5 PM.
It’s time for the staffing meeting.
As I sat in the meeting room with Dobby, Jeff entered shortly afterward.
But he wasn’t alone.
“This is Chris. He’s joining your team,” Jeff introduced the white man standing beside him.
I already knew who he was since we were in the same department.
‘The noisiest guy.’
Of all people...
“What? Epicura?”
Hearing the news about the new staffing, a look of bewilderment flashed across Dobby’s face.
Dobby furrowed his brows in confusion and stared at me.
“Why there, of all places?”
“It’s a decent company, isn’t it?”
“But it’s not exactly the kind of place worth using your pick on…”
Dobby’s voice was full ...
“Let Sean handle the markup.”
This was Pierce’s directive at the tail end of the meeting.
‘Markup’ refers to the skeleton of an Excel document.
A rough draft indicating chart placement and data positioning.
Based on that draft, Dobby and I were tasked with creating an Excel file that would perfectly satisfy Pierce.
Originally, markup was under t...
Prescott seemed to ponder my proposal for a while.
Is he going to grant permission?
Just as I began to harbor a sliver of hope,
He suddenly widened his eyes as if realizing something and shouted.
“Absolutely not! Making the first move from our side is forbidden!”
“Why?”
When I asked with a puzzled expression, Prescott let out...
“My algorithm is recommending withdrawing investments from Theranos. If not that, then significantly reducing the investment percentage.”
A flicker of bewilderment crossed Prescott’s face.
Theranos was the company he deemed the most promising.
Yet, my algorithm, boasting an 80% accuracy rate and a 630% return rate, was raising red flags.
Whether or not he t...
Sunday, 9:30 a.m.
I headed to North Cove Marina, the meeting place for the day.
This dock, not far from Wall Street, was today’s rendezvous point.
Prescott had told me he sailed his private yacht all the way from Florida to New York.
And, for a change, he invited me aboard his yacht.
Looking around the docked yachts, I quickly spotted one named Serenity...
“Fraud, you say? That’s dangerous talk.”
Raymond’s eyebrows slightly raised. He spoke in a soft voice, warning-like, but there was no hostility in his tone.
“Without evidence, slandering someone could lead to a defamation lawsuit. It’s best to be careful. Defamation cases are hard to win, but if someone decides to harass you, you could end up wasting a tremend...
The CES event had officially begun.
Many influential figures from politics and business around the world visited the venue.
Among them, the most famous guest was, of course, the President of the United States, Bill Clinton. I could see officials eagerly trying to make his acquaintance.
But I didn’t bother.
How long would connections made at an event like this reall...
The vote didn’t take long to conclude.
The presidents of Taewoo Group’s subsidiaries, who held shares in Taewoo Electronics, quickly cast their votes while keeping a close eye on Grandfather.
Most of the attendees also stole glances at him.
Grandfather, as always, met their gazes without hesitation.
There was even an air of arrogance about him, as if to say that ...
Convincing my grandpa to sell the mobile division was the best course of action.
But in the end, he refused to be persuaded.
I had no choice but to resort to an alternative plan.
A plan that involved selling the division without his approval.
"Do you really think you can sell the mobile division as you please? I may have transferred Taewoo Electronics' shares to you,...
“That pencil holder was a gift from my daughter-in-law, so it’s not company property.” Chairman Moon said.
Kim Min-sik smiled sweetly. “Oh, is that so? Then it’s not collateral. My apologies.” He placed the pencil holder back on the chairman’s desk. “Then are the chair and desk you’re using also gifts from your daughter-in-law?”
Despite his provocation, Chairma...
[Osung Information & Communications, Evidence of Overlooked Accounting Fraud Emerges—Allegations of Systemic Corruption at the Securities and Exchange Commission]
Fresh off the printing press, the evening edition of Sechang Ilbo still carried the strong scent of ink. Seok-won read the article thoroughly, a deep smile forming on his lips.
It wasn’t jus...
"What the hell is this?!"
Woo Ho-geun shouted as he crumpled the paper containing the details of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) corruption scandal.
Standing in front of the desk, Manager Oh Sang-hyun spoke with a grave expression.
"Given that all the companies implicated—like Osung Information & Communications—had their IPOs underwritten by Donghae Peregrin...
Saseong Securities | Trading Floor.
Amidst the tightly packed terminals displaying real-time fluctuations in stock prices and an endless flood of information, traders sat at their desks—each equipped with at least two or three monitors—engrossed in frantic transactions through their computers and phones.
"Sell 2,000 shares of Donghae Oil at 42...
Taewoo Shipbuilding was in the middle of a full-scale strike.
Unlike the noisy protest sites, the company’s headquarters remained eerily quiet.
Inside, President Oh Kang-chul gazed out the window at the serene sea of Geoje Island.
“Sir, the legal team has arrived.”
“Bring them in.”
The prosecution had begun investigating subcontractor executives, pro...
A few days later.
As we had expected, Taewoo Shipbuilding launched a strike, with President Oh Kang-Chul at the center of it.
“They moved faster than we thought. I assumed they wouldn’t start until at least next month.”
“The American audit firm uncovered numerous subcontractor-related irregularities. They must have panicked and decided to strike ear...
Taewoo Electronics’ Mobile Division
Before I got involved, it was a practically insignificant department.
The mobile division, once on the brink of being scrapped, had made a dramatic turnaround with InoPhone. Now, it was Taewoo Electronics’ best-selling product.
"If we spin off and sell the mobile division, we can significantly reduce Tae...
“This is driving me crazy.”
Assistant Manager Woo of Daemun Transportation sighed, looking at the woman next to him filing her nails.
She was a beauty, dressed in a semi-formal suit, with long, slender legs and friendly eyes. But to him, she was a devil.
“Hey, Woo.”
His manager approached him, noticed the woman, and whispered,
“There’s a problem wi...
Saturday, April 13th
Since the stock market only opened for the morning session on Saturdays, brokerage halls were usually quiet on those days.
However, today was different. From early in the morning, investors had flocked in.
The reason was clearly stated in the newspaper headlines they held in their hands or were reading while seated in the brokerage hall...
Bang!
Chairman Woo Yong-gap slammed his palm onto the conference table, his voice thundering with fury.
"You're telling me Mido Department Store sold off all its shares in Daeheung Textile to the venture capital firm?! What kind of nonsense is this?!"
His roar echoed through the spacious executive meeting room, sending a shiver through the gathered board me...
"Huh. No wonder they seemed so confident—they were hiding a card like this."
Chairman Kwak Dong-hoon let out a hollow chuckle as he sat on the sofa, having just heard the announcement from Mido Department Store.
At that moment, Yom Gun-woo, the chief secretary—a tall man with a lean, muscular build—adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and spoke.
"With this kind of announc...
Dormitory, Park Ji-hoon’s room.
RRRR!
Today, the phone rings loudly as usual.
At that moment, I was certain.
‘It must be Tennessee!’
As soon as I picked up the receiver, sure enough, a familiar voice came through.
(I’ve signed the contract.)
“Really?”
(Yes.)
“But why does your voice sound like that?...
The next day.
Tennessee left the hotel early in the morning.
He did so without saying a word to Jo So-deok.
Being born into a noble family, Tennessee had everything taken care of from one to ten.
Maybe that’s why.
This time, he wanted to see the results by himself.
It might just be greed, but he really wanted to succeed.
“Coming to Austria to...
“So you’re refusing to pay the interest?” Kim Min-sik asked.
Moon Sang-ho, Managing Director of Daemun Group, who had been so humble when borrowing the money, now said with a brazen smile,
“It’s not a refusal, it’s a request for an extension. Money doesn’t grow on trees. I’ll pay this month’s interest along with next month’s.”
Kim Min-sik chuckled.
...
A few days later
I discreetly visited Captain Kang’s office, where I found Dimon slumped in his chair, looking utterly exhausted.
It was no surprise—he had spent the past few days orchestrating negotiations with Taewoo Securities from behind the scenes.
“I heard today’s negotiations have concluded,” I said.
“We reached an agreement on the...
I had thrown out a massive bait, and Grandpa was cautiously testing the waters.
“So, you’re saying we should merge Taewoo Chemicals with Taewoo Heavy Industries to create a mega-refinery and dominate the Korean oil market?”
“Aramco has promised to supply us with crude oil at a stable price. You know as well as I do, Chairman, that refinery companies generate high revenue a...
For several days, an intense battle had unfolded.
My grandfather had been tirelessly working, using both Taewoo Group and government influence to reclaim control of Taewoo Precision.
But there was no longer any need for him to waste his energy on that.
Because Ackman Fund had just announced a hostile takeover of Taewoo Heavy Industries.
And they didn...
Donghae Group Headquarters, Yeongdeungpo, Seoul.
Woo Yong-gap sat at his spacious mahogany desk, reviewing approval documents when a knock sounded at the door.
His chief secretary, Jeon Hae-cheol, entered.
Holding a stack of documents in one hand, Woo Yong-gap looked up as Jeon Hae-cheol approached.
"What is it?"
"I have something to discuss w...
After the meeting ended and everyone left the room, Chairman Park Tae-hong sat alone on the sofa, calmly smoking a cigarette as he reread the document detailing the public disclosure set to be released at noon.
Just then, Deputy Manager Jung Yoon-kyung knocked and stepped inside.
“Chairman Kwak Dong-hoon of Saseong Group is on the line. How should I handle it?”
“Chair...
April 12, 1996
In the executive office of Daehung Group’s headquarters in Mapo, Chairman Park Tae-hong sat on the sofa, flanked by Seok-won, Park Jin-hyung, the president of the textile division, Gil Sung-ho, the chief secretary, and Seo Jin-hyung, the finance director.
"The results of yesterday’s 15th general election ended in the ruling party’s victory, ju...