Episode 5: In Search of a Right Arm
As soon as I Seongho left the chairman’s office, I also paid my respects to Mother and immediately stepped out.
Fortunately, I Seongho had decided to assign me Manager Gim—formerly Director Gim—with whom I had worked hand in glove for a long time, so I now had to devise a plan to handle matters together with him.
From Hanguk Wire’s standpoint, this year and next, things were going so well that even if we let I Seongho run the company as he pleased, the road ahead would be a royal road paved with silk and a solid thoroughfare in and of itself.
Although we had lost at the year-end acquisition battle for Baekro Industry, a marine cable manufacturer, to NG Wire—the future NS Wire—it didn’t have much impact because we immediately established a joint venture called PMC and entered the marine cable market anyway. NG Wire overpaid for that acquisition. I wouldn’t have done it.
Anyway, since he did well even before the regression, he would keep doing fine even if I stayed still. Yeah, our Seongho, do whatever you want~! Just until next year!
Next year—that glorious 2005—the Baekro Soju bonds, the crowning masterpiece of I Seongho’s life, would reach maturity and bring the company enormous profits. It was probably the best moment of his entire life.
Baekro Soju had entered court receivership, its value plummeting, and the bonds he had scooped up at half face value were repaid at full face value upon maturity, yielding a 100% return. On top of that, the high average interest rate of 10% was literally icing on the cake.
The Baekro Soju bond investment was truly something that, personal likes and dislikes aside, made it impossible not to acknowledge I Seongho.
He had noticed Goldman Sachs secretly scooping up Baekro Soju bonds last year and made a truly swift decision, moving into action immediately. That we were the only ones in the country to secure Baekro Soju bonds was indeed I Seongho’s accomplishment.
Because he had moved second, after Goldman Sachs had already purchased a massive volume, he bought at a significantly higher price than them—but so what?
The profits the bond investments alone would bring the company this year and next amounted to a whopping 300 billion won… A true superstar had been born in our company.
Thinking about how Mother and I, utterly mesmerized by these investment results, had been completely bewitched by I Seongho, giving him our very liver and gallbladder and bestowing absolute unchecked power, left a bitter taste in my mouth.
To think money could bewitch a person like that. Money is truly a devil, a devil.
Now~ anyway, until early next year, I would completely stop worrying about company matters and focus solely on securing overseas slush funds and personal investments.
I could just intervene in important matters occasionally.
It might look like a lot of time, but in the end, it was only one year on the calendar… Tight. Very tight.
While I remained outside I Seongho’s field of vision as a college student, I had to prepare as thoroughly as possible.
No, isn’t the owner of a chaebol group supposed to be the strongest final boss?
To think I had to be this nervous and on edge in a power struggle against a salaried professional manager—it was pathetic.
When I entered the company next fall, I would have to prepare for full-scale war with I Seongho.
No matter how large a shareholder I was, as long as I Seongho controlled the board of directors, I couldn’t manipulate the company at will. It was, after all, the board that ran the company, not the shareholders. The current directors, including I Seongho, still had plenty of term left.
Since we couldn’t convene an emergency shareholders’ meeting to oust I Seongho after he achieved record-breaking net profits next year and was treated like a hero by employees and the media, in the end I would just have to show results that surpassed his and earn recognition. What other choice was there?
In the end, my real fight with I Seongho would take place in 2007 and 2008.
If I couldn’t stop him then, no matter how much money I made, our company wouldn’t be able to avoid collapse. Stay sharp!
Now then, first things first. Shall we go convince Manager Gim, the man who would run until the soles of his feet sweated in my stead?
* * *
After organizing my thoughts at a café near the company, I timed my wait to the end of the workday outside the company’s main gate and saw Manager Gim Yunsik emerge, looking utterly exhausted.
The Management Strategy Team was the core of our company, so there was naturally no shortage of work.
But what to do? From now on, your workload would explode and you would get even more tired… But I would make sure you were rewarded properly! Cheer up, Manager Gim.
“Manager Gim!”
Truly delighted, strength naturally entered my voice. As he turned at my call, I could see a flustered look cross Manager Gim’s face.
He must have received a heads-up from I Seongho, so was it unexpected that I had come all the way to the company to meet him?
“Hello? You are Manager Gim Yunsik, correct? Pleased to meet you. I am Im Seho, the son of the new Chairwoman, Song Oksun.”
“Ah… yes, it’s nice to meet you. But what should I call you?”
“I may be the company’s largest shareholder, but I don’t hold an official position yet, and I’m still young, so please feel free to call me Seho.”
“Hmm… then I’ll just call you Seho. Since you’ll be the chairman later, it feels a bit off to speak too casually.”
“Yes, Manager. Please do as you’re comfortable. You’ve heard roughly the situation from President I Seongho, right? There is a lot to discuss regarding the work you’ll be doing from now on; shall we go somewhere quiet?”
Together with Manager Gim, who still looked somewhat dazed, I moved our seats to the company rooftop.
It would be crowded with smokers during lunch, but who would be there after work hours?
“I’ll be blunt. Please become my right-hand man from now on. A right hand capable of helping me perfectly, following only my orders. Just as President I Seongho was during my father’s era, I hope that Manager Gim Yunsik will become my right arm in the era to come.”
“What? But Seho, isn’t today the first time you’ve seen me? You’re making such a proposal to someone you just met? Based on what?”
That’s because I’ve seen your future.
Your ability! Your loyalty! Your character!
I’ve seen and experienced all of that in the future!
In truth, before the regression, even before I Seongho was arrested by the prosecution for embezzlement and breach of trust, it was Manager Gim Yunsik who had noticed the suspicious signs early and tipped me off.
I simply dismissed it, thinking there was no way he would do such a thing.
In the future Hanguk Wire’s Secretariat and Management Strategy Team, completely dominated by I Seongho, he was the only talent who held fast to his convictions.
“To tell the truth, I often drank with my late father while he was alive. It doubled as management lessons. He spoke to me a great deal about various company matters, and stories about you never failed to come up. He said he had his eye on you to become my right-hand man when I later became chairman. He said if I joined the company, he would pair the two of us as senior and junior so we could grow together.”
Father, I’m sorry for making this up.
But Father, even if you didn’t say it, I’m sure you liked Manager Gim, didn’t you?
When the card of the late chairman’s last words—a veritable invincible weapon for any salaryman—came out, Manager Gim Yunsik’s face showed deep emotion.
“To think the late chairman evaluated me so highly… I truly had no idea. I was merely doing the work given to me in silence……”
“Even this Baekro Soju bond investment—while President I Seongho was the one who sniffed out the source, wasn’t it you who handled all the actual risk analysis and work? I heard you had a hard time running around to secure the bonds……. Thinking of the profits this will bring the company until next year, I feel I know your ability without even seeing it directly.”
“Thank you for evaluating me so highly.”
Now was the time to speak my true feelings. We truly had to move as one team from now on.
Only if I trusted him and he trusted me completely could I achieve my dream.
“Manager, I have a dream.”
“A dream? What kind of dream?”
“As you may have guessed, it is a dream of growing our Hanguk Wire into a great company counted among the world’s best. In my grandfather’s time, we stood shoulder to shoulder with Mirae Group or Saseong Group, but what about Hanguk Wire now? Our revenue may be in the trillions of won, but we still struggle to clear even 100 billion won in profit after a year of business. Our annual net profit can’t even match Saseong Electronics’ weekly net profit. The company I will lead must surpass Saseong. It absolutely cannot remain as it is now.”
As I spoke, emotion welled up in me and I felt myself choke up.
In my previous life in 2005, while I was shedding tears of joy with my mother after hitting the jackpot with Baekro Soju bonds worth 300 billion won, Saseong Electronics earned 10 trillion won in net profit that year. Not revenue—net profit.
Saseong and Mirae are the real chaebols… Just how many times did Brother Yongjae save the country in his past life to be born as the heir to Saseong Group……
“Seho? Of course, the bigger the dream, the harder one must work, which is good, but the gap between Hanguk Wire and Saseong or Mirae Group is too wide. I love our company too, but precisely because of that, I believe we must look at reality coldly. If a sparrow tries to follow a stork, its legs will tear.”
As expected of Manager Gim. Even in front of the owner and future chairman of the company he serves, he says what must be said. And cold words implying I should know my place, at that.
“Do you think it’s an empty dream?”
“Rather than empty… it’s too excessive a goal. If you reach too far beyond the company’s weight class, you’ll eventually break. Truthfully, the Deogyu Resort and SBU we acquired recently likely won’t yield anything compared to the money and effort invested. Neither is an industry that makes money in the long term. If you recklessly pursue acquisitions to grow the company, you’ll eventually be crushed by their weight and self-destruct.”
“I agree with you one hundred percent. But weren’t you preparing for next year’s Baekro Soju acquisition? Is that somehow fine? That deal will cost at least 2 trillion won.”
“No! That’s completely different. We’re entering through a consortium anyway, so our group’s burden is only in the hundreds of billions. That is entirely possible with current reserves, and to be honest, Baekro Soju’s prospects are better than Hanguk Wire’s.”
“Better?”
“Yes! People drink soju when times are good to celebrate, and when times are hard to drown their sorrows. It’s not an industry swayed by the economy. It doesn’t distinguish between the 365 days of the year. Production costs are the same. You make ethanol and mix it with water—that’s soju. How much does making ethanol cost? You can pick the cheapest raw material available that year among various ethanol sources—what cost burden is there? What about Hanguk Wire? If global copper prices rise, stress. If exchange rates fluctuate, stress. If the economy slumps, stress about delayed cable investments……. Seho, from an owner’s perspective, which company looks better?”
Exactly! This is what I had been hoping for! Not M&A that merely inflates scale and puts on a shiny exterior, but M&A that actually makes real money!
Manager Gim! Let us stay together for a long, long time!
“You think the same as me. But anyway, the Baekro Soju acquisition next year is impossible. Let’s look for a different vision besides Baekro Soju.”
“We’re in a similar situation to the other competitors. Why are you so certain it’s impossible?”
That’s because I’ve seen the future, haven’t I? Then, even if it’s cheating, shall I show off a little?
“Companies like ours, Late Group, AJ Group, and Dosan Group would be creating something from nothing if we acquired Baekro Soju, because we have no existing liquor business or a negligible one. But White Beer is different. White is the absolute powerhouse of the beer market. If they acquire Baekro Soju, adding its distribution network to their existing beer distribution network would make their already strong Yeongnam region network even more perfect and shore up their previously lacking capital region network as well. One plus one doesn’t equal two, but three. And if the number one in beer and the number one in soju combine? A supreme powerhouse is born in the liquor industry, one capable of pressuring retailers and wholesalers. In other words, a synergy value unique to them—one we don’t have—is created, and naturally, they can spend that much more on the acquisition price, right? I think that amount will be enormous……. What do you say? Even so, is White Beer in a similar situation to the other companies?”
Manager Gim Yunsik wore a shocked expression as if struck by an unexpected blow, unable to speak for a while.
Sorry about that, Manager Gim~ I didn’t know this before the regression either. What I’ve been rambling about is exactly what you later reported to me as the reason for the Baekro Soju acquisition failure. Haha.
“Seho… you’re truly remarkable. You’re only twenty-three, yet how can your thoughts be so deep? The president told me to give you management lessons until your graduation next year, but it seems I am the one who must learn.”
“Then, does the dream I spoke of earlier no longer seem like a pipe dream spouted by an ignorant twenty-three-year-old brat?”
“Yes, I want to hear more. A vision to achieve your dream—one that may seem somewhat delusional yet somehow feels possible. If you truly have a viable vision, I will dedicate everything and follow you. What is a man’s life if not betting everything to achieve a truly attainable, magnificent dream? What exactly is it? A vision that can catch up to Saseong Group?”
Ooh. Manager Gim’s eyes were burning with fire. I had never seen him blaze with such motivation before… In my previous life, Hanguk Wire was already beyond salvation, so Manager Gim’s drive couldn’t be displayed at one hundred percent? This life might really be worth a shot. It’s going to be fun……
“Very well, I’ll tell you. The vision that will let me lead Hanguk Wire to surpass Saseong Group and stand at the very top! It is……”
If I said, “I’ll tell you in sixty seconds,” would that sever the tie between us?