Episode 13: The Crown Prince of Saseong (1)
“Hello? Executive Vice President I Yongjae. My name is Im Seho. I was introduced to you by Professor Gim Minjae of Seyeon University, which is why I’m reaching out like this.”
[I got a call from Minjae earlier. When I heard from Minjae, I could hardly believe it, but hearing your voice, you really are young, aren’t you?]
“Yes, I’m twenty-three years old.”
[The thing is, Minjae gave me quite the warning earlier, so I was a little worried you might make me wait too long before contacting me, but I’m glad you reached out right away.]
“Haha, that wouldn’t be proper courtesy to Professor Gim Minjae or to you, Executive Vice President. I wasn’t raised that way.”
[Well, to be honest, I’m dying of curiosity about what kind of person you are, Seho. Shall we meet face to face? Are you free tomorrow?]
“Yes, I’m free.”
[Then let’s have a light drink tomorrow at 6 p.m. at a Japanese restaurant called Ginza on the 25th floor of Samsung Building, Exit 2 of Gangnam Station.]
“Yes, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I was also on the verge of dying from curiosity. Just what kind of conversation would take place tomorrow. And what kind of impact it would have on me.
* * *
The next morning, I headed to Incheon Airport with that punk Seyong, who was leaving for America.
“Why on earth did you come out, hyung? You’re not even a pretty lady, and I’ve got no interest in seeing off a gloomy guy like you.”
“I don’t want to see off a gloomy punk like you either, but I came out because of Mother’s strict orders.”
I pushed the grumbling Seyong into the gate for no real reason and headed to Gangnam Station.
After killing time at a nearby cafe, I got off on the 25th floor of Samsung Building right on time, where a robust man dressed neatly in a black suit was standing at the entrance and greeted me politely.
“Hello, you are Im Seho, correct? The Executive Vice President is waiting. Please, shall we go in?”
An aide? Well, Father always used to go around with an aide too. I need to get one as well, but finding someone trustworthy is difficult. Once Manager Gim Yunsik finishes handling the urgent matters, I should be able to go around with him.
Guided inside, a chef dressed neatly in a cook’s uniform was busy preparing, and in front of him, Executive Vice President I Yongjae was sitting alone.
When I entered, Executive Vice President I Yongjae smiled brightly and extended his hand for a handshake.
“Welcome. Was your trip here okay today?”
“Yes, it was fine. It’s an honor to meet you like this.”
At my words, he smiled lightly and waved his hand.
“I may be older than you, Seho, but let’s not use such stiff language. I trust Minjae’s judgment more than anyone’s. So I’d like to give you, Minjae’s recommendation, a chance as well. From what I’ve heard, you’re very upright and diligent, unlike other third-generation chaebol heirs. Sorry to say this, but I looked into you a bit. I thought we needed to know what kind of person you are before we could really talk.”
“No, you’re absolutely right. I’m fine with it. And please speak comfortably. I’m thirteen years younger than you, so when you speak like that, I feel a bit uncomfortable.”
It was actually something I expected, and I didn’t feel bad about it at all. No matter how much of a friend’s recommendation it was, wouldn’t you need to know what kind of person I am before speaking openly?
“Really? Then shall we do that? Seho, you just think of me as an older brother and speak comfortably.”
Oh my, I wish he really were a cousin older brother. Then I’d feel so secure.
“It’s tragic what happened to your late father. I had the chance to meet the late Chairman Im Ilu a few times at business gatherings. He was a dignified man…….”
“Yes, it was so sudden that I was truly at a loss. Not just me, but my mother, my younger sibling, and the company employees as well.”
“Right, they say CEO I Seongho will take on the role of a professional manager, but still, you’re the de facto owner of the company now, aren’t you? You’re still young and haven’t properly received successor training, so the pressure must be immense?”
Yes, that pressure was so enormous that I ran away at first. I dumped that burden onto I Seongho! And then I thought. Why me? I’m still lacking. That’s right! If I learn and grow a bit more, I can take that burden back then. But if I get used to running away, I can’t learn how to move forward.
“The pressure is immense. Because the livelihoods of all one thousand employees of Hanguk Jeonseon are riding on my decisions from now on. And as the company grows, that pressure will only increase. But, Hyung. If I had inherited the company after receiving successor training for a long time and at a sufficient age, would there have been no pressure? No, would my father have felt no pressure? You feel pressure because you cherish what you’ve taken on. If you don’t cherish it, you wouldn’t feel pressure. You can just throw it away at any time. If it’s pressure felt because something is precious, I’ll gladly bear it.”
“You’re still young, yet your will is steadfast? People call me the Crown Prince of Saseong, but precisely because of that, I still haven’t been able to escape that pressure…….”
Hanguk Jeonseon and Saseong Group are currently incomparable in scale. The pressure on Executive Vice President I Yongjae, who must inherit that massive group, must be incomparable to the pressure I felt before my regression. Even though he was receiving successor training step by step.
“Hyung, doesn’t that pressure come from ‘What if I make a mistake?’ or ‘I absolutely have to do well’?”
“Of course.”
“Even if you make a mistake, Hyung, you might suffer some losses, but Saseong Group won’t collapse from those losses. Even if you make a wrong judgment, there are executives and employees who will supplement it so the damage is minimized, and when you try to make a truly fatally wrong decision, there are people around you who will prevent you from making that judgment itself. As long as you don’t become a lone wolf and constantly seek advice from those around you, the worst won’t happen. Why do you feel such pressure?”
“I sought advice from those around me like that and started eSaseong with great ambition, but it ended in failure in the end. The intangible damage of having mobilized the group’s full capabilities and still failing is far greater than tangible damage like economic losses.”
eSaseong. In 2000, I Yongjae, who was thirty-three at the time, created eSaseong, an internet venture holding company, aiming for a jackpot in IT. Domestically it was eSaseong, overseas it was eSaseong International. If the investment had paid off, the succession of Saseong Group would have proceeded smoothly with that capital, making Executive Vice President I Yongjae’s future solid. But with the bursting of the IT bubble, eSaseong failed as well.
“I’m not sure if you heard this from Professor Gim Minjae, but I’m thinking of making IT services one of the pillars of our Hanguk Jeonseon going forward. The potential of IT is limitless.”
“Ah! Really? I didn’t hear that from Minjae.”
“Hyung, in my view, eSaseong’s failure was due to the absence of experts and the collapse of the IT bubble.”
“I’ll admit the IT bubble, but you’re saying there were no experts? Experts were scattered throughout Saseong Group like clouds.”
“If those people were truly experts, why did the IT bubble occur? A true expert must be able to look at the market cool-headedly. Neither overestimating nor underestimating. That’s a real expert. At that time, it was the dawn of the IT industry due to the explosive growth of the internet. New concepts and technologies that never existed before were popping up every other day, so how could experts possibly emerge? If an object never seen before fell from the sky right now, could anyone in the world claim to be an expert on that object?”
Slightly agitated, Executive Vice President I Yongjae simply stared at me.
“New technology is new because something that didn’t exist before has newly appeared. It’s normal for no one to know much about it except the developers, and because it never existed before, everything related to it is mere speculation. Usually in these cases, people over-speculate and ideals fly high into the sky, but reality can’t catch up to the ideal, and eventually a bubble forms. Between 1999 and 2000, the internet was mostly 56K modems or cable lines. The infrastructure couldn’t keep up with people’s expectations. Of course, ADSL was just being laid in our country, but more time was needed before it became widespread. But the IT boom wouldn’t wait for that time. It boiled up quickly, and when it failed to meet expectations, it cooled down just as fast. If those so-called experts had been just a bit more rational, they would have waited for that time, and the matured market would have achieved success. You have to wait until the duck lays its egg; you can’t cut open its belly to take the egg out.”
Executive Vice President I Yongjae, who had been quietly listening to my words, laughed hollowly.
“I think I know why Minjae recommended you. It’s like looking at Minjae when you speak? Was that the reason eSaseong failed?”
“Events like those in 2000 can happen anytime in the future. On the other hand, if you survive when that bubble bursts, that means it’s a real pearl.”
“LAVER and LAUM?”
“Haha, Hyung. Those are companies I’ve got my eye on.”
“Now that you say that, I’m even more interested? Don’t worry. For now, because of eSaseong’s failure, I’m not really in a position to dabble in IT…….”
Hmm… IT is something I don’t have enough of to eat alone… Still, Executive Vice President I Yongjae’s help is absolutely necessary for solving political and business world problems going forward.
In Korea, no matter how much money you have, you can’t beat power, can you?
If I had enough money to really buy everyone off, maybe I wouldn’t know, but it would be a waste of money to do so.
Right, let’s share IT fairly. Just enough to help with succession. The more profit we make, the closer my relationship with Executive Vice President I Yongjae will become.
“Hyung, I’m not sure if we’re close enough for me to say this yet, but…….”
“I already told you to think of me as an older brother.”
“I think you should attempt something like eSaseong once more. The situation now is completely different from 2000. Not just Korea, but America and Japan have perfect infrastructure in place, and this infrastructure will continue to develop further. The market that will grow tens, hundreds of times over is right here in IT. Of course, pearls are hidden deep in the ocean, so the ability lies in finding them well. Didn’t Professor Gim Minjae say so?”
Others might find it hard to find pearls, but I know exactly which ones are the pearl oysters.
“Whew… Minjae is so outstanding that all the executives in the group grit their teeth whenever his name comes up. From their perspective, Minjae is a competitor who could take their positions at any time. Our personalities don’t mesh either. I still have a long way to go to inherit the group, and I couldn’t face the executives with just the position of successor. That’s probably why Minjae attached you to me, whom the executives don’t keep in check yet. Now I finally understand Minjae’s intentions clearly.”
“Try using personal funds to establish a company once more. I’ll also establish a company using my own personal funds, so let’s try making it a joint venture between the two companies. The shares will be fifty-fifty, but I’ll have a call option on one percent of Hyung’s shares… How about it?”
“Investment talk right at our first meeting? You’re really something else, aren’t you? Right, if what you say is true and eSaseong failed due to a lack of experts, then to avoid mistakes this time, I should go through you, the expert. Since we’ve exchanged shares through this deal, we are now truly brothers, got it?”
“It would be my honor. I’ll set it up immediately as soon as the cash conversion of my inherited assets is processed. For starters, would fifty billion won each be enough? We can increase capital if needed.”