An Intriguing Gaze
The noisy incidents were wrapped up with surprising speed.
Kang In-hyuk scrolled through the articles, eyes flicking across the screen, when his phone vibrated.
In-hyuk ended the exchange there. When no further replies appeared, he shook his head.
Norman McGrath. In the future he remembered, the man had been exceptionally capable; they had partnered on numerous deals. Yet his blatant greed and habit of weighing every transaction against his own benefit had always made him dangerous. As a result, In-hyuk had limited their dealings to only those matters that absolutely required Norman’s particular skill set.
Unlike before, I’ve got a leash on him from the start. He won’t dare step out of line.
Muttering to himself, he checked the time and rose from his seat.
“I’ll be attending the team leaders’ meeting.”
The others gave slight bows of acknowledgment.
In-hyuk picked up only his tablet and entered the conference room. Before long the rest arrived: Team 1 Leader Kim Seong-ho, Team 2 Leader Ko Jin-woo, and finally Stock Operations Division Head Choo In-ho.
“Let’s begin the third-quarter operations meeting.”
Client stock-management authority rested entirely with the individual team leaders, who bore full responsibility. The division head received reports merely to stay informed.
In practice, therefore, the meeting was less about decisions and more about discussion. Still, the looks Kim Seong-ho and Ko Jin-woo directed at In-hyuk were anything but friendly. Both men had reached the team-leader rank in their forties after long careers; In-hyuk had secured the same position at thirty-two solely because he was the Tae family son-in-law.
Amid the subtle tension, each leader delivered his report. When In-hyuk’s turn came, he distributed the prepared documents he had brought.
As the two team leaders scanned the pages, their expressions stiffened.
“What exactly are you trying to pull here?”
Team 1 Leader Kim Seong-ho spoke first, before In-hyuk could even begin his explanation.
“Is there a problem?”
“These new clients you claim to have brought in—they’re currently deposited with my Team 1, aren’t they?”
At first glance, the proposal looked like Team 3 was attempting to poach clients.
In-hyuk met his gaze with a calm, even expression.
“The clients contacted me first and made the request themselves. And we’re talking about additional deposits, not the existing ones. Is that an issue?”
Team 2’s clients were included as well, which explained why Ko Jin-woo’s face had hardened alongside Kim’s.
“In the end, you’re saying Team 3 is going to steal customers from the other teams?”
“To put it simply, we’re sharing them. I fully explained the arrangement during consultations with the clients, and every one of them said they had no objection.”
Team 3’s rate of return had surged dramatically from the second half of the first quarter through the second. Though the absolute capital it handled was still modest compared with the other teams, its growth rate was impressive enough to make the lack of larger inflows regrettable.
News of that performance had naturally spread through client word-of-mouth. Many of the customers managed by Kim Seong-ho and Ko Jin-woo had made inquiries. The two leaders had done everything possible to soothe and retain them, yet they could not block the direct contacts to Team 3.
“Even so, shouldn’t you have shared this information before the decision was made?”
“I am sharing it now. Naturally, I already informed the clients that actual implementation from the third quarter would require approval from above.”
In-hyuk had not violated a single procedural rule.
Even if he had proceeded without notice, there would have been no real problem; clients inevitably gravitated toward the manager who produced better returns. In the end, the teams losing clients had only themselves to blame for lacking competence.
Ko Jin-woo, who had been looking for an opening to argue, fell silent. Kim Seong-ho stepped forward again.
“If we say no, will you drop it?”
“That is my intention. However… the clients’ dissatisfaction will be something you two will have to handle.”
Both men’s faces darkened.
Division Head Choo In-ho, who had been listening quietly, finally spoke.
“Is it really necessary to block clients’ requests simply to avoid internal friction? If we can increase deposits and generate more profit than before, isn’t that good for the company?”
“…”
“…”
Kim Seong-ho and Ko Jin-woo offered no reply. Beyond performance numbers, they simply did not want to bow their heads to a much younger parachute appointee.
Choo In-ho let out a quiet sigh.
“Then are the two team leaders formally opposing Team Leader Kang’s plan to acquire these overlapping clients?”
“…”
“…”
Again, silence. Admitting opposition would be the same as confessing that they placed personal pride above the company’s interests.
“Why aren’t you answering?”
Watching the scene unfold, a spark of interest gleamed in In-hyuk’s eyes.
So Division Head Choo intends to use this opportunity to bring the team leaders to heel?
Within the Stock Operations Division, team leaders wielded great authority—and bore equally great responsibility. A division head could only manage; actually controlling those leaders was difficult.
Choo In-ho had been scouted from another firm as a career hire. Naturally, Kim Seong-ho and Ko Jin-woo—who had spent years building their bones inside Tae Shin Asset Management—had never fully accepted him. Until now they had ignored the division head and communicated directly with certain executives.
Yet here the two men clearly hoped Choo would mediate and resolve the situation in their favor. Choo, of course, understood their intentions perfectly.
“Or will you accept this for the sake of the company’s profit?”
When he pressed them to the end, both team leaders’ faces twisted.
Their tightly shut mouths seemed determined to shift responsibility onto the division head no matter what. Knowing this, Choo exhaled a shallow sigh through his nose.
“If you dislike both options, this becomes rather troublesome. Shall I ask the clients directly? We could tell them to choose only one side instead of allowing duplicate management.”
At those words, both men’s complexions turned ashen.
The outcome was obvious. Clients would choose whichever side could generate significantly higher returns.
If even a few A-grade clients—each holding more than ten billion won—migrated en masse to Team 3, Teams 1 and 2 would lose equivalent influence and authority. That was not a scenario the executives who backed the two leaders wanted to see.
“That’s… well…”
Kim Seong-ho, cornered by Choo In-ho’s relentless questioning, let his sentence trail off.
“If there is nothing more to add, I will proceed to meet with the relevant clients under the division head’s authority. Naturally, I will fully explain the risks involved in Team 3’s approach.”
No one offered further objections. The three men rose from their seats. In-hyuk continued to observe the situation with evident interest.
Just then, Choo In-ho spoke to In-hyuk, who had been about to leave with the others.
“There is still more to discuss. Team Leader Kang, please come to my office.”
“…Of course.”
In-hyuk followed Choo out of the conference room.
The other two team leaders, already in the hallway, watched the pair with clear displeasure. When In-hyuk glanced back, their eyes met for a brief moment.
Since things didn’t go their way, they must be nursing quite the headache.
Inside the division head’s office, In-hyuk took a seat.
“We have coffee and tea. Would you like some?”
“I’m fine, thank you.”
Choo In-ho returned with a glass of lukewarm water for himself and the documents he had prepared.
“I reviewed the proposal you submitted alongside the third-quarter plan. It covers corporate consignment investment and M&A in addition to individual asset management… When exactly did you begin thinking along these lines?”
Tae Shin Asset Management fundamentally handled individual assets; on the corporate side it dealt only with bonds and alternative investments up to real-estate holdings.
Corporate fund operations differed in both context and scale, making them difficult for the current Tae Shin Asset Management to approach.
“I drew it up while improving performance. If Tae Shin Asset Management wants to grow further, there is a limit to what we can achieve by only maintaining and attracting individual clients.”
The statement was hard to refute, so Choo nodded.
“The proposal itself is quite solid, but the scale of individual versus corporate clients is entirely different. Execution will be even more so. Moreover, from what I understand, during your time at Taeshin Mulsan you only worked in sales and the secretary’s office.”
No matter how outstanding a plan might be, executing it smoothly required seasoned expertise.
Choo was essentially asking whether In-hyuk possessed enough experience to fill that gap.
“I also incorporated BPR—business process reengineering—and PEST analysis of the external corporate environment to establish competitive advantage.”
“Are you aiming to move into corporate management?”
“It is a necessary step if Tae Shin Asset Management does not wish to stagnate like stagnant water.”
Faced with In-hyuk’s decisive tone, Choo picked up the proposal from the table once more.
Even on first reading, he had sensed it contained content impossible to produce through casual study. Had he not known the author was Kang In-hyuk, he would have assumed it came from a seasoned fund professional with years of practical experience.
“…Did you truly write this yourself, Team Leader Kang?”
“Yes.”
“Have you discussed it with the Representative, by any chance?”
He asked because the Representative, Tae Ju-ha, was In-hyuk’s wife.
“No. I have not shared this material with her. No matter how close our personal relationship may be, such an action would violate internal hierarchy.”
At that, Choo In-ho slowly smiled.
“The same person who is so mindful of hierarchy is the one who asked the Representative not to apply the brakes to Team 3’s operations?”
It was a reference to the conditions In-hyuk and Tae Ju-ha had set for each other previously.
“Each of us had something we wanted. By the way, have you been the Representative’s man from the beginning, Division Head?”
Choo had been scouted by the previous representative, Jeon Jun-seok. It was natural to assume he belonged to that faction; yet here he was moving at Tae Ju-ha’s request. It was strange.
“I move only according to the company’s profit and necessity.”
“I doubt the other executives see it that way.”
At present, Tae Shin Asset Management was divided into four distinct factions: the main camp under Chairman Tae Geon-seung, the succession contenders Tae Seok-hyun and Tae Seok-ho, and finally Tae Ju-ha.
Although Tae Ju-ha held the title of Representative, her actual power within Taeshin Group remained the weakest even when measured by shareholding.
“It is a sensitive matter, so we do not reveal it openly.”
“That makes sense.”
“In any case, I will discuss this proposal properly with the Representative. However, the probability of approval is extremely low. It is not the sort of content the higher-ups favor.”
The “stagnant water” In-hyuk had mentioned referred to the majority of the company’s current executives. Having occupied their positions for a long time, they preferred conservatism over innovation. Radical change was something they were naturally reluctant to welcome.
“Nevertheless, I ask for your support. Ah, and for the corporate clients regarding consignment investment, a candidate has already been decided.”
“Really? Which one?”
“They asked me to keep it confidential until the proposal passes.”
Having finished the conversation, In-hyuk left Choo In-ho’s office.