[Special Act on Aggravated Punishment for Random Violent Crimes Passed by the National Assembly Today]
[Chairman Park Seok-won: "Random crimes committed without any grudge or reason are not merely crimes—they are acts of terrorism."]
[Prosecution Seeks Maximum Sentence for Perpetrator of the Daegu Subway Arson Incident to Prevent Similar Random Crimes from Ever Occurring Again]
[Will All Subway Interior Materials Nationwide Be Replaced with Fire-Resistant Noncombustible Materials? Chairman Park Seok-won Expresses Willingness to Donate 100 Billion Won of Personal Funds for Replacement Costs]
[Experts Say Replacing Fire-Vulnerable Subway Interior Materials with Noncombustible Materials Is Absolutely Necessary]
↳How are we supposed to live in a world this scary? Stop talking nonsense about criminals' human rights and punish them properly so they can never commit crimes again
↳Chairman Park is right—would you still talk about human rights if your own family were the victims?
↳Seeing him say everything he wanted right in front of reporters felt so satisfying
↳The law exists to protect innocent people, not criminals
↳This is the right approach
↳Dropping 100 billion in one go—Chairman Park is a real man!
↳Since the government won't do it, I will—that's what true noblesse oblige looks like
↳He's the youngest among the conglomerate chairmen, yet the most broad-minded
↳ST's Chairman Moon Byung-kwon is only 43 too, but one gives donations freely and even cancels treasury shares while paying generous dividends—why is there such a difference in character? ㅠㅠ
↳Are you an ST shareholder?
↳I'm broke and sitting by the Han River drinking cheap soju
↳Stop drowning your sorrows in soju and just go home—the weather's still cold and the river water is freezing, take care
↳You should've played it safe like me and bought Bluehole Group stock
↳Same here (2222)
As such, public opinion on the internet regarding the passage of the aggravated punishment bill for random violent crimes and Seok-won's 100 billion won donation was overwhelmingly positive.
Amid this, Seok-won—once again at the center of attention—stood with his arms crossed in his office located on the top floor of the 63 Building overlooking the Han River, watching footage of President Bush's White House press conference that had taken place earlier that morning in Korean time.
[Through intelligence reports, we have determined that remnants of the Ba'ath Party (Syrian political party) and terrorists entering from abroad are behind the recent series of bombings.
To stabilize the situation within Iraq and quickly restore oil production, our government is working closely with Syria and Iran to block foreign terrorists from entering Iraq.
Brutal and inhumane attacks carried out indiscriminately against innocent civilians will never intimidate us.]
Watching the firm stance of keeping U.S. troops stationed without withdrawal until the situations in Iraq and Afghanistan were stabilized, Seok-won wore a bitter expression and muttered to himself,
"It seems he thinks things can be resolved by pushing forward with sheer force. He probably never imagines—not even in his wildest dreams—that not only during his own term, but for as long as twenty years, the United States will be mired in the dreadful quagmire of Iraq and Afghanistan."
Right now, people were cheering loudly, believing that victory in Iraq and Afghanistan had washed away the pain of the 9/11 attacks and demonstrated America's overwhelming strength—but the day when that triumph would turn into frustration and suffering was not far off.
At that moment, there was a knock, and Na Sung-mi entered, neatly dressed in a two-piece suit.
"Division Head Choi Ho-geun has arrived."
"Let him in."
"Yes, sir."
Seok-won picked up the remote on the table and turned off the television. Soon after, Division Head Choi Ho-geun, dressed in a gray suit, entered through the door opened by Na Sung-mi and bowed politely in greeting.
"Have a seat."
Seok-won gestured toward the sofa with his chin.
"Thank you."
Once Seok-won took the central seat first, Choi Ho-geun carefully sat down on the sofa to the right.
"What would you like to drink?"
"Bring quince tea."
After answering Na Sung-mi, who stood nearby, Seok-won added while looking at Choi Ho-geun—
"Maybe it's because of the fine dust lately, but my throat hasn't been in great shape. My doctor told me it's good for the bronchial tubes and suggested I drink a cup a day."
Outside the floor-to-ceiling glass window that filled one wall of the office, instead of a clear blue sky, the view was heavily clouded—like fog—due to thick fine dust.
"Then I'll have the same."
Choi Ho-geun, who had naturally glanced outside, cleared his throat awkwardly as he spoke.
"I'll prepare it right away."
After bowing again, Na Sung-mi stepped out of the room. Seok-won, sitting with one leg crossed over the other, looked at Choi Ho-geun and spoke first.
"I heard the accumulation of ST Co. shares is complete."
"Yes."
With a brief reply, Division Head Choi Ho-geun respectfully presented a thin file folder with both hands.
As Seok-won accepted it and opened it, Choi Ho-geun gave a concise explanation.
"Out of a total of 127.3 million outstanding shares, we've acquired just over 10%—approximately 13.2 million shares."
"The average purchase price is 6,350 won."
"Thanks to the wave of short selling that poured in right after the prosecution announced Chairman Moon Byung-kwon's arrest and indictment, we were able to secure the volume smoothly and lower the average acquisition cost as well."
After reviewing all the contents, Seok-won closed the file with a satisfied expression and set it down.
"Good work."
With a slight smile, Choi Ho-geun straightened his posture and continued,
"There is one more matter I need to report."
"Go ahead."
Leaning back into the soft sofa, Seok-won responded.
At that, Division Head Choi Ho-geun leaned forward and began speaking with a more serious expression.
"Through internal data obtained via a Financial Supervisory Service official who has ties with the Hong Kong branch of the Eldorado Fund, we were able to identify who has recently been aggressively accumulating large amounts of ST Co. shares."
Seok-won straightened his posture, showing clear interest.
"Who is it?"
"It's an investment fund called Crest Securities Limited, based in Monaco, a known tax haven."
"Sounds like a paper company at first glance."
"You're absolutely right. After digging a bit deeper, we found that it's actually a subsidiary of Sovereign, a New Zealand-based asset management firm with Monaco nationality."
Sure enough, the familiar name Sovereign caused a flicker of intrigue to pass through Seok-won's eyes.
"They're placing buy orders through multiple channels, likely to conceal their identity, but they're mainly using Deutsche Securities to sweep up shares. Just today alone, we confirmed they purchased over 230,000 shares."
"With that level of trading volume, other parties must have already noticed that large-scale accumulation is taking place."
Choi Ho-geun nodded.
"They probably have. Unlike us, who accumulated shares over a longer period, they're buying in large quantities within a short time frame, so their movements are bound to be exposed."
"Crest Securities… no, Sovereign must be aware of that as well. The fact that they're moving like this means they're prioritizing rapid acquisition of shares, even if their actions become visible."
"I think so too. It seems they're trying to scoop up as many shares as possible while the stock price has temporarily dropped due to owner-related risks."
Seok-won shrugged lightly as he responded.
"If their goal is to seize management control through a hostile M&A anyway, then even if they have to pay a bit more per share, it's far better to secure as large a stake as possible as quickly as they can."
"That's correct."
Leaning back again, Seok-won continued,
"Sovereign must also be influencing the rebound after ST Co.'s stock price hit bottom."
"That's right. It seems others have also sensed something unusual and have started buying, pushing the stock price upward."
At that moment, Na Sung-mi knocked and entered, placing the quince tea on the table before quietly stepping out again.
Seok-won interlaced his fingers with both hands and resumed the conversation after the brief pause.
"Unless they're fools, ST Group must have realized by now that something unusual is going on."
"Although they're still in disarray due to the owner-related risks, they are, after all, the third-largest conglomerate in the country—so they've undoubtedly detected it."
Seok-won gave a small nod.
"But Chairman Moon has already been indicted under detention, and the rest of the management team is also facing trial one after another, so it'll be difficult for them to respond proactively."
"Even so, they could end up losing the entire group. Won't they take action somehow?"
"Of course they will. But for now, they'll just observe without taking any immediate action."
Looking at Choi Ho-geun, who seemed unconvinced, Seok-won explained the reason.
"Up until now, there have been cases where companies went bankrupt and were taken over by foreign corporations or funds—but there has never been a case where management control was seized through a hostile M&A."
Hearing this, Choi Ho-geun let out a low exclamation.
"So because there's no precedent, you're saying they won't even consider that Sovereign is accumulating shares with the intent of taking control."
Seok-won lifted his teacup and took a sip of quince tea.
A gentle sweetness and refreshing aroma spread across his mouth, leaving behind a pleasant aftertaste.
"That's right. But they'll soon realize it's not just bargain buying aimed at short-term profits. Of course, by then, it'll already be far too late."
Choi Ho-geun nodded in agreement.
"I probably wouldn't have come to that conclusion myself if you hadn't pointed out the possibility of a hostile M&A, Chairman."
Taking another sip of the warm quince tea, Seok-won continued in a relaxed tone,
"In that case, the ones who are really in urgent trouble right now aren't ST Group, but the forces that engaged in short selling, expecting the stock price to plunge even further."
At that, Choi Ho-geun also smiled.
"They're probably in complete chaos by now."
"One of the reasons Sovereign is rushing to sweep up shares, even at the risk of exposing itself, is likely because they're worried that a short squeeze triggered by short selling could send the stock price skyrocketing."
"That's certainly the case. Just looking at how the available supply in the market has been rapidly drying up since yesterday, signs of a short squeeze are already starting to appear."
Hearing this, Seok-won let out a faint chuckle and said,
"We've already secured our target stake. Now we can just sit back, eat some popcorn, and watch as the short sellers scramble to cover their positions, while Sovereign and ST Group battle over management control and push the stock price all the way to the ceiling."
"I'm already looking forward to seeing how much profit we'll make."
Seeing that Choi Ho-geun couldn't hide his excitement, Seok-won flashed a confident grin.
"We should be able to turn a pretty solid profit."
When Seok-won spoke with this level of certainty, it meant they would earn at least double, and Choi Ho-geun's expression brightened even further.
"When Sovereign starts showing its teeth in earnest by demanding a change in management, gather the shares we've been accumulating through paper companies into one place and immediately file a disclosure of our stake acquisition."
"Understood."
"And since both ST Group and Sovereign could take issue with us for violating the 5% rule while acquiring shares, make sure to be especially careful not to give them any grounds to nitpick."
"We've already coordinated thoroughly with the Eldorado Fund and made full preparations. There's no need to worry."
At the confident reply, Seok-won nodded and added,
"Still, there might be something we've overlooked, so make sure to review everything once more."
"I will."
Both ST Group and Sovereign would soon realize that the shares had been quietly accumulated through paper companies to bypass the 5% rule.
However, even if it was an obvious ploy, as long as it was structured in a way that made it difficult to challenge legally, they would have no choice but to let it slide.
'No—in fact, once they realize it's hard to take issue with it, they'll probably try to pull me onto their side.'
And then, it would simply be a matter of weighing both sides and driving up his value as much as possible.