The traditional Korean restaurant in Myeongdong had an old-world charm.
It was backed by Lee Young-han, known as the “lord of Myeongdong,” and Captain Kang’s men were discreetly stationed throughout the place to guard me.
Into this tense atmosphere stepped Kang Sugi, CEO of SG Entertainment.
He flaunted his power by arriv...
2025-09-03 17:39:09 +0000 UTC View PostBefore I knew it, the first half of 2005 had passed.
We didn’t hold a full executive meeting; instead, I decided to get only a rough report through the planning director.
“Most of the affiliates are posting good results. Taewoo Electronics and Taewoo Semiconductor’s sales increased by over 10%, and although Taewoo Motors’ dom...
2025-09-03 17:39:04 +0000 UTC View PostThe audition program had already narrowed the field down to the Top 10.
From this point on, the show was broadcast live, and with the inclusion of text message voting in the judging process, ratings exploded.
“The ratings have surpassed 11%.”
“It’s the highest viewership ever recorded on a cable channel. We’re breakin...
2025-09-03 17:38:59 +0000 UTC View PostTaewoo Group's driving force outshone that of any other conglomerate.
Especially when it came to projects I spearheaded, every department mobilized, and the launch of the audition program was swiftly confirmed.
“We’ve finalized the contract with the broadcasting station for the audition program. Starting this week, we plan to lau...
2025-09-03 17:12:36 +0000 UTC View PostThe contract with Director Bong Ho-jun was finalized.
Instead of the original 10 billion won production budget, we signed for double that—20 billion won—and I personally issued him a 200 million won signing bonus.
Not only that, I also significantly increased the percentage of his box office performance-based royalties.
Now...
2025-09-03 17:12:24 +0000 UTC View PostAfter the Executives’ Meeting
When I returned to the Vice Chairman’s office after the board meeting, the Head of Strategic Planning came to see me, his face full of emotion.
“Your closing remarks are still echoing in my head. I will always remember that to become a butterfly, a true transformation is necessary—just like shedd...
2025-09-03 17:11:50 +0000 UTC View PostThe first executive board meeting of 2005.
Was it six years ago when I first attended one of these meetings?
Compared to then, quite a few people had been replaced.
There were noticeably more foreign CEOs now.
Overall, the age group of the executives had also gotten significantly younger.
I merely turned my head to ...
2025-09-03 17:11:25 +0000 UTC View PostI received an unexpected gift—shares in SpaceX from Musk himself.
Right now, Musk and his team are roughing it in a shabby factory, enduring hardship. But if they stick it out to the end, they’ll hit the jackpot with stock options.
Of course, I would be receiving an even bigger jackpot than them.
And since there were still ...
2025-09-03 17:11:06 +0000 UTC View PostAs soon as I arrived in the U.S., I headed straight to SAVE Investment.
David and Team Leader Han were waiting for me, and we greeted each other with warm hugs like long-lost family members reunited.
“You all look great.”
“I look great? After everything I went through with the U.S. election and then the trip to Russia? I...
2025-09-03 17:10:55 +0000 UTC View PostThree fighters were displayed inside the secured facility.
Two of them were the familiar older-model Sukhoi jets I had seen many times before, but the third one was unusual.
Its exterior was painted entirely black.
Its design looked like something straight out of a video game.
I couldn’t understand why such a fighter wa...
2025-09-03 17:10:42 +0000 UTC View PostThe day after the U.S. presidential election ended.
I hadn’t received a thank-you call from anyone in Bush’s campaign.
It was a busy time, so I didn’t worry much about it. But I didn’t expect to receive gratitude delivered in person.
Chris, the U.S. ambassador to Korea, came to see me.
Since it wasn’t an officia...
2025-09-03 17:10:28 +0000 UTC View PostOur country’s main fighter jets were American F-series aircraft.
And the fighters we might face were Russian Sukhoi models.
“Know thy enemy, know thyself, and you will never be defeated.”
For any possible wartime scenario, it was important to fully understand the capabilities of the
Sukhoi fighters.
Espe...
Chairman Jang Kyung-joon gulped down a bottle of mineral water.
His stomach churned bitterly as Taewoo Group finally succeeded in winning the KEPCO site bid.
The only consolation was that Taewoo Group had to spend a massive 6 trillion won to acquire the site.
“They spent 6 trillion won on real estate—Taewoo Group’s ...
I put two geniuses to work.
Chun Min-jung developed the app, and Manager Lee Seok-jun created the external device —
both finished in less than a month.
The taxi-hailing system created by geniuses.
Now, all I had to do was use it well.
Of course, I wasn’t going to do it myself — Captain Kang would act on ...
For the autonomous driving system, navigation technology was essential.
Taewoo Motors had its own navigation technology, but it was insufficient.
At times like this, my grandfather’s saying came to mind:
“Technology can be bought and used!”
But I took it one step further:
“You buy the company that ...
Late at night, in a cozy space where only the sound of crickets filled the air, I met with
Representative Choi Jae-seok.
“The public bidding for the KEPCO site has been scheduled for the 24th of next month.”
“You’ve worked hard until now. Thanks to the National Economic Party’s active involvement, we were able to mo...
Samsung Group and Hyundai Motor Group.
Though they didn’t seem like direct competitors, Samsung Group was already reaching into
Hyundai Motor’s business.
Capital finance.
Hyundai Motor’s Chairman Jang Kyung-jun had even come to me personally to ask for help, and the battle was far from over.
That was why...
I worked really hard to help Charlotte Group’s expansion into China.
I stayed in China for a full four days, connecting the group with high-ranking government
officials.
Various regulations and permit issues were resolved quickly, and afterward, David even came over to China to handle any remaining problems.
As a re...
A plot of land not far from where the new city of Pangyo would rise.
The highway would divide Pangyo into East and West, and the site designated for the IIT Korea campus lay in East Pangyo.
Even within East Pangyo, it was in a slightly outlying area.
The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by my grandfather, the chairman...
One hundred gangsters versus fifty taxi drivers.
To anyone watching, the gangsters had the advantage—but the result was the complete opposite.
The men in blue taxi driver uniforms dodged weapons with smiles on their faces and struck vital points with precision.
They controlled distance as if playing a fighting game, toy...
Branch Chief Cha Bong-hoon was arrested.
It was extremely rare for someone at the level of a union branch chief to be detained so quickly.
This meant the evidence secured by the prosecution was solid, and with their central figure gone, the Seoul corporate taxi union continued the strike in a chaotic atmosphere.
“Will w...
One day before the launch of KakaoTaxi, the head of planning brought very good news.
“The Seoul Taxi Union is starting a large-scale strike tomorrow. Most of the corporate taxi
drivers, except individual taxi drivers, will join the strike.”
“What’s the ratio between individual taxis and corporate taxis?”
“...
Two days later.
I visited Captain Kang’s office.
Just like the planning director, I had also instructed Captain Kang to investigate the head of the Seoul taxi union.
“Were you able to gather any information?”
“To collect data, not only I but all of my staff spent the entire day riding around in taxis. Than...
A few days after meeting with Representative Choi Jae-seok, he began visiting various
politicians, and finally—today—the issue of KEPCO's relocation surfaced publicly.
“Vice Chairman, both the ruling and opposition parties have agreed to Representative Choi Jaeseok’s bill proposing the regional relocation of KEPCO.”
The Korea-Russia Resource Cooperation Committee convened.
Unlike previous talks that were all about vague promises, the media reported that this meeting would focus on concrete and actionable projects.
It made sense, given the caliber of attendees.
On the Russian side were ministers and CEOs of energy companies—people w...
It was time to show sincerity to the Charlotte Group.
Only by placing the Arnault family’s brands in Charlotte Duty Free, as promised, could we move on to the next step.
For that, I sought out Delphine Arnault.
Since she was still actively collaborating with Taewoo Electronics through the Korean branch, it wasn’t diff...
How should I proceed with acquiring the KEPCO site?
Although it’s a public enterprise, KEPCO’s scale rivals that of Samsung Electronics, so moving it would require an enormous amount of groundwork.
Such groundwork was impossible to conduct within Korea.
For the first time in a long while, I boarded a flight bound for ...
A few days later.
I was waiting for a call from Chairman Jin Ho-gyun, but I ended up hearing from someone
entirely unexpected.
The call came from Jin Dong-gu, the younger son of Chairman Jin and one of the vice chairmen of Charlotte Group.
He requested to meet somewhere quiet, so I arranged a dinner at a restaurant in...
It was about time Taewoo Group relocated its headquarters.
Even if they couldn’t move immediately, they needed to break ground this year to make the move possible ten years down the line—so in a way, they were already late.
The top conglomerate in the business world.
Someone once said this:
A building's height...
Chairman Park Tae-soo of Thinkwin was reluctant to sell his “child”—the company he had
nurtured.
Taewoo Group needed the navigation technology.
There was room for compromise, and a solution that could benefit both sides existed.
“How about this? We purchase only the technology and experience that Thinkwin has ...