Chapter 35
Chapter 35
Translation: Godtl
"What the hell is going on?! A sudden dismissal?!"
The news struck like a bolt from the blue, shocking Chairman Oh Dong-young so severely that he jolted upright from his sickbed despite his advanced age.
"It appears President Oh Jae-hyun has pulled some strings. He persuaded the shareholders of LK Orient to convene a board meeting and passed the motion with a majority vote."
As a result, Chairman Oh Dong-young and his eldest son were ousted from LK Group's core holding company overnight.
"That bastard, what the hell is he—!"
It wasn't as if this came completely out of nowhere. His second son, Oh Jae-hyun, had been obsessively focusing only on the Japanese operations lately, even establishing a base there and staying for extended periods.
At the time, the chairman had simply thought his son was being diligent, but it turned out he'd been sharpening his knife all along to stab his own father and brother in the back.
"Why the hell would the shareholders side with that second son? They're all my friendly shares!"
LK Orient was a company Chairman Oh Dong-young had established early on to secure firm control. He'd carefully filled its shareholder roster exclusively with people who would side with him no matter what.
Some shares were even held by LK executives under regulations that prohibited their sale—perfect friendly shares that had to be surrendered entirely upon resignation.
"Yes. But even those executives sided with President Oh Jae-hyun. The other LK Orient shareholders too. He must have been working behind the scenes for a long time, secretly turning the shareholders against you without your knowledge."
"How dare these insolent bastards—"
Chairman Oh's entire body trembled with rage.
This was nothing short of a coup.
An outright act of defiance against his father's will—against the will of the group's chairman.
"That bastard Jae-hyun, living all his life as if he had no ambitions. And all this time, he was scheming something so vile behind my back?"
"Any man born into this world—especially one born of your bloodline, Chairman—who claims to have no ambition is lying. He simply hid it well until now."
Chairman Oh clutched his throbbing head.
First, he had to put out the immediate fire.
"Chief Yang. We can reverse this, right?"
"If you personally step in, it's possible. Issue a royal decree, and the shares aligned with President Oh Jae-hyun will return to you. But I can't guarantee every single one will come back."
"Why not?"
"By suddenly convening a board meeting to dismiss you, he's essentially declared war. President Oh Jae-hyun must have anticipated you'd intervene and that the controlling shares would be divided."
"Are you saying he's secured enough controlling shares to wage a share battle against me?"
"Yes. He wouldn't have made his move otherwise. We'll need to sort through everything carefully to know for sure."
Chairman Oh had handed over all management rights to his eldest son, the vice chairman, and stepped back from the front lines like a retired king, merely observing from the sidelines. He'd been waiting for the right moment to pass on the chairman's title—only for this to happen.
The biggest reason the friendly shares had defected was precisely because Chairman Oh had retreated to the backstage.
"Get everyone on the phone. No—I'll do it myself."
"Are you sure that's wise? Given your health..."
"That son of mine thinks he can break his father's will just because I've become a toothless tiger? Should I just sit back and watch? Before I die, I'll teach him some damn manners."
Though his eyes had grown dull with age, Chairman Oh's pupils now burned with the same vitality as in his prime. His body might be old, but he remained a born fighter whose blood boiled at the prospect of battle.
The only problem was that his opponent happened to be his own son.
＊＊＊
The Dieselgate scandal sent shockwaves across the world, including our country.
But now, not a single news outlet was talking about Dieselgate anymore.
[Chairman Oh Dong-young has begun reclaiming his controlling stake in LK Orient, marking the official start of the management dispute.]
[Due to what's being called the "War of Princes" within LK Group, the company's stock prices are currently fluctuating. LK Group has promised to quell the disturbance as quickly as possible to minimize impact on share prices—]
Every news channel was flooded with stories about LK Group.
The management battle had erupted when President Oh Jae-hyun, the second son, suddenly rose up during what everyone assumed would be a smooth succession process.
As they say, there's nothing more entertaining than watching a fight.
And this was a battle over the chairmanship of an entire conglomerate.
What's more—a second son betraying his father and older brother?
To outsiders, it was pure dopamine-fueled entertainment.
"But surprisingly, the stock prices aren't fluctuating much."
"Management disputes are usually a huge boon for the stock market, you know."
The nature of market booms in Korea's stock exchange differs from overseas markets.
Typically, overseas markets judge a company's growth potential, and if the company performs well, its stock prices inevitably rise.
But in Korea's domestic market, even with good performance, stocks remain range-bound.
Even major developments barely budge the trading range.
So what actually drives up Korean stock prices?
Precisely situations like this—management disputes.
A management dispute means both sides are scrambling to secure shares.
Naturally, they'll buy up available stocks, driving prices up—an ironic boon for shareholders.
In countries like the U.S., hostile M&As or activist hedge fund interventions aside, share-based management battles are rare. Japan strictly separates management and ownership, making such cases virtually nonexistent.
"It's like a special event unique to our country."
"Some might call it chaotic, but in another sense, it's an entertaining market."
However, this LK Group management battle wasn't unfolding on KOSPI.
"LK Group's ownership structure leans more toward Japan's model than Korea's. And above all, these are all unlisted companies, right? Unless it's an over-the-counter trade, there's no way to acquire shares—everyone's just sitting on their hands."
This had sparked widespread criticism.
In this succession battle, LK Group's domestic shares were utterly useless.
Only LK Orient's shares mattered.
Most people didn't even know LK Group had started in Japan and still had its holding company there, so many hastily bought LK Group stocks upon hearing about the succession battle—only to suffer heavy losses.
"The group deliberately made its ownership structure convoluted with circular shareholding. Of course ordinary people wouldn't know. Even securities firm employees probably had no clue."
No wonder it's known as the company with Korea's most complex circular shareholding structure.
"But... how much do you think they're willing to pay for our shares?"
The reason we were discussing LK Group in this conference room was precisely because of this.
The 300 billion won stake that JK Holdings sold to us.
Normally, it would've been a useless, forcibly tied-up stake, but now that it had become a key holding company share in this management battle, its value had skyrocketed.
"Hmm. Typically during management disputes, shares are bought at a 20% premium. KOSPI's historical record shows purchases at up to 50% above market price."
"Wow. 50% on 300 billion... That's sitting back and earning 150 billion."
"Tch. This is why seeing several moves ahead matters. Didn't our department head foresee President Oh Jae-hyun's 'War of Princes' and acquire this stake through OTC trading?"
Following the hunch that had started at LK Tower, tracing one clue after another, we had somehow ended up participating in the noisiest management dispute in Korea—the battle for control of LK Group.
Well, to be precise, it would be more accurate to say we were maintaining neutrality.
"But we still haven't gotten any concrete contact from them."
"Their ownership structure is tangled enough as it is, and they're probably still in the process of verifying things."
"What if they just pass over our shares entirely?"
"That... isn't entirely impossible. The outcome could be decided without our shares playing a role."
If that happened, we'd be left holding the bag—like a dog chasing chickens.
Even if we tried to sell the shares again, there'd be no one willing to buy them at a fair price.
"Let's just wait for now."
Like patient fishermen, we had no choice but to wait quietly until someone took the bait.
Besides, hadn't my instincts strongly guided me to acquire these shares in the first place?
But what if we really do get passed over?
Then those 300 billion would be locked up in LK Group indefinitely.
Until the next generation started their own battle for control.
＊＊＊
"Vice Chairman. What the hell is going on all of a sudden? Why is everyone suddenly scrambling to meet me?"
Hwang Dae-un, CEO of Gwangun Securities, was utterly bewildered by the flood of meeting requests pouring in from all directions.
LK Group, in particular, stood out the most.
"LK Group's second son has launched a full-scale rebellion, and chaos has broken out, hasn't it?"
"That's right."
"If LK Group wants to fight for control, they should be doing it in Japan, not Korea. The problem is, all those companies are unlisted, so outsiders don't even have a chance to get involved. According to the latest intel, Chairman Oh Dong-young and President Oh Jae-hyun's factions are currently evenly matched."
No matter how old Chairman Oh Dong-young had gotten, it was still shocking.
To think things had gotten this close with his second son.
"President Oh Jae-hyun has done well in rallying shareholders, but the bigger reason seems to be growing doubts about the eldest son, Vice Chairman Oh Seung-hyun's management skills. Even if they're friendly shares from Chairman Oh Dong-young's era, that was decades ago, and with a portion of LK Group's revenue flowing to LK Orient, shareholders are naturally demanding higher dividends."
"And?"
"Several companies are tangled up in LK Orient, one of which is JK Holdings—an investment firm operating in Japan. Do you know what their main investment was?"
"How would I?"
"European stocks. Specifically, Stumbagen."
"Ah—"
Then they must have suffered massive losses from this incident.
"On top of that, they were long on Stumbagen while shorting its competitors, so the losses were severe enough to trigger margin calls. Once their liquidity dried up, they started liquidating everything they had—and one of those assets was their stake in the industrial holding company."
"The industrial holding company...?"
"It's an unlisted company with a significant stake in LK Orient, originally set up by the founding chairman with only friendly shares to solidify control. They offloaded 17% of their stake in an over-the-counter deal—which, when calculated against the total shares, amounts to 5% of LK Orient's controlling stake."
Five percent of the controlling stake.
Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't be particularly valuable.
But in a management dispute, that 5% could be a game-changer.
"And didn't I mention earlier? Right now, Chairman Oh Dong-young and President Oh Jae-hyun's control ratios are almost equal."
"So that 5% would act as the casting vote?"
"Yes. And that 5% is currently in our possession."
"...What?"
Hwang Dae-un blinked in shock.
How the hell did we end up with that 5%?
Then something suddenly flashed through his mind.
"Wait. Didn't Jin-ho say he spent 300 billion won in an over-the-counter trade last time? Don't tell me that was it?"
Normally, when a company makes a transaction worth hundreds of billions, it goes through reviews by various departments.
Is this really the right investment decision? Is the risk management solid?
The final approval is ultimately given by the president.
But Jeong Jin-ho's department didn't have such complicated intermediate steps.
If Jin-ho wanted, he could make any trade he pleased.
This was an unprecedented level of authority, something unheard of in any other securities firm.
That's why CEO Hwang Dae-un only received brief reports on Jin-ho's investments, no matter where he put his money.
The deeper he looked into it, the more anxious he became about the risks, and he didn't want to nag pointlessly out of unnecessary worry.
But now, Jeong Jin-ho held the shares that would decide the next chairman of the LK Group.
"..."
His throat suddenly felt parched, and he gulped down some water.
Could all of this have been Jin-ho's plan from the start?
He short-sold Stumbagen to drive the price down endlessly, forcing JK Holdings to relinquish their shares, then secured those shares before the succession battle even began, waiting to become the casting vote.
"Isn't this just too perfect to be a coincidence?"
"Hah—. This is exactly why I didn't want to look too closely into Jin-ho's investments. Damn, this is making my heart race."
That explained why meeting requests had been pouring in.
Not just from the LK Group, but even from other funds.
"Are you sure this 5% is the casting vote?"
"For now, yes. But if we demand an outrageous price, both sides might just decide to pass on these shares altogether. They wouldn't want to waste all their ammunition just to secure 5%."
From what CEO Hwang Dae-un knew, the highest price ever paid for a management stake in a public offering was 50%.
"What should we do?"
"What do you mean, what should we do? Jin-ho bought them, so the decision is his. Reject all meeting requests."
This was no longer a game where President Hwang could intervene.
There was just one thing he was curious about—
Just how much does Jin-ho plan to sell these for?
＊＊＊
Despite the ongoing management battle, we hadn't heard anything, making us wonder if they were really going to pass on us after all.
Maybe the game was already over, and they were just preparing a press release.
But it seemed they, too, had only belatedly realized, after scrambling to gather their complex shareholdings, that the 5% we held would decide the outcome of this battle.
"But if we push too hard, they might just pass on us..."
Securing shares was essential in a management battle, but if you crossed the line, both sides were more likely to negotiate and pass rather than fatten your pockets.
Hadn't there been plenty of cases where greed led to being passed over and suffering losses?
In that case, my role was to find the right price.
If you bought, you had to sell to realize the profit.
"...30%?"
I tested the waters with a slightly aggressive bid.
No reaction.
"40%?"
I wrote 40 next to it, but still no response.
Slowly, I kept raising the price.
50, 70, 90...
"Still nothing?"
Was I quoting too high? Or did they need a more precise figure?
"Let's just keep going."
Well, it was just me raising the price anyway.
Might as well write whatever I wanted.
So I kept increasing the number.
"...!"
But then, surprisingly, the pen stopped at one figure.
And the thrill rising from that endpoint told me—
This was the fair price for the 5% stake.
For a moment, I doubted my eyes.
"Three times?"
They'd burn 900 billion won on a mere 5%?