Third-Generation Chaebol

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, but without my consent, it's impossible."

"Even the president of Taewoo Securities and the Economic Research Institute agree with this decision. This isn't something I decided on my own."

"Hmph! Didn't I already say no?"

Had my grandfather ever been this angry before?

His face flushed red as he shouted at me.

"Then let's ask the shareholders for their opinion. If they oppose the sale at the general meeting, I won't bring it up again."

"You already own 20% of the shares, and now you want to decide through a shareholders' meeting? That's too favorable for you."

"I will abstain from voting. Would that make it a fair fight?"

"Are you sure? I will use every share that Taewoo Group holds."

Taewoo Electronics' shares were widely distributed among its subsidiaries.

And those shares were entirely under my grandfather's control.

"That's fine. The subsidiaries collectively hold about 10%. If I can't overcome that gap, it means I don't have enough support in the first place."

"You're willing to start at a 10% disadvantage?"

"I am confident that the majority of shareholders will support selling the mobile division."

"…Very well. If you win at the shareholders' meeting, I won't stop you anymore."

Without looking at me, my grandfather rose from his seat.

As if declaring that the real battle had just begun.

I felt a twinge of disappointment.

But to break his stubbornness, I had to give it my all—so, in a way, I felt relieved.

Bang!

I downed the rest of my coffee in one gulp and headed to Captain Kang's office.

Despite the late hour, Dimon and the rest of the team were still there, holding down the fort.

"CEO, what brings you here at this hour?"

"I'll be staying here for a while."

"Did you… get kicked out?"

"Well, you could say that. We've decided to determine the sale of the mobile division through a shareholders' meeting."

Dimon scratched his head.

Watching a fight might be one of the most entertaining things in the world, but…

No one would enjoy watching a battle between a grandfather and his grandson.

"First, please confirm exactly how much Taewoo Electronics stock we hold—excluding the 20% that I officially own."

"SAVE Investment holds approximately 25%. Although it's spread across multiple entities, we can consolidate it at any time."

For the past few months, I had been quietly acquiring Taewoo Group's shares.

I had bought stocks from Myeongdong, from Hyundai Group's holdings, and even from the open market, bit by bit.

"If Grandfather controls 10%, that means we have a 15% advantage."

"The National Pension Fund and other government institutions hold 15%. They are unlikely to express an opinion, which leaves 30% in the open market."

"Since we hold 15% more, even if Grandfather gets unanimous support from his side, the worst-case scenario is a draw."

Winning over general shareholders was Grandfather's specialty.

That much was clear just from the press conference he held during the Taewoo Heavy Industries crisis.

Still, persuading every shareholder was nearly impossible.

"If things play out as expected, Chairman will be deeply disappointed. You're likely to win by a significant margin."

"Nothing is certain yet. Grandfather might even try to sway the shares controlled by government institutions."

"Even then, the result wouldn't change. To win, he would need the support of more than half of the general shareholders."

Would Grandfather really go that far?

This was a battle against his own grandson, after all.

Still, I couldn't afford to be careless—I had to prepare for the worst-case scenario.

"Use SAVE Investment's funds to acquire more shares in Taewoo Electronics."

"How much more should we secure?"

"Just enough to move without drawing too much attention to the stock price."

"The experts at SAVE Investment will enjoy having something exciting to work on again. But what if Taewoo Securities also tries to acquire shares?"

"In that case… we'll just have to crush my Grandfather with money."

I sincerely hoped it wouldn't come to that.

But if Grandfather mobilized Taewoo Securities, I was prepared to inject an amount of capital that even they couldn't match.

"Dimon, focus solely on the sale of Taewoo Shipbuilding. I'll handle this with Team Leader Han."

"The real work begins once the sale is finalized. CEO, you won't have any time to rest either."

We exchanged weary smiles.

And before our expressions could fade, we were already back at our desks, moving swiftly.

I immediately contacted Team Leader Han to secure more Taewoo Electronics shares and summoned David to initiate contact with the government institutions.

After spending the night at Captain Kang's office, I headed straight to Taewoo Electronics.

As expected from Woo Seong-il, the vice president who had mastered the art of flattery, he personally brought me a cup of coffee.

"Is something wrong? You look very tired."

"I'm trying to sell the mobile division, but Grandfather wants to put it to a shareholder vote."

"The Chairman said that?"

"That's right. So, let me ask you—do you think any of the affiliate company presidents would dare go against Grandfather's word?"

"...."

"I was just making conversation."

Who would openly defy a reigning power?

No matter how strong my position as the next chairman seemed, as long as Grandfather was in charge, I was still second in command to the company presidents.

"If you wish, I can stand against the Chairman."

"I appreciate the sentiment, but that won't be necessary. Do you have any updates for me?"

"Digital Cast contacted us—they've completed a prototype and would like to visit today to present it."

"A prototype already? Let them know they're welcome anytime."

An MP3 player prototype was already finished?

The power of money was truly remarkable.

Even with brilliant ideas and technology, without proper investment, bringing a product to life was nearly impossible.

Whoever said money couldn't buy time was wrong.

With enough capital, results could be achieved much faster.

Thanks to my aggressive investment, they had successfully developed an MP3 player years ahead of schedule compared to my previous life.

"Sir, Digital Cast's CEO, Hwang Young-chul, has arrived."

"It's good to see you again. It's been a while."

"Congratulations on InnoPhone's success! I even got one myself."

Hwang Young-chul looked much better than before.

I had invested 1 billion won and later bought 50% of his company's shares for 10 billion, so it seemed he was now living quite comfortably.

"Digital Cast should aim for the same success as InnoPhone. Taewoo Electronics will fully support everything—from marketing to production."

"Thank you for saying that. First, let me show you the prototype."

The moment had arrived—the world's first MP3 player was about to make its debut.

Hwang Young-chul carefully unwrapped the packaging as if handling a sacred artifact.

Inside was a rectangular-shaped MP3 player.

"..."

Honestly, the design was outdated.

It looked almost identical to a cassette tape player.

But the fact that they had managed to develop an MP3 player in such a short time deserved recognition, so I applauded.

"You've worked hard. It was completed much faster than I expected."

"There are still some areas that need improvement, but we believe it has enough commercial potential. It has a storage capacity of 32MB, allowing users to listen to up to eight songs."

Would that really be enough?

In terms of weight and size, it was far lighter and smaller than a CD player.

However, storage capacity was an issue.

A single CD could hold at least ten songs, whereas this MP3 player was limited to just eight.

"Would it be possible to equip it with 64MB? That would allow users to store up to sixteen songs."

"It's possible, but the price is a problem. If we use 64MB, the minimum cost will exceed 300,000 won. That price is too high, which would make it less commercially viable."

"Well, I completely trust your judgment, Mr. Hwang. As I mentioned before, you have full authority over the MP3 player's development."

"In that case, we'll aim for 64MB or more in the next version. Prices should naturally drop over time, don't you think?"

His voice was filled with hope.

I didn't want to shatter his dream, so I refrained from pointing out the MP3 player's shortcomings any further.

"I'd like to showcase the MP3 player at next year's CES in Las Vegas. We'll set up a dedicated Digital Cast booth within the Taewoo Electronics exhibit to promote it."

"CES? You mean the Consumer Electronics Show in the U.S.? Are you serious about displaying our MP3 player there? I've heard the application process is incredibly strict."

"Of course. That's the least I can do. Thanks to InnoPhone's success, we've secured a fairly large exhibition space."

"Thank you. Really, thank you!"

I was determined to keep my promise to Hwang.

In fact, I intended to go beyond my promise—not just providing marketing support but also ensuring full-scale production.

However, whether the MP3 player would be embraced by the public was out of my hands.

"Make any necessary modifications before CES."

"We should add English language support."

"That would be a great improvement. Let's finalize the production plans based on CES results."

"Understood. Since we'll be exhibiting under the Taewoo Electronics name, we'll make sure to put forth our best effort."

I personally escorted Hwang Young-chul out.

It was the highest level of courtesy I could offer to someone who had created a product ahead of its time.

***

Time passed, and the day of the Taewoo Electronics shareholders' meeting finally arrived.

Unlike a typical shareholders' meeting, this one was attended not only by company executives but also by my grandfather himself.

This was no ordinary gathering—it carried an entirely different weight.

As a result, professional agitators who normally disrupted shareholder meetings were driven out at the entrance, and the proceedings moved swiftly.

"The next agenda item concerns the division and sale of the mobile business unit. A vote will be conducted to determine whether to proceed with the proposal."

The moderator immediately opened the voting process.

Normally, a company representative would explain the agenda before the vote, but this step was completely skipped.

No one wanted this to be framed as a battle between grandfather and grandson.

Because of that, shareholders who had attended without prior knowledge began to voice their concerns.

However, their voices quickly faded.

Grandfather had stood up from his seat and was walking toward the ballot box.

His sheer presence was enough to command attention, and the shareholders could only stare in silence.

'Well, I guess it's my turn to move too.'

I stood up as the second person to cast my vote.

The shareholders' gazes shifted back and forth between me and Grandfather.