Starting the next day, strange stories began to circulate in the stock market.
The origin of those stories was a disclosure that was only one line long.
**[Park Jin-hyuk, a related party of DS Telecom, has purchased 15,000 shares on the market]**
When the disclosure first came out, people were puzzled.
Although Park Jin-hyuk was a leading candidate for the next successor of the DS Group, there was no reason for him to buy shares of DS Telecom at this particular timing.
Furthermore, the amount was not that large.
In terms of value, it was 1 billion won.
While 1 billion won is a massive amount of money to the average person, it was not a significant sum considering Park Jin-hyuk’s position.
Park Jin-hyuk’s current post was at DS Pharmaceutical.
His previous positions were at DS Construction and DS headquarters.
Before the questions regarding his purchase of DS Telecom shares—a company he had no apparent connection to—could even fade, another story began to spread through several securities news sources.
**[Park Jin-hyuk is attempting to accumulate DS Telecom shares]**
With the fact that he had actually purchased shares and the rumor that he intended to collect more, people began to look at DS Telecom with suspicious eyes.
However, general investors gained nothing from this.
The stock price showed no special movement, and since no subsequent actions followed, the consensus shifted toward the idea that he had simply purchased the shares for investment purposes.
However, in other places, there were people who attached great meaning to Park Jin-hyuk’s movements.
“The volume of stock purchases is gradually increasing?”
“Yes. It has been confirmed that he swept up over 100,000 shares yesterday alone.”
“Have you tried contacting Hanuri Savings Bank?”
“They aren’t even answering the phone now. So, just in case, I ordered someone to visit them in person, but they are avoiding us, saying they aren’t at their desks.”
“Fine. That’s enough. We’ve done as much as we can. Just drop a hint that we are inevitably looking for other options while expressing our disappointment. Then they’ll judge and decide for themselves.”
Park Jin-hyuk checked the documents on his desk while receiving Kim Jun-woo’s report.
The documents contained a detailed breakdown of the share distribution of DS Telecom.
The fact that even investment companies that were not publicly visible were listed in detail suggested that the document had come from inside DS Telecom.
“Did you tell President Hyun who he needs to meet?”
“Yes. I informed him. He said he would start moving immediately this week.”
“Good. Since President Hyun is moving personally, there’s no need to worry… What about President Jung? What did he say he would do?”
“He said that if only DS Securities moves, it might attract suspicious stares, so he will move along with a few nearby firms.”
“That’s not bad either. I didn’t mention it because I was worried other places wouldn’t follow our lead, but it seems President Jung can persuade them. Then tell him to proceed. If multiple places move, it’ll be that much easier to keep the stock price suppressed.”
“Yes, sir. Understood.”
All preparations were complete.
The work had begun, and now all that was left was to tighten the screws on Park Su-man.
“Has the Chairman said anything?”
“The Chairman? I told you not to worry about him. I’ve already settled things with him.”
“I apologize. I know you might be annoyed that I keep asking, but I felt I needed to be sure. It really is surprising that the Chairman said he wouldn’t interfere. No matter how much he prioritizes the company, Vice Chairman Park Su-man is his biological younger brother… It’s truly unexpected.”
In response to Kim Jun-woo’s words, Park Jin-hyuk crossed his arms and stared into the air.
Regarding Park Su-man, he had discussed it with Park Jun-man before planning the operation and received a promise that he would not intervene.
And just in case, when he visited Hannam-dong for a meal recently, he had casually brought up the subject.
At that time, Park Jun-man told him to do as he pleased and showed no further interest.
‘What is it?’
As Kim Jun-woo asked in a worried tone, Park Jin-hyuk felt that Park Jun-man’s attitude was strange once again.
Just as Kim Jun-woo said, no matter how much a person values the company, it was odd that he showed no interest despite knowing what his brother was trying to do and what the end result would be.
Even if they had made a deal, it would be normal to mention it at least once, yet there was no mention of it at all.
‘Is he perhaps too busy playing with something more interesting he got his hands on to care about his brother?’
It was said that interest is what suppresses worry.
It meant that one falls deeper into immediate fun than into future worries.
Following that logic, if Park Jun-man had something interesting to play with, it was possible he wouldn’t care about his brother.
“What happened with Hansung Group?”
At the sudden question, Kim Jun-woo rolled his eyes for a moment as he recalled the information on Hansung Group stored in his head.
“The detention has been suspended, and there are rumors that the trial will proceed soon.”
“You mean Chairman Oh has been released?”
“Yes.”
“Then what about the duty-free business rights? Did they pass to Cheongwoon?”
“Yes. There are reports that Hansung Group transferred the duty-free business rights to Cheongwoon and received cash to use for paying their fines.”
“So it went to Cheongwoon in the end.”
At Park Jin-hyuk’s words, which sounded as if he already knew everything, Kim Jun-woo quietly lit Park Jin-hyuk’s cigarette and spoke.
“In that case, wouldn’t this mean that Chemicals will eventually fall into the Chairman’s hands?”
“Yeah. That’s very likely… but…”
Park Jin-hyuk took a deep drag of the cigarette and then shook his head.
“No. For that to happen, a precondition must be met, but it hasn’t been resolved.”
“What precondition are you talking about?”
“Me. My marriage is the precondition. But that issue hasn’t been resolved. Yet he’s skipping that precondition and going straight to the conclusion? That’s impossible.”
He thought it couldn’t be, but looking at Park Jun-man’s attitude, he couldn’t completely dismiss the idea.
Like a child with a great toy in his hands, he wasn’t paying attention to anything else.
Since Park Jin-hyuk couldn’t think of a better toy for Park Jun-man than Chemicals, he pointed at Kim Jun-woo and gave instructions.
“Cheongwoon’s Chemicals. Keep an eye on it. Don’t miss a thing.”
“I’ve already given those orders.”
“Well done.”
While focusing on his uncle, Park Jin-hyuk did not stop looking around.
Because he didn’t know where or how a strike might come, he was always on guard.
And Kim Jun-woo, who had come to know Park Jin-hyuk better than anyone, did not neglect to monitor the surroundings even before Park Jin-hyuk gave orders.
‘The precondition might have changed. Not my marriage, but something else…’
He couldn’t know what it was right now, and even if he did, he wouldn’t know how it would affect him.
However, he couldn’t just leave it be and wait until it took shape.
He had to prepare as much as possible so that he wouldn’t be caught off guard.
While Park Jin-hyuk was guarding his surroundings and moving toward his goal, Park Su-man was preparing to pour everything into the reality before his eyes.
Park Su-man had begun to accelerate his accumulation of shares through borrowed-name accounts.
With sufficient funds prepared, he even seemed anxious because he couldn’t speed up the accumulation fast enough, even though the market was throwing him volume whenever it came in.
When the daily accumulation exceeded 500,000 shares, Park Su-man’s movements finally began to get caught on investors’ radars.
“I mean, what is he even doing… seriously.”
Park Jin-hyuk pushed aside the documents Kim Jun-woo handed him with an absurd expression.
“What should we do?”
“B&S Partners, you said?”
“Yes. It’s a British investment firm.”
“Tell President Hyun to go there first and explain. This guy isn’t even giving President Hyun time to do one round.”
“Yes, sir. Understood.”
As Park Su-man’s movements became noticeable, DS Telecom’s investment firms began to make inquiries.
It was an inquiry to confirm if a stake competition was unfolding, but in reality, it was more accurate to say it was a call to check the amount of “crumbs” that might fall.
Park Jin-hyuk had instructed President Hyun to contact the investment firms in advance to prepare for this kind of movement.
However, the situation had become slightly complicated because Park Su-man moved before President Hyun could calmly meet with the firms.
But this level of complication actually turned out well for Park Jin-hyuk.
It didn’t deviate from the original plan to create a situation where Park Su-man appeared desperate, and it made the investment firms contact them first, allowing them to find all the hidden investment companies.
Park Jin-hyuk believed there was no need to worry about the investment firms’ movements since Hyun Yi-soo was in charge.
However, he was worried about Park Su-man’s overly bold movements.
If the investment firms leaked the bait they had bitten to the media, strange rumors might circulate in the market before the work was fully ripe.
“Do these people not know the word ‘secretly’? Why are they running wild with such excitement?”
“It seems they were excited because they could sweep up as much volume as they wanted while the price remained suppressed.”
“How much volume have they secured?”
“It has been confirmed that the stake identified so far has jumped to about the 12% level.”
“You said they would likely show their true colors at the 15% level?”
“Yes. That’s because showing their hand at the 15% level gives them a chance when it comes to voting. And that’s roughly the point where the funds obtained from Hanuri will be exhausted.”
“The timing is still a bit short. I wonder if they know I helped my uncle buy his shares so well. Let’s divert attention before the media senses something strange. Release the news we prepared regarding Novo.”
“Yes, sir. Understood.”
Following Park Jin-hyuk’s instructions, Kim Jun-woo began to leak information that had not been released to the market.
It was news that Novo’s new drug, Tatulumaide, had passed sales approval from the EU’s EMA (European Medicines Agency).
Although the EMA had not yet officially announced it, the market accepted it as a highly probable story, considering that sales approval decisions from the FDA and EMA are nearly 90% identical.
As the news of Novo’s new drug was added to the revival of the bio industry sparked by Pitaflu—specifically, the explosive rise of the DS Pharmaceutical affiliates—the media began focusing their reporting on DS Pharmaceutical again, particularly DS Biologics.
Furthermore, as the fact that the largest shareholder of Novo was Managing Director Park Jin-hyuk of DS Pharmaceutical became known, there were cautious discussions about a merger or collaboration between Novo and DS Pharmaceutical.
Park Jin-hyuk was satisfied to see that when the media thought of DS Group, they were looking at DS Pharmaceutical instead of DS Telecom for the time being.
While their eyes were elsewhere, those people would surely continue to buy shares.
And it was clear that when they felt they had purchased enough, they would call for an extraordinary general meeting to demand a spin-off of the affiliate.
The picture was gradually being drawn in the direction Park Jin-hyuk wanted.
—
When the stake secured by Park Su-man’s side exceeded 15%, Park Su-man’s side began leaking stories about entering a stake competition for DS Telecom before Park Jin-hyuk could even move.
It was unclear whether they did so because they were certain of victory, or if they intended to drive up the stock price and escape with a large profit even if things went wrong.
However, the sight of them breaking the news first and preparing for war certainly showed that they had confidence.
Watching this, Park Jin-hyuk began to faithfully release the things he had prepared.
He had finished organizing the information collected thus far—where the funds Park Su-man used to purchase the shares came from and how the shares were purchased with those funds—to hand over to the prosecution.
Park Su-man’s side seemed unable to pay attention to these things happening behind the scenes.
Thinking they could take DS Telecom if they pushed just a little more, they were pouring all their attention and resources into purchasing shares.
And eventually, at the point where they judged they could win, they went so far as to convene an extraordinary general meeting.
“Is everything ready?”
Park Jin-hyuk said, looking down at the notice for the extraordinary general meeting.
“According to President Hyun, who returned from meeting the investment firms, it is not an impossible situation for the spin-off to occur if the investment firms side with Vice Chairman Park.”
“I’m sure. That’s why he’s so confident that he even opened an extraordinary general meeting.”
But that would not happen.
The investment firms would act as supporting characters in this play, appearing to side with Park Su-man while actually remaining observers who stepped back to watch the situation.
This was because Park Jin-hyuk had requested it of them.
Park Jin-hyuk raised his head, put a cigarette in his mouth, and took a deep drag.
He had set the stage and made them fall into a trap.
Now it was time to throw the spear at those who were wearing triumphant expressions without knowing they had fallen into a pit.
“Hand over the collected materials to the prosecution.”
“Understood.”
All the materials were already prepared.
And to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances, he had even given them a heads-up using the network of connections DS Group had built.
Once the materials were handed over, the prosecution would launch an investigation with lightning speed, and a conclusion would surely be reached before they even realized it.
This was because the connections DS had built were not in their hands.
“What about the media? Stories about a conflict within the founding family over DS Telecom have already started appearing in a few places.”
“Leave it. There’s nothing bad about a little noise for us. It’ll be better to clearly show who was wrong and who has more power once the conclusion is reached.”
Park Jin-hyuk thought it was better to use this opportunity to send a clear warning to those within the DS Group who harbored other intentions.
And it was also necessary to make it clear who the person to take over the group following Park Jun-man would be.
Only then would the people trying to cause unnecessary trouble by using Park Sang-hyuk disappear.
“Let’s end this now. It’s been long enough.”
After finishing his sentence, Park Jin-hyuk leaned his body back, took one last deep drag of his cigarette, and exhaled the smoke.
—
When Park Jin-hyuk did not control the media, they began to release numerous speculative reports regarding DS Telecom.
Most of them were about how Park Su-man, who had controlled DS Telecom for a long time, was dissatisfied with the next succession of management rights and was demanding a spin-off of DS Telecom.
There were also views on whether the DS Group, which had undergone successions without any spin-offs until now, would experience a split in the next generation.
People’s interest was now focused on the outcome of the extraordinary general meeting.
This was because they believed that a major change would occur in the DS Group regardless of whether the result was the group being divided or ending with Vice Chairman Park Su-man’s retirement.
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