is halved due to the spin-off, I won’t regret it. If what I inherit grows, restoring the former Haedong Group’s size in about 10 years will be a piece of cake.”

Restoring the original size isn’t the issue. Isn’t Haedong Group going to stand tall as the largest conglomerate in Korea? Despite the beautiful separation with Lee Myungjin.

“And I have a lot that I’ve built myself besides what I inherited. I hold 50 percent of GK Display and GK Telecom, and Haedong Electronics stock, so I’m much better off than my brothers-in-law and sisters, don’t you think?”

Among the in-laws of our generation, not a single one has properly inherited anything. On the other hand, I hold almost all of Haedong Corporation’s stock, and the remaining shares are held by executives and employees, including the group’s top management, and the scholarship foundation.

As if there was no need to say these facts, Jang Minjae glared at me.

“It must be nice to have a solid governance structure, brother-in-law. If you’re just going to brag, I don’t think I have anything more to listen to?”

“I’m not just going to brag. You should also gradually secure shares, just like my wife and I. Don’t you think?”

As I steered the conversation toward the main topic with a subtle look, Jang Minjae’s eyes changed.

“What are you talking about? Are you going to hand over the Shinseong Holdings stock that your company holds?”

“That won’t do. The executives and cousins need to agree to the stock held by the securities and asset management companies.”

However.

Haedong Asset Management is a subsidiary invested 50 percent each by Haedong Securities and Haedong Merchant Bank, and I directly and indirectly control more than 70 percent of the shares of both Haedong Securities and Haedong Merchant Bank, which control Haedong Asset Management. Jang Minjae glared at me at the words that I had no intention of selling.

“Then what do you want from me, brother-in-law? If you’re not going to hand over the stock.”

“We’re entrepreneurs before we’re heirs to a chaebol [family-owned conglomerate]. We should win our father-in-law’s shares through business, like entrepreneurs, shouldn’t we?”

Jang Minjae’s eyes widened as he pressed me with a frustrated expression.

“Business… you say?”

“Yes, business. Take a look at this first.”

Jang Minjae, who received the file I took out of my briefcase, opened the cover. Jang Minjae looked at me with wide eyes as he looked at the documents inside.

“Bro, brother-in-law?”

“Why? Is the commission rate too low? With Haedong Group’s card payment volume, it seems like a piece of cake to boost Shinseong Card’s performance while eating away at other card companies’ market share?”

The document I handed over and Jang Minjae received contained a proposal to push all card payments from Haedong Group, except for Haedong Electronics and Aqua Store, to Shinseong Card.

‘The commission rate is low, but that guy is also the heir of Shinseong Group, which has grown by killing off competitors. He’s not the type to be hung up on a few pennies of commission.’

As expected, Jang Minjae waved his hand, looking at my expression as if he was suspicious.

“No. It’s not bad to monopolize a customer like Haedong Group, haha.”

Unlike his words, Jang Minjae’s face was radiant. I didn’t miss the opportunity and continued to persuade him to feed him the bomb I had prepared.

“Anyway, that’s not all. If you land this deal, I’m thinking of giving you an even bigger deal.”

“A bigger deal?”

“Yes. To be honest, the reason I only spoke harshly to my eldest brother-in-law and didn’t even offer a deal is because of his personality. He’s someone who always believes the world revolves around him, right?”

“Then what was with you talking harshly to me?”

Looking at Jang Minjae’s sulky expression, I smiled.

“I wanted to know how sharp your fangs are. Even if I hand this over to you, you have to be worthy of taking over the Shinseong Group chairman’s office for me to feel like giving it to you, right?”

“Are you looking down on me too, brother-in-law?”

It was hard to say things I didn’t mean, but I could feel the suppressed anger in Jang Minjae’s eyes. Isn’t he the youngest son who has never received proper recognition at home?

“Until now. So.”

I paused for a moment, took a sip of coffee, and said with a firm expression.

“I hope you’ll see me at the same level after this deal. At least you didn’t openly confront our wife, unlike your eldest brother-in-law or sister. That’s why I’m taking care of you.”

Unlike his older brother and sister, Jang Minjae didn’t show any dislike towards Jang Hayeon. To be precise, his older brother and sister were already taking the lead, so he didn’t want to get his hands dirty.

“Well, it’s not that I particularly dislike my older sister. Anyway, what’s the big deal you’re going to give me after I handle this deal?”

“I’ll let you know after you handle this deal, hehe.”

I smiled at Jang Minjae’s stiff expression. “Just kidding! To give you a hint, the next deal is also related to credit cards. The size per deal is quite large, so it’s something that will be paid in installments for a long time.”

At that moment, Jang Minjae’s eyes sparkled. He’s also Jang Hogeon’s son and didn’t get his Seoul National University diploma through gambling, so he seemed to be racking his brain furiously.

“I’ve given you enough hints, so I’ll be going. Do well with this deal and let’s be friends when you become the chairman of Shinseong Group later.”

I threw out words that I didn’t mean until the end and left my seat to give Jang Minjae time to think.

###

As soon as Lee Seongmin left, Jang Minjae chewed his lips.

“He’s not wrong. My little sister is married out, but hyung…”

His older brother Jang Yongjae, who had always looked down on him since he was young.

His nose became even higher after entering the Department of Economics at Seoul National University, and he treated Jang Minjae even lower after he entered the Department of Sociology at Seoul National University. Even though he had ruined several businesses, his attitude hadn’t changed, so Jang Minjae gritted his teeth.

“I can’t just hide behind him forever.”

Jang Minjae, who had made up his mind, picked up the proposal on the table.

“Hmm…”

A groan flowed from Jang Minjae’s mouth, but the sound wasn’t heavy. The commission rate is lower than other customers, but if he monopolizes the retail distribution payments of Haedong Corporation, which is competing with Roel Group for first place in the distribution industry, wouldn’t he be taking away the pie from competitors?

That’s not all.

The ‘bigger deal’ that Lee Seongmin hinted at is one of the family’s biggest financial businesses. If he gets that business, he will be able to accomplish ‘that business’ that Shinseong Group can’t even dream of by withdrawing from the automobile business.

If he wins that business, he can persuade those white Chase Manhattan guys to merge Shinsegi Financial Group and Shinseong Life, and preserve Shinseong Card’s influence when promoting the merger of Shinsegi Card and Shinseong Card, so it was a whopping one-stone-four-bird strategy.

Jang Minjae got up from his seat, took the documents given by the gullible Lee Seongmin, and left the cafe. With the corners of his lips raised.

***

After luring Jang Minjae into the trap, I called Oh Hyunmu.

“It’s me, Uncle.”

[Seongmin, what’s going on? Hehe.]

“I’m sorry, but I’d like to meet with the three uncles at the Haedong Corporation Incheon Logistics Center.”

[You want to see Hyung [another term for uncle] and Hyunjun there… what’s going on?]

Oh Hyunmu seemed to have noticed something unusual, but he couldn’t afford to drag out the phone call leisurely.

“I’d like to meet you in person, but it seems difficult because of the leeches attached by the Choguk Ilbo [a fictional newspaper]. I’d appreciate it if you could come in another vehicle as you may be followed.”

After a moment of silence, Oh Hyunmu’s voice was heard.

[Okay. I’ll leave right away.]

After ending the call, I got into the car with Park Taejin and Seon Haecheol.

“Do you think Jang Minjae will bite?”

At Seon Haecheol’s cautious question, I raised the corners of my lips.

“He’ll bite. He’s the youngest son who hasn’t received attention or expectations from his father-in-law. He’ll want to use my proposal to achieve results and inherit even a little bit of his father-in-law’s shares first.”

“Well, it’s hard to see Jang Yongjae’s story, let alone Jang Minjae’s, in the group or in the media.”

“So he’ll try to bite into an even bigger deal, hyung [older brother/respected male]. Jang Minjae is also a son who inherited Chairman Jang Hogeon’s blood.”

I didn’t say that he would be that greedy, but Seon Haecheol nodded at Park Taejin’s addition. About an hour later, the three of us arrived at the Incheon warehouse.

“Have the three of them arrived?”

“Yes, Chairman. We have guided them to the underground chamber.”

Guided by the person in charge, we went down to the underground chamber, greeted Oh Hyunmu, Hae Suchan, and Oh Hyunjun, who were sitting at the table, and sat down.

“What’s the reason for asking us to meet here, Seongmin-ah?”

“It’s because of credit cards.”

“Credit cards?”

To Oh Hyunmu, Hae Suchan, and Oh Hyunjun, who were puzzled, I told them about the deal I had proposed to Jang Minjae.

“You’re going to give it all to the Jang family?”

“Yes. It’s to trap them in an even bigger trap. Uncle.”

“Okay, Seongmin-ah. First, let’s look at the documents we have to give you, Chairman Oh.”

I answered Oh Hyunmu and called Seon Haecheol, and Seon Haecheol distributed three copies of the documents raised by Park Taegon from his bag to Oh Hyunmu, Hae Suchan, and Oh Hyunjun.

“‘Credit card delinquency problem’?”

Seon Haecheol said to the three people whose eyes widened after seeing the cover.

“Yes. The current credit card market is not normal. Everything from customer acquisition to short-term loans has exceeded common sense.”

Following Seon Haecheol’s direct words, Park Taejin added an explanation.

“Consumers are taking out short-term loans with credit cards and using multiple credit cards to refinance their loans. Because of this, even Haedong Group employees are taking out loans using the shares distributed by Advisor Koh as collateral, so the problem is serious.”

The three people who swallowed dry saliva looked through the documents we distributed in a daze. How much time had passed, the expressions of the three people who closed the document were very dark.

“I can’t believe it…”

“GK Group will be no exception. My acquaintances said they received cash from the GK Card customer acquisition booth and issued cards.”

At Seon Haecheol’s words, Oh Hyunmu, Hae Suchan, and Oh Hyunjun’s expressions were distorted. They were focusing on the card business to get ahead of Shinseong Group, but they were people who only grasped the big picture of the company, so they wouldn’t have known that such an abnormal competition was taking place.

“We need to set strict customer acquisition standards right now, CEO Seon.”

“That’s right, Chairman. We should only accept customers with reliable repayment ability.”

“Then… why did you hand over the exclusive payment for Haedong Corporation’s distribution sector to Shinseong Card? Haedong Department Store has a large unit price, but Hi-Mart mainly sells daily necessities, so it should be easy to repay the payment.”

Hae Suchan inwardly showed a dissatisfied expression, but I smiled at Hae Suchan.

“Uncle, do you know about card fraud?”

“Card… fraud?”

Not only Hae Suchan but also Oh Hyunmu and Oh Hyunjun’s brows narrowed as if it was a word they had never heard before.

“It’s about mortgaging goods paid for with a card to a pawn shop and borrowing money. Buying all the beer, soju [Korean distilled beverage], liquor, wine, gold, and even cabbage. It’s never a good thing, hehe.”

After explaining card fraud and laughing sinisterly, I said to the three men with their mouths open.

“The in-laws won’t know about this, so they’ll think it’s a good deal. I’m going to use that to trap the in-laws in an even bigger trap.”

“An even bigger trap?”

Oh Hyunmu, Oh Hyunjun, and Hae Suchan’s eyes widened at the words ‘an even bigger trap,’ but I smiled at the three men.