Ten years later, Hyundai Motors will rise to third place in the business rankings on its own.
However, Hyundai Construction, Securities, and Electronics will face significant difficulties, leading to downsizing or being handed over to other conglomerates.
In the end, the ultimate victor was the eldest son, Jang Kyung-joon.
But since no one knew this yet, a fierce succession battle was underway, with each party trying to gain as many subsidiaries as possible.
"If we...
The last day of 1999
I sat beside my grandfather, waiting for the arrival of the year 2000.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Through the TV, we watched as the Boshingak Bell rang, marking the beginning of a new millennium.
For a few moments, we simply watched in silence. Then, my grandfather let out a deep sigh.
"Whew… Thank goodness nothing happened."
"Wait… Were you actually worried about the Y2K scare?"
"One can never be too sure."
"You...
Taewoo Telecom hit the jackpot with its online lectures for students.
Some parents even signed up for Taewoo Telecom themselves just to access lectures from top instructors. Whether students were gaming enthusiasts or focused on studying, they all preferred Taewoo Telecom.
It would be a waste to stop here.
This whole situation had started as an attack from rival telecom companies, but now was the perfect opportunity to capitalize on it.
"We need to expand our onlin...
Everyone was focused on Representative Yang Il-seop.
They were curious about the perfect move to crush Taewoo Telecom in one go.
"Do you know the two things you must never mess with in Korea?"
"Real estate and education, right?"
"Exactly. Especially education—if you handle it poorly, you'll stir up a hornet's nest of angry parents. Everyone knows how intense Korean parents can be."
"That may be true, but why would parents collectively protest against Taewo...
The ribbon-cutting ceremony proceeded as planned.
Still in a daze, I went through the motions, only grasping the situation once the white cloth covering the signboard was pulled away.
[Trump Model House]
That was the name of the project.
At that moment, a long-buried memory surfaced in my mind.
Back in the mid-90s, my grandfather had helped Trump construct a building in the U.S.. In return, he had been allowed to use the Trump brand name for a project i...
Inside an office in Myeong-dong.
Team Leader Park pulled out a cigarette.
Just a few days ago, his subordinates would have rushed to light it for him.
But now, there was no one left by his side.
Click! Click!
Even his lighter refused to cooperate.
The flint must have been worn out—no flame emerged. With the unlit cigarette still between his lips, Park slumped back into his chair, burying his head.
Then—
BANG!
The door...
Three months into 1999
Time flew by.
With countless mergers and acquisitions, Grandpa and I were so swamped with work that we only saw each other when we finally returned home.
"Taewoo Telecom seems to be sponsoring something unusual. I thought we were just funding a sports team, but I didn't expect us to create an esports team."
"It's far more effective than sponsoring traditional sports teams. Thanks to that, Taewoo Telecom is now leading KS Telecom by about...
A small bar in Namcheon-dong, Busan.
There, I was sharing drinks with the Commissioner of the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency.
"Thank you for accepting my request."
"Of course, I had to. You took care of my son—returning the favor is the least I could do. Besides, cracking down on gangsters is part of the police's duty. Even if you hadn't asked, I was already planning to go after them soon."
Commissioner Lee Kyung-sik had two children.
The Myeong-dong private loan market had always been underground.
However, if they registered as loan companies, their operations would become legal.
Of course, they would have to pay taxes, but in return, they could expand beyond Myeong-dong and extend their reach to all of South Korea.
"Are you saying we should go legit?"
"Enter the third-tier financial sector. If Japanese loan companies are making their move, there's no reaso...
The last day of 1998
The chaotic year of 1998, overshadowed by the national financial crisis, was finally coming to an end today.
All subsidiaries of Taewoo Group had already held their year-end closing ceremonies, and even the planning office staff had left early for the day.
"Director, you should head home early as well. I'm about to leave myself."
"This is the first time I've seen you leave work on time, Executive Director."
"I must be giving you a hard t...
After finishing my schedule in the U.S., I returned to Korea.
It had been only a short 2-night, 3-day trip, yet I had over ten meetings and met well over a hundred people—a grueling schedule.
My eyelids felt heavy from exhaustion.
But even after returning to Korea, there was no time to rest. As soon as I arrived at the company, I summoned the president of Taewoo Telecom to the planning office.
"Is Taewoo Telecom's market share still stagnant?"
"This month,...
As 1998 drew to a close,
I boarded a flight to the U.S., leaving all other matters behind.
The hyenas of Wall Street had been hounding me relentlessly—I couldn't delay any longer.
"Team Leader Han, how bad is it over there?"
"We're getting calls from at least ten firms a day. If it weren't for Quantum Fund backing us, they'd probably be storming our office by now."
"Well, of course, they've lost their minds. We're sitting on a mountain of IT stocks."
Russia’s economic situation was worsening steadily.
With sanctions hitting finance, the military, and even the grain industry, things couldn’t be any better.
In this situation, I called David to Korea, and he arrived carrying a wealth of information from the White House.
“Boss! Word is spreading all over Wall Street that Finance Tower is scooping up money. Several sizable hedge funds are even asking to be connected to enter Finance Tower.”
“We can’t jus...
The Olympics held in Sochi, Russia.
The grand opening ceremony took place on February 7.
Despite many twists and turns, the closing ceremony proceeded on February 23.
Then, two days later, on the 25th,
the Russian flag fluttered over a square in the Crimean Peninsula, where a sudden rally was held.
“Russia has finally begun to move. They’re two months ahead of our expectations. Officially, the Olympics are over, but with the Paralympics still to come, I didn...
The conference room erupted with surprise at Seok-won's unexpected bombshell statement.
Not only the union representatives but also Executive Director Lee Kwang-ryeol seated beside him and the senior staff from Manyoung Machinery could not hide their astonished expressions, their eyes wide open.
Companies struggling due to the IMF crisis were all scrambling to survive by cutting costs and downsizing through restructuring. So hearing Seok-won promise employment succession, a fiv...
With only a few days left in 2013,
the year’s final executive meeting was convened.
The heads of subsidiaries with high sales entered the meeting room confidently, while those from less successful affiliates hung their heads low.
“We will begin the 2013 year-end executives’ meeting. Let’s start with the report from Taewoo Electronics.”
Under the planning director’s lead, the financial report began.
The CEO of Taewoo Electronics, reporting first, carr...
It had been a while since David last visited Korea.
He had come all the way to deliver several pieces of news in person, and as soon as he arrived, he headed straight to a traditional Korean restaurant, savoring a steaming bowl of baeksuk.
“Ahh! I don’t know why this flavor is impossible to find in America. There’s a reason baeksuk is called a health food. I feel my body warming up and all the toxins being flushed out!”
“Why does an American like baeksuk so much...
Volatility or uncertainty.
Those were the words companies hated most, and exactly why they avoided dealing with unpredictable partners.
But what if the unpredictable party was the U.S. Federal Reserve?
In that case, there was nothing anyone could do but accept it.
No ordinary company could object to a decision made by the Fed chairman, often called the “economic president” of America.
“The U.S. Federal Reserve just made an official announcement. They'v...
Charlotte Group executive meeting.
It was held roughly once a month.
That alone was a sign of how troubled Charlotte Group’s situation had become.
And today, even Vice Chairman Jin Dong-gu, who managed the Japanese Charlotte Group, was attending.
“Sales at Charlotte Mart and department stores in China have begun to rise, albeit slowly.”
“Tsk tsk, at that slow pace, when do you expect to recover the investment? It’ll take another fifty years.”
...
The long era of quantitative easing.
It had lasted nearly five years since the Lehman crisis.
Not just the American public, but even Wall Street had grown accustomed to quantitative easing.
Zero interest rates had become the norm.
It was taken for granted that the government would keep pumping money into the market.
Because of that, no one was prepared for its reduction.
And that was precisely the reason we were able to prepare more smoothly than others.
Is there anyone in Korea who has done as many acquisition and sale contracts as I have?
Since the IMF crisis, I have sold companies the size of conglomerates and acquired mega companies like GM and AIG.
For smaller companies, I have acquired dozens of them.
Yet, no contract has ever concluded as quickly as the one with Chairman Son Jung-woo.
“It’s not like roasting beans over a lightning fire, but finishing a $10 billion deal in just a few hours—that’s a fi...
Currently, Taewoo Group was holding two poisoned apples.
One was the shared office business called Together Work.
The other was the THAAD site land swap, also a poisoned apple.
The fight over the THAAD site was between Charlotte Group and Hyundai Motor Group, each claiming it for themselves.
Now, only the decision remained about to whom they would hand over the remaining poisoned apple, Together Work.
For that reason, I called Beryl, the CEO of Together Work...
One day, two days, three days…
Yong Gi-un remained shut in his house for three days.
He peeked through the window, checking his surroundings, and muttered, “Are they really not going to kill me?” Perhaps they were just trying to lull him into a false sense of security, or maybe they would return and take the money when he left the house.
But then he chuckled. “No, that’s not likely. They wouldn’t have let me go in the first place.”
After three days of...
Yong Gi-un decided delaying his death was impossible. He could feign illness for a few days, but those men in suits would likely just kidnap a doctor and medical equipment and set up a private clinic on the island.
Resigned to his fate, he poured all his energy into his final masterpiece.
“Not a single error! It has to be perfect! You!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Rebar is the skeleton of a building! Use more than the blueprints specify, if necessary! Fill every space! ...
The conglomerate chairmen were men of immense caution.
And how could they not be? To rise to their current positions, they had endured countless trials and crises.
But there was one simple way to move such men.
I had to take the lead myself.
If I pretended to accept America’s proposal first, a few of the chairmen would no doubt follow.
“What kind of sites are we talking about in this land swap?”
“We’re not aiming for property in the Seoul me...
Satellites were an indispensable resource for the Taewoo Group.
In the past, satellites had been used primarily for national security and weather observation.
But now, with the advancement of high-spec electronic devices such as smartphones, they were widely integrated into everyday life.
And then there was the future of electric vehicles—autonomous driving.
If they could secure a low-orbit communications network, it would become possible to operate autonomous drivin...
A low-Earth orbit communications network.
In fact, it wasn’t a system much needed in Korea.
It was rare to find places in Korea where cell phones didn’t work, and even if there were, very few people lived there.
Plus, the service was expensive.
Users had to pay at least 200,000 won per month, and fees could go as high as 600,000 won.
And the speed wasn’t fast either.
Fiber-optic cables were laid across all of Korea, offering internet speeds at least...
After spending the New Year of 2013 in Korea,
I traveled to the United States to attend
President Obama’s second inauguration.
Since there was still a week left until the ceremony, I planned to take care of a few things in the meantime.
To that end, President Han also accompanied me to the U.S.
“Mr. Kim! It’s even better to see you here in America.”
“I always feel sorry for making you come to Korea every time, Mr. George.”
The first person I s...
A true one-on-one duel.
Even though Choi Jae-seok had stepped down while calling for national unity, the two remaining major party candidates plunged into negative campaigning—all in pursuit of even a single percent more support.
It wasn’t unity, but outright division.
I had known things would turn out this way from the beginning. The more viciously the major parties fought, the higher Choi Jae-seok’s value inevitably became.
“Chairman, what’s your take? Acco...
2025-08-17 12:43:30 +0000 UTC View PostPresidential Candidate Debate.
The debate gathered three presidential candidates, each holding around 30% approval ratings, and as a result, it received overwhelming public attention.
So much so that it even rivaled the legendary 1997 presidential debate, which had been the hottest in history, with viewership ratings once again exceeding 50%.
As the debate went on for quite some time, it was finally the turn of Candidate Choi Jae-seok.
He became the qu...