Still, I Will Live As The Son-In-Law Of A Conglomerate [EN]: Chapter 88

88. 27th. Ankle-Grabbing Pursuit (1)

Lee Soo-han questioned Park Tae-gon about the matter, as the future of Shinseong Group hinged on it.

“How is the situation in Australia progressing?”

The ‘situation in Australia’ was crucial for Jang Ho-geon and Lee Soo-han, who were assisting him.

On a smaller scale, it was about avenging the loss of the Kazakhstan copper mine project to Haedong Group. On a larger scale, it was about preparing for the upcoming internal conflict by building Shinseong Corporation, the main base, into a large and sturdy fortress.

Park Tae-gon, having joined the secretary’s office and grasped the internal workings of the group, quickly responded,

“The Australian branch is working hard, but there’s no progress. They say they won’t give up the company’s shares no matter how much we offer.”

“A stubborn woman. It needs to be finished this year…”

Like Park Tae-gon’s dark expression, Lee Soo-han’s face also hardened.

When the gentlemen’s agreement ends, the internal war of the pan-Shinseong Group will begin.

To prepare for the war, Shinseong Corporation, the main castle of the Jang Ho-geon faction, had to be strengthened, but the preliminary work was faltering, frustrating Lee Soo-han, Jang Ho-geon’s chief aide.

Acquiring Hancock Prospecting would simultaneously boost Shinseong Corporation’s construction and trading divisions. The trading division could sell the iron ore mined from the mine, and the construction division could recover the money invested by the trading division as construction costs, making it a win-win business.

“For now, let’s keep approaching them and look for other methods.”

Lee Soo-han couldn’t give up either. Acquiring Hancock Prospecting would be a satisfying blow to Haedong Group and Ko Seung-ju.

***

Knowing how strong the will of the headquarters in the Northern Hemisphere was, the people at Shinseong Corporation’s Australian branch stood in front of a small building in Perth again today.

“How many times is this today?”

“It’s the twentieth time, Director, since we’ve been coming once a week.”

“Damn it. Why are we so fixated on this tiny company?”

Joo Byung-tae, the head of Shinseong Corporation’s Australian branch, frowned deeply at his subordinate’s words.

The building in front of them was Hancock Prospecting’s headquarters. Because the head office was pushing them to acquire this company’s shares, he had to fly from Sydney Airport to Perth Airport frequently since the second half of last year.

“What’s their status?”

“They’re barely surviving by giving mining rights to Rio Tinto and receiving only 2.5 percent of sales as royalties. They only reduced their debt below $3 million last year.”

“What about mine development?”

“They’re exploring mainly around Hope Downs and Roy Hill, but the problem is money. Even if we succeed in the acquisition, we’ll have to lay out all the plants, railways, and ports with our own money to extract any profit.”

Joo Byung-tae’s forehead furrowed at the answer.

“I don’t know what the higher-ups are thinking. What are they thinking trying to acquire a company like this when they’re even running an automobile business, really.”

Laying down all the necessary facilities to extract money from a mine with nothing is not a small amount of money. Joo Byung-tae, a mere director, couldn’t understand how they were trying to start a business with no way to handle the aftermath.

“It would be better to get shares in another mine… It’s a shame, Director.”

“I agree. There are mines everywhere, but what is this…”

Neither of them could fathom the thoughts of the higher-ups. If they invested in an already developed mine, they would make money right away, but why were they so fixated on a company with nothing but the discovery of a vein….

But isn’t it the sad life of a Korean salaryman to grit your teeth and do whatever the owner tells you to do? So Joo Byung-tae and his employee had to come to this company again today.

“Still, if you somehow manage to pull this off, wouldn’t you return in triumph?”

“I should. If they don’t call me back to headquarters even after making this happen…”

Joo Byung-tae, who had been grumbling at the comfort of his employee watching from the side, sighed. He almost crossed the line.

“Let’s go. Isn’t a businessman supposed to keep pushing until it’s either a hit or a miss?”

Joo Byung-tae and his employee gritted their teeth and entered the company.

###

About two hours later.

A taxi stopped in front of the Hancock Prospecting headquarters.

“Hoo, how many times is this?”

“It’s the 88th time since we’ve been coming every week since April of last year.”

Director Ma Young-min of Haedong Corporation’s Australian branch frowned at the words of the deputy head of Haedong Corporation’s Australian branch, who came with him.

“What is this? The higher-ups should have given up by now, but why are they so fixated on this, really.”

The deputy head glanced at Ma Young-min and opened his mouth.

“I don’t know either. The headquarters has over $2 billion left from the yen-carry trade [borrowing Japanese yen at low interest rates to invest in higher-yielding assets], with that money…”

“We could acquire the copper mine in Kazakhstan that we invested in last year, or the zinc mine in Queensland that our branch worked on, six or seven times over.”

Ma Young-min cut off the deputy head’s words and answered, but he was frustrated. This tiny company, isn’t it incomparably worse than the Australian zinc mine or the Kazakhstan copper mine?

“That’s why I don’t understand it even more. It would be better to acquire shares in an existing mine…”

He trailed off, then took out a cigarette pack from his pocket.

“Let’s smoke one and go in. If I go in without it, that woman will make my stomach churn. You brought the perfume, right?”

“Yes, Director.”

The meeting was in an hour.

Ma Young-min went into an alley away from the entrance and smoked, while the deputy head watched the surroundings at the entrance of the alley.

“Huh? That person…?”

Ma Young-min frowned at the deputy head, who tilted his head.

“What is it?”

“I think you should take a look, Director. I think I’ve seen him somewhere…”

Ma Young-min flicked off the cigarette ash and came to the entrance of the alley. He stopped right at the entrance of the alley because of the deputy head’s arm, and his eyes widened when he saw two people coming out of the headquarters.

“It’s Joo Byung-tae from Shinseong Corporation, isn’t it?”

Ma Young-min knew Joo Byung-tae. How could the person he met at the social gathering created by people with no one to rely on in a foreign land be coming out of this company’s building?

Ma Young-min’s mind raced. His eyes narrowed as he quickly finished calculating.

“Those bastards, they’re trying to screw us over because we took the Kazakhstan project from them, aren’t they?”

“I think so, Director. Maybe Hancock rejected our offer because of Shinseong.”

Listening to the deputy head’s words, Ma Young-min stomped on the cigarette butt he had dropped on the ground.

“Damn it, there was a reason why that stubborn woman has been acting tougher lately.”

Ma Young-min cursed Jane Leonhardt’s increasingly annoying attitude and pulled out his cell phone. Reporting was essential since a variable had occurred.

***

At that moment, Bae Jae-hoon, who was working at the Seoul headquarters, received a call from Ma Young-min on the other side of the world and raised his voice.

“What are you talking about, Director Ma? How did those Shinseong bastards know about that company and approach them?”

[We just saw them, so we haven’t been able to grasp the situation yet. I’m sorry, CEO.]

“I understand. Contact Sydney right now and have them dig into those Shinseong bastards. We’ll move here too.”

[What should we do about the meeting?]

“Meet them for now. Don’t show it.”

Ending with the last instruction, Bae Jae-hoon hung up and left his office.

“What, what’s on the schedule for this afternoon?”

“Yes?”

“Never mind. If you have the schedule, give it to me quickly.”

“Yes…”

Bae Jae-hoon received the schedule from the bewildered secretary and returned it shortly after.

“Cancel all afternoon schedules.”

“CEO?”

“Something important came up. Make up an excuse and postpone it.”

While the secretary was worrying about how to adjust the canceled schedule, Bae Jae-hoon strode down the hallway and got on the elevator. After getting off the elevator, he went straight to the end of the hallway.

“C, CEO?”

“Is Department Head Ko here?”

“Yes. He’s inside right now…”

Without listening to the employee who got up from his seat, Bae Jae-hoon burst into the office. Ko Seung-ju, who was looking at documents at his desk, got up from his seat when he saw Bae Jae-hoon.

“How could you come without saying anything…?”

“Seung-ju, the Shinseong bastards approached Hancock.”

“Yes?”

Ko Seung-ju’s eyes widened. How did Shinseong know about that company?

“I just received a call from Director Ma of the Australian branch…”

As Bae Jae-hoon told him the details, Ko Seung-ju’s face hardened.

“This is a big problem.”

Ko Seung-ju’s short and thick answer contained all the meaning.

The Hancock Prospecting investment was an opportunity to grow not only Haedong Corporation’s trading division but also its heavy industry divisions, including Haedong Construction, simultaneously.

If Haedong Corporation provided funds for mine development and the heavy industry division created the mine infrastructure, the entire group could grow. If they lost that huge opportunity, there was no telling when such an opportunity would come again.

Bae Jae-hoon was also aware of this, so he was anxious.

“I’ll have to see what the Australian branch sends in terms of details, but I think I should see the Chairman first.”

“I’ll tell the others, CEO.”

“Contact Standard too. Those three guys need to come for this.”

“Yes. I’ll contact them right away.”

Ko Seung-ju quickly picked up the receiver and dialed the phone number. His urgency was evident in the way he pressed the numbers.

***

Having received Ko Seung-ju’s call, we had to see our grandfather’s hardened face in the Samcheong-dong study.

“To stick their spoon in the table we set… those wicked bastards.”

Displeasure was evident in Grandfather’s voice and expression, and we, sitting in front of the desk, also looked at Grandfather with hardened expressions.

For a moment, Grandfather, like a businessman, did not simply get caught up in anger but asked Ko Seung-ju in a calm voice.

“Why do you think they went that far, Department Head Ko? If they really wanted to do business, it would have been better to join hands with us, wouldn’t it?”

“It’s not certain, but according to what I’ve heard, the gentlemen’s agreement between Jang Ho-geon, Jang Ho-kyung, and Jang Ho-min is until the end of this year.”

Grandfather narrowed his eyes at Ko Seung-ju’s words.

“Is it because of the internal war?”

“Yes. To be exact, I think their intention is to solidify their main base before the internal war. If they inflate the value of overseas investment assets and take on mine infrastructure construction, Shinseong Corporation’s market capitalization will also increase.”

Jang Ho-geon currently controls the electronics-trading division by structuring cross-shareholdings centered on Shinseong Corporation and Shinseong Electronics, where his real-name and nominee shares are concentrated, and by attracting institutional investors and banks.

Among them, Shinseong Corporation, in which Jang Ho-geon has a large stake, holds quite a few shares of Shinseong Electronics. It was only natural to reinforce Shinseong Corporation, the base, ahead of the sibling’s internal war.

Grandfather took a sip of tea and calmed his breath.

“That’s the Jang’s problem. We need to step on those bastards firmly this time.”

Grandfather’s order didn’t seem like much, but the voice carrying that order was eerily chilling. Didn’t it mean that we had to drive out the Shinseong Group, which was meddling in the Australian mine project that we had marked first?

“I don’t know how they found out, but we need to prevent the Shinseong bastards from jumping into resource development. Director Lee.”

Grandfather called me Director Lee. Since the atmosphere was like this, I also had to treat Grandfather formally.

“Yes, Chairman.”

“Tell me what we should do. Isn’t the Australian project your idea?”

After pretending to think for a moment, I calmly opened my mouth.

“To grab Shinseong Group by the ankles, we need to revise the Yeongdeungpo redevelopment plan. It’s okay to give up some flesh if we can take the bone, Chairman.”

The ‘flesh of our group’ that I was suggesting to give up might become someone’s Achilles’ heel, but in just one year, we could snatch even the bones with that flesh from Shinseong Group. Curiosity arose on Grandfather’s face as he looked at me, who had offered the opinion.

“How so?”

“We need to create a joint venture with Shinseong Corporation by adding the two department store main building, the business complex to be built on the Mullae-dong clothing factory site, the Haedong Mart building to be built on the Yeongdeungpo redevelopment site, and even 400 billion won in cash.”

“Joint venture?”

Grandfather’s eyebrows twitched. The other adults with him also tilted their heads or frowned, but I calmly started the briefing without paying attention.

“Yes. Chairman Jang Ho-geon’s top priority will be to make Shinseong Corporation a strong fortress ahead of the internal war. If Haedong Corporation and Shinseong Corporation create a 50-50 joint venture and increase the value of the shares, Shinseong Corporation’s market capitalization will also increase.”

Grandfather smiled mockingly at me and chuckled.

“If we develop the Yeongdeungpo land and the Mullae-dong land as planned, it will be well over 500 billion won at market price. If we add 400 billion won in cash, Shinseong Corporation will have to contribute at least 700 billion won, but Jang Ho-geon won’t give that much.”

“So we need to tell Shinseong Corporation to only bring 400 billion won in cash, Chairman.”

“What? 400 billion?”

Grandfather only frowned at me, who answered without batting an eye, but the other adults seemed to be greatly shocked. How absurd would it be to hand it over for 400 billion won when 700 billion won is not enough?

“Director Lee. Even though the textile factory land was already promised, the Mullae-dong land has also been expanded inch by inch since the time of the founding chairman. Are you going to hand over all those lands, the hometown of Haedong Group’s manufacturing, to Jang Ho-geon?”

Among them, Bae Jae-hoon looked at me with a very hardened expression and shouted.

“I used the gatra fabric [traditional Arabian headdress fabric] I pulled from that textile factory to beat the Japanese bastards in Arabia. The clothes made by the female workers with their small hands in the clothing factory, I begged the Westerners to export them somehow. Does it make sense to sell that land?”

I am well aware that these are lands that Bae Jae-hoon has a great attachment to. Wasn’t he the one who started with Haedong Corporation’s textile division and caused a stir in the high-end gatra market, which was tightly held by Japan?

“I also know that you like Jang Ho-geon’s eldest daughter. Youth business is good, but family business comes first!”

Disappointment and anger surged in Bae Jae-hoon’s eyes as he glared at me, but I am also a guy who has come back from the river of death thanks to those Jang bastards. Of course, liking Jang Ha-yeon and crushing those bastards were separate issues.

While my and Bae Jae-hoon’s eyes were intertwined in the air, Grandfather intervened.

“CEO Bae.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

“If Director Lee was so stupid, he wouldn’t have even thought of snatching the Kazakhstan project from Jang Ho-geon. And what about the Australian zinc mine, even though it’s not entangled with Shinseong?”

Bae Jae-hoon’s face turned red at the two projects that Grandfather pointed out. Weren’t they projects that would earn the trading division hundreds of billions of won every year for decades?

“I’m sorry, Chairman. I was careless.”

Grandfather waved his hand at Bae Jae-hoon, who lowered his head.

“No. I understand how much you cherish that land. It’s not because of the price of the land, but because of the memories that have permeated the land. Director Lee, continue.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

At the order Grandfather gave after comforting Bae Jae-hoon, I calmly continued the persuasion.

“It’s true that I love a woman named Jang Ha-yeon. But I also know that youth business and family business are separate.”

“Ahem…”

“Hmm…”

All the adults coughed or looked elsewhere at my confession, but only Grandfather smiled slightly and looked at me.

“Personal matters are something you can do as your heart desires. Why would such a guy sell our land at a cheap price? Are you going to hand it over as your engagement gift?”

Grandfather’s sly expression and voice… I don’t dislike it personally, but it didn’t seem good for business.

“Please remind yourself once again why we are accumulating dollars and reducing our debt ratio, Chairman.”

Perhaps because there were signs that the answer you wanted was coming out, the corners of Grandfather’s mouth began to rise at my answer.