A Move That Only Makes Things Worse
Kim Seong-ho finished a brief greeting to the newly assigned staff of the Restructuring Headquarters and immediately began issuing instructions.
Following his orders, the employees dispersed to their assigned departments. There they listened as their department heads explained what they would need to do going forward, and they quickly began to settle into the Restructuring Headquarters.
Lee Gyeong-deuk pushed through the scattering staff and approached Kim Seong-ho.
"Director. This is Executive Director Mun Yong-nam, who has newly joined the Restructuring Headquarters as Deputy Head."
At Lee Gyeong-deuk's introduction, Executive Director Mun Yong-nam offered a greeting to Kim Seong-ho.
"Director. I am Mun Yong-nam. I look forward to working with you."
A man in his fifties wearing thick-rimmed glasses, Mun Yong-nam bowed his head toward Kim Seong-ho.
Kim Seong-ho extended his hand warmly in response.
"Welcome. The Chief of Staff has sent us the ace of the Secretary's Office—the future of the Restructuring Headquarters just got even brighter."
"An ace of the Secretary's Office? Hardly. I was nothing more than a man who followed Chief Hwang's instructions. Here as well, I will run until my feet sweat under your direction, so please don't hesitate to put me to work."
Kim Seong-ho smiled lightly at Mun Yong-nam's words and took his hand.
From his previous life, Kim Seong-ho already knew that when the Secretary's Office had taken charge of the Restructuring Headquarters and managed it as an integrated unit, the man Hwang Do-beom had entrusted with full authority—the true person in charge—had been Mun Yong-nam.
And now, following Hwang Do-beom's orders, that same Mun Yong-nam had come under Kim Seong-ho.
Feeling as if he had gained a thousand soldiers and ten thousand horses, Kim Seong-ho welcomed Mun Yong-nam's arrival with solid confidence.
"Now that the Restructuring Headquarters' personnel placement is finished, shall we discuss in earnest how we are going to restructure?"
Kim Seong-ho brought Lee Gyeong-deuk and Mun Yong-nam into his office and began talking through the methods they would use going forward.
"Our very first target is debt cleanup."
Eyes gleaming, Kim Seong-ho explained the direction the restructuring would have to take, drawing on the experience of his previous life, while Lee Gyeong-deuk and Mun Yong-nam listened intently.
"We will bring the debt levels of every Ilhyeon Group affiliate down to two hundred percent or less."
"Two hundred percent?"
Lee Gyeong-deuk stared at Kim Seong-ho, stunned.
"Director, do you know what our group's average debt ratio is right now? It is over one thousand percent. And you are saying you will cut it to two hundred?"
"We will start by liquidating any useless assets we hold. And we will halt every new project currently underway."
"All of them?"
"Yes. Halt them all, re-evaluate their viability, and scrap everything that is not clearly profitable."
Lee Gyeong-deuk could not hide his dismay.
He had expected the restructuring to be aggressive, but he had never imagined it would go this far.
Yet this was only the beginning.
The speed of Kim Seong-ho's restructuring drive would far outstrip anything anyone could have imagined.
"The deadline for bringing the debt ratio down to two hundred percent or less is the end of this year."
"What? You want us to hit two hundred percent within this year?"
Lee Gyeong-deuk shook his head hard at the order.
"Director… that is physically impossible."
"Tell them that any company that fails will go into liquidation. The choices are two: either meet the two-hundred-percent debt ratio by the end of the year, or be wound up."
"That…"
Lee Gyeong-deuk's mouth hung open in shock.
Unlike him, Mun Yong-nam took notes of Kim Seong-ho's instructions in the notebook he had brought and asked a question.
"What about affiliates that manage to hit the two-hundred-percent debt ratio but whose growth has stalled?"
"In those cases, assess the industry. If growth has slowed but the sector itself is rising, finish the restructuring and then support them so they can grow again. If not… we will have to sell them off."
"Understood."
Mun Yong-nam recorded Kim Seong-ho's intent in his notebook.
Lee Gyeong-deuk looked back and forth between Kim Seong-ho giving the orders and Mun Yong-nam accepting them without hesitation.
The scene was so natural that he almost felt strange for finding it strange.
Kim Seong-ho turned to Lee Gyeong-deuk, who still looked lost, and spoke.
"There will be fierce pushback. I will handle that myself, so, Deputy Head, keep a close eye on the headquarters staff so they do not waver. Doubts about such aggressive restructuring can arise inside the headquarters as well."
Lee Gyeong-deuk thought that if even he was this shaken, the affiliates targeted for restructuring would go beyond mere bewilderment into full chaos.
And the Restructuring Headquarters staff who received the orders would surely be just as unsettled.
For a moment the thought crossed his mind—Is this really right?—but he set the doubt aside in the face of Kim Seong-ho's iron will to take full responsibility and drive it through.
"Understood. Leave internal discipline to me."
"Good. You will handle internal discipline, and Deputy Head Mun will handle command. I will take responsibility for the external backlash."
And so the full-scale restructuring of the entire Ilhyeon Group began.
Lee Tak-hyeon received the report and let out a hollow laugh.
"Huh. Two hundred percent?"
"Yes. This is…"
Chief of Staff Hwang Do-beom paused for a moment and steeled himself.
No matter how he looked at it, he could not shake the feeling that Kim Seong-ho was overreaching.
But since the man was proceeding with full authority under Lee Tak-hyeon's orders, Hwang Do-beom erased his own thoughts and left the judgment to the Chairman.
"He has informed every affiliate that they must cut it to two hundred percent within this year."
"Within this year? Two hundred percent? Haha."
Lee Tak-hyeon did not bother suppressing the laugh that rose in him.
He examined the restructuring direction written on the paper Hwang Do-beom had handed him, then lifted one corner of his mouth.
"Has this kid gone mad? How is he supposed to cut the debt ratio to two hundred percent within the year? That is the same as telling them to shut down every project currently underway, is it not?"
"Yes. That is why the affiliates are pushing back hard."
Hwang Do-beom briefly reported each affiliate's reaction and watched Lee Tak-hyeon's expression.
Then, in a careful voice, he asked,
"Chairman. What should we do?"
"What should we do?"
Lee Tak-hyeon set the paper down on the desk and spoke.
"Pour power into the Restructuring Headquarters."
"Then…"
"Tell them to follow the Restructuring Headquarters' orders. If they do not want to, they can submit their resignations and leave the company."
Lee Tak-hyeon looked down at the paper and curled the corner of his mouth even higher.
"After all, Seong-ho and the Restructuring Headquarters staff are working with their resignations already submitted. It means they have shown the resolve to leave the company if things go wrong. So we have to give them that much power."
"Still, I cannot help wondering whether pushing this hard is the right thing to do."
"Let us leave the judgment until after we see the results."
Lee Tak-hyeon scolded Hwang Do-beom for trying to pass judgment before anything had even begun, then looked down at the paper again.
"Judging after the results come in will not be too late."
Hwang Do-beom swallowed the words he had been about to say.
To an outsider, Hwang Do-beom's lack of faith might have looked like a refusal to support Kim Seong-ho.
In truth, it was precisely because he was thinking of Kim Seong-ho that he had tried to stop it.
Because it had not yet begun, the direction could still be changed or the speed reduced.
Once it started, that speed would become impossible to control.
Even knowing there was a concrete wall at the end, they would have no choice but to hurl themselves toward it.
Hwang Do-beom looked with regret at the paper Lee Tak-hyeon was studying.
Lee Tak-hyeon, by contrast, gazed at the paper with an expression of pure interest.
And just as Lee Tak-hyeon had anticipated, the reactions from the affiliates exploded.
The affiliate presidents gathered with grave faces and discussed the restructuring.
"How are we supposed to hit that number? Has the Restructuring Headquarters lost its mind?"
The president of Ilhyeon Machinery spoke first, and the presidents of Ilhyeon Shipbuilding and Ilhyeon Housing immediately chimed in.
"Even if we hit it, we have a problem. They say that if the industries we operate in have no future, they will sell the affiliates off, do they not?"
"And who decides what has a future?"
"Who else? The Restructuring Headquarters decides, they say."
Bang!
Unable to contain his anger any longer, the president of Ilhyeon Foods slammed his fist on the table and shot to his feet.
"President Jeong. What is wrong with you?"
The standing president of Ilhyeon Foods looked around at the seated presidents and said,
"What good does it do sitting here talking about whether this is right or that is right? We should go to the Chairman and convey our position."
"To the Chairman?"
The presidents who had been voicing their complaints now looked troubled at the Ilhyeon Foods president's suggestion that they go see Chairman Lee Tak-hyeon.
Seeing the men who had just been complaining grow awkward at the mention of going to Lee Tak-hyeon, the Ilhyeon Foods president snorted and turned on his heel.
"If you do not want to go, fine. I will go alone, so all of you just sit here and keep grumbling."
The Ilhyeon Foods president left as if he truly intended to go by himself.
The remaining presidents exchanged glances while still seated.
Then, as if reaching a decision, they rose one by one and followed the Ilhyeon Foods president.
Yet when the affiliate presidents, centered on the Ilhyeon Foods president, arrived at the Chairman's office, they were blocked by the Secretary's Office and could not enter.
"Chief Hwang. We absolutely must see the Chairman."
President Jeong of Ilhyeon Foods expressed his wish to meet Lee Tak-hyeon, but Chief of Staff Hwang Do-beom raised a hand to stop them and shook his head.
"I am sorry, but you cannot see the Chairman."
"We cannot see the Chairman? Why not?"
"You gentlemen have come here because you are dissatisfied with the restructuring, have you not?"
At Hwang Do-beom's question, the presidents present could not answer immediately.
That alone was enough for Hwang Do-beom to wear an expression that said he understood, and he continued,
"That is exactly why I am telling you it is not possible."
"Not possible because of that?"
"Yes. The Chairman has said he does not wish to meet anyone who comes to complain about the restructuring. So please, all of you, return."
At Hwang Do-beom's words, the presidents looked helpless.
Lee Tak-hyeon's outright refusal to even see them left them feeling hollow.
Still, the presidents present repeated several times that they wanted to meet Lee Tak-hyeon.
Hwang Do-beom, however, did not yield a single step.
He blocked their entry with nothing more than the words "go back," and in the end the dissatisfied presidents had no choice but to turn around.
"What do we do now? Do we just have to do whatever the Restructuring Headquarters says?"
At the Ilhyeon Machinery president's words, the Ilhyeon Foods president, who had been standing in front of the elevator about to press the down button, stopped his hand.
He turned around.
Looking at the other presidents, he said,
"We have come this far. We cannot simply back down."
"Then what do you propose we do?"
"Let us go see the Vice Chairman."
"The Vice Chairman?"
The presidents present stared at the Ilhyeon Foods president in surprise.
He looked around at them and said,
"The Chairman may not listen to us, but would he ignore the Vice Chairman?"
"That could work."
At the Ilhyeon Foods president's words, everyone present agreed that he was right.
Seeing that the other presidents all concurred, the Ilhyeon Foods president set off at once.
"Let us go. Let us go and speak to the Vice Chairman."
"Good. Let us go."
With the Ilhyeon Foods president in the lead, the others followed him toward the Vice Chairman's office where Lee Mun-jong sat.
But even there, they could not hear the answer they wanted.
"Regarding the restructuring, there is nothing I can do."
"Vice Chairman."
"Calling me will not help. Now that the Chairman has handed full authority to Director Kim, there is nothing I can do."
The presidents present took turns trying to persuade Lee Mun-jong.
Lee Mun-jong's firmness, however, remained unshaken.
"The Restructuring Headquarters is managed by the Chairman's direct Secretary's Office. There is nothing I can do about it."
"Vice Chairman."
"That will be enough. Please leave."
Lee Mun-jong issued the order to clear the room and summoned the secretary who had been waiting outside.
"They are all leaving, so escort them out to the lobby and see them off."
It was an instruction to chase them out so they could not return, and to confirm that they actually left.
The presidents, including the Ilhyeon Foods president, could no longer remain seated and had no choice but to rise.
They offered their respects to Vice Chairman Lee Mun-jong and were forced to leave the headquarters.
Once they were outside in the lobby, the presidents looked at one another and spoke.
"In the end, it seems we have no choice but to follow the Restructuring Headquarters' will…"
At the Ilhyeon Housing president's words, the Ilhyeon Foods president clenched his fist tightly.
"We cannot give up until the very end."
"What more can we possibly do from here?"
"No. We still have one last move."
"A last move?"
At the Ilhyeon Foods president's claim that a final card remained, every gaze present gathered on him.
He looked around at the presidents watching him and said,
"We cannot back down like this. Let us go use that last move."
"Where are you saying we should go?"
"To Ilhyeon Fashion."
The moment they heard "Ilhyeon Fashion," the presidents present understood exactly what the Ilhyeon Foods president meant by his last move.
Their footsteps were not nearly as light as when they had gone to see Chairman Lee Tak-hyeon or Vice Chairman Lee Mun-jong.
The thought that this final move might not solve anything but only worsen the situation bloomed in the presidents' minds.
Even so, they could not stop walking.
Having come this far, they had nowhere left to turn back to.
The presidents of the Ilhyeon Group, led by Ilhyeon Foods, set out for Ilhyeon Fashion, where their last remaining card waited.