Chapter 155
Chapter 155
Episode 155. The Land Grab Begins (2)
Hanwool Metal in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province.
It was a mid-sized company that started with an initial capital of 300 million won and achieved an average annual revenue of 30 billion won over three years across approximately 15 years.
A luxurious vehicle entered Hanwool Metal's parking lot, and three foreigners alighted.
Two men and one woman. The two men were bodyguards for the woman.
At that moment, one of the male employees passing by cautiously approached them.
The woman was dressed in a neat red two-piece pantsuit, appearing to be in her early twenties, with brown eyes and shoulder-length hair that she let sway.
Her appearance was quite striking, and the male employee stared blankly for a moment.
“…Ah, excuse me? Who?”
The male employee, due to them being foreigners, asked in broken Korean.
In response, the woman among the group took off her sunglasses and spoke in fluent Korean.
“Is the CEO here? I came because I wanted to meet him.”
“Ah! I see. But what is this regarding…?”
“I’m here for an important business discussion. It’s nothing bad, so could you please tell him I’d like to meet him?”
“Ah, understood. Please wait a moment.”
The male employee went inside and returned not long after.
“Please follow me.”
“Thank you.”
The woman, accompanied by her bodyguards, followed him into Hanwool Metal.
Upon entering the CEO’s office on the second floor, a middle-aged man standing up from his desk approached the woman.
“Hello. I am Lee Gyu-jong, the CEO of Hanwool Metal.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Irene Moretti, Strategy Investment Manager at Oculus Fund. Please feel free to call me Irene.”
As they exchanged greetings, they also exchanged business cards.
“As I heard from the employee earlier, you speak Korean very well.”
“To make investment proposals across the globe, one must know several languages.”
Lee Gyu-jong smiled and nodded at her explanation.
“You seem young, yet you are quite accomplished.”
“Believe it or not, I’ll be thirty next year.”
“Really? I thought you were in your early twenties.”
“Hahaha. I appreciate you seeing me that way.”
As pleasantries were exchanged, Lee Gyu-jong got to the point.
“So, what business matter have you come to discuss with Hanwool Metal?”
“Precisely, I’ve come to propose that you sell Hanwool Metal to Oculus Fund.”
At that moment, Lee Gyu-jong’s smiling expression stiffened slightly.
“…That seems like a rather sensitive proposal.”
“I am aware of Hanwool Metal’s current situation. Sales have been declining recently, additional corporate loans have been blocked, and soon the maturity dates for your bills and mid-term bonds will arrive, correct?”
The details were quite precise, forcing Lee Gyu-jong’s face to harden completely.
“What is your objective?”
“My only objective is to acquire Hanwool Metal as per instructions from my superiors. Of course, I will offer a generous price.”
In truth, Lee Gyu-jong himself had been keenly feeling the precariousness of the company’s operations.
Selling it hadn’t been entirely out of the question. However, it involved a considerable amount of debt, not to mention the sheer sum of money, so no one had been willing to buy it.
“Cough—! What price are you considering?”
Irene then removed her sunglasses and smiled.
“How about 25 billion won?”
It was certainly a substantial amount. Because of this, the deal seemed likely to be proposed easily.
However, Lee Gyu-jong judged that the other party’s generous offer was an opportunity.
“Surely you must have assessed the company’s value before coming here?”
“The land and facilities combined are worth only 2 billion won. And while the average annual revenue for the past three years, despite the downward trend, is 30 billion won, you’ve been running at a deficit, haven’t you? Considering the bonds with approaching maturity dates, I don’t think it’s a bad offer.”
Lee Gyu-jong’s eyebrows twitched at the point-by-point explanation.
“Doesn’t Oculus Fund believe Hanwool Metal has value?”
“Of course. But you, the CEO, are unaware of that value. Even if you were aware, you lack the immediate funds to utilize it, making it difficult for you.”
Since her words were not untrue, Lee Gyu-jong felt even more bitter.
“You’re hitting a rather sore spot.”
“Then how about 30 billion won? I’m making this offer again because I see you’re still contemplating.”
The sudden increase of 5 billion won made Lee Gyu-jong’s eyes waver significantly.
Watching his reaction, Irene continued to solidify the terms.
“This includes all corporate assets owned by Hanwool Metal and the assumption of employment. We will also handle the bills and bonds, so you don’t need to worry.”
“You’re not planning some kind of scam, are you?”
“We at Oculus Fund pursue only clean transactions. The sale proceeds can be deposited immediately upon contract signing, so there’s no need for concern.”
Lee Gyu-jong rolled his eyes, contemplating whether to push back once more.
Irene, sensing this, spoke again.
“Oculus Fund’s offer is up to 30 billion won. If you refuse, we’ll consider this matter closed.”
At that moment, Lee Gyu-jong’s distracting thoughts vanished, and he had to regain his composure.
“Ah, no! 30 billion won! Let’s go with 30 billion won. There’s no turning back!”
Irene immediately took out a paper contract from her bag and presented it. She filled in the company name, price, and other necessary details before handing it to Lee Gyu-jong.
“It’s fortunate that your decision is swift. Please review the contract and affix your seal.”
“Why is Oculus Fund in such a hurry to proceed so quickly?”
“Our company motto is not to delay decisions that have already been made.”
Meanwhile, Lee Gyu-jong meticulously read every single word of the contract, as if dissecting it. Even after checking it three times, he found no problematic clauses.
“…Are you really going to deposit the money immediately?”
“If you are still hesitant, please provide the account where you wish to receive the sale proceeds.”
“Why…?”
“We believe depositing half as an advance payment will help you make your decision.”
Lee Gyu-jong hesitated for a moment before writing his account number on a memo pad and handing it over.
Irene sent a message somewhere, and less than ten minutes later, a deposit alert rang on Lee Gyu-jong’s phone.
“Huk—!”
【Deposit: 15,000,000,000】
At that moment, Lee Gyu-jong grabbed his seal from his desk and stamped the contract with such speed it felt like he was trying to punch a hole through it.
* * *
TSF Investment Korea Branch.
Kwak Chi-young was receiving a report from Oh Han-sung about Dorothy McDaniel, who had departed the previous day.
“It seems to have gone more smoothly than expected. So, what did she find?”
“Upon checking the places she visited, it appears traces of Cui Xun were found in Seoul, Incheon, Mokpo, and Busan.”
At this explanation, Kwak Chi-young frowned and asked again.
“…Incheon? Precisely where in Incheon?”
“That would be… Incheon Port.”
“Did you confirm what kind of traces they were?”
Incheon Port was one of Kwak Chi-young’s sensitive locations.
“She was reportedly asking around, showing a photograph there.”
“…Did you confirm what the photograph was? More importantly, are you sure it was Cui Xun?”
“Based on CCTV footage and witness testimonies, it seems to have been Cui Xun. And the photograph was copied and received by a broker at the port.”
Oh Han-sung presented the copied photograph on paper.
Upon seeing it, Kwak Chi-young’s face contorted.
“…Isn’t this Ahn Deok-chil?”
“Yes, it is.”
“What was she asking about Ahn Deok-chil’s photograph?”
“She didn’t seem to know his name. That’s why she was asking about him, along with whether he had worked on a ship at the port.”
This deepened Kwak Chi-young’s suspicion.
“What is this? Could it be that Cui Xun found out about Bigeokdo? But why would she… do it herself instead of sending someone?”
If the real Cui Xun were alive, she would have already absconded with the 10 billion yuan in Ray Sung Group’s slush fund. She could have hired people for this, so it was strange that she was appearing in person and moving around.
“I also cannot understand her intentions.”
“Haa—! Is she trying to set up some kind of scheme? Or is Dorothy trying to make me suspicious?”
For some reason, Dorothy had returned to China with surprisingly little reaction.
“If that were her intention, wouldn’t it have been more certain to deposit funds into the Korea branch’s nominee accounts?”
“That’s too obvious a method. Rather, the fact that we are thinking this way might mean Cui Xun’s plan has already succeeded. But the problem is, why Incheon Port?”
More precisely, the issue was Dongyeol Bigeokdo, which could be reached by ship from Incheon Port, approximately 130 km to the southwest.
That was where Kwak Chi-young secretly operated the 666 Unit training camp.
It was for training recruits who had graduated from the organization’s CELLA. Of course, this was something he was doing with an executive planted in CELLA, and the organization must never know.
“Perhaps it would be best to relocate the camp, just in case?”
“No. That could be more conspicuous. If Cui Xun knows about the Bigeokdo camp, it could become a target.”
It was a situation that could only lead to a complex mind.
“For now, there are no further traces of Cui Xun. It seems no information has leaked from the port, so she might have given up after investigating something.”
“That’s a possibility. This is becoming quite troublesome, with so many issues to resolve… How is the liquidation list progressing?”
As the topic shifted, Oh Han-sung responded immediately.
“Preparations are about 60% complete, and if things go well, four items should be processed by the end of this month.”
“There have been no changes to the representative’s share collateral, correct?”
“As of yesterday’s confirmation, there were none. It seems it will be finalized without issue if the branch manager can just wrap up the bank-related matters.”
Kwak Chi-young replied with a sigh.
“To think we’d end up liquidating such valuable assets like this… So, how much will be secured once everything is processed?”
“Based on the completion of all liquidations, 480 billion won will be secured, bringing the total prepared funds to approximately 1.79 trillion won.”
“Then the remaining 210 billion won can be covered by disposing of nominee stocks.”
A total of 2 trillion won. These were the funds for the Black Ground Project that the TSF Korea Branch needed to prepare.
“The funds will be moved in a dispersed manner to avoid being traced.”
At this explanation, Kwak Chi-young rose from his seat and approached his desk. He then ran his finger over the nameplate on the desk as if caressing it.
【TSF Investment】
【President, Korea Office Kwak Chi-young】
“Is this name also nearing its end?”
“You’ve worked hard.”
Kwak Chi-young’s lips twitched.
“It’s not over yet. There’s the final project remaining, in addition to what we’ve done so far, so we must check everything meticulously.”
“I will be careful.”
“Ah, I heard that before Dorothy departed, she met with Baek Shin-woo. Were you unable to find out what was discussed?”
“It was a private meeting, so we have no information.”
“Haa….”
“I have confirmed that Branch Manager McDaniel has been in contact with LAOJIA. It is possible some deal was made in exchange for resolving MH Electronics’ issues.”
That was something Kwak Chi-young had anticipated.
“It would be fortunate if it were a simple transaction.”
“Since the incident went awry, there have been no actions connected to us, have there? Besides, CEO Baek Shin-woo must be preoccupied with managing MH Distribution.”
“After the prosecution’s investigation and accounting audit, they’ve thoroughly cleaned out the mess, so he must be busy. However, you cannot guarantee that place will remain quiet.”
Whether intentionally or unintentionally, Shinwoo’s actions so far had been a significant hindrance to Kwak Chi-young.
Woong— Woong—
Just then, his phone rang from his pocket, and Oh Han-sung stepped back slightly to answer it. As the call continued, Oh Han-sung’s brow began to furrow.
Kwak Chi-young, standing by his desk, also noticed this and sensed that something was amiss.