Chapter 211: The Exchange
Immediately after news of the emergency arrest of representative Moon Yong-wook was announced,
the stock price of Ahsung Motors plummeted to its lower limit.
Countless individual investors panicked, and online stock communities and social media were ablaze with anger.
└Damn, not only did the battery explode, but now there’s embezzlement?
└Fucking Ahsung bastards. The old man was arrested for siphoning off company funds, and now the son is pulling the same shit.
└I heard it wasn’t Vice Chairman Cheon Jun-young, but that Moon Yong-wook acted alone?
└Who the hell believes that bullshit? It’s obviously orchestrated from behind.
└Ah… please, just save the stock price. I’m going to die if this keeps up.
└ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ That’s why I told you to buy Frontier stock. Ahsung stock is now a sure bet for puts. Glug glug glug, I’m so full.
└Stop fanning the flames of a burning house and get lost.
└With the battery explosion and the slush fund, as long as the Cheons are in control, there’s no way the stock will recover.
└If we just merge with Dojin Frontier, the risk would be solved in one shot.
└Instead of wasting time here, I should go protest for Cheon Jun-young’s resignation.
└I’m on my way there now. I need to go and yell to feel better.
Angry investors quickly gathered, and the front of Ahsung Motors’ headquarters was filled with an enraged crowd.
[Management must resign!]
[Battery explosions, slush funds—what the hell is this?]
[Incompetent Cheon Jun-young and Moon Yong-wook must step down immediately!]
Reporters broadcast the scene live, and the investors’ furious chants spread across the nation through the news.
＊＊＊
Dojin Frontier.
Executive Vice President Oh Seong-hak entered my office with a bright expression.
“The USB drive you handed over seems to have had an enormous effect.”
“Good timing played a part too.”
With the world’s attention focused on the battery explosion, exposing the management’s slush fund issue made the stock plunge a natural outcome.
“It’s been less than two months since they took control, and they’ve already siphoned off 300 billion won. This isn’t their first rodeo.”
“As you may know, creating slush funds is Moon Yong-wook’s specialty.”
He’s been siphoning off company funds without Chairman Cheon’s knowledge since his days as head of Ahsung Electronics’ mobile division.
That’s why there wasn’t much opposition when he was appointed as the representative of Ahsung Motors.
“Now it’s our turn to make a move.”
“Huh?”
Executive Vice President Oh Seong-hak blinked, not understanding my intention.
“We’ll use the hedge funds that supported Cheon Jun-young during the shareholders’ meeting to file complaints this time.”
Ten out of the 50 hedge funds, including DJ Capital, held 13% of Ahsung Motors’ shares.
They backed Cheon Jun-young, which allowed him to secure control of Ahsung Motors.
“If the stock price isn’t restored, we’ll threaten—no, file a complaint to propose the removal of the management.”
“Right.”
Given the market reaction and stock trend, there was no chance Cheon Jun-young could recover the stock price.
I planned to exploit that gap, propose the removal of the management, and install our person as the representative.
“What percentage of shares do we currently hold?”
“Adding the 13% from the shareholders’ meeting and the shares secured through the third-party allotment after that… it’s 18.6%.”
“And Cheon Jun-young’s side?”
“Cheon Jun-young’s side is at 10.5%, and Cheon Jun-seok’s side is at 17.3%.”
Both sides had seen their stakes significantly diluted after the allotment.
“While we’ve become the largest shareholder, if Cheon Jun-young joins forces with Cheon Jun-seok, we could lose control of the board.”
Executive Vice President Oh Seong-hak shook his head.
“That will never happen.”
“Never?”
“The two are more like enemies than brothers because of the management dispute.”
Unless I openly intervene in the fight, there’s no way they’ll join forces.
“Moreover, we also hold shares in Ahsung Bio. Cheon Jun-young can’t afford to be kicked out empty-handed, so he’ll have no choice but to comply with the hedge funds’ demands.”
I did steer things, but the situation was unfolding even more favorably than we’d hoped.
After Chairman Cheon Ho-tae’s arrest,
the conflict between Cheon Jun-young and Cheon Jun-seok intensified,
and the battery fire and slush fund scandal completely shattered Ahsung Motors’ trust.
＊＊＊
Ahsung Motors headquarters, 14th-floor conference room.
The protest outside was growing louder.
Banners reading ‘Cheon Jun-young Must Resign’ fluttered,
and the angry shareholders’ shouts were deafening, piercing through the windows.
“Vice Chairman… this is already the fourth rally today.”
Director Choi Ha-rim spoke, his face stern.
“I saw. They’ve even set up a tent now.”
“From the looks of it, they’ll continue the overnight protest until you resign.”
“Goddamn it… let them do what they want.”
Cheon Jun-young trailed off, glaring at a document on the desk.
It was a summons from the Special Investigation Unit 3 of the Central District Prosecutor’s Office.
To Vice Chairman Cheon Jun-young of Ahsung Motors.
Regarding the embezzlement and breach of trust charges against your associate, representative Moon Yong-wook, you are requested to appear for questioning as a witness…
“Witness my ass…”
If this wasn’t handled properly, there was a real possibility of ending up in prison like his father.
But the truly shocking report was yet to come.
“Uh… Vice Chairman.”
“What?”
Cheon Jun-young responded with irritation to Choi Ha-rim’s call.
He could tell instinctively it wasn’t good news.
“Polar Arc Investment, Ayles Holdings, and Harold Finance, who supported us during the shareholders’ meeting, have officially demanded your resignation and that of representative Moon Yong-wook.”
Cheon Jun-young’s head snapped up.
“What?”
“They believe there’s little chance of the stock recovering, and the company itself could be at risk. If you don’t resign, they’ve threatened to raise issues at the Ahsung Bio board as well.”
Cheon Jun-young’s expression hardened.
This wasn’t just pressure—it was an ultimatum to surrender management control.
“So they’re telling me to give up management control?”
“If you step down from Ahsung Motors, they promise not to touch Ahsung Bio.”
“…”
Silence fell.
Cheon Jun-young took a deep, ragged breath and slammed his fist on the table.
Bang!
“Don’t spout nonsense. Do they really think a bunch of asset managers can bring me down?”
“Vice Chairman.”
Choi Ha-rim spoke cautiously.
“…There’s only one way to stop their threats in the current situation.”
“What is it?”
“Join forces with Vice Chairman Cheon Jun-seok.”
“What?”
Cheon Jun-young shouted, but Choi Ha-rim continued slowly.
“…Together, your shares would total 27.8%. With that, we can reshuffle the board and defend management control.”
Cheon Jun-young glared at him silently.
Then, he slowly tapped the edge of the desk and spoke.
“So you’re telling me to hand over control of Ahsung Motors and Ahsung Bio to that Jun-seok bastard?”
“By joining forces, you could secure control of Ahsung Bio. But if you keep opposing, you’ll lose both.”
“Don’t talk nonsense. Do you really think Jun-seok would hand over Bio’s control to me?”
Maybe he’d let me handle it for a while.
But once things stabilized, he’d use his shares to take back control.
Choi Ha-rim, who had been listening quietly, nodded.
“I knew you’d say that. But let me be clear: in the current situation, there’s no way for you to keep control of Motors.”
“…”
“However, there is a way to secure control of Ahsung Bio.”
At Choi Ha-rim’s words, Cheon Jun-young’s flushed expression quickly calmed.
“…Tell me. I’ll decide after hearing it.”
“It’s not complicated. We swap the Bio shares held by the asset managers who supported us with the Motors shares we hold.”
That way, while we’d have to give up control of Motors, we could firmly secure control of Bio.
“So there’s really no choice but to give up Motors?”
“Now is the time to plan for the future, not to act rashly. If you don’t want to hand everything over to Vice Chairman Cheon Jun-seok, this is the best option.”
Cheon Jun-young thought there was no other viable alternative.
In the current situation, even if he held on to control, the shareholders would continue protesting.
Once trust in Ahsung Motors fell, not just the electric vehicle models but even the internal combustion models would be affected, causing performance to plummet.
Maybe it’s better to secure Bio at least.
After pondering, no matter how he thought about it, there seemed to be no way to hold on to Motors.
After a brief silence, Cheon Jun-young finally let out a deep sigh.
“…Do as Director Choi says. But add a condition: no matter who becomes the next representative, the slush fund issue must be buried.”
“Good decision. Opportunities will come if we wait.”
“…”
After leaving the vice chairman’s office, Choi Ha-rim immediately entered negotiations with major hedge funds holding Ahsung Motors shares, including Polar Arc Investment, Ayles Holdings, and Harold Finance.
Since their interests aligned, the negotiations concluded faster than expected.
The agreement was to swap their Ahsung Bio shares for Ahsung Motors shares at a 1:1 ratio.
Based on market capitalization, Ahsung Motors was at 35 trillion won, and Ahsung Bio at 33 trillion won.
On the surface, it seemed fair, but considering Ahsung Motors’ market cap had surpassed 50 trillion won just a month ago,
Chairman Cheon Ho-tae, sitting in prison, would have every reason to weep.
But it wasn’t over yet.
In the process, Cheon Jun-young and Choi Ha-rim overlooked one crucial question:
Who would become the next CEO of Ahsung Motors?
No one had asked.