Early morning, as the faint light of dawn began to creep over the horizon.
Having completed their statements, Seok-won and his companions exited the police station alongside Attorney Seok Chang-geun.
“Since it was a clear case of self-defense, with solid witness testimony, and we've confirmed that the weapon — the jackknife — was something one of the attackers habitually carried, there shouldn't be any problems,” Seok said calmly, holding a briefcase in one hand.
He g...
Coming to the U.S. wasn't just about inspecting the World Trade Center.
I had another, perhaps even more critical, mission.
I was here to recruit a man who would shape the future of Taewoo Group.
"You mentioned that you got in touch with the professor. When can we meet him?"
David, who was in charge of talent acquisition, nodded. "I’ve scheduled a meeting for today. He’s currently teaching at the University of Toronto, so if we don’t meet now, we’ll have to...
The phone rang immediately.
It was Team Leader Han.
[Sir! This is a disaster! The World Trade Center we leased has been attacked!]
“I’m watching the news right now.”
[Wall Street is in turmoil. Talks of massive short-selling are spreading everywhere.]
“Do not short-sell. In fact, don’t sell a single share.”
[Ah! Breaking news—U.S. stock markets will be shut down for a week.”
“That’s a relief. Stay completely still. Don’t m...
Both CEOs were already well-versed in the concept of factory automation.
Especially Carlos, who had spent years in Europe and the U.S., understood it deeply—his belief in reducing labor costs to maximize revenue aligned perfectly with this idea.
"Kia Motors is actively implementing factory automation systems."
"Taewoo Motors as well!"
They answered almost competitively, their enthusiasm evident.
I gestured for them to calm down and laid...
“Howdy. I’m Kim In-ha.”
“Nice to meet you,” the Saseong inspector replied. “You’re the new owner, I hear.”
“That’s right. I look forward to working with you.”
“Well, the disposal team must have contacted you, but according to our security regulations, all disposal procedures must be conducted under our supervision.”
Kim In-ha glanced at the four inspectors who had arrived with the 10 tons of defective semiconductors and smiled affably. “...
Screech.
The door creaked open, and two figures stepped into the restroom: Edmund Cho, a Korean-American whose father was stationed with the U.S. Forces Korea, and Josh McDaniel.
Josh, towering over 180 cm and weighing 105 kg, was a 17-year-old who sported a beard, looking more like an adult than a teenager.
In contrast, Edmund, who stood at 167 cm and appeared relatively small, had a shaved head and fierce, piercing eyes.
Edmund glanced aro...
A securities trading floor in Nihonbashi, Tokyo.
About a dozen individual investors were seated—or standing—in front of a large electronic ticker board that covered an entire wall.
The atmosphere was grim. The stock market had been falling for days, and it showed on everyone’s faces.
“Toyota’s down too, huh…”
Grumbled a man in a floral print shirt. A middle-aged man in a fedora, holding a folded financial newspaper, replied.
“When the yen str...
Her Wish (2)
Mu-hui whispered softly.
"But… you don’t want children, do you?"
It was true.
Tae-soo still couldn’t forget the children from his past life.
Their memories lingered, haunting him.
He wasn’t ready to hold another child in his arms.
"And I won’t try to convince you. To be honest, I’m not sure I have the courage either. I’m afraid… afraid they’ll point fingers at us, at our child, for being different...
Her Wish (1)
Tae-soo came to a sudden stop.
[What do you mean? If she isn’t originally from this tribe, why didn’t she return home when war broke out? Why stay here?]
[You didn’t know? In the last battle, my son—the man who was supposed to be her husband—was killed. It happened just a day before their wedding.]
The chieftain’s son had died in the Bedouin conflict. Tae-soo was aware of that much.
[Because of the pact between our t...
There was no industry where labor costs were as high as in the commerce sector.
Products had to be received from sellers, stored in warehouses, and then delivered to customers' doorsteps.
Every step of this process required human labor, which meant an enormous workforce was necessary.
It was no wonder Jeffrey had spent hours venting about labor costs.
Labor expenses made up a significant portion of the commerce industry’s overhead.
That was why Jeffrey had...
Steve and I walked through Apple’s Product Planning Room, discussing ideas as we moved.
The room showcased Apple’s entire history—from the original Macintosh to the recently launched iPhone.
Standing in the middle, I spread my arms wide.
“Doesn’t something feel… missing?”
“What exactly do you think is missing?”
“There’s too big a gap between the Mac and the iPhone. There’s no product that bridges the two.”
“Are yo...
Two months had passed since the launch of the iPhone.
The supply issues had been resolved, yet the demand remained explosive.
Perhaps because of this, smiles were spread across the faces of Taewoo Electronics’ President Woo Sung-il and Taewoo Telecom’s President Lee Joo-young.
“The stock price of Taewoo Electronics has returned to pre-dot-com bubble levels! The iPhone is driving up our shares.”
“Well, considering that Taewoo Electronics owns a 10% stake i...
“Make sure we get caught? What in the world are you talking about?” Kim Jin-ha asked, bewildered.
“Exactly what it sounds like,” I replied. “The key to this operation is to supply a certain amount and then come clean about the illegal activity. There’s a difference in approach. Struggling to avoid getting caught versus preparing for the inevitable. Which one is more reliable and less troublesome?”
“But why would you intentionally get caught? What’s the point?...
Nomura Securities Headquarters, Nihonbashi, Chuo Ward, Tokyo.
Although the atmosphere had been calm in the morning, once hedge funds launched their attack on the rupiah and the Indonesian stock market began to waver, tension swept through the derivatives division.
“IDX has dropped below 600 again!”
At the panicked shout from a subordinate, Division Head Nakamura checked the monitor displaying the Indonesian stock index chart, his face tightening as he...
Nomura Securities Headquarters, Nihonbashi, Chuo Ward, Tokyo, Japan.
Executive Director Usami, wearing a striped tie, sat at his desk, staring intently at the Indonesian stock market chart on his monitor.
[IDX: 615.20 (▼10.17)]
The Indonesian stock index, which had soared past 700 points and was steadily climbing, had collapsed under the weight of the ongoing currency crisis sweeping through Southeast Asia. Now, even the 600-point mark was in danger.
“Hmm.”
I looked at the shredder in our office.
“The answer is the shredder.”
It was the final step in the defective semiconductor disposal process, the point where Saseong’s surveillance ended.
My eyes gleamed. “The average chip size is 1-3 cm. If we widen the gap between the shredder blades, some of them will come out intact. We can collect those and sell them.”
There were two main types of shredders: large and small.
Large shredders were use...
2025-04-26 09:07:02 +0000 UTC View PostThe iPhone craze showed no signs of cooling down over time.
The initial batch of 100,000 units sold out within a week, and Taewoo Electronics was running its factories at full capacity to meet the soaring demand.
As a result, Taewoo Electronics found itself in a state of emergency.
With workers assigned to iPhone production, overtime had become the norm, and even weekends were no longer off-limits.
As the situation worsened instead of improving, CEO Woo Sung-il cam...
Entering the 2000s, Samsung Electronics became the company with the highest market capitalization in Korea.
Although the group's overall rank in the business world was still behind Taewoo Group at second place, Samsung Electronics stood as Korea's number one company when viewed as a single corporate entity.
Samsung Electronics was powerful enough to rival entire conglomerates.
The company had two vice chairmen, five p...
The Chief Secretary's anger burst out.
However, the telecommunications cartel remained solid, and today, they were once again enjoying a drinking party in a friendly atmosphere.
“The Chairman must be having a hard time. Please endure just a little longer.”
“What hardship could there be? I just listen with one ear and let it go out the other.”
“Thank you very much. I must ask for your continued patience. Even after you step down from the Chairman position,...
Seok-won, who had been closely observing Choi Ho-geun and his team’s efforts through the monitor, leaned back in his chair with a satisfied expression.
“It’s their first real trade, but they’re not flustered — they’re handling it well.”
What pleased him most was that instead of blindly following the instruction to sell the KLCI futures at 650, they had taken a more proactive approach, adjusting prices to maximize profit.
He picked up his mug to take a sip of...
As Choi Ho-geun put down the receiver, Jung Hwan-yeop, still seated, looked at him and asked, watching his expression:
“What did the president say?”
Meeting the eyes of the team members now looking at him with concern, Choi Ho-geun replied with a complicated expression:
“…He said to sell at an even lower price.”
“I knew it! I figured the president would approve it,” Jung said, nodding as if he had expected as much.
Choi continued, looking at hi...
Master and Disciple (2)
Secretary Song flinched in surprise and quickly bowed his head.
[Yes, Khalid-nim.]
[You just escaped death thanks to Kang Tae-soo. I also acknowledge his will and will graciously let you go.]
[T-Thank you! Truly, thank you for sparing my life!]
Secretary Song bent deeply at the waist in gratitude.
Tae-soo also bowed.
[Thank you, Khalid-nim. However, I don’t think simply letting him go would be the righ...
Master and Disciple (1)
Tae-soo etched Secretary Song’s words deep into his heart.
Thus, he never interfered with the secrets of Han Il-kwon and Han Cheong-ho.
Even when he learned about the existence of Han Cheong-ho’s secret ledger, he never let curiosity get the better of him.
Even when he noticed suspicious behavior from Han Il-kwon, he never attempted to uncover the truth.
"I have survived for a long time. But in return, I am le...
The Sydney forex market, which had opened in a relatively calm atmosphere, suddenly heated up just five minutes after opening, as a flood of Malaysian ringgit sell orders came pouring in.
“Sold 20 lots at 3.02 ringgit!”
“Okay, done!”
“Sold 15 lots at 3.02 ringgit... no, 3.04!”
Neil Briwett, a forex trader at Macquarie Asset Management, shouted urgently as he watched the ringgit plunge off a cliff on his monitor.
“This is massive. Looks like the...
April 3, 1997.
As the rising sun painted the sky crimson between the tall buildings, a silver Sonata II came rolling down a sloped road and pulled into an underground parking garage—empty at this early hour.
Choi Ho-geun stepped out from the driver’s seat and rolled up his sleeves to check his watch.
Just past 6 a.m.
“Right on time.”
It was early—just as the first buses were beginning to run. But to match the opening time of the Sydney foreign exch...
At the same time.
Tennessee had just requested a meeting with Somerset Moore, the legal advisor to the Grosvenor Duchy.
“I never imagined the young master would come to see me.”
“It is an unparalleled honor to meet you.”
He was a former Supreme Court Justice and once served as the nation’s Attorney General.
A man who stood at the pinnacle of the legal profession.
Even for Tennessee, this wasn’t someone he could easily approach with a reque...
There was a famous anecdote about the chairman of Saseong Semiconductor burning a pile of defective products and lecturing his employees about quality control.
But were all those defective products unusable?
No.
Most of them were just slightly imperfect: a misaligned plastic case, a loose button, etc. They were still perfectly functional.
Like bruised fruits or crabs with missing legs, they weren’t marketable, but they were still edible.
There would be ple...
The long-awaited June had arrived.
With the start of the second half of 2001, the iPhone was released.
Expectations had been heightened at CES, and the explosive response followed.
However, the scale of the explosion was beyond expectations.
Electronics stores across the United States were crowded with people trying to purchase the iPhone, and there were even tourists from Europe visiting the U.S. just to buy one before its official release in their own countries.<...
I summoned Lee Joo-young, the president of Taewoo Telecom, to the vice chairman's office.
Since he'd been in charge of everything related to the iPhone launch, he looked completely drained.
"How's the iPhone launch coming along?"
"There are no issues with supply or sales. However, other telecom companies are showing signs of trying to block the launch."
"Of course, KS Telecom would want to stop it. Once Taewoo Telecom starts selling the iPhone exclusively, their ma...
Assemblyman Yoon Hyun-gil begged for forgiveness until his voice went hoarse.
His head was drenched in blood, and his body swayed — likely from excessive blood loss.
"Would you like me to tell you... how to survive?"
"If you tell me the way... I'll do anything!"
"You'll live... if you promise to become bait for the rest of your life."
"I'll be a worm if you tell me to be one."
He answered reflexively — without even knowing what...