Dongwoo Precision (4)
Sung Yoon-ah checked into it through a bond broker for me, and thanks to that, I was able to buy 1.3 billion won worth of Dongwoo Precision corporate bonds without revealing my identity.
At the price I paid, it came to 1.3 billion won, but if you added up the bonds’ original issue prices, the total was well over 120 billion.
From here on out, everything mattered.
Depending on how I handled this, those corporate bonds could become worth 120 billion won, or they could end up as nothing more than scraps of paper.
After work, I gave Seonwu a brief rundown of my investment plan.
When he heard it, he stared at me like I’d lost my mind.
“Wait. So let me get this straight—you bought the bonds of a company that’s basically falling apart?”
“Yeah.”
Seonwu shouted in disbelief.
“You dumped 1.3 billion into a junk bond?”
Fair enough. It was a shock.
I understood how he felt.
The way his eyes were wavering told me he wanted to pull his money out, but it was already too late.
I patted him on the shoulder and said, “Don’t worry.”
“Does that company even have the ability to pay its debts?”
“Not at all.”
“Ah…”
“You don’t have to make money in order to pay off debt.”
“What kind of bullshit is that? If you don’t make money, how do you repay anything?”
“Someone else pays it for you.”
“And who’s supposed to do that?”
I said with confidence, “That’s why you send it off to be adopted by a rich parent.”
“……Huh?”
My plan was simple.
Find a company that could acquire Dongwoo Precision, and make them do it. Then have that company pay the debt instead, and everything would be solved.
Seonwu still looked like his soul had left his body.
“Well, when you put it like that, it sounds really easy.”
Talking always made things sound easy. Execution was another matter entirely.
“It’s only in a liquidity crisis. In truth, Dongwoo Precision has excellent technology. There’ll definitely be companies interested in it.”
“What kind of technology?”
“Tech used in lithography processes. There are several different methods, and Dongwoo Precision produces parts for Nanoimprint Lithography, or NIL. Even though defects caused this mess, the technology and know-how Dongwoo Precision built up through years of R&D on NIL stamps are actually tremendous.”
Seonwu looked surprised after hearing my explanation.
“How do you know so much about semiconductors?”
I gave a small shrug.
“I studied a bit while working.”
The truth was, back when I was in school, I hadn’t known a damn thing. But once you work at a securities firm, the terminology starts to become familiar on its own.
That was because semiconductors accounted for the biggest share of the Korean stock market’s sector weighting.
It was so obvious that first-time investors always asked the same question: “Can I buy Yuseong Electronics?”
The value of the core NIL technologies and patents Dongwoo Precision currently held would exceed 10 trillion won within five years, and later on, they would have a huge impact on Korea’s semiconductor industry.
In a bad way.
I’d have liked to acquire it myself, if I could, but I didn’t have the money. And money alone wouldn’t have been enough anyway.
For Dongwoo Precision to rise to the top of the lithography equipment field, it had needed continuous investment and support from its parent company.
In other words, it needed not only money, but also the kind of technical capacity that could nurture it.
Fortunately, Korea had a semiconductor company with both money and technological strength. If I proposed an acquisition to that company?
They might as well hand over a pumpkin tangled in vine and rolling right to my feet.
The problem was how to make contact in the first place...
If I just showed up at headquarters and said, “I’ve come to bring you good news,” there was no way they’d let me in, was there?
The best way to meet a chaebol was to ask a chaebol for help.
And just then, one of the chaebols I knew called me.
“Thanks to you, the purchase went through smoothly.”
Sung Yoon-ah spoke with a worried tone.
I did help because you asked, Miru, but are you really sure this is okay?
“Of course.”
If Dongwoo Precision goes under because of this, won’t your friend end up resenting you?
Apparently, she thought all of it was my friend’s money. If she knew that 10 billion of it was mine, she’d be shocked.
“Ah! Since I already asked you for a favor, could I ask one more thing?”
What is it?
“Could you arrange a meeting with Chairman Yoo Jae-ho of the Yuseong Group?”
……What?
The Yuseong Group was the largest conglomerate in the country.
That made Chairman Yoo Jae-ho one of the most powerful men in Korean business. And I was asking to be introduced to someone like that.
W-What do you mean by that?
“It’s hard to explain right now, but it’s important. I promise it won’t cause you any trouble, Yoon-ah.”
Chairman Yoo Jae-ho...
“I really need to meet him. I know it’s a lot to ask, but please.”
After a moment of hesitation, Sung Yoon-ah let out a sigh.
All right. I can’t promise anything, but I’ll look into it.
Even if she was the daughter of DA Financial Group’s future chairwoman, setting up a meeting with Yoo Jae-ho wouldn’t be easy.
Still, it wasn’t impossible.
Chairman Yoo Jae-ho was known to be extremely fond of his cousin, Min Ah-reum, almost as if she were his own younger sister. They often appeared together in public for that reason.
And I knew Sung Yoon-ah was very close to her.
“Thank you, really.”
If you’re grateful, buy me a meal sometime.
I nodded quickly.
“Of course. What do you want to eat? I’ll buy anything.”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
After hanging up, Sung Yoon-ah muttered to herself.
“What on earth is he trying to do?”
She had worried that after quitting the company, he’d be left scrambling to figure out what to do with himself, but his moves were impossible to predict.
First he bought the subordinated BW of Dongwoo Precision while it was suspended from trading, and now he wanted her to arrange a meeting with Chairman Yoo Jae-ho.
Why does he insist on meeting him?
By then, curiosity had started to get the better of her.
Even in Korea, a country practically ruled by chaebols, the Yuseong Group stood out with overwhelming presence.
The group’s total market capitalization was around 700 trillion won, and Yuseong Electronics alone accounted for more than 20 percent of the KOSPI.
The chairman of that enormous group was Yoo Jae-ho.
He was a chaebol among chaebols, a chairman among chairmen.
She had seen him once or twice when she was little, but they had no direct connection. Still, that didn’t mean there was no way to reach him.
After thinking for a moment, Sung Yoon-ah picked up her phone and called someone.
“It’s me, unni.”
“Mm. Yoon-ah. What’s wrong?”
“Can I ask you for a favor?”
“What is it? Tell your unni.”
“Well...”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Being the granddaughter of the DA Financial Group was a serious advantage.
DA Bank was one of the top three banks in Korea.
Because banks deal in financial capital, they moved sums of money many times larger than their own market cap.
That was why ordinary companies tried hard to stay on good terms with banks. But once you got to the level of the Yuseong Group, things were different.
Because it wasn’t an “ordinary company.”
Yuseong Electronics was number one in the world in non-memory semiconductors, and even when you looked at the entire semiconductor market, it was one of the top three giants.
There was even a saying that if Korea collapsed, Yuseong Electronics would survive—but if Yuseong Electronics collapsed, Korea would collapse too.
Of course, that wasn’t literally true, but it showed just how large a share of Korean industry Yuseong Electronics held.
Its cash and cash equivalents alone exceeded 170 trillion won. In fact, the real question for them right now was where to invest all that money.
And if they ever needed cash, they could simply issue bonds.
Since Yuseong Electronics’ corporate bonds were treated almost on par with government bonds, they didn’t need to worry about banks’ opinions.
I had already asked Sung Yoon-ah for the favor, but in case it didn’t work out, I started preparing a Plan B. Surprisingly, however, the meeting was arranged right away.
He said he could meet tomorrow at 3 p.m.
“Really?”
Yes. I’ll come pick you up in Gangnam.
After the call ended, I clenched both fists and shouted, “Nice!”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The next day.
I dug out the suit I’d stuffed into my closet after quitting and put it on. After waiting a little while, Sung Yoon-ah came personally driving to Gangnam.
“Get in.”
I looked at the car and said, “Oh. Nice ride.”
It was a Mercedes-Benz S-Class.
Sung Yoon-ah smiled with her eyes. “I borrowed my mother’s car.”
Her hair was neatly tied back in one bundle, and she wore a perfectly tailored suit without a wrinkle out of place.
Once I got in, she drove toward Yuseong Town.
“Come to think of it, Miru, don’t you live in Gangnam?”
“Yeah. I’m staying at a friend’s place.”
She pointed toward a branded apartment visible behind me.
“Do you live there?”
I shook my head. “No chance.”
My place was a two-room villa.
Just because you lived in Gangnam didn’t mean you got to live in one of those huge apartment complexes.
The car turned around behind Yuseong Town and entered the parking garage. This entrance was restricted to pre-registered vehicles only.
By the time we descended to B2, an employee was already waiting there.
“Please follow me.”
We followed the employee and boarded a private elevator.
Chairman Yoo Jae-ho’s office was said to occupy the entire 46th floor of Building A.
When we walked down the corridor and entered, a spacious room came into view.
There was a man standing there.
He was 47 years old and about 175 centimeters tall.
His build was ordinary, but he looked healthy and well cared for.
His cheekbones were slightly pronounced and his jaw was round. He wore small silver-rimmed glasses, and there was a faint smile on his face.
In Korea, there were probably few people who didn’t know his face, even if they couldn’t recognize the faces of celebrities.
His name was Yoo Jae-ho.
He was the chairman of the Yuseong Group.
It was a little surreal to meet in person someone I’d only ever seen on television. Regressing really did come with a wide range of experiences.
Chairman Yoo Jae-ho welcomed us warmly.
“Welcome. Was the trip here comfortable?”
Maybe because he’d been born into the chaebol world from the start, every gesture and expression of his carried effortless ease.
Sung Yoon-ah bowed her head. “It’s an honor to meet you, Chairman.”
“The pleasure is mine. Come to think of it, it’s been a while since I last saw Vice Chairman Yang Ja-eun. How is your mother doing?”
“She’s doing well.”
“Since this is a private meeting, don’t be nervous. Just speak comfortably.”
Even so, Sung Yoon-ah still looked incredibly tense. Well, even among chaebols, there were levels.
Chairman Yoo Jae-ho turned his gaze to me.
“This is our first meeting. I’m Yoo Jae-ho.”
Since I wasn’t a chaebol, I introduced myself casually.
“Hello, Chairman. I’m Han Miru.”
Yoo Jae-ho’s eyes gleamed.
“I’ve heard about you. Thanks to you, we discovered the Primus Fund’s insolvency early and were able to greatly reduce the company’s losses. That was an excellent thing you did.”