Crispy Outside Soft Inside Gil Donggyu (3)
“What second round!”
Seon Kangsik sat down fuming. He had ultimately dug into his personal fortune to plug the hundred-billion-won hole the company had blown on futures trading, and his mood had been foul ever since. It felt as if he had simply hurled hard-earned money into the sea. These days the secretariat could not even utter the first syllable of the word “futures” without watching his face for signs of danger. And now, in the middle of all that, talk of a rematch had reached his ears.
“Lee Jaseung sticking his nose in again!”
The chairman of a top-five conglomerate being compared to some upstart firm. Even if he won, there was nothing to gain; if he lost, he would only look ridiculous.
“Director Kim.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
“Does this even make sense? Comparing me to a third-generation kid who has built nothing of his own—how is that fair?”
“You have built the entire history of Seonkang Group, sir. There is no comparison at all.”
Seon Kangsik’s expression softened a fraction at the words.
“Ahem. Whether Gil Donggyu comes alone or brings Lee Jaseung along so the two of them show up together, it changes nothing.”
Still, he could not entirely ignore Lee Jaseung’s information network. The “hundred-billion-won margin” incident during the Yuseong Steel acquisition battle was impossible to dismiss. Looking at Jaseung’s recent success in futures as well, the man clearly had his own private channels of intelligence.
I’ll just postpone setting the final bid price until the absolute last moment and decide it myself.
If the number lived only inside his own head, even Lee Jaseung’s information network would not be able to pry it out. He issued a warning to Director Kim.
“Keep the bid price under tight wraps. Share it with the absolute minimum number of people.”
“Yes, sir. We will do everything possible to maintain secrecy.”
“Good. Even if the two of them form a consortium, their combined firepower is obvious. At best they’ll scrape a little over three trillion won.”
It was like children pooling their pocket money. Seon Kangsik was confident he could crush them in a single blow.
“However, sir…”
“What is it?”
“Lee Jaseung has gone to meet the chairman of KG Group.”
“What?”
Seon Kangsik’s face went blank with surprise. The head of KG Group was Gil Donggyu’s father. If Chairman Gil himself entered the acquisition battle, the entire landscape would change.
“So these brats realize they can’t win and are dragging in the adults?”
“……”
…Was the chairman himself not also an adult? Director Kim swallowed the words that had risen to the tip of his tongue and continued carefully.
“If Lee Jaseung succeeds in pulling KG Group in, we will have to prepare a much larger acquisition fund. And in that process the risk of the bid price leaking increases as well.”
“Hmm.”
Seon Kangsik thought of Chairman Gil.
Would that stubborn mule actually change his mind just because Lee Jaseung said a few words?
“No. I know his temperament. He is not a man who can be persuaded.”
“You think so?”
“Of course.”
Yet a sudden unease crept in.
…He won’t be persuaded… will he?
Gil Donggyu had always found his father difficult. Chairman Gil was, charitably speaking, steadfast; less charitably, an unyielding mule. That same stubbornness had kept KG Group alive through the IMF crisis, but to his son it often felt like an impenetrable wall.
“I am deeply disappointed in you.”
The chairman, who found frequent occasion for disappointment, delivered the rebuke with grave severity.
“Your abilities fall short, so the best plan you can come up with is to drag in an outsider? How do you expect to lead the group like this?”
Ordinarily those words would have sent Gil Donggyu into an immediate spiral of self-recrimination, but today was different. Just as Han Juhyeong had handed his brain over to Lee Jaseung and found happiness, Gil Donggyu had handed his worries over to Lee Jaseung and found peace.
“I believe I did what was necessary for the group.”
The chairman’s thick eyebrows twitched. He knew his son well. Beneath the imposing exterior lay a soft, almost damp interior. Even the relentless exercise was merely a way to bleed off stress.
Something about him seems changed.
The thought flickered through his mind, but he pressed on with the conversation.
“For the group, you say. Exactly which of your actions has been for the group?”
“The smartphone business—”
“Vertical integration of semiconductors will cut costs, is that it? What kind of fool spends more than three trillion won just to save on costs? The tail is wagging the dog.”
Gil Donggyu continued calmly.
“But if we prepare for the possibility that the smartphone business collapses—”
“What kind of man starts by thinking about the possibility of failure? You should be thinking about how to keep it alive first! That weak character of yours is the real problem. Don’t you realize that pouring three trillion into acquiring Hitex means that much less budget for smartphone R&D?”
“……”
There was simply no getting through to him. A stifling frustration filled Gil Donggyu’s chest.
Smartphones, those damned smartphones! If we dump three trillion into that and it collapses, the money vanishes into thin air! It’s neither as monopolistic as the A-Phone nor as dominant in market share as the Seoseong Phone. We need to secure a future growth engine!
He wanted to shout it all out, but his timid nature held the cry locked inside his chest. All that escaped his lips was a single, weary sigh.
How on earth does Jaseung plan to persuade Father?
Chairman Gil had already opposed the Hitex acquisition; now he was an even more confirmed opponent. One point in particular had ignited his fury.
“And you even agreed to hand over ten percent of Hitex’s shares to Lee Jaseung?”
Like every chaebol head, Chairman Gil was hypersensitive about control structures. Not long ago an attempt to break the circular shareholding loop through a merger had collapsed, and ever since then the chairman’s temper had grown even more brittle.
“That bandit is playing you for a fool. He is clearly using Hitex as bait to get his hands into KG Group itself.”
“Father!”
“We had agreed that once you acquired Hitex you would fold it into KG Group. That is why I turned a blind eye. Correct?”
“Yes.”
“And now you casually hand over shares in a company that could become a core affiliate? You honestly believe that is the path for the group?”
“……”
Chairman Gil cut the discussion short.
“Since a promise was made I will meet Lee Jaseung, but I will never approve of this.”
And one week later, the moment he faced Lee Jaseung—
“To strengthen KG Group’s control structure, you must acquire Hitex.”
“……!”
—he found himself listening with unexpected interest.
The first thought that struck Lee Jaseung upon meeting Chairman Gil was:
A bigger Gil Donggyu.
The thick bone structure, the broad shoulders, even the sharp gaze that met his own without flinching—it was like looking at Gil Donggyu’s future self. Of course, the father’s interior was solid as well, which made all the difference. Once he set his mind on something, he drove it through to the end.
He won’t change course easily.
Yet Lee Jaseung knew the magic word that moved chaebols. Something that transcended business viability or return on investment. The essence itself.
The Group.
When external forces of the IMF crisis had forced the sale of Hitex, KG Group’s standing had plummeted and Chairman Gil’s pride had been shredded. This was no longer a business calculation; it was an emotional wound. Therefore any persuasion had to touch that same emotion surrounding the group. So Jaseung had woven the Hitex acquisition together with the reinforcement of management control.
“To strengthen KG Group’s control structure, you must acquire Hitex.”
“……!”
At the words “control structure,” Chairman Gil almost reacted like one of Pavlov’s dogs before he caught himself.
Classic con-man technique.
Dangling a man’s personal obsession as bait. But he was the head of a chaebol; he would not be reeled in so easily. He kept his voice cold.
“Nonsense.”
“Nonsense, sir?”
“If KG Electronics acquires Hitex it will burn through enormous capital. Then it will lose momentum in both smartphones and semiconductors. Better to finish one thing properly all the way through.”
The moment the chairman pushed back, the corner of Lee Jaseung’s mouth lifted. The opening move had succeeded. The other man had begun a real conversation.
“You’ve misunderstood. KG Electronics will not be the one acquiring Hitex.”
“Hmm?”
“Hitex should be acquired by KG Tech.”
Chairman Gil’s face remained expressionless, but inside he was rattled.
How did he zero in on KG Tech?
KG Tech was a minor affiliate on the periphery, a tiny firm with a market capitalization of roughly two trillion won. Yet that tiny affiliate mattered enormously in the control structure, because the controlling family’s shares were concentrated there…
“KG Electronics is the flagship business, but the family’s stake is weak. KG Tech is non-core, yet the family’s stake is quite high. That is why you tried to merge the two, is it not?”
“It is.”
Jaseung was correct. In preparation for succession, the chairman had worked to strengthen the family’s control, especially over KG Electronics. Because electronics was the core business, a large stake was essential. He had attempted a merger between KG Electronics and KG Tech, but the proposed merger ratio had been so outrageous that shareholders revolted and the deal collapsed. KG Electronics’ market cap was sixteen trillion won; KG Tech’s was two trillion. Setting the merger ratio at one-to-one for two companies that differed by a factor of eight had been an act of pure shamelessness…
“To balance the merger ratio, you would have to contribute personal assets worth one-point-five trillion won.”
The lines on Chairman Gil’s face deepened. The man who had maintained an iron mask for a moment let genuine shock show.
“How did you know that exact figure?”
I saw it in the future.
“I simply calculated it.”
“You simply calculated that…? Hmm. You’re right. A one-to-one merger brought shareholder opposition; matching the ratio meant shouldering one-point-five trillion alone, which was impossible. So the whole thing quietly died.”
“What if KG Tech were the one to acquire Hitex?”
“Their sizes would become comparable.”
Before he realized it, Chairman Gil was following Jaseung’s logic as if entranced. His mind was already projecting beyond the acquisition battle.
“If the Hitex acquisition succeeds, KG Tech’s value would be assessed at roughly ten trillion won. Then the merger ratio with KG Electronics would roughly line up.”
Lee Jaseung smiled as if affirming the thought.
“Chairman, consider this. You would have had to invest one-point-five trillion purely for the sake of adjusting a merger ratio. But if you spend only another one-point-five trillion here, you can secure a future growth engine, achieve cost reduction, and strengthen the control structure—three rabbits with one stone.”
“Hmm.”
Even that short murmur already carried the tremor of persuasion. Jaseung did not need to spell out the most important factor both men silently understood:
—A merger required digging into personal assets; a corporate acquisition could be funded with group money.
The ability to use the group’s capital rather than private wealth. That was the decisive difference. Lee Jaseung sensed he had seized the upper hand.
“Moreover the justification is excellent. This is not a mere restructuring of the control structure; it is an investment to raise corporate value. Spend just one-point-five trillion more than you originally planned, and you capture both the moral high ground and the practical gains. An opportunity this good for reinforcing management rights will not come again.”
Chairman Gil drummed his fingers thoughtfully on the armrest.
I can use group funds, secure justification, capture a new business, achieve vertical integration, and strengthen the control structure all at once…
No financial institution’s advice, no consulting firm’s proposal, had ever shaken him this thoroughly. Letting this slip away would feel like throwing away a once-in-a-lifetime chance. Yet even as his heart wavered, his innate caution had not entirely vanished.
“If we enter a bidding war with Seonkang Group, the price will inevitably climb. Especially since your involvement will have ruffled Chairman Seon Kangsik’s pride.”
Lee Jaseung accepted the point without protest. He was well aware of the rumors circulating in the business world—some of which he had deliberately seeded himself.
“Yes. Chairman Seon Kangsik will try to succeed with the Hitex acquisition simply to save face. That will naturally drive the bid higher.”
“I’m glad you understand. You have a plan for that as well, I assume? Something like winning by a hundred-billion-won margin the way you did with Yuseong Steel?”
The probing question carried a quiet undercurrent of expectation. The “hundred-billion-won margin” was a famous anecdote even he found intriguing.
But Lee Jaseung shook his head. This time there was no need to discover the opposing bid.
“There is another way to win a competitive auction.”
“Hmm?”
Looking at the puzzled chairman, Lee Jaseung smiled faintly.
“You simply eliminate the competition.”
“!”