Chairman Kwak Dong-hoon of Saseong Group placed his coffee cup down, his expression one of surprise.
“So, you're saying that the head of the Wall Street hedge fund, Eldorado Fund, is actually Chairman Park’s second son?”
Receiving his gaze, Yom Geon-woo, the chief secretary seated on the right-side sofa, replied.
“That’s correct. Since it operates solely with private funds and does not accept any external investments, it would be more accurate to call it a famil...
A luxury Benz sedan cruised down a quiet national highway, surrounded by vast fields of farmland stretching endlessly on both sides. Gradually, the car slowed before coming to a stop by the roadside.
As soon as the vehicle halted, Han Ji-sung stepped out from the front passenger seat and swiftly opened the rear door. Seok-won emerged, his face partially concealed behind a pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses.
Walking toward the edge of the roadside, he stopped. Han Ji-sung raised an arm a...
The following day.
In the chairman’s office at Daeheung Group’s headquarters in Mapo, Chairman Park Tae-hong sat in the seat of honor on the sofa, flanked by his two sons, Park Jin-hyung and Park Seok-won, with Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho beside them.
Chairman Park Tae-hong, cigarette in his mouth, anxiously checked his wristwatch again, even though he had already looked at the time just moments earlier.
"The deadline is almost up. Why haven’t we heard from him yet...
Every January, CES takes place.
Last year, we skipped CES and focused on Apple’s developer conference, WWDC, so we didn’t launch any outstanding new products.
But this year was different.
We unveiled some premium home appliances co-developed with the Arnault family at CES.
To hear about the response at the event, I called Director Woo Seong-il, who was there, into the vice chairman’s office.
“How was the reaction at CES? I should have gone myself, bu...
I have always stayed ahead of the times.
The Planning Director knew this well, so when I suggested expanding the general trading company, he showed signs of surprise.
The perception of trading companies was more of a business stuck in the past rather than one leading a new era.
“Vice Chairman, while the trading company is necessary to keep the group running smoothly, I doubt it can do more than serve as a lubricant.”
“That might have been true until now, but ...
Chairman Kim Tae-jung raised his soju glass.
As Assemblyman Choi Jae-seok hurried to raise his own, Chairman Kim spoke up.
“I’ve prepared a small gift.”
“I don’t accept money.”
“Tsk tsk, don’t jump to conclusions before hearing me out. Taewoo Telecom is planning to build a large-scale data center. I’ll make sure it gets built in your district. It may not create as many jobs as a factory, but it will greatly help with tax revenue.”
“…I...
The next day.
I received a summons from Delphine Arnault early in the morning and visited the Korean branch of the Arnault family’s company.
“You're the first visitor to our Korean branch, Vice Chairman. Please excuse the disarray—we're still getting settled.”
“Not at all. I've visited many companies, but this is the first time I’ve seen a building decorated so beautifully. It’s more stunning than a museum or an art center.”
“Than...
The next evening.
Once again, I visited the hotel conference room for an idea meeting with Chun Min-jung.
As soon as I walked in, Min-jung bowed her head, tears welling up in her eyes.
“Vice Chairman… thank you so much.”
“This was something we should do as part of employee welfare. And besides, you’re one of Taewoo Group’s core talents.”
“I’ll repay this kindness for the rest of my life!”
As expected, it was a profitable investment...
Back at the office, I went to find the Director of Planning.
Perhaps because he already knew I had visited the high school concerning Chun Min-jung's younger sibling, he entered the Vice Chairman’s office with a slight smile on his face.
“So, how was your first visit to a high school?”
“It made me glad I never attended one. There’s someone named Cho Young-hee—apparently the daughter of a mid-sized company chairman. Do you know which company that is?”
...
The Next Morning
At Kangyoung High School, a parent-teacher meeting was held.
Every parent in attendance was well-known in their respective fields.
However, among them, the person with the strongest influence was Jo Young-hee, the wife of a Deputy Chief Prosecutor and the esteemed daughter of a mid-sized conglomerate's chairman—Chu Young-taek’s mother.
"Is this really a school? Why is my son coming home injured?! He’s supposed to be focusi...
A school could be seen as a hierarchical society.
That was why the term "iljin" (school gang leader) existed.
Although its etymology had little to do with social class, it had become solidified as a ranking system within schools.
At the top were the iljin—the dominant bullies. Below them were ijins and samjins, ranked accordingly.
But there was an even higher class beyond the iljin.
Normally, iljin referred to delinquent stude...
Politicians and startups had a surprising number of similarities.
To succeed, both needed investors to fund them.
If a startup succeeded, its investors would demand equity in return for their investment.
In contrast, politicians didn’t pay back with shares—they repaid their debts by sharing their influence.
But there was a key difference.
While startup investments were voluntary, politicians leveraged their political parties to force invest...
The Arnault family was a family of entrepreneurs.
The current patriarch, Bernard Arnault, had the support of his family, which allowed him to attend prestigious schools, but it was purely his own ability that built the luxury empire.
He moved to the United States, accumulated wealth through real estate, and then returned to France to acquire luxury brands, establishing his empire.
Because of this, Bernard Arnault was the most influential figure in the family, and the elde...
The representative from the Arnault family visited the Vice Chairman's office.
The moment I saw her face, I realized she wasn't an ordinary representative.
"Welcome. I didn't expect Delphine Arnault to come in person."
"You know who I am?"
"How could I not recognize the eldest daughter of the Arnault family?"
"I'm not as famous as Vice Chairman Kim Min-jae, so it's an honor to be recognized."
The representative's identity was the eldest daughter of th...
The Next Day
I woke up to an overwhelming smell of alcohol.
The stench came from David, who had spent the entire night drinking with Indian politicians.
"How many drinks did you have?"
"You should be asking how many bottles, not drinks. Honestly, I lost count, but the bill came out to around 50,000 dollars."
What, were they drinking liquid gold?
Well, with some high-end wines costing tens of thousands of dollars per bottle, it wasn’t impossible.
...
A few days later.
I departed for New Delhi, the capital of India, with David.
"Boss, isn’t the reason we’re in India to establish a Taewoo Electronics factory?"
"That’s right."
"Then why aren’t we meeting with the Indian government?"
"India has elections next year. There’s no point in negotiating with the current administration."
"You’re predicting a change in government? The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has held power for six years now."
...
2025-08-27 06:57:13 +0000 UTC View PostI had to reschedule my flight twice.
Talking with Steve, I completely lost track of time, and before I knew it, I had to board my flight to Korea 10 hours later than planned.
"What time is it in Korea right now?"
"It's 8 AM."
"Looks like I'll have to head straight to the office. I had planned to arrive late at night, get some rest at home, but that plan is out the window now."
I had traveled to the U.S. with a secretary from my executive office.
Heari...
Apple’s WWDC.
A product launch event as well as a developer conference.
Once the presentation ended, discussions began with over 5,000 developers on various topics.
This time, artificial intelligence was the main point of interest.
Questions poured in about AI technology, especially in connection with the Internet of Things (IoT) used in Taewoo Electronics’ products.
Fortunately, I didn’t have to answer them myself.
Professor Hinton handled all ...
The product launch event had begun.
I was able to watch from the very front row, and sitting next to me was David, attending as a major shareholder.
"Did you see this? The crowd is as big as at CES. Plus, all the major media outlets are here. It seems Steve's reputation has really grown."
"Well, iPhone sales have been increasing every year. The combined sales of iPhone 1 and 2 have surpassed 20 million units. It's only natural that people would gather to get a first look ...
A crisis meeting was called at Taewoo IT's headquarters.
As Vice Chairman, I was presiding over the meeting, with the Bitcoin project team and game company CEOs from our platform in attendance.
“I appreciate you all taking the time to come, especially during such a busy period.”
[Not at all! Thanks to Taewoo Group, we successfully entered the Chinese market—we owe you.]
[Our revenue has increased fivefold since entering China!]
[We’re also launching a new ga...
Even in 2003, the illegal presidential campaign fund investigation continued to dominate the front pages of newspapers.
It was no surprise—thanks to the information we leaked, the scandal had ensnared five of the largest conglomerates, including Samsung, CL, and KS Group, drawing massive public attention.
"Vice Chairman, it's been revealed through the prosecution’s investigation that Hyundai Motors Group also delivered illegal campaign...
KS Shipping CEO Song Gil-seop was summoned for questioning by the prosecution.
The investigation was still ongoing, and even the media had no way of knowing what was being discussed behind closed doors. But I had an inside source—Captain Kang—who fed me the details.
"The prosecution has secured testimony from Song Gil-seop stating that he provided over 10 billion won in slush funds to political figures during the presidential election."
"That’s quite a generous hand...
The next day
From the early morning, the country was in an uproar over the presidential election results.
The ruling party’s candidate won by just a 2% margin, but the opposition party refused to accept the results, demanding a recount and alleging election fraud.
"Vice Chairman! The ruling party may have won, but the opposition is crying foul and calling for a recount."
"Let them be. The results won’t change no matter what they do."
"Foreign m...
The 16th presidential election campaign was in full swing.
However, the gap in approval ratings was so significant that rumors were openly circulating that the election was already decided.
From May to October, the opposition candidate maintained a lead of over 15%.
“Vice Chairman! The ruling party candidate’s approval rating is rising sharply.”
“Is there any talk of a consolidation deal?”
“Yes. There are rumors that a merger negotiation is under...
French restaurants take dining etiquette very seriously.
Dress codes, table manners—everything.
But we ignored all of that.
And surprisingly, the restaurant owner didn’t seem to mind.
“Your Romanée-Conti has arrived. A Great Vintage from 1990, an exceptional year for Burgundy.”
“Bring us a few more bottles of the same.”
“Right away.”
We tossed back the million-dollar wine like it was cheap beer.
Not a sing...
A few days later
I boarded a flight to the U.S. with Dimon.
I had wanted to bring Chu Min-jeong along, but I couldn’t convince her to get on the plane.
“I never expected you to come to the U.S. with me, boss. Now that we’re here, can you finally tell me who we’re meeting?”
“There’s a company that is absolutely essential for the growth of Fintech Bank.”
“You flew all the way to the U.S. just to acquire a company? If that’s the case, couldn...
Chu Min-jeong lowered her head.
She was terrified that if she made the wrong impression on Chairman Kim Tae-jung, she might be forced to leave Taewoo Group.
“Haha, you’re misunderstanding me. I’m not uncomfortable at all. In fact, I’m fully supportive. I called you here to tell you that I’ll handle the media, so feel free to meet and enjoy your dates without any worries.”
“It’s not a date… It’s an idea meeting.”
“Of course, an idea meeting. ...
KS Telecom Executive Meeting
With market share declining daily, the atmosphere in the conference room was grim.
And as if trying to shift the blame, Park Dong-hee, the vice president who had aggressively pushed for the acquisition of Cyworld, was raising his voice.
“What do you mean Cyworld’s user numbers are declining? What’s the point of acquiring a good platform if we manage it like this?”
“Competition from new SNS platforms is causing our market share...
The SNS project has finally been completed.
Mark created Facebook, and CEO Im Jae-beom created KakaoTalk.
Thanks to Chu Min-jeong’s help, two major projects were completed simultaneously.
"Starting today, the SNS and messenger apps will officially launch."
"For Facebook, it will first be released in North America and Korea, while KakaoTalk will be launched in Korea first before expanding to overseas markets."
The planning director’s voice was full of con...
A few days later.
Dragging my exhausted body, I headed to the office once again.
As soon as the Chief Planning Officer entered my office for the morning briefing, he sighed at the sight of my face.
“Did you not sleep properly again? You look exhausted. Perhaps it’s time to reduce your workload. If that’s not an option, you should consider taking a sleep aid. With the Chairman absent, if you also collapse, Taewoo Group will be in serious trouble.”
“I ...