David of SAVE Investnts.
Not only was he in charge of talent acquisition, but he also handled various lobbying efforts and external affairs.
With his exceptional social skills, he had built a strong network in the U.S.—and now, even in France, his charisma remained just as effective.
"When it cos to wine, nothing beats France, right? I went ahead and secured an entire stock of Romanée-Conti from the region."
"Tonight is going to be a real treat! Lately, it's been nothing but headaches, but thanks to you, David, I feel like all my stress is lting away."
The table was filled with expensive wines, each bottle ranging from thousands to tens of thousands of dollars.
Sitting around it were David and the executives of Thomson Multidia.
It had been less than two days since David arrived in France, yet they were already treating him like a close friend.
As one bottle after another was emptied, the Thomson Multidia executives began venting their frustrations.
"Is it our fault the company is struggling? How are we supposed to compete when the U.S., Japan, and Korea are all flooding the market with aggressive supply?"
"Exactly! They call us a state-owned enterprise, but because of that, we're the ones suffering losses. It's not that we lack managent skills—it's that we're too restricted to run the company properly."
"You really understand our situation."
David knew exactly where to apply pressure—and he did so skillfully, while subtly stirring their desires.
"They demand so much from you, yet your salaries aren't even competitive. And with the company struggling, they've cut your pay instead of increasing it, haven't they?"
"That's exactly the problem! If they at least paid us well, we'd be motivated to work. But right now, it feels more like volunteer work—it's exhausting."
"On top of that, there are rumors that the company is about to be sold off. And not just anywhere, but to South Korea, of all places. That rumor is already making the rounds on Wall Street."
"That's supposed to be top secret, but it's already reached Wall Street? As expected, their intelligence network is better than most governnt agencies."
David said nothing and simply took another sip of wine.
In truth, the Thomson acquisition rumor hadn't co from Wall Street—he had heard it directly from Kim Min-jae.
"So, what happens if the company gets acquired?"
"We'll probably have to step down. Ugh, after all the effort we put in to get here, it's infuriating."
"Then… would you like so help?"
"Are you offering us new positions sowhere?"
"At the end of the day, a job is about making money, isn't it? If you help sell off a few of Thomson's patents, I'll make sure you're well compensated."
David poured them another round of wine as he spoke.
The executives accepted their glasses, falling into deep thought.
The company was going to be sold off anyway.
Would anyone really notice if a few patents were transferred before that happened?
"Selling patents isn't difficult—it's all about the price, isn't it?"
"Of course. I'll make sure you get top dollar. You'll earn more than any executive bonus you've missed out on."
The drinking session stretched late into the night.
By the ti it ended, David had laid out an offer that left the Thomson executives more than satisfied.
***
About Two Months Later.
I received great news from David.
[Boss! Everything with Thomson Multidia went smoothly. We secured all their MP3-related patents, along with key audio and video technology patents.]
"Well done. That couldn't have been easy."
[But we spent a lot of money.]
"The amount doesn't matter too much. But I am curious—how much did you spend?"
[In Korean won, roughly 10 billion KRW. Actually, acquiring the patents only cost about 5 billion KRW, but we had to put the other 5 billion into the pockets of their executives.]
"10 billion won? That's cheap. You could have spent even more."
10 billion KRW for MP3 patents was an absolute bargain.
Once MP3 players hit the market, these patents would be worth many tis more, and acquiring them would beco nearly impossible—even at an inflated price.
[I'll be heading back to the U.S. now. I have a dinner eting with so politicians.]
"Do your best. We'll be relying on political connections very soon."
[Boss, I don't know exactly what you're planning, but I'll make sure to win over both the ruling and opposition parties.]
When the foreign exchange crisis hits, I'll need political backing.
If I lay the groundwork now, I can avoid unfair treatnt and even gain leverage over others.
Just as I was lost in thought after hanging up the phone, my secretary staff suddenly rushed into my office.
These were people who would never enter without permission—sothing serious had happened.
"What's going on?"
"A major disaster just occurred. We're turning on the TV."
The secretary hurriedly switched on the TV.
Every channel was broadcasting the sa breaking news.
[Collapse of the Sampoong Departnt Store.]
"So today is the day."
I had known that Sampoong Departnt Store was going to collapse this year.
But I didn't know the exact date.
Still, even without knowing the date, I had already planned my next move.
"I need to head to the group's headquarters imdiately. Find out where the Chairman is and report back to ."
"Understood."
I rushed to headquarters, driving at full speed.
There, the atmosphere was tense and chaotic, as everyone scrambled to respond to the massive disaster.
Despite the chaos, a secretarial office staff mber recognized and approached with a greeting.
"Director, were you also called to the eting? It's being held in the large conference room on the 9th floor."
"Did the Chairman call for this eting?"
"That's right. The entire planning and secretarial teams are attending the eting."
"Then let's go in together."
I hadn't been formally invited, but with my title as the research director and my status as the chairman's grandson, I pushed my way into the conference room.
Naturally, no one dared to stop , and my grandfather, who was seated at the head of the table, motioned for to sit beside him without hesitation.
"You've probably already heard, but the Sampoong Departnt Store has collapsed. While this doesn't directly impact us, I've called this eting to assess the situation and its potential consequences."
"There's no ti for a eting right now. We need to act imdiately."
"And what exactly do you propose we do?"
"Send Taewoo Construction's cranes to the site right now."
"The governnt hasn't even made a request yet. How can we just step in on our own?"
Had I gotten too worked up?
My grandfather raised a hand to calm down, and his chief secretary joined in, trying to ease the tension.
"Director Kim, if we suddenly pull cranes from Taewoo Construction, it will delay our construction projects."
"A slight delay in construction is not what matters right now! We need to act imdiately. We can discuss the details after we've deployed all available resources."
"Kim, settle down. I understand this is a tragic incident, but just because we step in first doesn't necessarily an we'll be of any help. Ergency response should follow official protocols, and if we intervene, we may disrupt those protocols."
For an ordinary disaster, following procedures would make sense.
But who could have predicted that an entire departnt store would collapse?
And more importantly, the rescue equipnt available to ergency services was completely inadequate.
To properly conduct rescue operations, they needed heavy construction machinery, the kind used on large-scale building sites.
Yet my grandfather remained unmoved.
He hated the idea of stepping forward first.
At this point, there was only one way to persuade him.
"We have to act before Hyunje Construction does."
"Hyunje Construction? What do you an?"
"Hyunje Construction will move, without a doubt. They need to win favor with the governnt, and you know how things stand between Hyunje Group and the administration."
"They're in deep trouble with the governnt right now."
The chairman of Hyunje Group had run for president in the last election.
My grandfather had also considered running but ultimately dropped out.
However, the chairman of Hyunje Group actually beca an official candidate.
Of course, he didn't win—and after losing, he returned to his position as chairman.
"Hyunje Group will do everything in its power to nd its relationship with the governnt."
"So, you're saying we need to act first to block their opportunity."
"It will also be a massive PR boost for our company. Instead of spending tens of billions on TV and newspaper ads, this single move will have a much greater impact."
I already knew how things would unfold.
In reality, Hyunje Group wouldn't act on its own—the governnt would request their assistance.
The president, having faced multiple major disasters since taking office, was seeing his approval ratings plumt.
To regain public support, he needed to handle this crisis swiftly.
So, he reached out to Hyunje Construction, asking them to deploy heavy machinery to aid in the rescue efforts.
This ti, we needed to take that role instead.
With the foreign exchange crisis only a few years away, establishing strong ties with the governnt was essential.
"I see. I misjudged the situation. I thought you were just overwheld by emotion because of the disaster."
"Of course, I also want to help as quickly as possible. If we move imdiately, we can minimize the damage."
"A positive public image and better relations with the governnt—we stand to gain both. Chief Kim, what do you think?"
My grandfather's gaze shifted to Chief Kim.
After a brief mont of hesitation, Chief Kim finally spoke, though his voice carried a hint of reluctance.
"It's not a bad plan. However, before we take action, I believe we should at least notify the governnt. Communication is crucial to avoid disrupting the rescue efforts."
"Contact the presidential office imdiately. Inform them that Taewoo Construction is preparing its heavy machinery for deploynt."
"Understood."
With that, Chief Kim quietly left the conference room.
As the chief secretary of Taewoo Group, he had a direct line to the presidential office, allowing him to communicate imdiately.
Shortly after, he returned with an update.
"The presidential office has officially requested our assistance. The governnt's ergency response center hasn't been fully established yet, but they said they would coordinate with Taewoo Construction as soon as it is in place."
"How did they react?"
"Given the urgency of the situation, they couldn't express much, but their tone was full of gratitude."
"Since we've committed to this, we must do it properly. Ensure that we spare no resources in supporting the rescue operation. Also, contact Taewoo Group's hospitals and instruct them to dispatch dical personnel to the scene."
My grandfather was as bold as ever.
Once he made a decision, he pushed forward like a bulldozer.
The problem was, this attitude also extended to rgers and acquisitions.
If he liked a company, he would acquire it first and think later.
As the discussion continued, the planning departnt began analyzing the financial impact of the collapse on Sampoong Group.
"There's a significant chance that Sampoong Group will go bankrupt. The number of casualties is rising, and compensation costs will skyrocket. On top of that, the governnt is likely to impose a massive financial penalty, making survival nearly impossible for them."
"Sampoong Group collapsing, huh? They do have so decent subsidiaries."
Even in this crisis, my grandfather was already eyeing potential acquisitions.
Watching him, I felt my blood boil.
I was trying everything I could to reduce our company's debt ratio, yet my grandfather kept moving in the opposite direction.
As the eting dragged on, we finally received an official request from the governnt's disaster response center in the evening.
They asked Taewoo Construction to deploy its heavy equipnt to the site.
"Send all the site managers to Sampoong Departnt Store as well. If the cranes don't operate properly, we'll be the ones to take the bla."
"The president of Taewoo Construction is personally overseeing the operation. There won't be any issues."
As expected, my grandfather's word was absolute within Taewoo Group.
Even the notoriously slow-moving president of Taewoo Construction was being sent directly to the disaster site.
Once I heard that, I finally left the eting room.
My next destination?
Myeongdong—to et the Gwanghwamun Bear.
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