One Week Later
Daehung Group Headquarters
Chairman's Office
Inside the spacious office, Chairman Park Tae-hong sat alone at his mahogany desk, holding a newspaper with both hands as he read an article on the economy section.
[Bribery Scandal at the Financial Supervisory Service Confirmed]
As the Board of Audit and Inspection continues its investigation, evidence has emerged that former and current executives of the Financial Supervisory Service, including the former chairman, accepted bribes amounting to billions of won in connection with the IPO of Oseong Information & Communications. This revelation has sparked widespread criticism.
Before Oseong Information & Communications went public, the Financial Supervisory Service reviewed its external audit report and discovered that outdated inventory assets had not been properly written down.
By regulation, they should have ordered corrections and halted the company's listing. However, it has now come to light that not only Oseong Information & Communications but also over ten other companies, including Seonjin Leather, provided bribes to Financial Supervisory Service officials at the time of their IPOs.
In response, the opposition party, the New Era National Assembly, has called for a thorough investigation into this large-scale, systemic corruption scandal and has formally requested a prosecution-led inquiry to ensure those responsible are punished as an example to others.
Furthermore, they pointed out that all the companies implicated in this scandal had gone public through Donghae Peregrine Securities, urging authorities to investigate whether the securities firm was complicit in the wrongdoing.
In addition, New Era National Assembly Secretary-General Woo Chun-il has raised suspicions that the Financial Supervisory Service deliberately downplayed an alleged stock manipulation case led by the eldest son of Donghae Group's Chairman Woo Yong-gap during the recent high-profile Mido Department Store M&A. He has formally requested both the Board of Audit and Inspection and the prosecution to reopen the investigation.
As Chairman Park Tae-hong read the article filled with unfavorable news about Donghae Group, a look of satisfaction spread across his face. He murmured to himself,
"Even in difficult times, following Seok-won's advice and making sure to hand out money at the right moments is paying off."
Over the past week, the leading opposition party, New Era National Assembly, had been relentless in attacking the Financial Supervisory Service and Donghae Group over the bribery scandal, making daily headlines.
As a result, public sentiment toward Donghae Group, already under fire for allegedly leveraging foreign capital to acquire domestic companies through M&As, had plummeted to rock bottom.
At that moment, a knock sounded at the door, and Chief Secretary Gil Sung-ho entered the room.
"Chairman, I have something to report."
Chairman Park set down the newspaper and gestured toward the sofa in front of him with a nod.
"Sit there."
Rising from his chair, Park Tae-hong walked around his desk and took a seat in the middle of the sofa. Gil Sung-ho sat down on his right.
Out of habit, Chairman Park reached for a wooden cigarette case on the table and placed a cigarette between his lips. Seeing this, Gil Sung-ho quickly lit a lighter and held it up for him.
"Hoo—"
Exhaling a puff of white smoke, Chairman Park leaned back and asked,
"So, what is it?"
With a bright expression, Gil Sung-ho delivered the news.
"We just received word that the court has dismissed Donghae Group's injunction request to prohibit the sale of shares."
Hearing the long-awaited good news, Chairman Park's face lit up.
"So now, there's no issue with transferring the textile company shares held by Mido Department Store to the venture capital firm?"
"That's correct."
With a cigarette between his fingers, Chairman Park let out a satisfied chuckle.
"By now, that bastard Chairman Woo must be losing his mind."
Gil Sung-ho also smiled as he responded.
"Considering that this has completely derailed his plan to forcibly take over Mido Department Store and absorb our entire group, he must be furious."
"Of course. Not to mention, he paid as much as 70,000 won per share to aggressively buy up Mido Department Store's stock. He must be feeling the burn."
Chairman Park scoffed in amusement before continuing, now visibly more at ease.
"Then don't waste any time—proceed with transferring the textile company shares immediately."
"Understood."
"By the way, what's Mido Department Store's current stock price?"
"When we announced the reverse M&A, the stock price shot up to the high 70,000 won range per share, but it has since dropped and has been fluctuating around 69,000 won for the past few days."
Chairman Park Tae-hong tapped the ash from his cigarette into a crystal ashtray, his expression contemplative.
"Once this news gets out, the stock price will drop even further."
"It's highly likely."
Clicking his tongue slightly, Chairman Park spoke in a bitter tone.
"It would be best if Woo just gave up at this point, but he won't, will he?"
"Considering how much money he's already poured in, it won't be easy for him to walk away."
"True. If I were in his shoes, I wouldn't either."
Having already sunk an enormous amount of capital into the venture, pulling out now would be nearly impossible.
At this point, the battle wasn't yet decisively won or lost. Rather, Daehung Group had managed to recover from its early disadvantage, bringing the contest to a dead heat. It was no surprise that Chairman Woo Yong-gap and Donghae Group couldn't bring themselves to let go.
"When is the extraordinary general meeting scheduled?"
"Saturday, the 25th of next month."
"So, about a month left."
Chairman Park stubbed out his half-smoked cigarette in the crystal ashtray.
"They'll try to amass as many shares as possible before the shareholder register closes."
"Dragging this out any longer won't benefit Donghae Group, so they'll likely push to settle everything at the upcoming general meeting."
"I think so too."
Chairman Park's expression hardened slightly as he looked at Chief Secretary Gil Sung-ho.
"How much of Mido Department Store's stock have we secured so far?"
"As per the Seok-won's strategy, we haven't been aggressively buying. Our stake is still at 31.2%, with little change."
A flicker of anxiety crossed Chairman Park's face.
"I understand Seok-won's argument—that Mido's stock has surged too high, and buying at these inflated prices could become a financial burden later. But while we're holding back, the other side is taking on dollar-denominated debt to keep acquiring shares. Are we being too passive?"
By acquiring shares from Chun Sung-deuk, a major player in Myeong-dong's private loan market, they had significantly increased their holdings in one swoop.
However, Donghae Group had countered by pouring in over 140 billion won through a public tender offer, securing an additional 13.24% stake. If a shareholder vote were held today, victory would be far from guaranteed.
Sensing Chairman Park's unease, Gil Sung-ho reassured him.
"Seok-won is certain that next month's extraordinary general meeting will never take place. I think we should trust him."
Chairman Park glanced at him with a curious look.
"You've always been the type to prefer certainty over risk. Yet, despite knowing Donghae Group keeps increasing its stake in Mido, you're saying we should just trust Seok-won? That's a bit unexpected."
Frankly, Chairman Park had expected Gil Sung-ho to be the one expressing concern first.
But instead, Gil seemed even more confident in Seok-won (the Vice President) than he was, which caught him off guard.
Gil Sung-ho gave a slight smile and responded somewhat sheepishly.
"Well… The Vice President has handled every seemingly difficult challenge—especially this ongoing fight with Donghae Group—so effortlessly. And each time, he has delivered results beyond expectations. Without even realizing it, I've started to believe that he'll do the same this time too."
"That's true. That kid is no ordinary man."
Chairman Park chuckled, a hint of pride and admiration in his expression.
"Besides, if we proceed with the sale of the textile company shares as planned and make it appear as though we're focusing our funds on aggressively acquiring Donghae Oil's shares, Donghae Group will find it much harder to continue pouring money into buying Mido's stock at the current pace."
"Exactly. Even though shares are still being bought, Mido's stock price has already started declining. That's not a coincidence."
"That's right."
They planned to transfer their textile shares to a venture capital firm through a block deal and use the proceeds to lend funds to both the Woo Bo Foundation and Daehung Textiles in the form of loans.
If those two entities, now holding hundreds of billions of won in cash, began aggressively acquiring Donghae Oil shares, Donghae Group would inevitably feel the pressure and hesitate—just as Chief Secretary Gil Sung-ho had predicted.
Chairman Park Tae-hong leaned back against the sofa and gave a small nod.
"One way or another, this battle will be settled within a week or two."
"That seems likely."
Then, as if something had suddenly come to mind, Chairman Park raised his head.
"By the way, Seok-won mentioned he was taking a short trip to Hong Kong, didn't he?"
"Yes, he should have arrived by now."
* * *
Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
At the rooftop helipad of The Peninsula Hotel—one of Hong Kong's most prestigious hotels, known for its breathtaking views of Victoria Harbour—a tall, well-dressed Caucasian man stood waiting.
Wearing a sharp suit and sunglasses, the man was none other than Eric Bernas, the fund manager of Jupiter Fund, a shell company established by Eldorado Fund.
Opened in 1928, The Peninsula was the only hotel in Hong Kong with a helipad, a testament to its unrivaled prestige and exclusivity.
As Eric stood under the blazing sun, he finally heard the distant hum of rotor blades.
Turning toward the sea, he raised a hand to shield his eyes from the glare and spotted a small black dot approaching from the horizon.
"That must be it."
Sleek and powerful, the twin-engine Bell 412 helicopter—designed to carry up to 13 passengers—cut swiftly across the clear blue sky.
Circling once over the hotel, it slowly descended before landing precisely on the wide, green-painted helipad.
Eric, standing at a distance, held down his jacket and hair against the strong rotor winds and bent slightly forward as he approached the aircraft.
By the time he reached it, the side door swung open, revealing a towering Black man with a muscular build.
Despite the strong rotor wash, the man stood firm, scanning the surroundings before stepping aside.
From inside, a young East Asian man wearing sunglasses emerged—Seok-won.
"Welcome to Hong Kong!"
Eric grinned, as he called out.
Seok-won extended a hand for a quick handshake and responded in fluent English.
"Thanks. I'm not late, am I?"
"No, you've arrived right on time."
Eric glanced at his watch and confirmed.
By now, the helicopter's engine and rotors had come to a complete stop. Seok-won gave a slight nod.
"It's impolite to keep our guests waiting. Let's head straight there."
"This way. Follow me."
Gesturing toward the entrance, Eric took the lead.
With his bodyguards, Baucus and Han Ji-sung, following close behind, Seok-won strode forward and stepped into the hotel.