Kim Jun-woo began to share the information he had gathered with Park Jin-hyuk, who was smiling.
“Recently, there’s been a steady accumulation of shares in DS Telecom. The focused buying was done through three channels, with a total of five accounts. The listed owners are all different, but it’s been steadily confirmed that the real owner is Vice Chairman Park Soo-man.”
“Really? How much have they collected?”
“Our sources indicate about 5% so far. But this isn’t an exact figure. That’s just the sum of the accounts we know are under false names. There could be more accounts we haven’t found yet, so we can’t be certain of the full amount.”
“Still, it means they’ve secured at least 5%.”
“Yes. That seems the most accurate assessment at this point.”
“At least 5%… Did my uncle also have some shares in his own name?”
“According to what’s reported to the Financial Supervisory Service, he holds about 2%.”
“2%? So together that’s 7%?”
“Yes. It’s right to see it as at least 7%.”
“Hmmm…”
The figure of 7% didn’t mean much immediately.
But if someone was quietly buying up shares using false-name accounts, it was essentially a declaration of intent to wage a management rights battle over the telecom business.
“That’s not all.”
“That’s not all?”
“Yes. We’ve also detected signs of accumulation through accounts believed to be linked to President Park Kyung-man.”
“How much have they bought over there?”
“It doesn’t seem to be a large-scale accumulation yet, at least not enough for us to determine the amount. We’ve just caught the initial signal that it’s begun.”
If even Park Kyung-man, along with Park Soo-man, had joined in, then it meant they’d finally started to move.
“It looks like they’ve set their sights on DS Telecom as the target.”
“Yes, that’s right. I think they’re trying to trigger a vote showdown once they’ve secured enough shares and friendly stakes.”
“How many shares does the main company hold?”
“It’s known that DS Corporation holds about 25% of Telecom’s shares, including those of related parties.”
“My uncle would be included among those related parties, right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“So it’s just over 20%? Any other notable shareholders?”
“Well, the only other notable ones are the National Pension Service, which owns about 10% and is the second largest shareholder, and the company itself holds about 10% as treasury shares. Other than that, the remaining shares are with small shareholders or foreign investors, so we can’t verify any special interests.”
The National Pension Service typically preferred to support existing major shareholders in these kinds of shareholding battles.
Since it operated conservatively, it disliked when changes in major shareholders led to shifts in the company’s direction.
That meant DS Corporation could be said to control about 30% as the existing major shareholder.
The real concern, then, was the treasury shares.
“How is my uncle viewed inside the company?”
“Neither liked nor disliked. The assessment is just average. In fact, since DS Telecom hasn’t engaged in any particularly notable business ventures, there aren’t many criteria by which to judge.”
“That’s true. It’s hard to judge work ability.”
Given that 99% of the business was reliant on domestic demand, and as long as there were no glaring mistakes, telecom was an industry where, at minimum, you could expect average results.
With restrictions on new market entrants, existing players simply swapped customers back and forth to run their businesses.
That made it even harder to assess management skills, and employees were generally content with high salaries and good benefits, with virtually no complaints about the executives.
“Hm… They might’ve already spoken with the union.”
“Do you think so?”
“Highly likely. Or maybe they got the National Pension on their side. Otherwise… Wait. You’re sure they secured 5%? Absolutely sure?”
“Yes. I checked it multiple times. Is something wrong?”
“How much money are we talking about? As far as I remember, DS Telecom isn’t exactly small, and you’re saying they bought up 5%?”
Back in the Yu Jeong-geol era, when value investing was popular and stocks were a favored wealth management tool, Park Jin-hyuk had become quite familiar with DS Telecom.
Especially since it was known for good dividends, he’d tried more than once to receive a generous year-end payout from DS Telecom.
He wasn’t sure of the current stock price since he no longer invested, but he clearly remembered that domestic demand stocks like these didn’t fluctuate much.
Recalling back then, DS Telecom’s market cap was easily over a trillion won, so to hear that someone had bought 5% was hard for Park Jin-hyuk to believe.
Kim Jun-woo quickly handed over a document containing the confirmation, responding to Park Jin-hyuk’s doubt.
“It’s 5%, which, based on current market prices, comes to a bit over 300 billion won.”
“Three hundred billion? My uncle bought that?”
He didn’t know exactly how much Park Soo-man was worth, but it was clear the amount was substantial.
Park Jin-hyuk himself had several billion won, counting the shares under his name.
Even for him, it was understandable for someone like Park Soo-man, who had been a businessman for decades, to have around three hundred billion.
But that would only be possible if all his assets were combined.
He wouldn’t have sold off everything just to buy DS Telecom; he must’ve bought with only a portion of available funds.
Still, it felt odd to think he’d bought 300 billion worth of shares.
Yet, if he tried, it wasn’t impossible to understand.
What Park Jin-hyuk couldn’t accept was something else.
“Remember when I invested in Novo? Even to put in fifty billion, it wasn’t easy. How did I do it? I sold off my assets quietly, stretched it out over months so no one would notice. But even so, people eventually found out. Now, with three hundred billion, not just a penny or two, are you saying he pulled it off without a rumor, selling assets for the funds? No. There’s no way the money was raised so easily. Are you sure this was a recent development?”
“Yes. At most, the accumulation didn’t start more than two months ago.”
“Do you think that makes sense?”
Park Jin-hyuk rose from his seat.
He paced the office, organizing his thoughts.
If he hadn’t experienced personally having to sell off assets for his Novo investment, he might have overlooked this.
Because he’d done it himself, he understood the difficulties firsthand.
“Look into it more closely. The way the money was raised seems off.”
Kim Jun-woo jotted down Park Jin-hyuk’s request, then looked up and asked,
“Shall I just investigate for now? Are you only planning to keep an eye on the stock accumulation?”
“For now, just watch.”
“If…”
Seeing the worried look on Kim Jun-woo’s face, Park Jin-hyuk approached and patted his shoulder.
Then, turning his back and clasping his hands, he looked out the window.
“Don’t worry. Even if I don’t move, someone else will.”
Park Jin-hyuk was certain Park Soo-man was taking an unnecessary risk.
*****
Park Jun-man had been persistently hinting for months, telling Park Jin-hyuk to come over to Hannam-dong for breakfast.
But each time, Park Jin-hyuk dodged the invitation, using the excuse of being busy.
He simply didn’t want to face unwelcome people at the breakfast table first thing in the morning.
But last night, Park Jin-hyuk suddenly called Hannam-dong, saying he’d be coming over for breakfast.
He had thought to leave things alone and let Park Jun-man make the first move, but as things progressed, he felt it would be a mistake to let Park Jun-man act first.
He decided to block Park Jun-man’s moves and step forward himself.
To make that happen, he resolved to attend the breakfast at Park Jun-man’s invitation.
Once he’d made up his mind, he notified both Hannam-dong and Onsan-daek about breakfast.
He told Onsan-daek he’d be having breakfast at Hannam-dong.
Hearing that, Onsan-daek seemed relieved, simply saying, “That’s good,” and left Park Jin-hyuk puzzled.
He’d expected Onsan-daek to object and tell him not to go, so he felt something was off when she quietly accepted it.
He soon realized his intuition was right, seeing Onsan-daek bustling about since dawn.
Saying she would go with him, Onsan-daek pestered Park Jin-hyuk before sunrise, telling him to get ready.
Park Jin-hyuk, who had planned to arrive around seven, ended up leaving more than an hour earlier because Onsan-daek came into his room before five, pulling off his blankets and urging him to go.
Even on the way, Onsan-daek, sitting beside him, was more excited than Park Jin-hyuk, speaking nonstop.
“Master. You made a very good decision.”
“What do you mean?”
“From now on, you must go there regularly. I thought it was better for you to keep your distance before, so I never insisted, but now that you’re settled, you have to make a point of going to Hannam-dong. Show your face—don’t get pushed out. Never let that happen.”
The wrinkles on Onsan-daek’s face, now well past sixty, deepened with every word she spoke.
Glancing at her while driving, Park Jin-hyuk saw she was brimming with the energy of a general going to meet a rival.
“Why the face, Grandma?”
“Master. You must always hold Hannam-dong close to your heart. There isn’t a stone or a single tree there untouched by Madame’s hand. And it’s a place I risked my life to protect. I left because you left, Master, but remember, that is your house. The fact that you’re its owner—heaven and earth know it.”
Park Jin-hyuk was startled to hear words he’d never expected.
He’d always thought Onsan-daek, who had come with his biological mother as a housemaid when she married, simply doted on him like a real grandchild.
He thought her poor relationship with Director Oh was a little over the top for a housemaid.
But for the first time, he realized today that there was a much more complicated relationship than he knew.
When Park Jin-hyuk’s car pierced the dawn darkness to arrive at Hannam-dong, Onsan-daek was the first to announce his arrival.
“How is it that no one comes out? The young master has arrived—why is no one here to greet him?”
Onsan-daek’s booming voice shattered the quiet morning air, and the door hurriedly opened as people came out to greet them.
“Young master, you’re here! You too, ma’am? Sorry, I was a little late opening the door.”
“Are you still moving that slowly? Is it because you’re older now? If you’re older, you should move even faster, shouldn’t you? And today isn’t just any day—the young master is here. What’s with this mess?”
“I’m sorry. It won’t happen again. Please, ma’am, don’t be angry.”
Watching from behind, Park Jin-hyuk smiled at how Onsan-daek, who was always so gentle with him, turned into a tiger the moment she set foot in Hannam-dong.
He’d never paid much attention to the house staff.
But none of them seemed like new hires at Hannam-dong.
Their manner was careful, their movements restrained.
And as they worked, their pride in their duties was palpable.
But these people were all flustered, calling Onsan-daek “ma’am.”
She swept inside without hesitation, her eyes scanning the mansion’s yard with a glare.
“What’s wrong with the roseleaf out there? It’s almost time for it to bloom—why does it look so weak? Did you neglect it just because I wasn’t here?”
When Onsan-daek raised her voice at Butler Kim, he started sweating profusely.
“Did you intend to let the flowers Madame grew die just because I wasn’t here? Is that how I taught you? You made it to butler, so I didn’t use the rod, but do you want me to bring it out again?”
“I’m sorry, ma’am. I’ll fix it right away. I promise this year’s flowers will be more splendid than ever.”
“The roseleaf was Madame’s favorite. It can’t just be splendid this year—it must always be splendid, understand?”
“Yes, ma’am. I was wrong.”
While Butler Kim stammered, all the male staff had lined up behind him, bowing their heads to Onsan-daek.
“Hmph. How long have I been gone, and look at the state of the house.”
Glancing back at the quietly amused Park Jin-hyuk, Onsan-daek quickly strode over to him.
“Young master, I’m sorry. This old woman hasn’t been home in a while, and I see faults everywhere. You must be hungry. Let’s go inside—I’ll prepare your breakfast right away.”
The Onsan-daek who had seemed like a tiger just moments before now worriedly fussed over Park Jin-hyuk, almost as if afraid even a speck of dust would touch him, leading him into the mansion.
“Don’t forget. This is your house. Everything you see was touched by Madame’s hands. And I protected it. You must reclaim it, young master. This is DS itself.”
Clutching Park Jin-hyuk’s sleeve, Onsan-daek spoke with misty eyes, as if she might cry.
Park Jin-hyuk stroked the back of her hand, looked over the house, and then opened the door to step inside.