President Im Seung-yong resembled Vice President Im Jin-yong quite a bit.
Perhaps it was the similar hairstyles and the fact that both wore glasses that made the resemblance stronger.
He was 32 years old. With Vice President Im Jin-yong being 45, there was a 13-year age difference.
“Yes, please sit down.”
With that, Im Seung-yong took a seat beside us.
“Thank you for coming. I think my father would be pleased as well.”
“If that’s the case, I’d be glad.”
Im Seung-yong opened a bottle of water and took a sip.
He looked quite exhausted. It was understandable, not just because of the funeral, but he had been by his mother’s side at the hospital for some time.
“You must be in deep sorrow.”
“It was something I expected, and I was mentally prepared, but now that he’s gone, I feel quite empty.”
I nodded in agreement.
“I understand how you feel.”
Im Seung-yong seemed like he wanted to say something but held back. He probably already knew about my family matters, as well as the unfortunate relationship between me and Eunsung Motors.
I casually remarked, “With the chairman gone, Vice President Im Jin-yong will now manage Seosung Group.”
Im Seung-yong nodded.
“That seems to be the case.”
For conglomerates, what matters most is management rights.
No matter how much money one has, without management rights, they are merely a wealthy individual with cash. However, even with a small stake, controlling management rights allows one to operate a company worth tens of trillions freely.
Im Seung-yong had received Seosung Heavy Industries and Seosung Engineering.
Combined, these two alone have a market value of over 7 trillion won.
“Even at this level, one can confidently speak in the business world. However, people tend to be more regretful about what they lack than what they have.
If they received 7 trillion out of 40 trillion, it would be one thing, but receiving 7 trillion out of 400 trillion changes the narrative quite a bit.
On the other hand, all the profitable sectors like materials, electronics, life sciences, and biotech belonged to my brother. Compared to that, what he received is practically worthless.
The bigger issue is that both heavy industry and engineering are not in good condition. You can see it from the bankruptcy of Hyundai Shipping; shipbuilding is sinking alongside shipping, and plants are also struggling against China’s low-price offensive.
Is that why he wants to acquire Seosung SB?
Having turned his back on his brother, he will need as many allies as he can get.
My influence on the Korean business community isn’t that significant. But separate from that, I do have a lot of money.
Excluding Seosung Group and Eunsung Motors, how many chaebols have cash assets like ours?
Depending on how I decide to use this money, I could shake the business world. And while my impact may be small in Korea, it’s a different story in the U.S. I’m currently expanding my business in the Rust Belt and have direct connections to the White House.
If that weren’t the case, I wouldn’t even be sitting here.
Honestly, I don’t care who takes Seosung SB. That is, unless it’s related to Eunsung Motors.
I’ve thought about this calmly.
Chairman Im Il-Kwon defeated his brothers to take over the group. If he had the ability, he wouldn’t care whether his opponents were older or younger.
Perhaps he took away only heavy industry and engineering because he perceived his capacity as only that big.
Yet, he is still being greedy for more.
Greed often invites trouble…
However, I’m not in a position to give that kind of advice from where I sit. After all, I’ve finished my meal.
I stood up with Taek-gyu.
“You must be tired, so we will take our leave now. Once again, may the deceased rest in peace.”
“Thank you.”
We greeted each other and left the funeral home.
As we walked down the corridor, I noticed two middle-aged men walking in from the opposite direction.
They saw us, whispered among themselves, and then one of them approached me.
“Are you Kang Jin-hoo, the representative of OTK Company?”
“Yes, I am.”
The man with salt-and-pepper hair nudged the bespectacled man beside him and said, “See? I told you.”
Then he extended his hand to me.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Ryu Cheol-gyun.”
I was surprised and shook his hand.
“Hello, I’m Kang Jin-hoo. I didn’t expect to meet you here…”
His expression brightened at my words.
“Do you know me?”
“Of course. How could I not know the chairman of RCK Bros?”
While not widely known to the public, he is a significant figure in the finance world. I’d heard countless tales of his achievements since entering business school.
Because of him, many seniors shifted their focus from investment banking to private equity.
“And this gentleman?”
The man with the glasses spoke up.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Shin Byeong-doo.”
Seeing him with Chairman Ryu made me suspect who he was.
“I’ve heard a lot about you from my daughter. I never expected that a school senior would be the representative of OTK Company.”
“I was also surprised to hear it from Yuri.”
Vice Chairman Shin still gives off a middle-aged vibe, but he must have been quite handsome in his youth. Upon closer inspection, he somewhat resembles Yuri.
I then introduced Taek-gyu to them.
“Here is my friend… This is OTK Company’s Vice President, Oh Taek-gyu.”
“Hello.”
Taek-gyu greeted the two of them as well.
Chairman Ryu Cheol-gyun gave us a thumbs-up.
“We took a hit from the X-Cop acquisition. It was impressive, really.”
Receiving such praise from a true expert made me feel a bit shy. I couldn’t say it was thanks to Ye-ji.
I turned the credit to Hyun-joo.
“Director Oh Hyun-joo handled everything from the due diligence to the bidding. I didn’t do much.”
Vice President Shin Byeong-doo asked.
“There are rumors that Team Leader Seo Sang-won will join OTK Company. Is it true?”
“I guess the rumors have already spread.”
“That’s a good thing.”
The audit team reported nothing, and the resignation submitted to Eunsung Group was accepted without issues. Team Leader Seo Sang-won is expected to join us with his team in a few days. We have already set up all the office space for them.
“It doesn’t sound like a very good rumor, though.”
Chairman Ryu waved his hand dismissively.
“I don’t care about rumors. I’ve known him since his days at Redstone; he’s not that kind of person.”
I nodded in agreement.
“That’s true. If he were like that, he wouldn’t have made the recruitment proposal in the first place.”
A person who has betrayed once can betray again at any time. There’s no guarantee that someone who sells information about another company won’t sell our company’s information in the future.
He chuckled lightly.
“It’s just Eunsung Group being foolish. Losing great talents right after X-Cop is unfortunate.”
The image portrayed in media articles or columns is sharp and meticulous, but meeting him in person revealed a playful and friendly demeanor.
It seemed the former was his work persona, while the latter reflected his true character.
“We’ve just come to pay our respects. Are you heading back after this?”
“Yes.”
Chairman Ryu Chul-gyun spoke with a sense of regret.
“If I had known it would be like this, I should have come a bit earlier. I just got off a flight from China and I’m on my way here.”
So that’s why he came so late.
“If you can spare some time, I’ll visit next time.”
“You’re always welcome.”
We exchanged contact information.
Chairman Ryu patted Vice Chairman Shin Byeong-doo on the shoulder and said, “Let’s grab a beer nearby after work. There’s a pub in Gangnam I often go to with this friend.”
“Sure. I’ll get in touch.”
The two men entered the hall, and we stepped outside the funeral home.
I expressed disbelief, saying, “I never thought I would see those two in person here.”
Taek-gyu asked, noticing my expression, “Are they really that impressive?”
“In the gaming world, they’d be like Ichika and Shigeru, the developers of Lost Fantasy.”
Taek-gyu immediately understood. “Legendary legends, huh?”
One advantage of doing this job is that I get to meet people I think of as legends.
From Chase Southwell and James C. Goldman to now meeting Chairman Ryu Chul-gyun and Vice Chairman Shin Byeong-doo in person.
At this rate, I might even meet Warren Buffett someday!
***
When Im Il-Kwon married Yeon So-hyun, it was a time when chaebols were cautious under the public eye. However, decades later, both of their situations have changed significantly.
The Seoseong Group has grown into a global enterprise, while the Joongilbo faces difficulties both internally and externally.
Media power has long shifted from newspapers to portal sites. People have moved away from subscribing to newspapers, opting instead to click on articles displayed on portal homepages.
The two cable channels, which had a hard time securing dividends, are now running at a loss. If advertising from large corporations were to cease, their survival would be at risk.
For Yeon So-hyun, Joongilbo was once run by her father and is now managed by her brother, making it a family business.
However, that business is gradually declining.
She hoped her husband would intervene and help, but he only provided ad allocations and drew the line at additional support.
After her husband’s health worsened and their eldest son took over management, she expected help again. But that was her misperception. Surprisingly, her son resembled his father closely.
In other words, he prioritized only himself and Seoseong Group.
After multiple attempts to persuade her son ended in rejection, their emotional gap widened, and Yeon So-hyun gave up her expectations for her eldest son.
Although she did not hold management rights, she owned some shares in the subsidiary.
Coincidentally, her younger sister, Yeon So-jin, conveyed a proposal from Eunseongcha. If things went well, the rewards would be directed to Joongilbo.
Once Im Jin-yong officially assumed the chairman position, it would be nearly impossible to take away the management rights of the subsidiaries.
This was the last chance. She cleverly encouraged her youngest son. Luckily, Im Seung-yong acted according to his mother’s wishes.
He harbored significant resentment towards his brother, who had taken everything. Consequently, he wasn’t shy about wanting to secure more for himself.
Im Seung-yong was confident that with his shares, his mother’s shares, and support from the National Pension Service, he could sufficiently acquire Seoseong SB.
***
How long has it been since the new year started? The calendar has already turned to February.
The inauguration of Ronald, which had made waves, and the funeral of Chairman Im Il-Kwon are now past events.
The inheritance was distributed to the family according to the will. Each of the four children received shares of their respective companies, while his wife, Director Yeon So-hyun, was given various real estate, bonds, and cash.
The inheritance tax was unprecedented. The government likely won’t have to worry about tax revenue this year.
After the funeral, Vice Chairman Im Jin-yong busily worked within the group to stabilize management. Since he had been acting in this role since Chairman Im Il-Kwon collapsed, there was little chaos.
Although he hadn’t officially taken office yet, it was practically a given that he would assume the chairmanship once matters were settled.
The subsidiaries formed new boards and reorganized. Companies where Chairman Im Il-Kwon served as CEO held extraordinary general meetings to elect new CEOs. Seoseong SB was included in this.
We had been consistently buying shares of Seoseong SB since before the funeral. Approximately 20-25% of the shares were being traded in the market.
The stock price, which had once hit 320,000 won, fell to the low 170,000s after the car battery failed certification in China, and contracts with Eunsung Motors fell through.
Henry diversified orders across several foreign securities firms. While it sounds easy, it was a long and tedious process in reality.
Buying large quantities at once causes the stock price to soar instantly. Therefore, we had to continuously place small orders that matched the sell orders to ensure execution.
But no matter how quietly we bought, if the circulating shares diminished, an increase in stock price became inevitable.
We began negotiations for stock buybacks before prices escalated further. Such matters should be handled by experts on my behalf.
Team Leader Seo Sang-won made secret contact with the other party to negotiate.
Our holdings now surpassed 4%, and during this time, the stock price had also risen by over 15%, nearing 200,000 won.
Suddenly, aggressive buying started pouring in from somewhere. In an instant, the stock price surged, and the bulletin board was in chaos.
– What’s happening with Seoseong SB?
– Why is it rising suddenly?
– It seems there’s some good news on the horizon.
– Foreigners are continuously buying up shares.
– It looks like good news will be breaking soon, so don’t sell off your shares; just hold on tight.
I clicked my tongue.
“You seem to have noticed.”
Taek-gyu asked.
“Noticed that we’re buying?”
“They probably don’t know who, but they must have realized that someone is steadily accumulating shares. So, it seems they’ve started buying to increase their stake as well.”
“What do we do now?”
“I was planning to stop anyway.”
Currently, our holding is 4.7 percent. Once it exceeds 5 percent, we must make a public disclosure according to regulations.
If we disclose at this point, people will wonder why OTK Company is buying Seosung SB shares and will likely start buying before knowing the answer.
As you know, OTK Company has achieved great success in all its investments. Therefore, it’s not surprising if there’s chasing buying following it.
At the moment we stopped buying, Seosung SB made its disclosure. They announced that they would sell all their treasury shares, which account for 6.3 percent, to OTK Company.
OTK Company also disclosed that it acquired a total of 11 percent of Seosung SB, including the treasury shares.
As the disclosure went out, Seosung SB’s stock price began to fluctuate wildly.
