Hyun Yi-soo looked at Park Jin-hyuk, who seemed almost solemn.
It was pitiable to see Park Jin-hyuk in a position where he had to be wary of his siblings, stepmother, uncle, and now even his father. However, there was no sign of fatigue on Park Jin-hyuk’s face. Instead, a faint smile that hinted at interest and amusement played on his lips.
“Shouldn’t we prepare? If I prepare personally, it will undoubtedly make the Chairman wary. That is why I intend to put Dongjeong Industry at the forefront. Dongjeong Industry has a justification.”
“A justification?”
“Yes. The justification of my existence. A grandfather worried about his grandson. Wouldn’t that be enough of a reason for Dongjeong Industry to intervene in the succession structure of DS?”
“The Chairman likely won’t want any intervention.”
“He won’t. But if they acquire shares and act as a white knight, he won’t refuse.”
“Then…”
“Yes. I plan to use Dongjeong Industry as a front to acquire the shares.”
Hyun Yi-soo was lost for words. The flow of the succession structure he had imagined was not like this.
He had pictured a natural transfer of shares from Park Jun-man to Park Jin-hyuk, which would simply require the money to process it. That was the extent of the picture Hyun Yi-soo had in mind.
However, Park Jin-hyuk seemed to believe that there would be no peaceful transfer of shares. Therefore, he was preparing for a battle by attempting to acquire DS shares, seemingly intending to use Dongjeong Industry as a tool to achieve that.
Park Jin-hyuk assumed that Hyun Yi-soo understood enough by now.
“Let’s prepare for the worst-case scenario. The worst case would be a share battle between the Chairman and me. I will use Dongjeong Industry as a tool to prepare for that, and the fuel for that tool will be the $800 million I receive for handing over Novo to DS Pharmaceutical. Now, President Hyun, please devise a plan to use that money through Dongjeong Industry to acquire DS shares. I only have the broad concept; I don’t know the fine details.”
At Park Jin-hyuk’s words, Hyun Yi-soo organized the information in his head before answering.
“My current thought is that with $800 million — a little less than one trillion won — it would be best to establish an investment company.”
“An investment company?”
“If you invest personally, you will eventually have to move in a way that reveals your plans to the entire world. However, if you establish an investment firm and move through it, your movements will be filtered at least once. This will allow you to hide your intentions from the opposition. Of course, it won’t hide them perfectly, but wouldn’t that alone remove many constraints on your movement?”
“That sounds good. That’s exactly what I wanted. Gaining even one or two layers of secrecy can provide a huge advantage.”
Hyun Yi-soo nodded slightly at Park Jin-hyuk’s agreement and stroked his chin.
“You can participate as a financial investor in the Lam Chatan project that Dongjeong Industry is trying to pursue through your investment company. That way, you can resolve Dongjeong Industry’s difficulties. And…”
Initially, Park Jin-hyuk’s words had sounded too negative to Hyun Yi-soo. However, agreeing with his statement about preparing for the worst, the president began to advise him on what needed to be done.
With Park Jin-hyuk handling the broad strokes and Hyun Yi-soo handling the details, they began preparing for the battle in the worst-case scenario.
***
Negotiations between Novo and DS Pharmaceutical proceeded rapidly.
With the coffers full from Pitaflu, Tatulumaide, and other ventures, and with DS Fire participating as an investor to purchase shares, there was no problem in securing the funds.
Furthermore, since Park Jin-hyuk was the largest shareholder, there was no conflict with him. Since the other investors of Novo were persuaded based on Park Jin-hyuk’s lead, there was also no issue in convincing the investors to secure the DS Pharmaceutical shares.
The negotiations for the acquisition of Novo, which were being conducted by a very small group including Park Jin-hyuk and Kyeong Dae-yong, began to leak to the outside as agreements were reached on one or two points.
When the news first broke that Park Jin-hyuk was transferring a 30% stake to DS Pharmaceutical, the market looked upon DS Pharmaceutical and Park Jin-hyuk with an unfavorable gaze. Rumors began to circulate that DS Pharmaceutical was sacrificing itself for the owner’s family.
When the news came out that the total acquisition amount reached 1.2 trillion won, people even said that DS Pharmaceutical was trying to hand over cash to Park Jin-hyuk.
This was a merger and acquisition taking place while the economy was undergoing a recession due to the Paris Flu.
Since it was a large-scale transaction happening while other companies were locking their vaults and striving for management normalization, the market viewed DS Pharmaceutical with suspicion.
***
— 1.2 trillion won. It’s the largest amount for a merger and acquisition within the last year.
— That’s right. It’s news like a sudden event in a state where the IPO and M&A markets have dried up.
— DS Pharmaceutical is evaluated as a company that benefited greatly from the Paris Flu. They had a great deal of fun by acquiring the production rights for Pitaflu, and they own Biologics, where the CMO business is running properly and even expanding factories.
There are stories that their operating profit will explode this year to an unmeasurable degree… and yet, a merger and acquisition here? I simply cannot understand it.
— In what part do you find it so incomprehensible?
Park Jin-hyuk and Kim Jun-woo were watching the economic broadcast. Kim Jun-woo had carried out the instructions as Park Jin-hyuk had ordered, but he was busy reading Park Jin-hyuk’s expression because the commentary was so intense.
— I believe this is clearly a transaction created by loyalty to the owner’s family. Novo. It’s a company the general public hasn’t heard of.
Of course, general investors can’t know every company involved in an M&A. But this company called Novo was established only a few years ago. And they only have a single new drug on the market.
— Only one?
— That’s right. DS Pharmaceutical is trying to acquire such a place for over one trillion won. Doesn’t that feel strange?
— It does feel strange, as you say.
— That’s not the only incomprehensible part.
— What else is there?
— It’s the fact that the largest shareholder of Novo is Executive Director Park Jin-hyuk of DS Pharmaceutical.
— A person working at DS Pharmaceutical is the largest shareholder of Novo, and DS Pharmaceutical is trying to acquire the place suspected to be owned by that person. This is very strange. I have to agree that there are more than one or two suspicious points.
— The suspicion continues. The place that produces and sells that single product of Novo is DS Biologics.
— Haaa…
The person speaking on the screen let out a deep exclamation. Kim Jun-woo could no longer watch the screen and turned his head to look at Park Jin-hyuk to distract him. However, Park Jin-hyuk sat with his legs crossed, unable to take his eyes off the screen as if something were very amusing.
“Executive Director. Will you be alright?”
“Hmm? What? This is already a story circulating in the market. Is there something wrong with more people knowing about it?”
It was only after Kim Jun-woo spoke that Park Jin-hyuk finally turned his head.
However, he hadn’t completely withdrawn his gaze from the screen; after turning his head to let out an exclamation of his own, he tried to turn back to the person on the screen who was about to speak again. Kim Jun-woo spoke to him, thinking he needed to grab his attention.
“It seems like they’re saying things they don’t necessarily need to say. Shall I give them a warning?”
“No. They’re doing a good job, so why? It’s fine. Don’t worry.”
“Executive Director. Won’t such sharp criticism on a broadcast cause problems for the merger?”
“What are you talking about? DS Pharmaceutical is doing it and I agreed, so why would there be a problem? It’s fine. And you know too. I’m the one who told them to talk like that. It’s funny. That guy speaks well, doesn’t he?”
The person on the economic program claiming to be an economic expert was essentially a mouthpiece for corporations.
They played the role of receiving sponsorships or special payments from companies to spout whatever the companies wanted.
While they couldn’t expect the same effect as appearing on the news of a major broadcaster, economic broadcasts had their own influence.
Stories that were floating among a few people were now certain to become a matter of public debate due to this broadcast. What Park Jin-hyuk wanted was for the story to circulate among everyone, not just a few.
— And this figure, Park Jin-hyuk. Lately, his name has been on many people’s lips.
— Park Jin-hyuk. Park Jin-hyuk. Right. I remember hearing that name somewhere.
— He is the eldest son of Chairman Park Jun-man, the head of the DS Group, and he appeared in the market like a bolt of lightning while generating various issues recently.
— Ah, that’s right. Now that you mention it, I remember. Isn’t he the one who negotiated with Rohas to produce Pitaflu domestically?
— That’s not all. He’s the person who wielded the restructuring knife at DS Construction and saved Biologics when it was on its deathbed. In a way, he’s like a savior.
— Was such a person the largest shareholder of Novo?
— It was a story on many people’s lips for a while, but interest in the market faded and it disappeared from people’s minds. It’s said that the amount he initially invested in Novo was 50 billion won.
— 50 billion is quite a large sum. Wait a moment. Isn’t the amount DS Pharmaceutical is trying to acquire Novo for around 1.2 trillion won? And Executive Director Park Jin-hyuk is the largest shareholder. Then his 50 billion must have become hundreds of billions. Is that right?
— From what I hear, the value of the stake held by Executive Director Park Jin-hyuk is 800 billion won.
Kim Jun-woo could not bear to watch them talk so blatantly about the value of Park Jin-hyuk’s stake and picked up the phone.
He was going to give instructions right now to stop them from mentioning that part. Park Jin-hyuk looked at Kim Jun-woo from the side, smiled slightly, and grabbed his arm.
“Leave it. Why are you acting like this now?”
“But… Executive Director. If this goes wrong, other people might think strangely of it. Even if everything is a misunderstanding, if we leave a misunderstanding alone, people will jump on it as if it were the truth.”
“What’s a misunderstanding and what’s the truth? Is there anything that guy said that’s wrong?”
“It’s not that, but…”
The person talking about Park Jin-hyuk on the broadcast was not lying, just as Park Jin-hyuk said. However, the problem felt like they were spouting detailed information that only an insider would know.
“Still, Executive Director. They are even talking about details that don’t need to be revealed. Shouldn’t we stop this?”
“No. They’re doing well. I’m the one who ordered them to tell people that. It’s fine.”
Kim Jun-woo became anxious as he watched the TV. It was obvious that once people found out, they would feel unpleasant, become suspicious, and talk about it in a bad light.
Just as Kim Jun-woo feared, the aftermath of the broadcast appeared immediately as the stock price of DS Pharmaceutical fell after the program aired.
“How much did it drop?”
“It closed down 7% compared to the previous day. And it dropped 5% just after the broadcast.”
“Seven percent? That’s not even that bad.”
Park Jin-hyuk was putting on his clothes to leave work. Kim Jun-woo helped him into his coat and began to tell him the stories that had emerged after the stock market closed.
“Negative views toward DS Pharmaceutical have started to stick. There are even stories floating around about whether there’s a backroom deal between DS Pharmaceutical, you, and Novo.”
“Good. The stories are coming out well, as expected.”
“You expected this?”
“Of course. I wanted this, which is why I blew the story first.”
Park Jin-hyuk looked out the car window at the setting sun while leisurely wearing his coat.
“It was a story that was going to break eventually anyway. I’m part of DS Pharmaceutical and I’m the largest shareholder of Novo. And if the transaction takes place, I will recover more than ten times my initial investment. This is a story that can’t be hidden.”
“Is that why you blew it up first?”
“Yes. If we cover it up and hide it, stories we didn’t expect will spread through people’s mouths. It’s much easier to blow it up ourselves so that it flows within the range we can control.”
Only after hearing Park Jin-hyuk’s words did Kim Jun-woo understand why he had personally triggered the story.
“And the stories currently circulating… there are no lies. They are all the truth. It’s just that people find the truth a bit uncomfortable. So right now, it’s being talked about unpleasantly, but that will all be resolved over time. It’s much better to be pointed at now, even if it feels bad, than for lies to circulate and be pelted with stones later when they are proven false.”
Kim Jun-woo let out an exclamation at Park Jin-hyuk’s judgment. As he said, DS Pharmaceutical’s acquisition of Novo contained many parts that people would find uncomfortable.
In particular, the nearly one trillion won that Park Jin-hyuk would receive could appear to ordinary people as DS Pharmaceutical overextending itself to take care of him. In reality, Park Jin-hyuk had refused an even higher amount.
To throw such suspicions at people himself and let them find the answers on their own… that was what Park Jin-hyuk wanted.
Kim Jun-woo also came to agree that this was more desirable than hiding and covering it up only to let the situation grow and have nonsensical stories circulate through people’s imaginations.
Park Jin-hyuk, fully dressed in his coat, was only looking out the window and showed no intention of leaving.
Even though they had finished talking, Kim Jun-woo looked at Park Jin-hyuk, who was not heading out, and asked cautiously.
“Executive Director. Do you intend to stay in the office a bit longer?”
“No. I’m waiting for the person who will call me.”
“Waiting for a call?”
“The other reason why I brought the story up myself through that broadcast. It seems like that reason is about to arrive… so I’m waiting for that.”
“Another reason?”
Just as Kim Jun-woo was about to ask what that reason was, a knock was followed by the door opening, and a female secretary stepped inside.
“Executive Director. A call came from Seongbuk-dong. They asked if you have anything special this evening and if you could stop by for a moment. What should I tell them?”
“See? The call came.”
Park Jin-hyuk pointed a finger at the secretary and smiled at Kim Jun-woo. Then he nodded and spoke.
“Tell them I was just about to leave work and will head over immediately. Secretary Kim, get the car ready. Let’s go.”
Park Jin-hyuk was laughing happily, perhaps because everything was proceeding as expected.
Seeing that, Kim Jun-woo realized that more than the previous reasons, Park Jin-hyuk had brought the story up first because he wanted it to reach the ears of those in Seongbuk-dong.