novelraw Chapter 63
Chapter 63
For a few days after the National Audit ended, the Republic of Korea was literally turned upside down.
[Daehan Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering suspected of multi-billion won rebates]
[Attempt to conceal losses through accounting ledger manipulation]
[Circumstances of organizational corruption involvement by the chaebol owner family]
Media outlets poured out provocative articles every day as if competing.
Real-time search terms on portal sites were all plastered with keywords related to Daehan Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering.
On various communities and SNS, comments from angry netizens poured out like a waterfall, creating a stir.
“Is this even a country!”
“Chaebols really have no answer. Every single one of them is rotten.”
Hundreds of petitions related to Daehan Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering were posted on the national petition board within a single day.Voices demanding a thorough investigation and words shouting for the arrest of all management also came out.
Even extreme opinions claiming the dissolution of the company were seen quite often.
The political circles also moved quickly.
Regardless of the ruling or opposition parties, politicians vied to denounce Daehan Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering.
Assemblymen who usually shouted for chaebol reform, as well as politicians who had put forward pro-corporate stances, all joined the ranks of criticism.
This public anger immediately spread to the financial market.
Daehan Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering's stock price began to plunge on the day of the National Audit and more than 40% evaporated in just a few days.
It was literally a crash.
“Is it really going to be delisted at this rate?”
“It’s already at half price, but I can’t even cut my losses.”
Individual investors were hoping the downward trend would decrease without even being able to do anything.
Institutional investors sold off their holdings little by little every day.
Foreign capital also escaped quickly.
“It’s a festival for the short sellers. Only the retail investors are dying.”
“If I had known it would be like this, I should have sold earlier….”
Even the media now began to mention the very existence of the corporation.
[Daehan Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering enters an irrecoverable stage]
[Daehan Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, once the pride of the shipbuilding industry, now reduced to a burden]
Everyone was turning their backs.
However, amidst all that chaos, one person showed a completely different movement.
The top floor office of HJ Partners headquarters.
I, Lim Hyunjun, was looking down at the city of Seoul while maintaining a peaceful expression as usual.
The monitor showed the stock price flow of Daehan Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering marked in blue in real-time.
“Representative, we secured all the target quantities today as well.”
Choi Seo-jun carefully handed over a report.
I nodded and checked the document.
“We secured 0.3% more today alone.”
“Yes, it is a total of 5.2% so far. The purchase unit price is being formed lower than expected. So, the overall budget actually has some leeway.”
Choi Seo-jun, who had stopped speaking for a moment, opened his mouth cautiously.
“Representative, are you really okay with this? Right now, the whole country is pointing fingers at Daehan Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering.”
I took my eyes off the monitor and leaned back in my chair.
“Representative Choi, do you know what the basics of investment are?”
“Are you talking about entering when others are afraid and coming out when others are greedy?”
“That’s right. Isn’t it exactly like that.”
I slowly turned my body and looked out the window.
The sun was slowly setting.
“Since we can secure stocks at the cheapest price when everyone else is avoiding them, where could there be a more perfect timing than this?”
Choi Seo-jun still had an expression that could not hide his concern.
“But what if Daehan Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering really becomes irrecoverable?”
I shook my head firmly.
“Well, it could happen. But even if it does, wouldn’t we have another way? Hahaha.”
My head turned toward the monitor again.
“I might be approaching it too cautiously…. If a large amount of money is tied up, it will act as a significant burden for us.”
“Representative Choi, your words also have a point. Generally, if a company is irrecoverable after going bankrupt, you would naturally get such a result. However, the shipbuilding industry is a business that the government cannot just leave alone.”
“Those words mean….”
I wore a confidence-filled expression and continued speaking calmly.
“I mean don’t worry too much. Ah, and I was approaching it too passively, but now I should go a bit more boldly.”
Choi Seo-jun's eyes widened as if he was surprised and he asked back.
“What?! Are you saying you will purchase even faster than now?”
“That’s right. At the current speed, it will take time to reach a meaningful shareholding ratio. I will increase the purchase scale.”
Choi Seo-jun spoke with a tense voice.
“May I ask how much you intend to secure?”
I looked at Choi Seo-jun and replied.
“At least 10%. That much should be enough to exert substantial influence on management rights.”
“10%…. That is a stake that even the board of directors cannot ignore.”
My pupils shone sharply.
“That is the goal I want.”
Choi Seo-jun wore a somewhat surprised expression.
I explained in more detail.
“Currently, the major shareholders of Daehan Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering are the National Pension Service, the founding family, and affiliates. However, everyone's position has shrunk due to this incident. Right now is precisely the opportunity to penetrate that gap.”
Choi Seo-jun took a deep breath and nodded.
“Will there be any trouble in securing funds?”
“At the current stock price level, we can sufficiently handle it. Rather, missing an opportunity like this is a bigger loss.”
I rose from my seat and walked to the window.
The city lights began to turn on one by one before my eyes.
“Looking at history, it was always like that. Those who moved in times of crisis became the masters of the next era.”
Looking at me with a solemn gaze, Choi Seo-jun continued.
“I will be careful so that our buying movement is not exposed to the market. I will buy in a dispersed manner using affiliates and multiple investment funds.”
“Good.”
I returned to my desk and sat in my chair, muttering one last thing.
“Something interesting will happen soon.”
***
The stock price graph of Daehan Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering was drawing a steep downward trend like a rock falling from a cliff.
In the continuous freefall every day, panic selling from investors poured out.
The concentrated fire from the media also played a part.
The restructuring issue of the shipbuilding industry and the government's firm attitude.
Overlapping with the fierce criticism from civil society, the stock market literally became a mess.
Daehan Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, which was once the pride of the shipbuilding industry, was collapsing helplessly.
On top of that, for a large corporation, its crisis response was too lax.
The management's response was always one step late, and the shareholders' trust plummeted toward the bottom.
However, even in the market dominated by such chaos and fear, someone was quietly sweeping up stocks.
The first person to capture that ominous sign was Han Ji-beom, the Managing Director of the Financial Strategy Headquarters of Daehan Group.
Even though he was over fifty, he still possessed sharp eyes, having been tempered in the global M&A market for 20 years.
Since he had witnessed and sometimes personally led numerous hostile M&As, his ability to read subtle changes in the market was superior to anyone else.
Han Ji-beom was carefully examining the trading volume pattern of Daehan Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering in his office where multiple monitors were turned on.
Something was strange.
The movement of the buying entities was clearly different from the patterns of general speculators or institutional investors.
“…It’s strange.”
He muttered and looked at the screen more closely.
The purchase timing was too sophisticated.
It was as if someone was moving by precisely calculating the flow of public opinion and investment sentiment.
It was a structure where once buying started in a specific account, other accounts followed in a chain.
It was moving like a single organic system.
Han Ji-beom's brow narrowed.
This was neither a blind buy by retail investors nor a pattern of speculators jumping in recklessly.
Han Ji-beom hurriedly headed to Vice Chairman Nam Jae-heon's office.
His footsteps were tinged with a tension different from usual.
The Vice Chairman, who used to commute to Daehan Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering recently, had stopped his steps toward that place these days.
It was for this reason that he didn't even want to look at it after the National Audit.
Fortunately, Vice Chairman Nam Jae-heon had come to the Daehan Group headquarters, saving him some trouble.
Entering the Vice Chairman's private office, he opened the door immediately without waiting for permission.
That was how much Han Ji-beom judged it to be a matter of urgency.
“Vice Chairman, I have something urgent to tell you.”
Nam Jae-heon, who was sitting at his desk working, raised his head and faced Han Ji-beom.
Resembling his father, Chairman Nam Kun-ho, he possessed a sharp impression.
“What is it?”
“I was monitoring the stock price flow of Daehan Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering recently. It seems HJ Partners is moving.”
“If it’s HJ Partners….”
A wrinkle formed between Nam Jae-heon's brows, perhaps as he recalled past events.
“Are you sure?”
“A direct connection has not been confirmed yet, but it is certain when analyzing their investment patterns.”
Han Ji-beom placed a tablet on the Vice Chairman's desk and lowered his voice.
The sharpness of a professional of decades was permeated in his expression.
“The way they move in accordance with market changes is too sophisticated.”
Nam Jae-heon frowned while looking at the tablet screen.
The purchase quantity, timing, and price range all felt as if they were calculated.
It appeared as if someone was seeing through the internal situation of Daehan Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering clearly.
Nam Jae-heon, who didn't speak for a while, leaned back in his chair.
He seemed to be organizing his thoughts.
After doing so, he scanned the status of treasury stock holdings placed on the desk and spoke firmly.
“I suppose I must purchase them.”
“…What?!”
Han Ji-beom's eyes grew round as if he was quite surprised.
He doubted his ears.
For the Vice Chairman to personally purchase treasury stocks was an unprecedented thing.
“Official mobilization of funds requires board approval. That would take at least a week.”
There was no hesitation at all in Nam Jae-heon's voice.
His gaze looked almost similar to his father, Chairman Nam Kun-ho.
“Time is of the essence right now. Even if I have to empty my personal funds, I will start purchasing treasury stocks. However, let’s not inform the outside of that fact for the time being.”
Han Ji-beom hesitated for a moment.
Purchasing treasury stocks with the Vice Chairman's personal assets was also a matter accompanied by various risks.
However, seeing Nam Jae-heon's expression, he looked as if he had already made up his mind.
He judged that he would not listen to any opposing opinions at such a time.
“I understand, Vice Chairman.”
After that day, Nam Jae-heon's desperate struggle began.
He literally disposed of his cash and assets in a hurry to purchase Daehan Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering stocks.
From then on, he did not let go of his cell phone from his hand day and night.
The first thing he did as soon as he woke up in the bedroom was check the stock price, and he looked into the day's stock chart until just before going to bed.
During the day, he looked at the real-time fluctuating charts so much that fatigue accumulated.
Simultaneously, Han Ji-beom quietly moved the Strategic Planning Office and the Legal Team.
Daehan Group's organizational power began to operate covertly.