CH119

As a knock sounded and Seok-won entered the room, Chairman Park Tae-hong, who was seated on the prime spot of the sofa reviewing documents, gestured with his chin toward the empty seat on his right.

"You're here? Sit there."

Walking over to the sofa, Seok-won placed the cashmere coat he was holding beside him, unbuttoned his jacket, and took a seat.

Chairman Park Tae-hong took off his reading glasses, set them on the table along with the documents, and rubbed his tired eyes before taking a sip of tea.

"Ugh. I prefer sweet coffee, but this green tea is so bland. It's just not the same."

He grumbled, frowning.

His wife, Jo Deok-rye, had specially prepared a medicinal tonic brewed with wild ginseng for him, and as part of the regimen, she had imposed a temporary ban on coffee.

For someone like Chairman Park, who enjoyed coffee so much that he drank five or six cups a day, this was no small ordeal. Yet, despite appearances, he was quite devoted to his wife and generally followed her wishes.

She had originally told him to quit smoking as well, but he had adamantly refused. In the end, they settled on a compromise—he would give up coffee but keep his cigarettes.

"She's only doing it because she's worried about your health, Father."

"If a little coffee is enough to negate the effects of the tonic, then is it really a tonic at all? Your mother must have been scammed. She's far too gullible… And who even knows if that wild ginseng is real?"

Seok-won thought to himself that, despite all his complaints, his father was still obediently following the rules. But he chose to keep that thought to himself.

After venting his frustration for a while, Chairman Park leaned back into the plush leather sofa and gazed at Seok-won before casually bringing up the main topic.

"I received last month's profit report. The returns weren't bad this time either."

The investments in Okwang Industries and Cheonho Steel had been steadily rising, bringing in tens of billions more in profit over the past month.

Calling it "not bad" was an understatement—it was an exceptionally good return. But Seok-won remained composed and responded indifferently.

"The momentum has slowed a bit, which is a shame, but considering how much it has already risen, it was inevitable."

Chairman Park had expected Seok-won to immediately counter his statement with a lengthy explanation of how impressive the returns actually were. But instead, Seok-won brushed it off so nonchalantly that his father was momentarily at a loss.

Still, he quickly reassured himself that such composure came from confidence and experience, which left him feeling rather pleased.

'The boy really does take after me when it comes to guts.'

Feeling satisfied, he gazed at Seok-won for a moment before straightening his expression and moving on to the real issue at hand.

"You must have heard that Sampoong Department Store, which was a major topic last month, has finally shut down."

"Yes."

The department store had been closed for business ever since revelations of illegal expansions, shoddy construction, and potential structural collapse had surfaced.

Subsequent police investigations uncovered additional illegal activities, including tax evasion, leading to the arrest and detention of the store's president and its entire executive team. They were recently indicted and put on trial.

'The nation was already on edge after the Seongsu Bridge collapse, and now this happened. The government must have decided to make an example of them.'

In fact, the president himself had publicly instructed his cabinet to conduct a thorough investigation and ensure such incidents never happened again. It had even made the newspapers.

With the government taking a firm stance, prosecutors, police, and tax authorities had all aggressively jumped on the case.

'Banks, too, were wary of government scrutiny and rushed to recall the loans they had given to Sampoong Department Store and the Sampoong Group, tightening the noose.'

With its business operations suspended, cash flow had completely dried up. On top of that, the company was hit with hefty tax penalties and faced immediate repayment demands on its loans. Struggling under the financial pressure, Sampoong Group ultimately declared bankruptcy last month.

In reality, it was a case of the government applying full-scale pressure to force a company out of existence.

But if they hadn't, the department store might have collapsed, killing countless people and leaving families devastated. There was no sense of guilt or regret about what had happened.

"I read that the safety inspections deemed the building at risk of collapse, so they've decided to demolish it."

"The shock of the Seongsu Bridge collapse is still fresh in people's minds. There's no way they could just leave a department store standing when it could collapse at any moment."

If it were him, he wouldn't even think about stepping foot into a building with structural risks.

"But why are you suddenly bringing up Sampoong Department Store?"

At Seok-won's question, Chairman Park Tae-hong straightened his posture from his relaxed position.

"I'm considering acquiring the Sampoong Department Store site, which the banks plan to sell to recover their loans. What do you think?"

The unexpected proposal caught Seok-won completely off guard.

"…You're planning to buy the Sampoong Department Store site?"

"That's right."

Chairman Park nodded slightly, speaking in an unaffected tone.

"It may have closed down due to unfortunate circumstances, but it's a prime location right in the heart of Seocho-dong, one of the most valuable areas in Gangnam. If we acquire the land and build a new department store there, success is practically guaranteed."

"It's close to Gyodae Station, which serves as an interchange for Subway Lines 2 and 3, and it's also near the Seoul Express Bus Terminal and the Nambu Terminal. The location is indeed excellent."

Additionally, under the newly confirmed Phase 3 subway expansion plan, Sapyeong Station on Line 9 was set to be built nearby.

"On top of that, considering the purchasing power of the affluent residents in Seocho and Gangnam, it would be the perfect location for a high-end department store."

"Exactly."

Seeing Seok-won's positive response, Chairman Park's voice grew more animated.

"Since this will be Mido Department Store's first location in Gangnam, I plan to aggressively attract international luxury brands and operate it as a top-tier department store. That way, we won't just enhance our brand image, but we'll also gain an advantage over Lotte and Utopia Department Store, both of which have been expanding aggressively."

Sampoong Department Store itself had initially thrived under a high-end strategy, so the idea was entirely feasible and had strong potential.

'Last year, Sampoong Department Store recorded an annual revenue of 220 billion won.'

That was nearly double the revenue of Mido Department Store's flagship store in Myeong-dong.

Even if department store operations underperformed, the real estate value alone was bound to skyrocket in the coming years, making this a surefire investment.

'Just holding onto the land for ten years could easily yield double or triple the return.'

However, one issue weighed on his mind.

'The problem is that the biggest economic crisis since the founding of Korea—the IMF crisis—is just around the corner.'

With the nation on the brink of default, even major conglomerates would be collapsing one after another. Carrying out a large-scale investment project in such an environment posed significant risks.

For a brief moment, Seok-won tried to recall whether Daheung Group had originally been interested in acquiring the Sampoong Department Store site. But he soon shook his head.

'Under normal circumstances, the collapse would have happened, Sampoong Group's assets would have been seized, and the authorities would be too busy punishing those responsible to consider selling off the land yet. There's no way they would've jumped on this so soon.'

If his memory was correct, the sale of the Sampoong site wouldn't have taken place until the following year.

Even then, due to complications such as compensating victims and resolving disputes with tenant businesses, the sale had gone through multiple failed auctions before finally being completed.

'The fact that the sale is happening this early and that Chairman Park is showing interest—this must be the butterfly effect I created.'

The more things deviated from what he originally knew, the more uneasy he felt.

However, he didn't regret his actions. After all, he couldn't just stand by and ignore a disaster that would have cost so many lives.

Pushing aside his stray thoughts, Seok-won looked at Chairman Park and calmly asked,

"The land is prime real estate, and the site is quite large. The sale price must be considerable. How much are they asking?"

"The total land area, including both the rezoned commercial plots and the remaining sections, is 30,502 square meters. The final price hasn't been set yet, but the estimated starting bid is around 320 billion won."

It was a significant amount of money, but considering how rare it was to find such a large plot of land in the heart of Gangnam, it wasn't an outrageously high price.

"Lotte and Utopia will definitely join the auction as well, so the final winning bid will likely be even higher."

"Of course."

Given how aggressively Lotte and Utopia had been expanding their department store businesses, there was no way they would just stand by and watch such a prime piece of real estate go to someone else.

'Maybe that's why my father is so determined to secure the Sampoong Department Store site, even if it means pushing the limits.'

Mido Department Store was already struggling to keep up with the aggressive expansion of the conglomerates Lotte and Utopia. It was only natural that they were looking for a turning point to reverse the situation.

"If competition gets intense, I'm prepared to go beyond 400 billion won."

"Four hundred billion?"

"That's right."

Chairman Park Tae-hong looked fully prepared for a fierce battle.

"Isn't that pushing things too far?"

Seok-won asked with concern, prompting Chairman Park to respond with a serious expression.

"You know that Mido Department Store has been struggling against Lotte and Utopia."

"Yes."

"Thanks to you, we managed to secure the duty-free business license, which gave us some breathing room, but our situation is still far from ideal."

The stiffness in his voice made it clear just how much urgency he felt.

"If things continue like this, we'll slowly lose market share and wither away, or we'll be relegated to a second-tier department store barely scraping by. We need to make a bold move to solidify our position before it's too late."

"So the card you've chosen to turn the tables is acquiring the Sampoong Department Store site?"

Chairman Park nodded.

"If we win the bid and build the high-end department store as planned, we'll be able to compete with Lotte and Utopia without getting pushed out."

From Seok-won's perspective, it wasn't a bad plan.

In fact, if it succeeded, it could be a masterstroke—securing a firm foothold in the market while resisting the aggressive expansion of Lotte and Utopia.

But the real problem was the impending IMF crisis.

Hiding his inner thoughts, Seok-won asked calmly,

"The land price alone is a heavy burden, but even if we win the bid, constructing a top-tier department store will require a massive investment. How do you plan to finance all of that?"

Without hesitation, Chairman Park responded, as if he had already made up his mind.

"We don't have enough cash on hand, so we'll use the Myeong-dong flagship store and the Cheongnyangni store as collateral for the land payment. Then, we'll take out additional loans using the newly acquired land as collateral for the construction costs."

"So it's all going to be bank loans in the end."

Chairman Park replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"That's how business is done."

Given that Mido Department Store and the textile business—key cash cows for the group—had been experiencing declining sales, Seok-won had already expected something like this.

Besides, before the IMF crisis, leveraged expansion through heavy borrowing was a standard business practice, so Chairman Park's attitude reflected the norm of the time.

'Taking out billions in loans to build a department store just before the IMF crisis? That's like walking into a fire carrying dry kindling.'

Even if they somehow managed to fend off hostile takeovers, the impending financial tsunami of the IMF crisis would sweep away not just Mido Department Store, but the entire Daheung Group.

Seok-won stared at Chairman Park with a firm expression and said in a tense voice,

"In that case, I believe acquiring the Sampoong Department Store site is a reckless move. We should not take on massive debt just to secure the property."

This was something he had to stop, no matter what.

The moment he finished speaking, a heavy silence fell over the study.