Third-Generation Chaebol

With the IT expansion in full swing, we began recruiting new IT specialists, led by the Planning Office.

"Bring all the résumés directly to me."

"Do you mean even the first screening? We're bound to get a flood of applicants, including unqualified ones. Wouldn't it be better if we filtered based on minimum qualifications first?"

The Planning Director voiced his concern.

Taewoo Group was one of Korea's top three conglomerates, so it was obvious that thousands of candidates would apply.

Under normal circumstances, delegating the initial screening to HR was the logical approach.

But what if we unknowingly discarded a hidden gem?

I had to personally evaluate every candidate to ensure that didn't happen.

"It's fine. Since I'm the one spearheading the IT expansion, I should be involved from the first stage."

"I'm just worried the HR team might feel their work is being taken away. It could hurt morale."

"Or they might just be relieved to have less work."

"But I heard you plan to hire 100 IT specialists."

"Even that won't be enough. These people will be managing the entire Taewoo Group."

"With so many new hires, it'll be difficult to accommodate them at headquarters."

That wasn't something to worry about.

Sure, Taewoo's headquarters was already at capacity.

But if space was an issue, we could always work elsewhere.

Actually, I had no intention of placing the IT department within the headquarters at all.

If they were exposed to a rigid, hierarchical corporate culture, their creativity would be stifled in no time.

Within a month, they would start acting like soldiers in a chain of command—and that was the last thing I wanted.

"Find a quiet building in Gangnam and purchase it. We're establishing a new company called Taewoo IT."

"A building in Gangnam would be quite expensive—at least 10 billion won."

"Ah! Then let's lease instead. Once the IT division proves its success, we'll buy a building later."

I had almost acted too hastily.

During the upcoming financial crisis, real estate prices would plummet.

It made no sense to buy now when we could get a much better deal later.

"Understood. I'll proceed with the lease."

"Also, make sure the interior design fosters a free and creative environment."

"By free environment, do you mean something like our tech research lab or economic research institute?"

"No. Make it feel more like a library than an office."

"A library? Wouldn't that lower work efficiency?"

From the Planning Director's perspective, it was an absurd idea.

In a traditional office, efficiency was maximized by minimizing movement and maintaining a strict vertical hierarchy.

But this wasn't a traditional office—this was IT.

"Trust me and go with it. I'll take full responsibility."

"Understood."

***

The hiring process for the IT department was completed within a month.

Since I personally reviewed each résumé and evaluated every candidate's abilities, the process didn't take too long.

They skipped formal training and went straight to work at the IT department.

Upon arrival, they immediately started murmuring, surprised by the unconventional office environment.

"Ahem. Nice to meet you all. I'm Min-jae Kim, Head of Taewoo Group's Planning Division. While the IT department is technically under the Planning Office, you should think of it as an independent unit."

The murmuring grew louder.

I paused for a moment to listen in on their reactions.

"Wait... the Head of Planning? Isn't he the next Chairman?"

"He's the one who created InoPhone!"

"And he's the one overseeing our department?"

"Uh… I think I came to the wrong place. I didn't even go to college. Am I really qualified to work here?"

"I majored in Fine Arts. I actually applied for the design team, not IT."

"Huh? Same here! I'm a music major!"

Their reactions varied widely.

If they had been typical Taewoo Group employees, they wouldn't have made such a fuss.

But these recruits hadn't gone through corporate training—they were more like students than office workers and still had an open, unstructured mindset.

That was precisely why I had recruited Fine Arts and Music majors.

By combining their creativity with technical IT talent, we could spark powerful synergies.

"Alright, let's get to work. Our first priority is launching an e-commerce platform. We've already secured Amazon's system, so we just need to localize it for Korea. The team lead for this project is Dongmin Lee. Please step forward."

Everyone in the IT department held the same rank—no hierarchies.

Since there were no senior employees, I had to designate team leaders myself.

I chose leaders based on their leadership abilities, and each was given a list of their team members.

"Next, we'll be developing an online stock trading system for Taewoo Securities. This will allow users to buy and sell stocks from home."

I continued assigning tasks to the 100 employees, outlining the four major projects for Taewoo IT:

E-commerce system

Home Trading System (HTS) for Taewoo Securities

Online booking system for Taewoo Hotels

Online A/S (after-sales service) reservation system

Given our current workforce, this was our limit.

Once we successfully delivered results, I planned to hire more staff and take on additional projects.

"Our IT department has flexible work hours. You can come in after lunch, or you can start early in the morning. You can even work from home before coming in. The only requirement is that you deliver results."

"Does that mean we also have flexible working hours?"

"That's right. But remember—freedom comes with responsibility. If you don't perform well, you won't be able to keep your position."

Immediately, several employees hurried back to their seats, realizing the implications of total accountability.

Team leaders awkwardly began dividing tasks, getting the projects underway.

Right now, the IT department looked like a complete mess—a bunch of talented but disorganized individuals.

Would they be able to function like this?

Well, I handpicked every single one of them for their skills, so they would probably come up with something worthwhile.

Who knows? Maybe they'll even create something beyond my imagination.

As a month passed, results finally started to emerge.

Since I had recruited highly capable individuals, our loosely structured department still managed to produce decent outcomes.

But that was it.

Without someone to provide direction, we weren't seeing anything groundbreaking.

That's when I realized:

What we needed wasn't more employees—it was one true genius.

"One genius can feed 100,000 people."

A saying from one of influential economic figures.

Of course, such a genius wasn't easy to find.

But I already knew where to find one, especially in the IT industry.

Without hesitation, I pulled out my phone and called Jeffrey.

"Jeffrey! Are you busy these days?"

["Mr. Kim? What's the occasion? You never call me."]

"True friends don't need to stay in touch all the time. But seriously, are you busy?"

["Things have stabilized, so I have a little more free time."]

"Then, would you be willing to train 30 interns for a month? I assigned them to a project, but their work isn't up to my standards. I want them to learn how you work."

["If it's a request from you, of course. But you know my style, right? A lot of them might end up crying and resigning."]

Jeffrey, the founder of Amazon.

Calling him a genius would be an understatement.

Just having the opportunity to learn from him was an honor.

If anyone failed to appreciate that and decided to quit, I wouldn't stop them.

"Show them hell."

["By the way, are these interns the same people working on our Amazon-Korea e-commerce project?"]

"That's right. Honestly, I'd love to send all 100 employees to the U.S., but it's just not feasible."

["Then I'll come to Korea instead. Since we partnered with Amazon, providing this kind of support is the least I can do."]

"Wait—you're really coming to Korea? What about Amazon?"

["That's the beauty of the internet, my friend. I can work from Korea just fine. And besides, I've already set up systems to run things smoothly for at least a month without me."]

"Then I'll book your flight right away."

The moment I heard Jeffrey's confirmation, I headed straight to the IT department's building.

The employees still looked as disorganized as ever, so I gathered them together.

"Jumping straight into real work without training must have been tough, right?"

["Not at all!"]

["I love it! There's no better workplace in Korea!"] ["We love you, Director!"]

Well, they seemed pretty happy.

They were enjoying their freedom, completely unaware of the responsibility that came with it.

"That's why, instead of training, I've arranged for an IT expert to come and teach you."

"An IT expert? Who?"

"Some of you may recognize him—Amazon's founder, Jeffrey, is coming to Korea. You'll be learning directly from him for the next month."

Immediately, whispers spread through the room.

For them, Jeffrey was an unfamiliar name.

["I thought it was going to be Bill Gates."]

["Isn't Amazon still unlisted? It's not even a major company yet."]

["Never heard of this 'Jeffrey' guy."]

["Still, their site is impressive. He must be good."]

They had no idea what was coming.

But soon, they would.

Did they even realize who they were about to meet?

The man they were underestimating would soon be one of the richest people in the world.

There was no need for further explanation.

Jeffrey wasn't the type to talk big—he let his actions speak.

And I knew firsthand how brutal he could be.

When he ran SAVE Investment, his employees practically wept in despair.

***

Four days later.

Jeffrey landed in Korea.

I personally went to the airport to greet him.

"Long flight. You must be exhausted. I booked you the best suite in the finest hotel in Korea—get some rest first."

"I got plenty of rest on the plane. What I really want is to show Korean developers what hell looks like. Let's head to the office right now."

"Are you sure? No jet lag?"

"A hotel is a luxury for a developer. If I get tired, I'll take a nap on a company couch."

And so, we headed straight to the IT department building.

On the way, Jeffrey vented about the struggles of running Amazon.

That's when it hit me—

He wasn't just here to train them.

He was here to unleash his stress.

The moment we stepped inside the IT department—

"Who the hell wrote this garbage code? Even my seven-year-old nephew could do better!"

Jeffrey erupted in fury.

He set his sights first on the e-commerce team—the one responsible for Amazon's Korea project.

In an instant, the once peaceful IT department descended into chaos.

A lion had entered the meadow, and the herbivores could barely squeak out a scream.

"Bringing Jeffrey here was the best decision I ever made."

It hadn't even been 30 minutes—

Yet the entire atmosphere of the IT department had shifted.

Developers, hands trembling, sat frozen at their desks.

Some were already on the verge of tears.

Hell had officially begun.