Chairman Park Tae-hong's eyes flew wide open in shock, prompting Chief Secretary Gil Sung-ho, standing beside him, to call out urgently.
"Chairman! What's the matter?"
"Are you alright?"
President Park Jin-hyung, the eldest son, and Executive Director Cho Yoon-won also looked at Chairman Park with concerned expressions.
"Whew…"
Chairman Park, who had even forgotten to breathe, finally let out a deflating breath and slowly lifted his head.
"Is this… is this number here really correct?"
"You know I'd never mess around when it comes to money."
Seok-won gave a nonchalant shrug.
With eyes still wide and brimming with disbelief, Chairman Park looked back down at the financial report in his hands. Then, he suddenly burst into hearty laughter.
"Hahaha! I knew it. You've pulled off something big again."
As he laughed so loudly it seemed to shake the room, the other three could only exchange confused glances.
President Park Jin-hyung threw a sideways glance at his younger brother sitting next to him, then looked back at the chairman and asked,
"What did Seok-won do this time?"
"Haha! See for yourself."
Unable to suppress his laughter, Chairman Park handed over the report he was holding.
President Park took the file and scanned through the contents. His eyes widened in shock as he abruptly looked up at Seok-won.
"What is this?"
With both Chairman Park and President Park reacting that way, the confusion between the remaining two only deepened.
'What in the world is going on?'
'Did the young master cause some kind of trouble?'
But Seok-won responded calmly, as if it was nothing special.
"Remember how you entrusted me with the group's spare funds that we converted into dollars a while back?"
"Y-yeah, I remember."
"These are the profits I made from managing that money."
Even after the explanation, President Park kept switching his gaze between the financial report and his younger brother, unable to hide his disbelief.
"It hasn't even been three months since you took it… and you've grown the money this much?"
"If I'd had more funds to work with, the profits would've been even bigger. That's the only regret I have."
Seok-won's casual tone left President Park Jin-hyung dumbfounded.
"This isn't the time to be saying that."
"I told you before—once you leave the money with me, I'll grow it without fail."
With a sly grin tugging at one corner of his mouth, Seok-won looked utterly confident. President Park shook his head, as if admitting defeat.
"You crazy..."
Executive Director Cho Yoon-won, already uneasy about entrusting all of the group's spare funds to Seok-won, couldn't suppress his curiosity any longer and interjected.
"Seems like the return was quite significant?"
"Well… here, see for yourself."
Looking as though he still didn't know how to put it into words, President Park placed the file on the table and opened it so everyone could see.
[Investment Principal: 320,000,000 USD
Return Rate: 34.4%
Profit: 110,160,000 USD
Expenses: 22,032,000 USD (including management fees)
Net Profit: 88,128,000 USD
Total with Principal: 408,128,000 USD]
"...!"
"Whoa!"
Chief Secretary Gil Sung-ho and Executive Director Cho Yoon-won gasped simultaneously as they processed the numbers in front of them.
They even rubbed their eyes and stared again, wondering if they'd misread it. President Park simply nodded, as if saying he understood their shock.
He'd reacted the exact same way when he first saw the financial statement.
At that moment, Chairman Park Tae-hong once again burst out laughing and pointed dramatically at Seok-won with one arm.
"Wahahaha! Didn't I always say that boy has a natural talent for making money?"
Unable to contain his pride, Chairman Park beamed from ear to ear.
"Yes, sir. It certainly seems that way. But… how in the world did you do it?"
Executive Director Cho Yoon-won nodded slowly, still looking dazed.
Seeing that, Chief Secretary Gil Sung-ho also opened his mouth in genuine admiration.
"A return of 34%... I'm honestly at a loss for words. Truly impressive, sir."
With even the two notoriously strict executives within the company sincerely expressing their amazement, Chairman Park Tae-hong looked as if he were the one responsible for the achievement, puffing out his chest with pride.
"Well, everything's great, except that the management fee was a bit steep."
Chairman Park tried to suppress the grin creeping onto his face, instead putting on a mock grumble.
Seok-won chuckled and played along.
"That's why I gave you the family discount, didn't I?"
"What good is that? You still took 20%!"
"Then maybe next time you should hand it over to someone else."
"Hey now, don't twist the conversation like that!"
Chairman Park snorted and turned his head in mock frustration.
"How much would eighty-eight million dollars be in Korean won?"
Quickly calculating in his head, Executive Director Cho Yoon-won replied almost immediately.
"Today's exchange rate is 1,021 won to the dollar. That comes out to approximately 89.978 billion won."
"Whoa!"
Chairman Park let out a low whistle of awe, a look of deep satisfaction spreading across his face.
"Nearly 90 billion… With that kind of money, there's really no need to borrow at high interest from the bank. What do you all think?"
Executive Director Cho glanced across the table at Seok-won before answering.
"The loan we were planning to take out was for 50 billion won, so the profit alone more than covers it."
"I agree completely."
"I also think there's no need to take out a loan now."
With President Park Jin-hyung, the last to speak, also in agreement, Chairman Park nodded firmly.
"In a situation like this, it's best to minimize debt whenever possible. Cancel the loan—consider it off the table."
"Yes, sir."
"Understood."
Just then, Seok-won, who had been listening quietly, interjected in a calm voice.
"If the funds aren't urgently needed, it would be better to leave the principal and the profit in dollars for the time being instead of converting them back."
President Park caught the implication immediately and turned to his younger brother with a serious expression.
"You mean we could benefit from the exchange rate if we wait a little longer, right?"
"That's right. I think everyone's aware that foreign investment has been steadily exiting the stock market due to speculative attacks on the won," Seok-won said.
The previously buoyant atmosphere immediately turned somber, and everyone's expression grew serious.
Thanks to early debt reduction and austerity measures, Daehung Group had weathered the situation better than most conglomerates—but the economic downturn had still taken its toll.
In fact, since one of their core businesses was department stores, the slump in consumer spending had hit them particularly hard.
"Seeing the chaos in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, what exactly were the Blue House and the government doing? Ugh." Chairman Park Tae-hong crossed his arms, voicing his dissatisfaction.
"It's true they were poorly prepared," Seok-won said. "But with the presidential election just a few months away, it's been difficult for the government to act decisively. That only made the situation worse."
President Park Jin-hyung nodded in agreement and added, "Just look at the Gi-Chang Motors incident. Vice Premier Lee Eun-hyung dragged things out because of conspiracy theories suggesting he was trying to hand the company over to SaSeong Group."
As Gi-Chang Group plunged into crisis and seemed unable to survive on its own, rumors began circulating in the Yeouido financial district. They claimed that Vice Premier Lee Eun-hyung—who was also a National Assembly member from Busan—was plotting to hand over Gi-Chang Motors, a Jeolla-based company, to SaSeong Group, which operated factories in Busan.
Under pressure, Vice Premier Lee found himself stuck. The ruling party and the government, nervous about alienating Jeolla voters ahead of the presidential election, were reluctant to intervene.
"The country's on the brink of collapse, and this is how they act?" Chairman Park clicked his tongue in disapproval.
"In any case, now that the country's weaknesses are fully exposed and currency speculators have launched their assault, it'll be nearly impossible to stop them."
"You're probably right."
Chairman Park acknowledged the seriousness of the situation and agreed with his second son.
"If the foreign reserves dry up and the country ends up asking the IMF for a bailout, the value of the dollar will skyrocket."
"Even now, it's hard to buy dollars—banks don't have enough, and in Myeongdong you have to pay a premium just to get any. So the longer we hold on to our dollars, the more valuable they'll become."
"Exactly. If we hold on as long as possible and use the funds at a critical moment, we can maximize exchange gains and benefit in several other ways too."
"I feel the same way."
Chairman Park looked intently at Seok-won and said, "Because of the financial market stabilization measures announced by the government, we'll be pressured to convert any incoming dollars if they enter through the group's accounts. So for now, you hold onto them."
"Yes, sir."
Since it was clearly the better choice, President Park Jin-hyung and the two executives offered no objection.
Chairman Park Tae-hong, now visibly more at ease, leaned back in his chair.
"Thanks to you, I can finally breathe a little easier."
"There's one more thing I'd like to bring up," Seok-won said.
"Go ahead."
"You mentioned before that you'd hand over the securities firm to me. Do you still feel the same way?"
Chairman Park raised a single eyebrow as he glanced at Seok-won.
"I do. So, you've finally decided to take it?"
"Yes."
It was no secret within the group that Daehung Securities and the venture capital arm were earmarked for the youngest son as part of a planned split-off, so President Park Jin-hyung and the two executives weren't particularly surprised.
"Rather than having the shares simply handed over, which could create complications, I'll purchase Daehung Securities' shares through a block deal."
Chairman Park showed little reaction—he had already discussed this with Seok-won once before—but the other three men looked at him with wide eyes.
"With the stock market crash, Daehung Securities' stock has dropped significantly. This is the perfect time to acquire the shares."
"That's true."
Chairman Park replied, his expression slightly pained.
The KOSPI had fallen to less than half its previous level, and across the board, share prices were scraping the bottom. That included Daehung Securities and other affiliates of the group.
"I did some rough calculations, and the value of the securities firm shares the group holds is about 22 billion won."
"Ugh…"
A groan slipped from Chairman Park's lips.
It was no wonder. The shares had been acquired for 114.2 billion won just a few years ago. To see their value shrink so drastically was painful.
"But coincidentally, that amount almost exactly matches the performance fee you agreed to pay from the investment returns. So why not just call it even?"
"How much was the fee again?" Chairman Park asked.
Secretary Gil Sung-ho promptly replied, "22.03 million dollars, sir. At today's exchange rate, it's roughly equivalent to the value of Daehung Securities' stake. Just as the young master said."
Chairman Park grumbled, putting on a sulky face.
"You little rascal. You should at least add a control premium to the price."
"But I'm paying in dollars—which will bring you a nice exchange gain."
"Grr…"
Chairman Park Tae-hong frowned, struggling to come up with a response.
"Damn it. That fee really was too expensive."
There was something infuriating about dealing with Seok-won—he always ended up feeling like he'd been conned with his eyes wide open.
"If you keep complaining, I might just refuse to manage your money from now on."
"You can't be serious!"
"It's my choice, isn't it?"
Chairman Park suddenly panicked at the thought that Seok-won might actually refuse next time.
"I didn't mean it like that. It was just a figure of speech."
Then he quickly turned to Executive Director Cho Yoon-won and gestured urgently.
"Director Cho! Draft up the contract and transfer the shares immediately."
"Today, sir?" Cho asked, startled by the abruptness. It was like being told to grill beans on a lightning bolt.
"Yes, today! If we delay and the stock price drops even more, I'll get even less money out of it."
"Ah, understood."
"Oh, come on. Do you really think I'd pull something like that?"
Seok-won replied playfully, but Chairman Park shot back with a scowl.
"With you? Absolutely."
"That's harsh."
As Seok-won put on a mock-hurt expression, President Park Jin-hyung, sitting nearby, struggled to suppress a laugh.