Still, I Will Live As The Son-In-Law Of A Conglomerate [EN]: Chapter 64

64. 20th. Without Saying… (3)

I was ashamed of my past, especially when compared to Jo Young-chan’s outstanding insight and judgment.

‘What a fool I was, when such great men were holding the line…’

I should have faced the challenges and fought instead of running away. My past, where I only saw what was directly in front of me and made hasty judgments, haunted me. I could only be grateful that it had ended with a chance to start anew. Still…

‘The owner can’t be a pushover. I’ve been pushed around as much as I can be.’

Shaking my head, I revealed another plan to Jo Young-chan.

“In addition to the CMA [Cash Management Account, a type of savings account], I think we need to adjust the bonds and notes we’ve already invested in.”

“Tell me. I’ll listen and decide.”

“Would it be alright if I wrote it down on a piece of paper?”

“As much as you need. It’s over there, so take what you need.”

I went to Jo Young-chan’s desk, grabbed a blank A4 sheet, divided it into nine squares with a pen, and wrote ‘Sell’ and ‘Holding’ on the horizontal axis, and ‘Overseas’ and ‘Domestic’ on the vertical axis. Then, I filled in the corresponding items in the remaining squares and handed it to Jo Young-chan.

“You’re saying to liquidate everything except for Russia in overseas, and in domestic, Taehyun, Geumgang, Sekyung, and our group’s clients from Chairman Jang Ho-geon’s Shinseong Group?”

Jo Young-chan looked puzzled. The Russian bonds were a concern, but what could I do? They would be useful later. I hid my true intentions and said to Jo Young-chan.

“Yes. If we don’t liquidate now, we’ll have to liquidate later while facing even greater criticism. After the liquidation, I hope we can manage bond investments and promissory note discounts as conservatively as possible, sir.”

Jo Young-chan stared intently at the paper, then pointed to something with his other hand.

“Sung-min, bring me that.”

What he pointed to was a small metal trash can.

“Yes, sir.”

Without a word, he brought the trash can and placed it next to him. Jo Young-chan then held out his hand to Park Tae-jin.

“Chief Park, do you have a lighter?”

“Yes, sir.”

Jo Young-chan took the Zippo lighter from Park Tae-jin, lit the paper on fire, and put it in the trash can.

“This is how you get rid of top-secret documents. It’s best to keep it in your head and erase it cleanly.”

‘I know, sir.’

It was from my past life, but I also sometimes burned documents that needed to be completely erased, putting them in a tin trash can. Jo Young-chan, who was briefly startled by my smiling face instead of being surprised, said to me.

“Instead, I hope you don’t liquidate the money lent to ordinary citizens or small and medium-sized businesses.”

I had been studying the company’s current status, so I nodded, understanding what he meant. And Jo Young-chan confirmed the reason I had guessed.

“The money we received in deposits was possible because we lent that much to those people. The same goes for our group’s clients.”

“The Ado Group as well?”

When I asked cautiously, Jo Young-chan nodded.

“It’s about 300 billion won, and Ado Group accounts for a significant portion of sales at Haedong Heavy Industries and Haedong Steel, so we took it on.”

As expected. The Ado Group loan was a bad debt that we had no choice but to take on.

Slightly biting my lower lip, Jo Young-chan sighed and said.

“If you want, we can convert all existing loans into bonds, so don’t worry.”

“I understand, sir. I would appreciate it if you could handle it before putting in 2.2 billion dollars into Haedong Corporation.”

Holding my head, I added another request.

“And… please select some people from within the company who are good at stocks.”

“What are you going to use them for?”

“I’m going to establish a securities firm. I’ll use 50 billion won of my own money as capital, and I’d like about 20 people under the age of forty.”

‘Standard Capital isn’t enough. To create funds that I can use comfortably in Korea, I need a financial company among the group’s affiliates that I can reliably control.’

I quickly grabbed the paper and organized the specific details. Jo Young-chan, who received the paper, nodded.

“I’ll finish it as soon as possible. The Hong Kong branch should be open by the end of next year at the latest. The same goes for acquiring futures and options trading qualifications.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“What are you thanking me for? If you look at Corporation and Heavy Industries separately, they’re small groups, but we need to grow as a group to increase our livelihood. But…”

Jo Young-chan paused, stroking the end of his mustache, and then made the end of his words clear.

“The friends who are selected this time will be going back and forth between hell and heaven, hehe.”

A mischievous smile spread across Jo Young-chan’s face.

***

After Lee Sung-min left, Jo Young-chan immediately instructed the planning department to handle the requested tasks.

“Ahem…”

He was now sitting at the head of the conference room at the Haedong Securities headquarters, carefully examining the faces of the twenty people sitting on both sides. The employees were constantly swallowing dry saliva as he scanned them with sharp eyes that seemed to cut right through them.

“Gentlemen.”

“Yes, sir!”

The youngest employee, who was so nervous that he was on high alert, answered loudly, and the other nineteen also answered loudly. Jo Young-chan frowned at the sound that struck his eardrums.

“Goodness, my ears. You’re not privates, so relax.”

“Yes, sir.”

Jo Young-chan chuckled at the answer, which was quieter than before but still more or less the same.

“Chief Min Joo-hyung, you’re thirty-eight this year?”

“Yes, sir.”

At Jo Young-chan’s call, a man with a chiseled face opened his mouth as he looked at the documents while stroking his mustache.

“You invested in Shinseong Electronics?”

“Yes. I invested after seeing Shinseong Electronics focus all its resources on semiconductors. The semiconductor market was booming until I pulled out, so the returns weren’t bad.”

Jo Young-chan smiled as he listened to Min Joo-hyung’s voice, which felt as strong as his crew-cut hair and dark skin.

“You have a pretty animalistic working style, and your investments are just like that, huh.”

As Jo Young-chan laughed heartily, Min Joo-hyung’s Adam’s apple moved up and down. Was it a good thing or a bad thing?

“Manager Joo Seung-bin is thirty-five this year?”

“Yes, sir.”

Joo Seung-bin’s voice was very calm, as were her neatly arranged long hair and fair face.

“I heard you made quite a bit of money with SG Telecom shares last year?”

“Yes. I invested in anticipation that privatization would ease the burden of rising communication costs and reduce expenses. However, I liquidated in October of last year because the PBR [Price-to-Book Ratio] and PER [Price-to-Earnings Ratio] had risen excessively.”

Jo Young-chan nodded at Joo Seung-bin’s calm answer.

“You worked in the risk management department, so you can’t hide your instincts.”

After that, Jo Young-chan called out the names of the remaining eighteen people and asked about their stock investments, grasping their tendencies. Strangely enough, there were ten aggressive styles like Min Joo-hyung and ten defensive styles like Joo Seung-bin.

“Looking at you, it’s a contradiction.”

“Yes?”

“It’s not that it doesn’t make sense, but it’s literally like a spear and a shield. Thank you all for answering.”

Jo Young-chan, who was soothing the surprised employees, closed the documents.

“Gentlemen, write your resignations as of today.”

“Sir?”

Despair fell on the faces of Min Joo-hyung and Joo Seung-bin, who were looking for Jo Young-chan among the employees, and the other eighteen who were silent.

They came because they were looking for people with stock or futures and options licenses, some English skills, and some experience making money in the stock market, but they were being advised to resign!

The employees’ faces seemed to be filled with the desire to tell Jo Young-chan that he was a contradiction.

Just as the twenty faces turned black, Jo Young-chan’s lips parted.

“Instead.”

What were those two letters that made the eyes of the twenty people change desperately. They would rather be told to double the average amount of delinquent payments collected. It would be a hundred or a thousand times better than being advised to resign.

However, Jo Young-chan’s subsequent instructions were pointing in an unexpected direction.

“There’s an investment company in New York called Standard Capital, go there and study until next year and come back. That’s the condition.”

“Standard… Capital?”

“The president there was a junior [a former colleague or mentee] who learned how to handle money under me. The salary will be paid by them, so go and learn hard. Keep it a secret from the company.”

Jo Young-chan, who was looking at everyone with a blank expression, picked up the phone.

“Come in.”

As soon as the short call ended, the door opened and Park Tae-jin came in. He walked to Jo Young-chan’s side without even glancing at Min Joo-hyung, who was his classmate and was looking at him with his mouth open.

“Explain.”

“Yes, sir. From now on, the people here will be temporary employees of Haedong Securities and will receive practical training at Standard Capital until next year.”

The conference room buzzed for a moment at Park Tae-jin’s announcement.

“Haedong Securities? Practical training?”

“What? We’re not getting fired?”

Jo Young-chan, who was smiling slightly as he saw the employees’ faces brighten, cleared his throat.

“The establishment of Haedong Securities is a top-secret project even within Haedong Securities. By the time you return, we will have established a corporation and prepared to trade futures and options at the Hong Kong branch. So study hard and come back. Chief Park, continue.”

“Yes, sir. As the president said, the establishment of Haedong Securities must never be disclosed to anyone other than the parties present here. I will now distribute the confidentiality agreements.”

With those words, Park Tae-jin went to Min Joo-hyung on the left. Min Joo-hyung looked at Park Tae-jin with a lot of questions in his eyes, but Park Tae-jin only gave a faint smile and handed ten copies of the agreement to Min Joo-hyung and headed towards Joo Seung-bin.

Joo Seung-bin received the remaining ten copies from Park Tae-jin with a dazed expression, passed nine copies to the side, and examined the contents of the agreement. As he roughly scanned the contents, Joo Seung-bin looked at Jo Young-chan with an unbelievable expression.

“Stock option of 1 percent?”

“The new owner said that we should share the stock since you’ll be suffering in a foreign land until next year. Well, it’s a company that will be established with his own money without drawing in company funds, so what can I say… Haha.”

Only after hearing Jo Young-chan’s answer did the remaining personnel confirm the content that they would each receive 1 percent of the stock options and open their mouths wide.

“It’s too early to be happy. Read the rest of the contents.”

The twenty men read the rest of the agreement after hearing Jo Young-chan’s words.

“Permanent dismissal in case of disqualification?”

“There is no reward without effort. If you don’t like it, just write a confidentiality agreement for your work and quit. I’ll give you 1 billion won in severance pay.”

Everyone was in trouble at Jo Young-chan’s cold offer. Were they being asked to choose between ‘1 percent stock options per person’ in the company they would grow, or 1 billion won in a lump sum?

While everyone was contemplating, Jo Young-chan said.

“The new owner made 120 billion won after taxes in about a year with SG Telecom shares when it was Korea Mobile Telecom. Of course, the seed money was large, but he also used leverage well to increase profits, so his investment sense is as good as mine or the chairman’s.”

At that moment, Min Joo-hyung’s eyes flashed. He signed the pen in his hand and walked to Jo Young-chan.

“I will do it, sir. I will definitely come back alive.”

“It’s not like you’re being dragged to the battlefield, why are you saying that? Work hard and come back.”

Unlike Jo Young-chan, who was laughing heartily, Min Joo-hyung’s expression as he handed over the documents with both hands was like that of a soldier going to the battlefield.

“New York is a battlefield for financiers, so shouldn’t I be determined? I will definitely come back alive.”

“Good. You’re the most senior of the people who will be training there.”

At that moment, Joo Seung-bin also came to Jo Young-chan with an agreement signed as if he couldn’t lose.

“I’ll go too, sir. I’ll go and learn more advanced financial techniques.”

“Okay. You’re the second-in-command. Anyone else want to apply?”

Looking at Min Joo-hyung and Joo Seung-bin standing on either side of Jo Young-chan, eighteen people grabbed pens in their hands. Perhaps because of the fact that the two most notable spear and shield in Haedong Securities had bet, everyone seemed to have erased their hesitation.

Jo Young-chan, who received the documents in that way, stacked their documents as he had grasped them on top of Min Joo-hyung and Joo Seung-bin’s agreements.

“If everyone is ready, submit your resignation as soon as your visa is issued and go to New York. I’ll say it again, keep it a secret from your parents, children, siblings, and wives.”

“Yes!”

Once again, the voices of the twenty people echoed in the conference room, but Jo Young-chan smiled contentedly as he looked at their faces full of fighting spirit.

***

While Haedong Securities was unfurling its sails towards the new business that the new captain was pointing to, the owner of Sung’s residence was paying attention to that new captain.

“Is it true?”

“Yes, Chairman. The announcement was posted at 2:59 PM today.”

“Hmm…”

Jang Ho-geon, who was sitting at his desk, narrowed his eyes and bit his lip as if trying to chew over the report he had heard from Lee Soo-han.

“Haedong Corporation has become the holding company of Haedong Group.”

“Yes. Until now, Haedong Securities was an affiliate in name only, but in terms of equity structure, it was a related company. But from today, it is an affiliate of Haedong Group.”

Lee Soo-han’s words were true. Unlike the heavy industry affiliates led by Lee Myung-jin, Haedong Corporation did not hold a single share of Haedong Securities.

But.

Through today’s announcement, Lee Dae-soo sold 30 percent of his Haedong Securities shares to Haedong Corporation, making it a definite affiliate of Haedong Group.

“And handing over the position of largest shareholder to Sung-min…”

“It was to avoid the issue of separation of banking and commerce and the requirements for mandatory conversion to a holding company. He is not the largest shareholder, and the proportion of total assets of the subsidiary is less than 50 percent, so there is no justification for forcing the conversion. Of course, Chairman Lee Dae-soo will take care of the actual management.”

It was a sound that the people of the Lee family of Haedong Group would laugh their heads off if they knew, but Jang Ho-geon nodded at Lee Soo-han’s guess.

Would he hand over the group’s bank, with total assets of 1.5 trillion won, including 300 billion won in capital, to his grandson like a piece of cake? The stingy old man from Samcheong-dong [a wealthy neighborhood in Seoul known for its traditional houses and art galleries]?

“He says he’s his beloved eldest grandson, but he’s putting him forward as a bullet shield… a cruel man.”

Jang Ho-geon trailed off and shook his head.

Wasn’t it like swapping the shares of an affiliate that gave dividends little by little for the shares of an affiliate that hadn’t given a single penny in dividends so far? He didn’t even transfer his affiliation to Haedong Securities, so it was too much.

Jang Ho-geon picked up the receiver and made a call.

“It’s me, Ha-yeon. Your father heard about Sung-min today…”

Jang Ho-geon told Jang Ha-yeon what he had heard.

“Okay. So meet Sung-min today and comfort him. Also tell him that the semiconductor factory loan will be repaid on time.”

He was the son of a friend who had passed away and a guy he wanted to be his daughter’s partner, so Jang Ho-geon wanted to create an opportunity for the two to do well.