45: Chapter 45 Division

At 3:00 PM the next day, Park Yun-jeong arrived at the Shunyi Foods office on time.

When Kim Tae-min showed him in, Chairman Wang Shunyi was looking at last month's sales report; hearing the knock, he closed the report and stood up to greet him.

Park Yun-jeong was in his early fifties, not very tall, and slightly plump, wearing a dark gray suit with his tie tied tightly, though the top button of his shirt was undone.

He bowed upon entering, and when he looked up, Chairman Wang Shunyi noticed the heavy dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept well in days.

"Vice President Park, please have a seat." Chairman Wang Shunyi gestured to the chair across from him at the conference table.

"Thank you, President Wang." Park Yun-jeong sat down and placed his briefcase by his feet, showing no intention of opening it.

He glanced at the whiteboard on the conference room wall, which had a few lines written about the progress of new product development; his gaze lingered for two seconds before he looked away.

Chairman Wang Shunyi poured him a glass of water, sat down opposite him, and didn't rush to speak.

Park Yun-jeong picked up the glass, took a sip, set it down, and clasped his hands together on the table, his thumbs twiddling.

The conference room was quiet for a few seconds, with only the low hum of the air conditioner.

"President Wang, I have come today to discuss a business matter with you." He finally spoke; his voice was not loud, but he spoke slowly, as if weighing every word.

"What kind of business?"

"I want to sell my shares in Jins Foods."

Chairman Wang Shunyi showed no expression of surprise; he leaned back in his chair, waiting for the other man to continue.

Park Yun-jeong glanced at him and continued, "I hold an eight percent stake in Jins Foods and am the third-largest shareholder. Based on the current valuation, it's worth about 12 billion. I am willing to transfer it for 10 billion."

"Why?" Chairman Wang Shunyi asked.

"Why am I selling?" Park Yun-jeong gave a bitter smile, a smile that carried an indescribable bitterness. "President Wang, you should know the current situation at Jins Foods. The price war has been going on for two months, burning through 3 billion in cash flow every month; there is only enough money left on the books to last three months at most. Kim Dong-hyun won't listen to anyone; opinions from R&D, marketing, and production are all shot down when they reach him. The other founding members and I tried to persuade him to stop, but he wouldn't listen; he even slammed the table and said we 'lack fighting spirit'."

He paused, took off his glasses to wipe the lenses with the corner of his shirt, and put them back on. "I have worked at Jins Foods for twenty-two years, since the very first day the factory was built. I watched it grow from a small workshop to an annual sales volume of 2 trillion. Now, I am watching it rush toward a cliff, and I can't hold it back. I don't want to be buried with it."

Chairman Wang Shunyi didn't respond; he picked up the glass on the table and took a slow sip. The water was cold and tasted a bit astringent.

"So you want to exit."

"Yes. I want to retire. But I don't want my shares to fall into the hands of someone who doesn't understand the industry and will just break them up and sell them off." Park Yun-jeong looked at Chairman Wang Shunyi, "Shunyi Foods is a company I think highly of. You are young, have ideas, and are steady in your work. I believe you can go further."

Chairman Wang Shunyi put down the glass. "Vice President Park, if I acquire your shares, I will become a shareholder of Jins Foods. Kim Dong-hyun will not sit idly by. Once this gets out, he will think Shunyi Foods is attempting a hostile takeover, and his reaction will be much more intense than before."

"That is why you cannot acquire them directly," Park Yun-jeong said. "Find a third party, an investor who has no public connection to Shunyi Foods. Let them buy my shares; on the surface, it will have nothing to do with you."

"Do you have a suitable candidate in mind?"

"I am thinking about it," Chairman Wang Shunyi said. "But I need time to evaluate this. Wait a few days."

"Fine." Park Yun-jeong stood up and picked up his briefcase. "President Wang, I will wait for your news. Also, please keep this matter confidential for now. If Kim Dong-hyun finds out I came to see you, I might not even be able to set foot inside the company gates."

"I understand."

Park Yun-jeong bowed and turned to leave; when he reached the door, he stopped for a moment, without turning back, and said, "President Wang, Jins Foods cannot last much longer. Be prepared."

The door closed, and the sound of footsteps in the hallway quickly disappeared in the direction of the elevator.

Chairman Wang Shunyi sat in the conference room for a while, then called Zhang Junhao and Park Min-ji over.

He repeated what Park Yun-jeong had said; after hearing it, the two had different expressions: Zhang Junhao frowned, his fingers tapping lightly on the table, while Park Min-ji leaned back in her chair, eyes fixed on the ceiling.

"10 billion for an eight percent stake is cheap," Zhang Junhao spoke first. "But buying it directly is too risky. If Kim Dong-hyun finds out, he will definitely claim we are attempting a hostile takeover, and he might even report us to the Fair Trade Commission."

"That's why Park Yun-jeong suggested finding a third party to hold the shares on our behalf," Chairman Wang Shunyi said.

"Holding shares on behalf of someone else also carries risks," Park Min-ji sat up straight. "It's not legally impossible, but it has to be done cleanly. The third-party company cannot have any public connection to Shunyi Foods—no equity, personnel, or capital transactions. Otherwise, Kims could sue us for unfair competition."

"Besides," she continued, "even if the proxy holding is successful and we become shareholders of Kims, what can we do? Kim Dong-hyun holds forty percent, and his family holds sixty-five percent in total, giving them absolute control. Our eight percent won't even make a ripple at the shareholders' meeting."

Chairman Wang Shunyi nodded. "So just buying Park Yun-jeong's shares isn't enough. Jun-ho, go and check if any other founding members want to exit as well."

Zhang Junhao was stunned. "You want to consolidate their shares?"

"If the founding team is collectively dissatisfied with Kim Dong-hyun, the shares they hold add up to a significant amount. Eight percent plus fifteen percent is twenty-three percent. Add the twelve percent from institutional investors, and if the wind changes, thirty-five percent could challenge Kim Dong-hyun's control."

Zhang Junhao was silent for a few seconds, then nodded. "I'll look into it."

Over the next week, Zhang Junhao used several old friends to get a rough idea of the situation inside Jins Foods; Park Yun-jeong was not the only one who wanted to exit.

Several other founding members—four in total, holding a combined fifteen percent of the shares—were also increasingly dissatisfied with Kim Dong-hyun's autocratic behavior.

Two of them were over sixty and had wanted to retire for a while, but were too embarrassed to speak up due to social ties; another was just over fifty, but after arguing with Kim Dong-hyun a few times, he was disheartened and was also looking for a way out.

Zhang Junhao compiled this information into a report and placed it on Chairman Wang Shunyi's desk. "President, if we can acquire the shares of these four people, plus Park Yun-jeong's eight percent, it will total twenty-three percent. If we find a clean third-party company to hold them, we will have a voice at the shareholders' meeting."

"What about the institutional investors?" Chairman Wang Shunyi asked.

"That's hard to say. They only care about profit and will side with whoever makes them more money. If we can make Kims' stock price go up, they will naturally support us."

Chairman Wang Shunyi leaned back in his chair and thought for a while. "Let's secure Park Yun-jeong's shares first. We can negotiate for the others slowly."

He picked up his phone, scrolled to a number, and dialed it.

"Chairman Choi, hello. This is Chairman Wang Shunyi from Shunyi Foods."

On the other end of the line was Choi Jae-won, a fairly well-known investor in the Korean food industry; he was in his fifties, tall and thin, and spoke in a slow, deliberate manner.

Chairman Wang Shunyi had dealt with him twice before; they weren't very close, but they had a good impression of each other.

"President Wang, long time no see. What can I do for you?"

"I have a business matter I'd like to discuss with you. It's about shares in Jins Foods."

There was silence on the other end for two seconds. "Kims? Go ahead."

"Kims' third-largest shareholder, Park Yun-jeong, wants to exit. He has an eight percent stake, worth 10 billion. I would like you to step forward and acquire it, holding it on my behalf for a period of time. When the time is right, I will buy it from you. Your return will be calculated at twice the market interest rate."

Choi Jae-won didn't answer immediately; the sound of paper rustling came through the phone, as if he were checking something.

"Kims' current financial situation isn't very good, is it?" he asked.

"It's not. The price war has been going on for two months, and cash flow is tight. But Kims' assets are solid—the factories, distribution channels, and brand are still there. 10 billion for an eight percent stake is not expensive."

"What about the risk? If Kim Dong-hyun finds out I bought his shares, what will he think?"

"That's why Kim Dong-hyun cannot know. You can use a company with no connection to Shunyi Foods to make the purchase; on the surface, it will be an independent investment. You and I will sign a private agreement stipulating the terms of the future transfer and profit distribution."

Choi Jae-won was silent for a few more seconds. "President Wang, you are a bold man. I admire that. I'll take this on. But there is one condition—the private agreement must be drafted by lawyers to clearly write out the rights and obligations of both parties so there won't be any disputes later."

"Of course."

Two days later, Choi Jae-won's lawyer and Park Yun-jeong's lawyer met in a coffee shop and signed the transfer agreement.

Park Yun-jeong's eight percent stake was transferred to an investment company under Choi Jae-won's name for 10 billion; the funds moved through one of Choi Jae-won's offshore accounts, clean and untraceable to any connection with Shunyi Foods.

On the evening after the papers were signed, Park Yun-jeong sent Chairman Wang Shunyi a text message: "President Wang, thank you. The shares have been transferred. Kims' affairs have nothing to do with me anymore."

Chairman Wang Shunyi replied with one word: "Good."

He put down his phone and walked to the window; outside was the night view of Seongdong-gu, with streetlights glowing in a dim yellow light, and Namsan Tower in the distance flickering in the night.

Downstairs, a truck was unloading cargo, and workers were stacking cardboard boxes onto a cart one by one, moving very slowly, as if they were killing time.

Zhang Junhao came in from outside, holding a cup of coffee; seeing him standing at the window, he asked, "Is it done?"

"It's done."

"What's next?"

"Next, we wait," Chairman Wang Shunyi turned around. "Keep waiting. I have plenty of time to slowly wear them down."