Gangnam Seosung Town was ford by four buildings that seed like they were stacked with blue glass, creating a complex. Here, 25,000 employees of the Seosung Group worked in various departnts such as electronics, insurance, life, trading, credit cards, and securities.
Among them, the 45th floor of Building D was the office of Seosung Group’s chairman.
Im Jin-yong’s official title was vice chairman and board mber of Seosung Electronics. However, in reality, he was the future chairman of the Seosung Group.
After Chairman Im Il-kwon fell ill, Im Jin-yong took on the role of acting chairman and led the Seosung Group in place of his father.
Smart!
“This is Director Kim Myung-soo.”
“Co in.”
Director Kim Myung-soo, in charge of the core organization, the Future Strategy Office, cautiously opened the door and entered.
“I’ve brought the docunts you ntioned.”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
As he left, Im Jin-yong paused his work and carefully reviewed the information he received.
The docunts contained various information related to OTK Company, including an overview of the company, its structure, ownership status, and asset valuation. The most detailed information was about the CEO, Kang Jin-hoo.
Family background, upbringing, academic performance, and other details.
Im Jin-yong read through it ticulously. His childhood wasn’t much different. He grew up in a decent environnt, did well in his studies, and was admitted to the business administration departnt at Korea University.
“He’s my junior.”
Im Jin-yong, on the other hand, graduated from Korea University with a degree in Western History. After graduating, he pursued a master’s degree in business administration at the University of Tokyo and later completed a doctoral program in managent in the United States.
Kang Jin-hoo’s grades in his first year were average. Up to this point, there wasn’t much difference compared to the specs of new recruits joining Seosung Group currently.
He didn’t receive an elite education, and there wasn’t anything particularly outstanding about him. But after completing his military service, he suddenly ventured into the investnt market with a friend and achieved trendous success.
“Compared to other countries, South Korea has an unusually severe conglorate monopoly. Therefore, structurally, it was extrely difficult for new industrial capital to grow.
In the recent changing trend of industries, many companies and wealthy individuals have erged, but their market share remains minimal.
Excluding conglorate affiliates, how many of the erging companies actually grow into large corporations?
However, OTK Company achieved it not as industrial capital but as financial capital.
By selling a new product called cryptocurrency, they raised a capital of 13 billion and invested it in put options during the L6 crisis, increasing it to hundreds of billions.
Im Jin-yong paused, montarily halting his finger passing over the docunts.
“L6 crisis…”
Even now, it was a nightmare.
Who would have imagined that smartphones made by Seong Electronics would explode due to battery issues?
The shock was imnse, to the point where talks erged of Seong Electronics withdrawing from the smartphone market. However, they halted production before larger damage occurred, conducted exchanges and refunds, and completely washed away the shock by releasing the L7 afterwards.
The person who made the decision to halt production was him.
If that decision had been delayed by just one week, and Seong Electronics had delayed the halt, Kang Jin-hoo and Oh Taek-gyu would have lost all the money invested in put options.
Then they wouldn’t have been able to invest in startups thereafter, and probably wouldn’t have bet money in units during Brexit.
Im Jin-yong chuckled.
“Is this what they call the butterfly effect?”
Thinking that his decisions created the current OTK Company, he felt strangely invigorated.
‘L6 crisis, Brexit, Ronald’s election…’
Investing in such a reckless manner is amazing, and even more amazing that all those investnts turned out successful.
It feels like I have predicted the future.
“Feels like I’m watching a novel.”
Sighs of admiration escape involuntarily.”
Of course, the achievent achieved by Kang Jin-hoo was not solely his own. Oh Taek-gyu, Oh Hyun-joo, siblings, and Park Sang-yeop.
I’m not sure about Oh Taek-gyu, but Oh Hyun-joo and Park Sang-yeop were talents that even Eunsung Group would covet. If they were to join Eunsung Group, it wouldn’t be too much to offer them tens of billions in salary.
“They might already be receiving more than that.”
Combining OTK Company and K Company would result in assets of roughly over 50 trillion won.
The exact percentage of Kang Jin-hoo’s stake is not known, but considering various circumstances, it is estimated to be over half.
An individual holding over 25 trillion won in assets!
It’s enough to shake up the rankings of Korean conglorates and wealthy individuals. However, solely looking at the company, its asset size and influence are not yet comparable to the top five chaebols.
However, the issue lies in the growth rate.
A company that has existed for just under three years has already earned tens of trillions. Startups with shares have great growth potential, and having a role as a kingmaker in the recent US election has brought them another asset – connections in US politics.
By now, it’s not an exaggeration to call it a conglorate or chaebol. There’s no law saying Eunsung Group won’t surpass them in a few years.
“What turned an ordinary college student into an investor of the century?”
Just looking at the achievents so far, it’s no exaggeration to say that Kang Jin-hoo is the most outstanding investor of the 21st century.
“Was the downfall of his family the turning point?”
While it’s not publicized in the dia, it’s a fact most major conglorates are already aware of.
Not only did the company fail, but it led to his father’s passing. What’s important is that this incident is related to Eunsung Cha.
From Kang Jin-hoo’s perspective, it’s natural not to harbor good feelings towards Eunsung Cha.
“Entering the automotive industry was also probably because of Eunsung Cha, right?”
Whatever the intention, starting in the US was a wise choice. Essentially, Korea is practically Eunsung Cha’s full dominion.
Im Jin-yong mumbled as he covered up the docunts, “Will he beco my foe or a friend?”
***
Ti truly flowed at the speed of light.
It feels like it was just the day before yesterday when the US presidential election ended and Jinhoo was released from prosecution, but suddenly only one page was left on this year’s calendar.
Despite various political scandals and the fierce battle between the opposition party and civic organizations, President Park Sihyeong quickly stabilized the governnt.
Articles about PAS and comnts like ‘Who is afraid of PAS?’ were almost buried, replaced instead by rumors of celebrity romances and overseas sex scandals.
The ruling party threw various sensitive issues to the National Assembly, while the opposition parties clashed over their respective ideologies.
Looking at all this, regardless of personal character, it is clear that Park’s political abilities are outstanding. Conversely, it shows that the opposition party, unable to seize this opportunity properly, is equally incompetent as they bicker among themselves.
Anyway, I was busy dealing with things in front of .
It didn’t end with sending away the relatives who barged into my house; in fact, it was just the beginning.
There were gatherings all over the country. Known figures from the political and business circles sought etings. High school or military alumni even ca to visit the company.
Not to ntion university juniors and seniors, there were many claiming to be close to .
Taekgyu asked in surprise, “Wow! You had so many friends?”
“…”
I also realized for the first ti how good my social connections were.
Even a kindergarten classmate suddenly appeared. If I et all the people who co looking for , winter will pass, and flowers will bloom.
So I declined all eting requests.
Work cos first.
In order to organize our team, we first t with Michael Lee. He had flown to Korea with a headhunting agency representative.
He was a man in his early 40s with short hair. He was short in stature but looked well-built.
“Nice to et you. I’m Kang Jinhoo. Thank you for coming all the way here.”
“Nice to et you. I’m Michael Lee.”
As soon as the greeting ended, Michael spoke in Korean.
“I really wanted to et the person who made Ronald president.”
I replied warmly.
“So, it seems you supported Ronald.”
He shook his head firmly at my words.
“No way. I’m a staunch supporter of the Democratic Party.”
“…It wasn’t who made Ronald president, it was the Arican people.”
For the record, I didn’t even vote or donate a penny to any political cause. I just invested $2.5 billion in the Rust Belt.
“But without OTK Company, that outco wouldn’t have happened.”
“If only Diane had paid a little attention to the Rust Belt.”
“Hahaha!”
He burst into laughter. Despite his words, he didn’t seem to harbor any negative feelings.
We sat down and started conversing.
Michael Lee briefly shared his story.
Both his parents are Korean and settled in the U.S. when they were young. Thanks to their typical Korean emphasis on education, he studied hard from a young age and graduated from Yale with top grades.
He had been working at the global sports brand Nike until the end of last year and then quit to travel the world with his wife for a year.
Upon returning, he was bombarded with job offers from various companies even before he reached out. He was in talks with Facebook and UnicornPay, among others.
“But you ca to et .”
“I liked the idea of starting sothing new. Also, since my wife is Korean, we thought it would be nice to spend so ti in Korea for a while.”
Unlike him, who was born and raised in the United States, his wife is Korean. They t during her study abroad in the States and got married.
“I’ve made a plan before coming here.”
He extended the tablet to .
I took it and examined it, then passed it back.
“The first custor of a company is its employees. For a company to grow, its employees must be happy.”
People work at a company for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. They work to make a living. In other words, they endure suffering for other pleasures.
Michael’s continued story was a fresh shock.
First, he operates flexible working hours. He creates a restaurant within the company that provides buffet als from morning to evening, and he establishes bedrooms and rest areas so employees can rest whenever they are tired.
He builds a daycare for parents to commute with their children, and a gym to conduct fitness and yoga programs during work hours. Additionally, the company supports various hobbies, leisure activities, and educational programs.
The reason behind all this was that the health and happiness of the employees directly correlate to work efficiency.
“Work should never be a sacrifice. When employees feel that they are growing with the company, the company can also succeed.”
It is not easy to create such anities in expensive Gangnam. If such spaces were rented, the rent would be exorbitant.
Fortunately, OTK Company Building is our own and there is plenty of vacant space. Even if he were to create all the facilities he ntioned — the restaurant, daycare, gym, and rest areas — it would be sufficient.
A traditional financial company might not dare to attempt such a thod.
Unlike IT companies or startups with autonomous and creative cultures, the financial sector is rigid and hierarchical. This is because they must analyze and process information and data pouring in daily. If you visit the dealing room, you will see millions of dollars being traded every second.
Although we are an investnt company, we do not engage in day trading or scalping. Managing subsidiary companies and investnts allows for flexible working hours.
When things get busy, we can adjust at that ti.
Taekgyu, who was enjoying the conversation, added enthusiastically, “How about creating a PC bang within the company so we can all play gas together?”
Michael nodded approvingly, “That’s a great idea. Let’s consider that in our plans.”
“…….”
Then, when will we start work?
Nevertheless, the effectiveness of his approach has already been proven in several companies. That’s why global corporations are eager to hire him.
I nodded my head.
“What salary are you thinking of?”
Negotiations on salary and detailed conditions followed.
After signing the contract, we shook hands.
“Let’s do well from now on.”
Michael said playfully.
“I’ll do my best, boss.”
***
After hiring Michael Lee, the organizational restructuring of OTK Company proceeded quickly.
We began recruiting key personnel through Golden Gate’s introduction, and transferred several K Company employees who were originally handling OTK Company’s tasks to our side.
Senior Sang-yeop grumbled, “If you take all the staff, how are we supposed to do business?”
“I won’t take Senior Gi-hong,” I assured.
“…Please, take him first,” he insisted.
The building underwent interior renovations floor by floor. Various facilities will be used jointly with K Company in the future.
During a rare gathering for dinner, I suggested, “Let’s distribute dividends before the year ends.”
What’s the point of having tens of trillions in assets?
As almost all assets were tied up in the corporation, the actual cash available to us was not that much.
While company-related expenses could be covered using corporate funds, using it for personal purposes would be embezzlent. Therefore, we needed to distribute dividends to move so money from the corporate account to personal accounts, which would incur dividend inco tax and comprehensive inco tax.
“How much should we distribute?” Hyun-joo chucklingly said, “You, as the CEO, should decide.”
Co to think of it, we should also prepare so bonuses for the employees.
Amidst these various tasks, the end of the year drew closer. And an interesting opportunity erged in the dostic M&A market.
(T/n: I’ve decided to change the chairman’s na from Lim Il-kwon to Im Il-kwon)
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