Chapter 208: You Should Experience It Too (2)

Nam Kun-ho paced back and forth across the wide chairman’s office, repeatedly sweeping a hand down his face.

He was certainly angry.

No, he had lost his temper countless times before as well. But for some reason, today felt different.

An indescribable sensation was stirring in one corner of his chest.

Not irritation. Not rage.

It was anxiety.

Joint guarantees. Borrowing between affiliates.

It was a method they had used dozens, no, perhaps hundreds of times until now. Before, the banks had been the first to reach out their hands. Now, it was different. All of them were turning their backs at once.

Nam Kun-ho picked up the documents on the desk.

The notice of changes to loan conditions and the notice of early repayment that the person in charge at Daehan Finance had left behind. Even a statement saying they would reevaluate the risk.

Inside his head, each and every letter seemed to turn into an awl and stab wildly into him.

His lips went dry. He unconsciously picked up the glass of water, only to realize that his hand was trembling faintly.

“…What is this?”

He had never felt this sensation before. He had never worried that money might be insufficient, nor had he ever considered that he might fail to make tomorrow’s payment, not once in his life. There had always been a next move. And yet….

“What if this… is not just one place, but all of them?”

When his thoughts reached that point, Nam Kun-ho’s breathing grew visibly rough. His chest tightened. Without realizing it, he gripped the edge of the desk. There was no strength in his palm.

“No way…. That won’t happen. Who do they think I am? I’m Nam Kun-ho! Nam Kun-ho!”

Comforting himself like that, he wandered around the chairman’s office for a while. When his steps, which had been moving this way and that, finally stopped, he picked up the intercom beside the desk.

“Tell Han Ji-beom to come in.”

Even after giving the order, he could not sit down. He loosened the tie choking his neck with his hand and walked toward the window.

The downtown scenery outside did not enter his eyes. His mind was already filled with all kinds of thoughts about what he should do next.

A knock sounded a moment later.

“Come in.”

The door opened, and Han Ji-beom entered. He was the managing director of Daehan Group’s Financial Strategy Headquarters. In his hands were a thick file of documents and a tablet. Unlike usual, his face was full of tension. He bowed and gave a brief greeting.

“You called for me, Chairman?”

Nam Kun-ho nodded, pointed toward the sofa, and said in a low voice,

“Tell me the current funding situation of the entire group.”

Han Ji-beom felt, as expected, that what had to come had come. He briefly steadied his breath, then turned on the tablet he had brought. A cash flow table by affiliate immediately appeared on the screen. It was a moment when every number felt heavy.

“We have recalculated the cash requirements over the next ninety days based on the period after Woojin Bank suspended new disbursements.”

Nam Kun-ho’s gaze fixed on the screen.

“Which one is most urgent?”

Han Ji-beom’s finger pointed to the first line.

“Daehan Construction.”

He read the numbers clearly, one by one.

“For six overseas plant and SOC sites, including labor costs, equipment lease fees, and local subcontractor payments, approximately 1.8 trillion won is needed by the end of next month.”

Nam Kun-ho’s eyebrows trembled faintly.

“Can’t the existing loans cover that?”

“As the existing PF lines have gone into reexamination, the disbursement speed has fallen to less than half.”

Han Ji-beom’s voice lowered slightly.

“At this point, unless we plug the gap with cash, the work will stop.”

“What do you mean, stop!”

“The delay penalty clause will be triggered.”

Silence settled over the chairman’s office. Han Ji-beom broke that silence and opened his mouth.

“Even a single day’s delay will increase losses by tens of billions of won.”

At those words, Nam Kun-ho’s jaw tightened. Han Ji-beom continued. His voice was calm, but every word reached heavily.

“Chairman, a delay penalty clause means this.”

He turned the tablet screen. A summary of an overseas plant contract appeared.

“If the work falls behind the contract schedule, damages are automatically incurred on a daily basis, regardless of the reason.”

After briefly collecting his breath, he continued.

“It does not matter whether the cause is a natural disaster or a financing issue.”

Nam Kun-ho’s expression darkened.

“Based on the sites Daehan Construction is handling, the delay penalties will attach at a rate of as little as 4 billion won and as much as 7 billion won per day.”

Nam Kun-ho’s eyebrows twitched faintly.

“Money will start leaking from the moment the work stops. That is why PF funding is important. The sites have to keep moving, and equipment lease fees, labor costs, and local subcontractor payments will not wait for the date.”

Nam Kun-ho asked in a low voice,

“Then why is the PF under reexamination? There was no issue until now.”

As if he had expected the question, Han Ji-beom nodded.

“The existing PF lines were approved on the premise of the joint guarantee structure. But now, that joint guarantee itself has been classified as a risk.”

He turned the screen again and continued.

“As Woojin Bank has taken on the role of control tower for the lender group, the entire lender group has begun reviewing the possibility of covenant violations.”

Nam Kun-ho’s expression hardened even further. Han Ji-beom swallowed dryly once and opened his mouth.

“Reexamination is not a formal procedure. It means they stop fund disbursement for the time being and review the collateral value, validity of guarantees, and borrowing structure again from the very beginning.”

Perhaps his throat was tight, because he picked up the glass of water on the table and took a sip.

“Until now, this was money that was automatically disbursed once approval was granted. Now, each individual case has to go through a meeting again.”

Nam Kun-ho’s hand gripped the armrest of the chair tightly. Han Ji-beom spoke as if summarizing the situation.

“In other words, it is not that we have no money. It is that even if there is money, we cannot use it right now.”

Those words split the air of the chairman’s office. Nam Kun-ho leaned back against the sofa and pressed both hands to his temples. For a moment, he said nothing.

Delay penalties. Reexamination. Suspension of disbursement.

This was not simple funding pressure. It was the same as time devouring money. Han Ji-beom watched Nam Kun-ho’s mood and carefully added,

“That is why the construction side may not even be able to endure thirty days. Not unless the funds are released before then. The losses will also snowball.”

Nam Kun-ho slowly raised his head.

One day, two days, and then a week.

Until now, he had considered it no great matter because he had calculated on the assumption that it would be resolved eventually. But now, it was different. If it was not resolved, then from this point on, it would be like falling into a swamp beyond control. He barely collected himself and asked,

“…Next?”

Han Ji-beom hesitated for a moment. That brief pause felt ominous to Nam Kun-ho instead. Han Ji-beom turned the tablet screen and opened his mouth.

“Daehan Oil.”

Numbers appeared on the screen along with an oil price graph.

“The crude oil import settlement cycle is short. Usually, it is on a thirty-day basis, but since the settlement banks are currently imposing settlement guarantee conditions again….”

Nam Kun-ho frowned and asked,

“So how much is it?”

“Approximately 900 billion won by the next settlement date.”

Han Ji-beom added,

“The shipment has already come in.”

“It has already come in?”

“Yes. If we cannot settle the payment, the next shipment will be cut off.”

Han Ji-beom’s expression stiffened.

“If the refining line stops, the losses cannot be calculated simply. Even if refining stops for just one day, losses of hundreds of billions of won occur. Including the cost of restarting, the damage grows even larger.”

Nam Kun-ho’s hand slowly curled on his knee. Han Ji-beom let out a breath, as if choosing his words for a moment.

“Chairman, when the refining line stops, it is not simply a matter of stopping one factory.”

Nam Kun-ho was not unaware of what that meant, but he remained silent.

“Refining facilities are designed on the premise of continuous operation. The entire process of heating, cracking, and refining crude oil is connected, so if it stops midway, the internal pressure and temperature must be adjusted again from the beginning.”

Han Ji-beom’s voice lowered.

“Once it is stopped, it takes several days just to get it running again. During that time, product losses will occur, and the crude oil remaining in the process will have to be discarded.”

Silence passed for a moment, but Han Ji-beom opened his mouth again.

“That is why stopping the facilities does not simply mean we will not produce today. It is closer to burning away the costs we have already put in.”

Nam Kun-ho’s gaze turned downward.

“Moreover, the contract structure on the refining side is also an issue.”

At this unexpected point, Nam Kun-ho asked,

“What contract?”

“The crude oil import contracts include a minimum offtake clause. Just because we stop the facilities, the contracts do not disappear. In the end, the crude oil will either continue coming in, or penalties will arise even if it does not. Either way, money flows out.”

Han Ji-beom continued carefully.

“Once the refining side begins to shake, the losses snowball. This is not a matter of one or two days. Structurally, money starts leaking.”

Nam Kun-ho’s breathing grew a little rougher. The matter he had thought would somehow work out if they endured was gradually tightening around his throat.

Han Ji-beom did not stop the report. He turned the tablet screen again. This time, another number appeared along with a graph of telecom facility investment.

“This time, it is Daehan Telecom.”

Nam Kun-ho’s gaze naturally shifted there. The telecom side was the one he had believed, at least, to be a stable source of cash generation.

“At present, revenue on the telecom side is steady. Subscriber numbers and fee revenue themselves are continuing to trend upward in a similar pattern every year.”

When Han Ji-beom said that, Nam Kun-ho’s expression seemed to relax slightly. But the words that followed were not so reassuring.

“The problem is expenses.”

“Why expenses?”

“Facility investment and frequency fees.”

Han Ji-beom enlarged the screen. The base station expansion plan and equipment order details were organized there.

“LTE network expansion is still underway. In telecommunications, once investment begins, it cannot be stopped midway.”

Han Ji-beom drank water now and then, as if his throat was dry.

“If coverage and quality are not maintained, complaints will break out immediately, and that will lead to subscriber churn.”

Nam Kun-ho’s brow narrowed again.

“That is why telecom companies are structured so that even if cash comes in steadily, cash must also continue going out steadily.”

“So how much is needed?”

“Approximately 700 billion won over the next two months.”

Han Ji-beom’s voice lowered slightly.

“That includes base station expansion costs, equipment payments, and installment payments for frequency usage fees.”

“Frequency usage fees?”

“It is a kind of usage tax paid to the state. If it is not paid on the set date, late fees are added, and in severe cases, it can even lead to administrative sanctions.”

Han Ji-beom’s voice began to crack little by little.

“The telecom side is not at risk because it cannot make money. It becomes dangerous from the moment it lacks cash that can be used immediately, even while making money.”

Nam Kun-ho gripped the armrest again without saying a word. Construction would erupt in losses if it stopped, refining would burn money into thin air the moment it stopped, and telecom could not even stop at all. It felt as if he had fallen into a bottomless mire. Han Ji-beom turned to the final screen and said,

“And the last one is Daehan Finance.”