Free Web NovelTaking over Joongwoo Group and dismantling Ilseong Group were two completely different matters.
The scale itself was on another level — something I couldn’t devour alone.
So this time, my plan was to unify the voices of the entire business world.
“You’re all aware of Ilseong Group’s current state. Let me be direct. I intend to dismantle Ilseong Group.”
Those who had already been informed showed no change in expression.
But the ones who thought I wouldn’t go as far as dissolution stiffened at once.
“The blueprint is already drawn up. A few days ago, Director Eva announced a public tender offer to secure management control.”
On the day she declared it, the announcement came with a premium—twice the previous closing price.
“From the next day onward, we swept up every share available on the market. All listed affiliates of Ilseong Group.”
With the Fair Trade Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service launching investigations, Ilseong’s stock prices had been plummeting day after day.
Yet after Eva’s disclosure, they began hitting the upper limit—rising fifteen percent daily.
“You’ll all have to help me. But if any of you wish to sink along with Ilseong Group, speak up now.”
Calmly, I threw a bomb into the conference room.
“I can’t swallow Ilseong Group by myself. What I want is Ilseong Electronics—nothing else. The rest, I intend to give as opportunities to you, the chairmen present here.”
In a few eyes, greed flickered to life.
Ilseong wasn’t shaking because of a lack of technology—it was because its funding had been completely blocked.
If they could supplement their group’s weaknesses with Ilseong’s assets, it would serve as a springboard for a leap forward. Desire was only natural.
Chairman Kim Byungwoo, who had been briefed in advance, spoke first.
“President Kim, what do you mean by giving us opportunities?”
“Ilseong Group has plenty of unlisted, high-value subsidiaries—hidden gems besides those already listed. I’m saying I’ll distribute those among you.”
Silence fell again as everyone gauged each other’s reactions.
Then Seo Jaesang broke it.
“Give us the first chance. Ilseong belongs to us. Chairman Seo Yonggeon inherited it, but originally, that seat belonged to my father—and then to me.”
All eyes turned to Seo Jaesang.
“So we have legitimacy unlike anyone else. We’ll take the lead in this.”
Seo Maenggeon had been the eldest son and heir, yet Ilseong ended up in Seo Yonggeon’s hands. And now, they had the nerve to speak of legitimacy? fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
“Legitimacy? I’m not sure what you’re talking about. You know exactly whose company Ilseong Group is. Chairman Seo Yonggeon and Vice Chairman Seo Jaehun hold the majority of the shares. And yet you’re talking about rightful ownership?”
“But Ilseong was built by the Seo family. That’s undeniable. So please, give us the first opportunity.”
I raised a corner of my mouth at Seo Jaesang’s words. It was laughable—a dog that had once been kicked off the throne now barking proudly because its master was gone.
“I plan to split Ilseong into four main parts. Of course, if I wanted, I could divide it into dozens.”
I intended to divide it into four core sectors:
*Electronics, led by Ilseong Electronics.
*Finance, led by Ilseong Life.
*Automotive, led by Ilseong Motors.
*Construction and distribution, led by Ilseong Trading.
“Ilseong Electronics, Ilseong Trading, Ilseong Life, Ilseong Motors. These four groups will be sold off separately. You should know better than anyone, Chairman Seo Jaesang, how valuable and promising they are.”
Combined, Ilseong’s listed affiliates barely exceeded fifty trillion won in market capitalization. That was far below the group’s true worth.
Ilseong was suffocating not because it lacked ability, but because its loans were cut off—it couldn’t start new projects, and after being crushed in the semiconductor price war, its funding had dried up completely.
Even its financial subsidiaries, which had been the group’s main cash generators—like Ilseong Life—could no longer inject emergency funds.
As its liquidity withered, so too did its corporate value.
“If we’re going to share the spoils, everyone should work for it. In that sense, Chairman Seo, what can JC Group contribute?”
“...”
“Besides the surname ‘Seo,’ is there anything of substance?”
His face tightened in humiliation, but Seo Jaesang quickly replied.
“No. The entire Seo clan will participate in this project.”
“I wasn’t aware JC Group had become the representative of the entire Seo family.”
“We already have everyone’s consent. Perhaps not Chairman Seo Yonggeon, but Vice Chairman Seo Jaehun—we refuse to recognize him.”
Among those present, the only companies connected to Ilseong were Daesol and NEW.
I looked between the two chairmen.
“Chairman Jo Hyungwoo, Chairman Jung Hanseong—do you both agree with this?”
Jo Hyungwoo of Daesol spoke first.
“Daesol Group stands with JC Group.”
Then Jung Hanseong of NEW followed.
“NEW Group shares the same stance.”
If those two said so, that meant all the elder Seo relatives had agreed as well. I nodded and asked Seo Jaesang,
“And what about the other Ilseong offshoot companies not present here—do they share that view?”
“Yes, they’re all of one mind.”
Truly, bloodless and tearless people.
Then again, Seo Yonggeon had once oppressed his own brothers to claim the throne.
So perhaps I couldn’t blame them—or perhaps they simply no longer could.
“So what exactly are you asking for?”
Did he want me to hand him the entire Ilseong Group intact? That I couldn’t allow.
“Help us acquire Ilseong Trading, Ilseong Life, Ilseong Fire, and Ilseong Securities.”
So he wanted all the prime assets for himself.
At those words, the other chairmen’s expressions hardened.
“Now hold on, Chairman Seo.”
It was Ye Seungjin of Geumseong Group who spoke—the eldest among all the gathered chairmen.
For half a century, Geumseong and Ilseong had been archrivals.
“If you take all the juicy parts, are the rest of us supposed to sit here sucking our thumbs?”
Seo Jaesang hesitated, unable to easily respond to words from such an elder statesman.
“Yes, Chairman Seo founded Ilseong, and Chairman Seo Yonggeon made it grow—that’s fine. But you? You were cast aside. And now, just because you’re a Seo, you think you can grab all the prime subsidiaries? You think we’ll just let that slide?”
“But...”
Seo Jaesang began, but Ye Seungjin cut him off sharply. freewebnøvel.com
“No need for long talk. Take Trading and step aside. Trading’s management rights were already taken by Seo Maenggeon with President Kim’s help, weren’t they? If you just take over President Kim’s shares, it’s simple enough. Why complicate things? And besides, there are twenty-nine of us here—shouldn’t each of us get at least a bite?”
Everyone not tied to Ilseong nodded in agreement.
Now this was getting interesting. The moment the bait of Ilseong’s dismantling was tossed out, these tightly bound conglomerates bared their fangs.
“Chairman Ye, would you be willing to hand over your family’s company to others? Put yourself in his place. If this happened to Geumseong, would you accept it?”
“We don’t fight over management rights like you do. You know that.”
Indeed, Geumseong was the only chaebol that had inherited leadership smoothly for generations without a single public feud.
At his dignified reply, Seo Jaesang fell silent.
“So be reasonable. Since when has JC Group ever had an interest in finance? Trying to seize every financial subsidiary now—that’s overreaching. Greed brings ruin.”
He wasn’t wrong. Trying to monopolize a field they had no experience in was bound to stir backlash.
“My father is the family’s eldest son, and I’m his eldest heir. I have justification.”
“Justification? The rightful successor was Seo Yonggeon—that’s the truth. Even if he’s in a coma right now, facts are facts, my boy.”
“Chairman! I’m a chairman too. Don’t treat me like a child!”
So much for his earlier calm—now he was raising his voice.
Maybe it was time for me to step in and settle this.
“Please, calm down. Any further and this becomes personal. I understand what Chairman Seo means, but you’ve gone too far. You’re basically saying you’ll take all the prime assets.”
“I’m only reclaiming what’s mine.”
“And could you do that without my help?”
Seo Jaesang went quiet. Without power, shouting slogans was nothing but empty noise.
“That’s what I mean by greed. Without me, could you even dare to covet Ilseong Group?”
He bit his lip and lowered his gaze.
Still, there was no point in tormenting him further—he could be useful later to offload annoying work.
“Of course, since you’re a Seo, you’ll get more subsidiaries than others... but you can’t take all the core ones. The others didn’t come here to pick through leftovers.”
Leaving the silent Seo Jaesang behind, I turned to Ye Seungjin.
“Chairman Ye, what do you want?”
If he was this eager, that meant there was a company within Ilseong that caught his eye.
Ye Seungjin’s eyes gleamed as he answered without hesitation.
“I want semiconductors.”
“I’m not giving ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) Ilseong Electronics to anyone.”
“If I were to take the home appliance or mobile divisions, the government would oppose it. But semiconductors are different. I want to revive the semiconductor business that Joongwoo Electronics was forced to sell.”
So he still hadn’t let go of that regret—the semiconductor unit traded away during Kim Hakgwon’s big-deal restructuring.
“You still can’t let go of semiconductors, I see. But while you gave up semiconductors, you gained Joongwoo’s appliance division. Thanks to that, you now hold the highest domestic market share and secured their Eastern European sales network. Hardly a loss, wouldn’t you say?”
In time, history would show it was indeed a loss—but for now, anyone could see Geumseong had profited.
“It was my father’s dream. After the big deal, he left Seoul and never came back. So please, return semiconductors to Geumseong.”
“Do you have the funds to acquire it?”
“I’ll find a way.”
Even when I poked at Geumseong’s weak finances, he brushed it off effortlessly.
“I hear Geumseong Card’s insolvency is serious. Isn’t plugging that hole already enough of a burden? Yet you still say you can raise acquisition funds?”
Ye Seungjin smiled faintly.
“The government will handle that. We only followed their policy; it’s their responsibility to fix it.”
This old fox... He shifted the blame onto the government so smoothly it left me speechless for a moment.
“If it came to abandoning Geumseong Card altogether, I’d still do it—for the semiconductor business.”
His voice carried obsession rather than mere longing.
“That won’t do. Ilseong’s semiconductor division is mine.”
I had not the slightest intention of letting go of Ilseong Electronics.
“You know I’ll never hand it over, Chairman Ye. Tell me what you truly want.”
When I spoke firmly, Ye Seungjin took a sip of water and set down his glass.
“I want Ilseong IDS and Korea DSN.”
“Both display-related companies.”
“If I can’t have semiconductors, then Geumseong will become the world’s best in displays instead.”
A reasonable request. It would pair well with Geumseong’s existing strengths—though there was one complication.
“Ilseong IDS poses no issue, but Korea DSN is a joint venture with Japan. The share structure’s a bit tricky.”
Both were unlisted companies.
Ilseong IDS was a subsidiary of Ilseong Electronics, while Korea DSN was jointly established with Nippon Screen—each holding a fifty-percent stake.
“Then you take care of that.”
Ye Seungjin spoke as if expecting me to sort it out neatly for him.
Such confidence could only mean he was holding a card of his own.
“And what will you offer in return, Chairman Ye?”
“I, along with the other senior leaders of the business community, will release a public statement supporting the Fair Trade Commission’s and Financial Supervisory Service’s recommendations regarding Ilseong Group. Even the retired ones. If Geumseong delivers the statement on behalf of all, don’t you think that would carry weight?”
Finally, the words I’d been waiting to hear came out of Ye Seungjin’s mouth.
