The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 397



Only Krnovel

397. Extortion (2)

The day after meeting with Representative Choi Jae-seok.

It’s been a while since I had tea time with Vice Chairman Park Man-deok.

Vice Chairman Park Man-deok, who also serves as the president of a financial affiliate, was a person who came to work earlier and left work later than anyone else, and as a result, his energy had suffered greatly over the years.

“I should have visited and talked to you often, but I’m just sorry that I haven’t been able to do so.”

“You don’t have to do that. I know better than anyone else how much trouble the Chairman is going through.”

Vice Chairman Park Man-deok, who oversees financial affiliates.

Therefore, he knew everything from this short selling to previous investment projects.

And in fact, I just did the work, and it was Vice Chairman Park Man-deok’s job to clean things up.

This was also the reason why he was promoted to vice president.

Vice Chairman Park Man-deok was more knowledgeable about internal stabilization than anyone else, and in a way, he played a mother-like role in the Taewoo Group.

“Compared to the vice president’s hardships, I am not suffering that much.”

“Thank you for your kind words. I would like to continue to help the Chairman and take care of the Taewo Group, but I am now old, so I don’t know how long I can do that.”

These were not empty words.

In fact, it was Vice Chairman Park Man-deok, who looked even weaker than his grandfather.

There would have been no time to rest as he was managing a financial affiliate that was like a battlefield every day.

“Would Taewoo Group be able to run properly without the Vice Chairman? Please stay for a long time. And hand over most tasks to President Han.”

“We are already handing over work little by little. Even if I leave right now, one president will be able to take center stage and lead the financial affiliate well.”

“What do you think, Vice President? Can a president rise to a higher position?”

Vice Chairman Park Man-deok smiles.

Just by looking at his face, I could tell how much he trusted President Han.

“It would be a waste for him to remain only as the president of Taewoo Securities. There is no need for him to sit as the president of a financial affiliate right now. And if it were President Han, I could hand over the vice chairman position with a smile. The chairman also plans to appoint President Han to Taewoo Securities. “Didn’t you appoint him as president?”

“It looks like you showed a lot.”

“I also want to follow the honorary chairman and spend the rest of my life in Southeast Asia. The financial industry in Southeast Asia is also quite attractive.”

It was Vice Chairman Park Man-deok, who seemed to be submitting his resignation right now.

Not yet. At least some time was needed until one president was ready to take the vice president’s seat.

“I absolutely did not mean to resign from the position of vice president right now.”

“Isn’t it for no reason that the Chairman suddenly comes and talks like this? I am ready to vacate the position of Vice Chairman at any time.”

“Actually, there is one thing I want to tell you. It is said that the government will soon bring together company heads for the PyeongChang Olympics and to revitalize domestic sports.”

I explained the information I heard from Rep. Choi Jae-seok.

Vice Chairman Park Man-deok’s response was extremely dry.

“Any government often asks for support from large corporations to host large-scale events.”

“But this time, things seem to be going a little strangely. It is said that the subject of the event is not the Blue House but a hastily created foundation. If the administration changes, there is a good chance that it will cause problems.”

“You think someone is trying to take personal advantage by creating a foundation.”

“There is a request from the Blue House, so we cannot not provide financial support, and if we do, it will cause problems later, so it is a very difficult situation.”

Vice Chairman Park Man-deok realized why I brought up this story.

And he knew exactly what I wanted.

“It won’t be a big problem if the vice president attends the event instead of the president. I will attend the event instead.”

“Vice President, who has worked so hard for Taewo Group, should not end like that. If you work hard, you should be rewarded, but there is no compensation I can give you. But it is different for President Han.”

President Han was able to work at Taewoo Group for 15 years, even if he wasn’t able to do it yet.

So, it is time to compensate for all the hardships.

“President Han has also gone through a lot of hardships. To become the vice president of Taewo Group, you have to go through some hardships. Hehehe, would you mind if I guide President Han so that he can become vice president?”

“Could you please do that?”

“Who else would guide President Han if not me? I was given a very interesting job in my later years.”

“After I retire, I would like to be entrusted with managing the Southeast Asian branch of Taewu Securities. Please work not only for Taewu Securities but also for all financial affiliates, including AIG, to advance into Southeast Asia.”

“It couldn’t be better to be able to stay in a warm place with the Honorary Chairman.”

We ended our tea time with Vice Chairman Park Man-deok in a warm atmosphere.

And he immediately called CEO Han to the office.

“Starting today, have Vice Chairman Park Man-deok receive handover and vice-chair training.”

“If you say handover, are you really saying that you will promote me to vice president?”

“Not right now, but we plan to go through the process once the handover is complete.”

I spoke like a machine with as little emotion as possible.

Nevertheless, President Han looked overwhelmed with emotion and even had tears in his eyes.

“What’s wrong? Are you doing it because you don’t like it?”

“No! But is it okay for me to become Vice President already?”

“Don’t worry, Vice Chairman Park Man-deok will support you. And we are also working on image creation, so there will be no problem.”

He could not become vice president simply by handing over the handover.

Of course, if you look at what President Han has accomplished so far, it was not lacking.

However, compared to other executives, his relatively young age was a problem.

Therefore, image making work was necessary.

The backlash could be minimized if the image was created in such a way that all of Taewo Group’s money was tightly held by one president.

“Thank you. I will devote my whole life to the Taewo Group with all my heart and soul. I will also take care of any unpleasant matters.”

“You will have a lot of trouble in the future.”

“Once you become vice president, you can face any hardships with a smile.”

Is that really true?

I felt sorry because I knew full well what kind of shit would be thrown at him in the future.

But what can you do? But that doesn’t mean I can’t get pooped on, right?

Feeling sorry, I patted the CEO on the shoulder, promising to repay him with material compensation in the future.

* * *

A week has passed.

For some, it may have been a week no different from usual.

It must have been a hellish time for the short sellers.

Meanwhile, Hess’ stock price continued to rise.

Representatives of Wall Street hedge funds were coming to Korea every day.

When the second tender offer began, it could be seen that all hedge fund representatives included in the short selling force had come to Korea.

And today.

Finally, we arrived in Korea to Kanos.

He immediately requested a meeting with me and called me to the financial tower.

“It is an honor to meet you like this. The king of short selling came all the way to Korea.”

“First, let me apologize. This short selling is my loss. I apologize for short selling against Taewo Group.”

Kanos appeared in a very low-key manner.

This meant that the loss suffered by Canos Company was large, and that Hess’ stock price had risen to the point where the king of short selling bowed his head.

“Aren’t you trying to resolve this matter with an apology? I like to resolve issues with numbers rather than words.”

“I would like to acquire Hess’ stock at twice its current price. Please.”

It was Kanos who spoke again, lowering his head.

It was an action that showed his sincerity, but I didn’t like the amount of money that came out of his mouth.

“Isn’t it too cheap to try to resolve this situation by only doubling the amount?”

“Anything more than that is really difficult.”

“Looking at the size of Kanos Company, isn’t it possible to increase it by three times or even five times?”

“If that happens, Kanos Company will go bankrupt. Please be shameless and ask me a favor.”

The king of short selling was in trouble.

After looking at it for a while, I made a new suggestion to him.

“Let’s just take 4 times the amount. Instead, how about taking 2 times the amount now and the remaining 2 times the amount later?”

“I cannot guarantee when I will be able to give you twice the remaining amount. If I spend twice the amount right now, Kanos Company’s funds will be greatly reduced. Trust in me has been destroyed more than the reduced funds, so it will take a long time to recover. I need this.”

For hedge funds, trust was vital.

You must have trust in your customers that you can make a big profit, but customers trust you and entrust you with their money.

But if it fails as badly as it did this time, who will trust it and entrust it with money?

That’s why Kanos bowed his head deeper.

I helped him up when he was about to fall to his knees, and I whispered a sweet suggestion.

“How about I help you restore your reputation? There is a way to maintain your reputation as the king of short selling. It is also a way to regain lost trust at once and attract more customers to Kanos Company.”

“I want to hear what method it is. No, I will follow that method unconditionally.”

The influence of the king of short selling was enormous.

But if I could keep that influence under me, wouldn’t I be able to block short-selling attacks in advance in the future?

“This is a way to join hands with me. I will sell shares equal to the amount that Kanos Company shorted at the current stock price. The remaining short sellers will bear that amount of cost.”

“Are you telling me to betray the short sellers? These are the hedge funds that trusted me and followed me. If I betray them, I will have to live with the label of a traitor for the rest of my life.”

“Isn’t Wall Street like that? If you can raise profits even if you are labeled a traitor, customers will flock to you. But even if you are labeled a martyr, if you can’t make profits, you will be abandoned.”

Betray the short selling forces.

It was a condition I made, and a strategy to completely get Kanos on my side.

As if defending against attacks from the Korean political world with the shield of the National Economy Party.

The plan was to use Kanos as a shield to defend against short-selling attacks by various hedge funds on Wall Street.

“I will try to persuade the short sellers. They are also people who are ready to join hands with the Chairman.”

“I know it well. There are already more than 20 hedge fund representatives who have come to Korea to meet me. These are people who have come to betray CEO Kanos and join hands with me.”

They were the first to betray.

So what I meant was that you should hold my hand.

I don’t know if it exists, but it was also a word that lessened my conscience.

“May I ask how exactly the plan works?”

“We will spread the word that this short-selling operation was planned by you and I from the beginning. So, you did not fail, but carried out a short-selling operation to bring down rival hedge funds.”

“Who would believe such a rumor if it were spread?”

“You won’t believe it just because they say it. But if Kanos Company actually holds Hess’ stock, you have no choice but to believe it, right?”

It was a very sweet offer.

Because it was a proposal that would minimize losses and build a higher reputation than it has now.

Of course, you will be criticized on Wall Street, but it is more popular on Wall Street to be a clever traitor than to be a failure.

“What can I do?”

“All you need to do is shake off the short selling forces. Since you are the one who independently carried out the short selling, don’t you know how to shake off the short selling forces without leaving a single speck of dust behind?”

“You are saying to extort funds from short sellers.”

Extortion with nice words.

To put it mildly, it could be said to be ‘rip-off’.

Canos’ role was to rob the hedge funds that participated in short selling as much as possible through Hess’ stocks.

“Would you like to hold hands with me?”

“Thank you so much for reaching out.”

It was Kanos who grabbed his hand.

There was no other option for him, and he had no choice but to take the hand I held out.

But the moment he holds my hand, he becomes a hunting dog who moves for me.

Of course, I would provide some food to the hunting dogs that hunted hard, but all decision making had to be delegated to me.