Free Web NovelSeveral days passed.
Since returning to Korea, Cheon Sooman had been busy moving around but hadn’t once come to see me.
“What’s Cheon Sooman up to these days?”
“Nothing major since filing the objection to his guardianship disqualification. It’s hard to get close to him because he’s staying in a hotel owned by Ilseong Group.”
“What about Chairman Seo?”
“We confirmed he entered Chairman Seo’s residence yesterday. He stayed there for quite a while.”
Chief Ma hesitated for a moment before continuing.
“But we got caught by Ilseong’s security team while surveilling Cheon Sooman. Luckily, there wasn’t any physical altercation... We backed off quietly for now.”
“How did you get caught?”
“Security around Chairman Seo’s residence was tighter than expected.” freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
Among Ilseong Group’s affiliates was a security company called Ilseong SDI.
It was disguised as a legitimate security firm, but in truth, it handled most of Ilseong’s illicit operations.
Before my regression, Ilseong SDI had become the top security company in the country.
They’d recruited former high-ranking police and retired generals, making even the military and police wary. It was one of the tools that helped Ilseong maintain power back then.
They hadn’t grown that large yet, but their fieldwork was already top-tier.
“Avoid any physical clashes as much as possible. If we make a scene, it only gives them a pretext. If close surveillance is difficult, just keep track of his movements without pushing too hard.”
“Understood.”
Just thinking about how Cheon Sooman had gone from hiding under my grandfather’s shadow to now resting comfortably in Chairman Seo’s palm made my irritation boil over.
“You’ve mapped out most of Ilseong’s scholarship recipients, right?”
“Yes. We’ve identified most of the people in the legal field, and we’ve also pinned down nearly all the politicians supported by Ilseong.”
“Chairman Seo probably gathered a lot of his own people in preparation for me. He can’t secure any more of the top-level shares in the group, after all...”
Ilseong Group’s ownership structure was tangled like a spiderweb.
And the only people who fully understood it were Chairman Seo and his long-time chief secretary, Lee Seokmin.
Seo Yonggeon had tried to use the IMF crisis as a springboard to transfer management to his eldest son, Seo Jaehun, but because of the shares I held, he hadn’t been able to go through with the plan.
His ultimate goal must be to either suspend or strip the shares I received from my grandfather.
“You tried to meet with Lee Seokmin, but he refused, right?”
“Yes. He didn’t show the slightest sign of betraying Chairman Seo.”
“Even when told it was about management rights?”
“He said it wasn’t worth listening to and rejected the offer outright. That’s probably why Chairman Seo has kept him close for so long.”
“He’s not dumb enough to think he’ll be spared when Seo Jaehun takes over. He must be more loyal than I thought.”
If it were something like Hyeonhwa Group, with its complex share structure, I could try to sway a few major shareholders. But Ilseong Group? Chairman Seo ruled it like a dictator.
Originally, he’d held 100% of the shares himself. Then he donated some to relatives, and my grandfather’s convertible bonds diluted his holdings further.
Even so, Chairman Seo still held 51% of Ilseongsa—the apex of the group’s ownership pyramid.
There was no way to take over Ilseong Group through conventional means.
“Let’s start by shaking up a few subsidiaries. Yoon & Jang will handle the legal fight with Cheon Sooman. We’ll focus on Ilseong.”
“Are we going into all-out war? No room for negotiation?”
I answered Chief Ma’s grim question without hesitation.
“There’s no more negotiating with Chairman Seo. Unless he unconditionally surrenders, forget it.”
“Understood. I’ll prepare accordingly.”
In ten years, people would joke that “South Korea is now the Republic of Ilseong.”
Ilseong Group would grow that massive.
I intended to take down Chairman Seo Yonggeon before he could get any bigger.
“For now, you can leave.”
“Yes, I’ll wait outside.”
After sending Chief Ma out, I called Eva.
“Eva.”
― Yes, boss.
“Start selling off the KOSDAQ shares.”
― Didn’t you say to begin selling early next year?
“I’ve got other things to handle, so we need to wrap that up first.”
― Are you finally going after Ilseong?
Eva immediately picked up on my intention, likely remembering our earlier talk.
“It’s early, but we need to start shaking things up. You know how important your role is from here on out, right?”
― Don’t worry. This is my specialty. But Ilseong Group’s not going to be easy, you know that, boss? The structure is so tight I haven’t even been able to fully map it yet.
“Then we hit the weak spots first. Leave out Ilseong Life and Ilseong Card—they just merged with Hyeonhwa Group. What subsidiaries are vulnerable?”
Eva didn’t hesitate for even a second before answering.
― Ilseong Heavy Industries, Ilseong Trading, and Ilseong Motors. Those three are shakable.
“What happens to the ownership structure if we manage to take those?”
― Fully taking them over might be difficult... but I’ll give it everything I’ve got.
Even though she said it’d be hard, there was a hint of amusement in Eva’s voice.
― But even snatching just one of them will give them a massive headache. We’ve already secured enough shares to block any capital increase.
“Good. Sell off all KOSDAQ-related company stocks. Don’t dump them—just build a sell wall and offload slowly. The lunatics will come scrambling to buy, so it won’t take long.”
― Got it, boss. I’ll start right after the liquidation is complete.
Next, I called Han Kyungyeong.
The background noise on his end was chaotic.
“Hyung, how’s it going?”
― Don’t even ask. Between the ‘Millennium’ hype and everything else, I can’t catch a break. There’s some damn party every day. I’m being dragged all over. And the U.S. election’s coming up soon too. Every politician’s begging me to attend their charity events. It’s a mess.
“Well, it’s part of the job. Gotta keep the face out there.”
― Yeah, yeah. But why are you calling all of a sudden? Something up?
“Cheon Sooman came back to Korea.”
I explained everything—Grandfather’s worsening health, Cheon Sooman’s return, and the impending war with Ilseong.
― Sounds like the Chairman’s in bad shape. That’s not good... Is he in serious pain?
Han Kyungyeong, before anything else, asked after my grandfather’s well-being.
Of course. Anyone sane would have the same reaction.
Only a lunatic like Cheon Sooman would be frothing at the mouth wondering when his own father would die just for the inheritance.
“Yeah. I expected it, but I didn’t think it would get this bad. Still, he’ll be okay.”
― He’ll get better. He’s strong.
“Thanks for saying that.”
― So, what do you need from me?
“You don’t need to come back to Korea. Just secure voting rights from the foreign banks holding stock in Ilseong Group’s listed affiliates. If you can buy them outright, even better...”
― I’ll try both—purchase and proxy delegation.
He understood right away.
I was sure he’d handle things in the most advantageous way possible.
“Pay extra for the shares held by private equity firms if you have to. Once the war breaks out, those hyena bastards will side with whoever benefits them most.”
― It’ll cost a lot, you know.
“We’ve got enough money. Even if we take a loss, just go ahead with it. Also, liquidate all the stock Dreamhigh is holding—except Apple.”
― Got it. It’ll take about a month. I’ll start selling quietly so it doesn’t cause waves.
“Thanks. I’ll call again soon.”
― Stay strong, Muhyuk. And take good care of the Chairman. He’s going to pull through.
I couldn’t help but smile at Han Kyungyeong’s encouragement, even as the call ended.
He always came off as a ruthless investor when I saw him on TV, but he was actually incredibly soft inside.
Maybe having him in this life was my greatest fortune.
I stared at the phone for a while, then lay back on the bed and sank into thought.
‘Ilseong Group can’t restructure into a holding company like other conglomerates...’
After the foreign exchange crisis, most chaebols learned the hard way how disastrous circular shareholding could be.
They ditched it and restructured into holding companies.
But Ilseong Group’s circular shareholding was anchored by Ilseong Life.
If they tried to restructure, they’d have to liquidate all of Ilseong Life’s equity in the affiliates due to the separation of finance and industry laws.
No one could say how much that would cost.
‘Even just getting Ilseong Electronics would be enough...’
Ilseong Electronics was the group’s crown jewel.
Not just for Ilseong, but for the entire country.
If I could get my hands on that, I didn’t care who got the rest.
Once Ilseong Electronics was separated, the rest of Ilseong would be just another chaebol.
“Boss, it’s time for your appointment.”
Chief Ma’s voice snapped me out of it.
No time to organize my thoughts—I had to go meet with the president of Koryeo Daily.
* * *
“Secretary Lee.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
“You said Kim Muhyuk approached you?”
Seo ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ Yonggeon eyed Lee Seokmin with suspicion.
Afraid of saying the wrong thing, Lee Seokmin quickly bowed his head.
“Yes. I reported it to you immediately after he reached out.”
“Wasn’t it a good offer? Why’d you turn it down?”
Caught off guard by Chairman Seo’s direct probing, Lee Seokmin stiffened.
“I’m your man, sir. I would never betray you.”
“I know. But I’m just curious. If you had accepted, you could’ve ended up in my seat.”
Seo Yonggeon’s tone was casual, but Lee Seokmin’s face went pale as he dropped to his knees.
“Not once—not even for a second—have I thought such a thing.”
“We’re both old men now, no need to kneel. Get up, Secretary Lee.”
Only after Lee Seokmin stood stiffly did Chairman Seo finally tell him to sit.
“Sit down.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
“This operation must succeed.”
“I understand, sir.”
“It’s time to prepare for the transfer of control.”
Chairman Seo’s expression was grim, full of deep thought.
“You know what’ll happen if we wait too long. I could collapse without warning.”
“...Chairman.”
“I inherited this group from my father. Now Jaehun must inherit it from me. No matter what. That’s why the Ilseongsa shares in Kim Muhyuk’s hands are a problem. You know that better than anyone.”
From the moment Seo Yonggeon beat out his older brother and took over Ilseong, Lee Seokmin had been the one managing everything behind the scenes.
He knew the group’s structure even better than Seo himself.
Of course the task of preparing the succession would fall to him.
“What’s the scenario?”
“We’ll need to transfer Ilseongsa’s shares in Ilseong Life to Ilseong Land. From there, we begin restructuring the ownership.”
A well-prepared plan flowed smoothly from Lee Seokmin’s mouth.
“It’ll cost a lot, but compared to inheritance tax, it’s pocket change.”
“This damned country taxes everything and still charges inheritance tax on top. Ridiculous. I need to get that lowered before I die.”
Seo Yonggeon scowled, shaking his head.
“We plan to begin the attack on Kim Muhyuk from the outside. With the general election looming, the political world won’t be able to shield him.”
“But doesn’t the same apply to us?”
“You should meet with President Kim Hakgwon.”
“Kim Hakgwon?”
“Yes. It’s best if you meet him personally.”
“What’s the point in seeing a lame duck?”
Unimpressed, Seo’s voice was dry, but Lee Seokmin continued with his explanation.
“Even a lame duck still holds power. It’s not like the military regime days, but he can still move the prosecutors.”
“I hate dealing with slippery snakes like Kim Hakgwon... but I suppose there’s no choice. Set the meeting.”
Lee Seokmin quickly took out his notebook and jotted something down.
Watching dispassionately, Chairman Seo asked, ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
“What am I supposed to say when I meet him?”
“Offer quiet support for the Progressive Party in the general election...”
Lee Seokmin already seemed to have every give-and-take lined up.
“...Hmm. Fine. Let’s do it.”
“I’ll go set the appointment.”
Lee Seokmin bowed deeply and exited the room.
In the massive, empty chairman’s office, only Seo Yonggeon remained.
His gaze toward the door Lee Seokmin had just exited was colder than ever.
