Chapter 41: Using a Dragon-Slaying Sword to Kill a Chicken
The Legal Team of Buksan Group.
The legal team of Buksan Group was so massive that it is one of the top five law firm in the country.
They boasted at least ten senior legal executives and twenty more lawyers with the rank of senior managing director or above. Across the entire group, around 200 lawyers were part of the legal team.
What was particularly notable about the legal executives was their prestige.
Most were recruited from top-level positions, having previously worked as judges or prosecutors.
Perhaps influenced by Chairman Lee Seung-hwan’s fiery temper, Buksan’s legal team was known for its aggressive legal responses.
It was said that if you ever found yourself entangled with Buksan’s legal team, it was better to surrender and beg for mercy from the start.
Hwang Hak-seon, the managing director of Buksan Group’s Legal Support Team, casting a glance at the young man in front of him as skimmed through the stack of documents in his hand.
‘Who in the world is this young man?’
It had been over ten years since Hwang Hak-seon had left his position as a chief prosecutor at the Seoul High Prosecutor’s Office to join Buksan, yet he had never encountered this young man before.
One might ask why he didn’t simply ignore someone unfamiliar, but how could he? This was an order given directly by Chairman Lee Seung-hwan himself.
At Buksan, whatever Chairman Lee Seung-hwan said was the law.
Although Hwang Hak-seon held a prestigious position, he couldn’t help but be cautious around the young man standing before him.
“Hmm… Embezzlement, bribery, stock manipulation… This is quite the package deal. I’ll make sure it’s all neatly organized and handed over to Deputy Chief Prosecutor Jeon Tae-young from the Financial Investigations Department of the Central Prosecutor’s Office. Hahaha. He’s an old colleague of mine, but he’s terrifying. He’s infamous for being a relentless hardliner.”
As expected, even in Korea, Jang Seok-hyeon had been secretly engaging in various crime activities.
The most serious offense among them was the attempt at large-scale stock manipulation.
“Will this be enough for a prison sentence?”
“More than enough. Let’s see… if we put it all together…”
Hwang Hak-seon scratched his chin thoughtfully, then spread his fingers as if counting.
“At least eight years, with fines reaching into the billions of won as a basic punishment.”
“I’ll be counting on you.”
“Of course, it’s Chairman Lee Seung-hwan’s order. I’ll make sure to tell Prosecutor Jeon Tae-young to pay ‘extra’ attention to this case.”
With that, the meeting with Managing Director Hwang concluded, and I stepped out of the building in high spirits.
Eagerly anticipating the dynamic events to unfold.
The next day, at Buksan Ventures headquarters in Pangyo.
As we entered the elevator and ascended to the 5th floor, a gaunt man in his 40s greeted us warmly.
“Thank you for coming all the way here. I’m Kim Seong-hoon, the Team Leader of Investment Team 3 at Buksan Ventures, as we discussed over the phone.”
Kim Seong-hoon led the two of us to a meeting room, where someone was already waiting.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you. It’s great to finally see you in person. I’m Lee Jong-hoon, the CEO of Buksan Ventures.”
Taken aback that the CEO himself had shown up, Lee Jang-won swallowed nervously.
Lee Jong-hoon had the sharp, handsome features of a distinguished middle-aged man, but there was a playful smile on his face.
With the exchange of business cards, the meeting officially began.
“We’ve thoroughly reviewed the IR materials you sent over, my investment review team and I. ‘Thumbs up’… it’s an excellent service.”
The positive feedback came right at the start, lighting up Lee Jang-won’s face.
“Thank you for your positive assessment.”
“Of course, we initially reviewed the deal due to some ‘pressure’ from above, but now the tables have turned. Buksan Ventures is the one eager to invest in Beslo. We believe we can be partners who create real synergy together.”
Though his remark seemed directed at me with some underlying meaning, I didn’t mind.
After all, one of the typical ‘cheat keys’ in business is the top-down strategy, where you start by targeting the key person 1(decision-maker).
Unlike some others, I liked CEO Lee Jong-hoon’s straightforward and sincere approach.
“We’d also welcome the opportunity to partner with a trustworthy company like Buksan. Now, the only issue left to discuss is the equity share and investment amount…”
As Lee Jang-won spoke, CEO Lee Jong-hoon gave a meaningful smile and casually slid a document across the table.
“This is a preliminary contract. There’s a lot to go over, so please take it with you and review it thoroughly. But to summarize the key points: Buksan Ventures has set Beslo’s post-valuation at 100 billion won. Our investment will be 15 billion won and we’re asking for a 15% equity stake.”
Compared to the terms Jang Seok-hyeon had previously suggested, the investment amount had tripled, while the equity stake had nearly been cut by a third.
As Lee Jang-won sat frozen in shock, unable to speak, CEO Lee Jong-hoon seemed to misunderstand the silence and continued explaining.
“There’s a common misconception that a higher valuation is always better, but that’s not necessarily the case. If you’re not careful, it can come back like a bad boomerang.”
“If the valuation is high, you dilute less equity, so how does that turn into a boomerang?”
It was a natural question.
CEO Lee Jong-hoon answered calmly.
“That’s because the startup business rarely ends with just one round of investment. If the initial valuation is inflated too much, the next funding round could run into issues due to changes in the economic environment or unforeseen variables. That can throw off the company’s next steps. As a business owner, you need to factor in these risks. Of course, being undervalued can be just as problematic.”
It was a classic case of ‘Excess is as bad as deficiency’. 2(This is a famous four-character Chinese idiom (사자성어, saja-seong-eo) that means “too much is as bad as too little” or “going to extremes can be as harmful as falling short.” The idea is that doing something excessively is no better than not doing it at all.)
In the end, it meant that doing something excessively is worse than not doing it at all.
In other words, the fact that Buksan Ventures valued Beslo at 100 billion won was far from excessive.
I maintained a neutral expression as I asked CEO Lee Jong-hoon.
“I understand your point. Could you explain the criteria Buksan used to determine Beslo’s valuation at 100 billion won?”
“Oh. Let me explain that.”
Kim Seong-hoon, the team leader, who had been quietly sitting until then, raising his hand.
“As you know, valuing a startup is often subjective. It really depends on the industry, the current state of the economy and predictions about future economic trends. The valuation can vary widely based on these factors.”
I nodded in silence acknowledging the truth of his statement.
“We thoroughly reviewed various metrics and data from Beslo. Ultimately, the rapid growth rate and the potential for future growth of ‘Thumbs Up’ played a significant factor in determining this valuation.”
Simply put, they were betting big on the expectation that ‘Thumbs Up’ would grow substantially.
“Even though most social networking services initially focus more on attracting users and increasing daily active users (DAU) rather than generating profits, ‘Thumbs Up’ has not only attracted users but also generated a considerable amount of revenue. That’s a remarkable achievement. In addition to that, we gave extra points in our evaluation for another reason.”
“And what is it?”
“The fact that the primary user base consists of students.”
“Why is that…?”
“From one perspective, you could say that because they have little purchasing power, it might be difficult to generate significant profits. But we see it differently.”
Kim Seong-hoon looked at us intently with sharp eyes.
“That age group is in the process of experiencing and learning about brands for the first time. This is a crucial influence. You can look at the popular Pokémon IP. The content that people enjoyed as children continues to have a significant influence on them even as adults.”
He wasn’t wrong.
Experiences that leave a strong impression during childhood tend to stick with you into adulthood, becoming something you seek out or reminisce about. I myself had collected the entire Slam Dunk series and various merchandise over the years.
“Teenage consumers are relatively immune to economic downturns. What I mean by that is, since they are free from economic responsibilities and burdens, their spending is less restricted. Moreover, they represent future potential customers with multiple income sources. They occupy a very important position in the market.”
As I listened, I couldn’t help but feel as if we were the investment reviewers and Kim Seong-hoon was pitching Beslo to us.
His enthusiasm conveyed how much Buksan Ventures wanted to partner with this promising startup.
“I’ve only touched on the key points, but the bottom line is that we see tremendous potential in Beslo. We at Buksan Ventures can definitely act as a catalyst for its growth.”
The explanation was clear and his sincerity came through.
Lee Jang-won and I exchanged glances, and without needing to speak, we both nodded in agreement.
“Sounds good. We’ll review the preliminary contract, and if everything checks out, we’ll move forward with it and get back to you.”
“Of course. If there’s anything in the contract that concerns you, feel free to contact Team Leader Kim anytime.”
“We’ll do that.”
At the same time, we both stood up from our chairs.
CEO Lee Jong-hoon approached me, extending his hand.
“As I’ve heard, you’re quite impressive. Hahaha. I hope we’ll have the chance to meet often in the future.”
His comment, as if he knew me well, made me tilt my head in curiosity.
“I heard that Dae-woon-ssi is my father’s drinking buddy. My father, who is usually stingy with compliments, was so full of praise for you. Hahaha. I almost embarrassingly felt jealous!”
‘Ah, right. You’re his son.’
It had slipped my mind since Lee Jong-hoon bore no resemblance to his father, Chairman Lee Seung-hwan.
“Maybe later, once we get closer, let’s become drinking buddies too. Hahaha, I really enjoy drinking as well.”
He seemed surprisingly down-to-earth and approachable for someone from a chaebol family.
Even Team Leader Kim Seong-hoon, who is standing beside him, didn’t seem overly formal around the CEO.
I nodded with a smile.
“Of course. I’ll reach out soon. Until then.”
With that, Lee Jang-won and I bid our farewells and left the building.
Two weeks later.
After the contract was reviewed and cleared by our legal team, Beslo officially secured an investment of 15 billion won, with a company valuation of 100 billion won, from Buksan Ventures, a leading corporate venture capital firm.
A café near Hanyeong University.
Sitting alone in a corner, I smirked as I stared at my phone screen.
“Hehehe, karma always comes around, doesn’t it?”
[Venture capital firm DUK Ventures has been implicated in a corruption investigation. Several executives have been charged with stock manipulation and embezzlement.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office’s Financial Investigation Unit 3 announced that they arrested and indicted of two individuals, including Jang Mo-ssi (51) 3(장모씨 (jang-mo-ssi) is a common way to anonymize names in Korean news. 장모 means “someone with the last name Jang,” and 씨 (ssi) is an honorific for “Mr.” or “Ms.”) from DUK Ventures, and issued a warrant order for three others.
According to prosecutors, they conspired with loan sharks disguised as foreign investors and orchestrated large-scale stock manipulation, netting an illegal profit of around 50 billion won…]
[Following the Supreme Court’s recent recommendation last year to impose severe penalties for stock manipulators, the Seoul Central District Court has handed down multiple prison sentences to individuals involved in the DUK Ventures case. The main offender, Jang Mo-ssi (51), received nine years in prison and a fine of 11 billion won for manipulating Geumjeong Network’s stock price and embezzling company funds…]
It was the downfall of Jang Seok-hyeon.
Once Prosecutor Jeon Tae-young, known as a ‘mad dog’ and notorious for his relentless pursuit of white-collar criminals, got hold of Jang Seok-hyeon, all of his crimes were exposed, like Vienna sausages on a string. 4(Emphasizing small and continuous pieces lines up one after another)
Thinking about how that smug face must have turned sour gave me a sense of satisfaction, as if a decade-old weight had finally been lifted from my shoulders.
Click-clack. Click-clack.
“What’s with that creepy smile in the corner? Are you looking at something weird?”
I looked up at the calm voice that cleared my head. Lee Ji-won, dressed in a white blouse and black leather skirt, was looking at me with a somewhat suspicious gaze.
Her overwhelming presence instantly drew the attention of everyone in the café for a moment.
“Whoa, what’s going through your mind? Come sit down. I already ordered your drink.”
As Lee Ji-won sat down across from me, a faint scent of wildflowers filled my nose.
We often met like this to chat over meals or coffee, sharing random stories.
“I heard the news. Beslo got an investment from Buksan Ventures, right?”
“Wow. We just signed the contract yesterday, and it’s already out?”
“That’s amazing. Securing an investment of that scale less than a year after the hackathon—impressive.”
“It was a combination of luck and good timing. But honestly, the Beslo team worked really hard for it.”
“Congratulations. You must have hit the jackpot.”
“Jackpot? What do you mean?”
“You’re an early investor in Beslo, aren’t you? The value of your shares must have skyrocketed by now.”
For a moment, my expression went blank.
I’d been so obsessed with securing the deal that I had completely forgotten about my own shares.
I hurriedly pulled out my phone and clicked in the numbers to calculate the value of my stake.
And then—
“What the…?”
As the numbers flashed across the calculator screen, my pupils gradually widened in disbelief as I stared at the endless string of digits.
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