At the same time, in the Yeouido securities district, Seoul.
As usual, full-time investors Oh Won-woo and Won Ho-seop had checked in at the brokerage firm's trading floor again today.
[SA-OIL : 20,390 ▲460 ]
"Wow. I didn't expect it, but it really crossed twenty thousand won."
Won Ho-seop let out an exclamation as he looked at SA Oil's stock price, which had been glowing red and continuing its upward trend for several days.
At that, Oh Won-woo, who was sitting next to him holding an economic newspaper in one hand, flashed a sly grin and said,
"I told you I've got good instincts."
Won Ho-seop, who had made a profit as the stock price rose, was all smiles.
"They say even a cow walking backwards can catch a mouse. Who knew your instincts would actually be right for once, hyung?"
"Hey, punk. I survived the IMF crisis and lasted ten years in this field on my instincts alone."
"Ahaha. I'm just kidding. Since we made money, we should grab a drink tonight, right?"
As Won Ho-seop said this while mimicking the motion of tipping back a shot glass, Oh Won-woo replied with a slightly sulky expression.
"Forget it."
"Aw, come on. I'll pay."
"Ahem… what are we having for food?"
"How about charcoal-grilled skirt meat, your favorite, with some soju?"
"Then maybe I'll wet my throat for the first time in a while."
When Oh Won-woo replied as if he were reluctantly giving in, Won Ho-seop looked at him with an incredulous expression.
"What do you mean by 'in a while'? You drank with me at that cartilage place just two days ago."
"Oh. It was just a figure of speech."
Oh Won-woo shot him a sideways glance and stood up.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to grab a cup of vending machine coffee."
"Then I'll come with you."
"Hey, why are you following me? Buy your own."
Seeing Oh Won-woo respond as if he were slightly sulking, Won Ho-seop pulled out a thousand-won bill, waved it in the air, and grinned cheekily.
"I'll buy yours too, hyung. Let's go."
Just as the two of them stepped out into the hallway outside the trading floor where the coffee vending machine was located, people suddenly began murmuring.
Instinctively stopping in their tracks, the two exchanged puzzled looks.
"What's going on?"
"Who knows. Did something happen?"
At that moment, among the people gathered in front of the trading floor terminals, a man grabbed his head and shouted.
"Damn it, what the hell is this!"
As the murmuring spread even more, another man beside him let out a deep sigh.
"If I'd known this would happen, I wouldn't have sold my SA Oil shares and would've kept holding them."
At the mention of SA Oil, Oh Won-woo and Won Ho-seop hurried toward the crowd without waiting for each other.
"What's going on?"
"Did something happen?"
The man in the polo shirt then pointed at the terminal with his chin.
"A disclosure was just posted saying the major shareholder of SA Oil has changed. That's why everyone's making such a fuss."
With their eyes widening, Oh Won-woo and Won Ho-seop pushed their way through the crowd and checked the disclosure displayed on the terminal screen.
~
[(SA-Oil Co., Ltd. Major Shareholder Change Disclosure)]
Change Details:
Before Change — Saudi Aramco (Saudi Aramco)
Ownership Stake: 35%
After Change
Eldorado Fund
Ownership Stake: 35%
Bluehole Venture Capital
Ownership Stake: 10%
Purpose of Share Acquisition: Participation in Management
Plan for Appointment and Dismissal of Executives After Acquisition:
Through an Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders, Plan to Appoint a New Management Team
~
"...!"
The moment they saw the names of the new major shareholders clearly written in the disclosure, the two men unconsciously swallowed hard.
"H-Hyung… it really says the new major shareholders who acquired the stake are the Eldorado Fund and Bluehole Venture Capital, right?"
Oh Won-woo turned his head with an excited expression and looked at him.
"You… you're buying beef today. And make it Korean beef."
"Hehehe. Of course I should."
The two stepped away from the terminal and moved to where the large market board was installed. As soon as the disclosure appeared, buy orders began pouring in, sending SA Oil's stock price soaring, and smiles spread across their faces.
[SA-OIL : 21,590 ▲1,660]
***
[Bluehole Group Chairman Park Seok-won Abruptly Secures Management Control of SA Oil!]
[SA Oil's Largest Shareholder Changes as the Company Plunged Due to Stock Manipulation and Accounting Fraud Scandals]
[SA Oil Hits Upper Limit After Disclosure of Major Shareholder Change!]
[Oil Refining Industry on Edge Following Chairman Park Seok-won's Acquisition of SA Oil!]
↳ Damn, thiiiiis is craaaazy!!!!
↳ It's real, the real deal has appeared!!
↳ A catfish just showed up in the little pond where the minnows were playing~
↳ LOL, catfish my ass. If it's Chairman Park's level, isn't he a shark? And not just any shark—a great white, the scariest one.
↳ Duh-dun… duh-dun… (Jaws BGM)
↳ Catfish or shark, whatever. My SA Oil shares got cut in half, and I almost went to check the water temperature of the Han River, but Chairman Park just saved my life.
↳ Wow, the moment Chairman Park became the major shareholder, the stock chart just launched like a rocket. Is this for real;;
↳ At this rate, it's going to break through the ceiling and fly straight to the heavens.
↳ Go check the trading floor right now. The moment the disclosure dropped, people started buying shares like crazy without even asking questions.
↳ I thought something was strange when it started creeping up earlier. I should've bought then.
↳ And here comes Captain "Should-Have" again.
↳ Bro, I put in my entire life savings. Just let me double it and get out.
While the comments on economic news articles and online stock forums were burning up with discussion about the disclosure of SA Oil's change in major shareholder, Seok-won—the man at the center of the attention—was sitting on a sofa in his office in the 63 Building in Yeouido, listening to President Yoon Gi-hoon's report.
"The date for the extraordinary general meeting of shareholders has been set for next Saturday."
Seok-won spoke while sitting with one leg crossed.
"I thought it would take a bit longer, but that's quite fast."
"Since Chairman Lim and several other senior executives are either under investigation or already detained, there were concerns about a management vacuum. So the date for the extraordinary shareholders' meeting was set as soon as possible."
"Is there anywhere showing resistance to us suddenly stepping in as the major shareholder and exercising management control?"
At Seok-won's question, President Yoon Gi-hoon smiled as if that were an absurd idea.
"Far from resisting, not only the shareholders but even the employees are welcoming you enthusiastically, Chairman, almost like a savior."
"Really?"
"Chairman Lim was arrested, the company's credit rating was downgraded due to stock manipulation and accounting fraud, and the company was on the verge of collapse. Then you appeared and turned the situation around in one stroke, so it's only natural."
Seok-won let out a faint chuckle and lifted his teacup, taking a sip of the hazelnut-scented coffee.
He then picked up a thin file folder placed beside him and set it down on the table as he spoke.
"This is the list of candidates for the new SA Oil management team."
The date for the extraordinary shareholders' meeting had already been set, yet there had been no discussion about who would be appointed as the new management team, so President Yoon Gi-hoon was about to ask about it anyway.
Opening the file folder, President Yoon Gi-hoon quickly scanned its contents before raising his head again.
"All of them are internal employees. There aren't any outside figures."
Seok-won replied while leaning back against the soft sofa.
"Chairman Lim, who's been arrested, used improper methods to boost performance, which caused the company to stumble for a while. But the company itself has solid fundamentals. And since there are already plenty of talented people inside, there's no real need to bring in outsiders."
"That may be true, but appointing a new figure to the management team could also be a good way to restore internal discipline and refresh the atmosphere."
When Yoon Gi-hoon cautiously voiced his opinion, Seok-won shrugged his shoulders.
"The executives involved in the wrongdoing are already either arrested or under investigation due to the prosecution's probe. If we suddenly fill the new management with outsiders, it might give the impression of an occupying force, which could suppress the internal atmosphere or create resentment."
After thinking it over for a moment, President Yoon Gi-hoon soon nodded in agreement.
"Now that I hear it, that does seem to be the case."
Seok-won continued speaking with both hands resting on the sofa's armrests.
"They've worked there long enough for both their competence and character to be thoroughly proven. More importantly, since it's a company they've been part of for many years, they understand the internal situation better than anyone. That means they should be able to stabilize the company quickly."
Seeing President Yoon Gi-hoon nodding as if he shared the same view, Seok-won added,
"I still looked into it just in case, and I confirmed that none of them has any particular issues—neither related to this incident nor anything else that could be considered a flaw. So you can rest easy."
"If you've personally checked, Chairman, then it must be reliable."
President Yoon Gi-hoon no longer raised any objections and chose to follow his decision.
"President Yoon, contact the candidates on the list and ask whether they're willing to accept the offer."
"I will do that."
After gathering the file folder, President Yoon Gi-hoon discreetly studied Seok-won's expression before asking the most important question.
"After replacing the management team, do you intend to incorporate SA Oil into the group as an affiliate?"
Strictly speaking, the largest shareholder was not Bluehole Group but the Eldorado Fund.
However, both the Eldorado Fund and Bluehole Venture Capital were entirely owned by Seok-won. If he wished, he could easily incorporate SA Oil into the group as an affiliate.
Not only investors but President Yoon Gi-hoon had also assumed that would naturally be the case, but Seok-won had a different idea.
"There won't be any plan to bring SA Oil in as a group affiliate."
"Then…"
President Yoon Gi-hoon looked slightly flustered by Seok-won's firm attitude.
"We'll stabilize the company and help it grow first, then sell it again at a higher valuation."
At that, President Yoon Gi-hoon showed a hint of disappointment.
"The oil refining business has high profit margins, and SA Oil even has its own retail distribution chain, so it's a company that can generate steady cash flow. Wouldn't it be more profitable to keep it as a group affiliate rather than selling it again?"
"You're right that it's a good company capable of serving as the group's cash cow. However, it also has the drawback of large profit fluctuations depending on changes in international oil prices."
"..."
"As a simple example, when international oil prices rise, both inventory valuation gains from stored stock and refining margins increase at the same time, causing profits to grow significantly. But if high oil prices persist for too long, demand will decline, and margins will fall due to rising crude oil purchase costs, causing performance to plummet immediately."
Seok-won interlaced his fingers and calmly continued speaking.
"Contrary to what you think, because its profitability swings significantly as it follows the cycle of international oil price fluctuations, it can't really serve as a stable source of cash. In fact, if the cycle turns against us, we might not just lose profits—we could end up suffering enormous losses."
As a point he had not considered was brought up, President Yoon Gi-hoon let out a quiet exclamation.
"I hadn't thought that far."
"Of course, even taking that into account, it's still true that SA Oil is a good company, as I mentioned earlier. It's just that it doesn't suit us."
Seok-won took another sip of his coffee and then continued.
"That doesn't mean we'll sell it right away. We plan to hold it for at least a few years, so just keep that in mind for now."
"I understand."
Over the next few years, oil refining companies were expected to generate enormous profits, driven by a global boom centered around China.
'But when the mountain is high, the valley is deep.'
However, in the future, China—which had been importing massive quantities of petrochemical products produced domestically—would begin increasing its own production. Combined with the economic downturn caused by the subprime mortgage crisis, the industry would eventually fall into a deep deficit and go through difficult times.
'Of course, the global economy will eventually recover, and the industry will rebound from the bottom. But considering that oil-producing countries that once only sold crude oil are now competitively building large-scale refining facilities, the future of domestic oil refining companies won't be particularly bright.'
Seok-won felt a quiet bitterness at the thought of a future where one of the sturdy pillars that had driven South Korea's economic development would gradually lose its strength and decline.