The Return of the Ruined Chaebol's Third-Generation Heir - Chapter 101

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Regression of a Fallen Chaebol Heir — Episode 101
“Here’s the material you asked for, senior.”
Lim Do-hyeon, team lead of Planning Team 2 at the Management Planning Division, turned at the sound of the voice. Kang Seon-woo and Kim So-mi were in conversation.
“Finished already?”
“You’d already completed most of it and gave it to me, so I just had to organize it into the sheet.”
“Come on, I only gave you the basic data. You have a real knack for making things sound better than they are.”
Kim So-mi laughed, and Seon-woo smiled faintly as well.
“You’re pretty good with Excel. Where’d you pick that up?”
“I worked with it a bit in high school.”
“In high school? That’s impressive. I didn’t learn it until after I joined the company.”
Lim Do-hyeon took a sip of coffee and watched them. The newcomer was adapting quickly.
He was joining team lunches not just with Kim So-mi, but with various other members, and any work assigned to him would be organized by the next morning.
He didn’t disrupt team morale either.
—Kang Seon-woo seems fine, right? I was a bit wary at first, but he’s just sincere and kind like any other new recruit. Good at his work too.
Even a senior associate-level colleague had assessed Seon-woo that way.
‘Doesn’t seem as bad as I worried.’
Lim Do-hyeon turned his gaze back to his monitor, where Excel was open.
[January Performance Data]
The throughput from the Gunpo Hub that Director Jang Hyun-taek sent, sales from the Business Division, driver status from Human Resources. Added to that was competitive market share data passed over from the Strategy Team.
Combine the files from four departments into one table, and you can see Seonjin Logistics’ vital signs.
‘And that’s the problem.’
Seyang Logistics charged 2,300 won per shipment, while Seonjin was around 2,500 won per unit.
A 200-won difference per shipment barely registers on small cargo, but with tens of thousands of shipments a day, it meant hundreds of thousands of won slipping away daily.
High-volume shippers were switching to Seyang, and every month the lost volume meant shrinking margins.
Requests came down from the field hubs every month. Dock expansion was needed, and outdated sorting equipment needed replacement.
When he forwarded these requests up the chain, the answer that came back was always the same.
—We’re reviewing it. Please wait.
From the group’s perspective, stabilizing the parent company came first. Logistics was pushed to the back, and no one said when it would come next.
Endure.
That was the direction passed down to logistics.
But the numbers flowed in the opposite direction. It was a signal that logistics was finished if things continued this way, yet no one read those numbers and made a decision.
Yoon Sang-chul, the logistics chief, only watched the group’s mood, and the planning director did the same.
“Sigh…….”
Lim Do-hyeon leaned back in his chair.
His gaze shifted to Seon-woo again. The conversation with Kim So-mi seemed to have ended; he was looking at his own monitor now.
A conversation with the director from a few days back came to mind.
—What kind of work are you thinking of giving him?
—Well, I haven’t really thought about it yet, but I think there might be a use for him somewhere.
He hadn’t been fully candid then, but on the drive back from the hub, he’d begun thinking: could he use Kang Seon-woo to solve this situation?
Lim Do-hyeon knew full well how cowardly it was to exploit someone’s background, especially a newcomer’s background.
But the unease about a company that wouldn’t change had him turning this card over in his hands.
After a long deliberation, Lim Do-hyeon seemed to come to a decision and rose from his chair.
“Seon-woo, got a minute?”
Seon-woo looked up. He stood and walked over to Lim Do-hyeon’s desk.
“Yes, sir.”
“What are you working on right now?”
“I was helping with some of senior Kim’s work. Right now I’m waiting for the next assignment.”
“So you don’t have anything to do yet…….”
Lim Do-hyeon pulled out a USB drive and placed it on his desk.
“Performance data for this month has come in from various places. Could you consolidate it all into one file?”
“Could I ask what kind of data it is?”
“Hub throughput and Business Division sales. There’s also driver status from the Operations Team—including turnover rates. And market share data from the Planning Team 1 on competitors, all on here.”
Seon-woo picked up the USB drive.
“Is there a specific format you want?”
“No specific format. Just organize it into one easy-to-read table.”
“Understood.”
“It’s not urgent, so just have it ready sometime this week.”
“Yes, sir.”
Seon-woo returned to his desk. Lim Do-hyeon settled back into his chair.
It wasn’t an extraordinary task he’d assigned.
Just collecting scattered files from various places into one spot. That was all.
About five minutes passed.
Seon-woo, who’d been reviewing the data at his own desk, came back to Lim Do-hyeon.
“Sir.”
“Yes?”
“When I consolidate these numbers, could I also calculate the operating profit by working backward?”
Lim Do-hyeon’s hands froze. His fingers, resting on the keyboard, went still.
He hadn’t even consolidated anything yet. He’d only skimmed through it roughly—but with throughput and per-unit rates, you get revenue; with driver data, you get labor costs; and subtract costs from revenue to get operating profit. He’d grasped that just from the file structure.
Reading the file composition alone, he understood it was possible.
Lim Do-hyeon looked at Seon-woo. Seon-woo stood quietly.
“Go ahead and do it.”
“Yes, sir.”
Seon-woo bowed his head and returned to his desk, and Lim Do-hyeon watched his departing back.
He’d wondered if giving him the work might let him see the company’s structure. This exceptional newcomer actually possessed the ability to see it.
‘Is it worth hoping?’
Lim Do-hyeon thought that way, watching Seon-woo for a long moment.

* * *
—I called to report on the European situation. There’s some things I need to ask you too.
After getting home from work, freshening up, and sitting down, Han Jae-yi called, and I answered.
—Greece paid its January maturity interest. The market caught its breath.
Greece was like a time bomb right now. Every month when government bond maturities came due, the market held its breath and watched the situation.
—But the interest rate won’t come down. Actually, it’s risen even more than before maturity, climbing into the 6% range.
They’d made it past the day to repay borrowed money, but the interest on new borrowing had climbed higher. Usually governments repay interest by issuing new government bonds, but now they had to borrow at higher rates just to pay off the old ones.
“So there are more maturities coming in April and May?”
—That’s right. And the amounts are bigger. It’s a structure where you have to borrow at higher and higher rates, and the more expensive the borrowing, the worse the fiscal situation becomes, and the worse the fiscal situation, the higher the rates go again.
It was a vicious cycle. With each turn, the noose tightened. The market had caught its breath, but the next breath would be more ragged.
‘This is where the acceleration kicks in.’
It had been this phase in my previous life too.
Each time a maturity passed, things looked manageable, and then they’d be shaken harder at the next one.
The market went through that cycle three times before finally admitting it was a structurally recurring problem.
—And now the market is starting to ask the fundamental question.
“They’re watching Germany.”
—Right. Whether Germany will bail out Greece. The Eurozone shares one currency but each country has its own fiscal policy. It’s structured so German taxpayer money has to save Greece, but Merkel isn’t moving. German public opinion is against it.
Han Jae-yi’s voice lowered.
—If they don’t rescue Greece, the Eurozone itself shakes. If they do, the next country will ask us to cover their debts too, and either way, the Euro weakens.
‘She’s read that far.’
Han Jae-yi had independently identified this structural trap. I’d mentioned in the year-end meeting that the PIIGS—Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece, Spain—could collapse like dominos, but connecting that to Germany’s dilemma was Han Jae-yi’s own analysis.
I felt I’d made the right choice appointing her as Ribbon’s representative.
“What do you think? Is this just a Greece problem?”
—No.
Han Jae-yi cut it short.
—The spreads between Portugal, Ireland, and Greece are starting to widen. Not as much as Greece yet, but the direction is the same. French and German banks are holding massive amounts of PIIGS government bonds. If Greece collapses, banks holding those bonds shake, and if banks shake, other countries’ bonds get dumped.
It was the beginning of the domino effect. The structure I’d explained to Han Jae-yi at year-end was becoming reality.
The market still sees this as a Greece problem. Not many people know it doesn’t end there.
“Senior, I don’t think it’ll stay contained to Greece.”
Han Jae-yi didn’t answer. She was waiting.
“It’ll spread across the entire PIIGS. Let’s start by buying Credit Default Swaps on Portugal and Ireland.”
—Portugal and Ireland?
“They’re cheaper than Greek CDS right now. The market is still seeing this as only a Greek problem. We need to get in before the contagion is priced in.”
Buy insurance against the risk of a country collapsing at the cheapest price possible. When the fire spreads, that insurance multiplies dozens of times over.
—…….
“Thirty percent of Ribbon’s available capital. Keep the existing Euro Short position as is.”
Holding the position betting on the Euro’s value collapsing was the right call.
—But Greece hasn’t even blown up yet. Should we really take positions now?
There was no doubt in Han Jae-yi’s tone. It was just a check on the size. This wasn’t a bet on one nation alone—it was a bet on all of Europe.
“Once Greece blows, it’ll be expensive. Right now is the cheapest window.”
The silence was long. Han Jae-yi was organizing her thoughts.
—Alright. That sounds right. I’ll do it tomorrow.
“How are the new people working out?”
Ribbon had hired new staff, and five people were working there now.
—They’re fine.
“They’re not looking down on them for being young?”
—Why worry about that? No. Good salaries, so no issues.
I nodded.
“Senior, if there are any problems, you can take the lead on them.”
—Don’t worry about me. Look after yourself. Of everyone I know, you work the most. It’s ridiculous.
“Got it.”
—Alright, I’ll proceed as we discussed and call you again next time.
After hanging up, I stretched.
“Senior’s doing pretty well. Then I should get some work done too.”

* * *
“It’s a complete vicious cycle.”
Four days ago, the materials I’d received from team lead Lim Do-hyeon. Now sorting through them after work had become my daily routine.
“It’s almost miraculous that the company’s still standing.”
Margins shrinking, labor costs rising, volume being stolen by Seyang—this was Seonjin Logistics’ reality.
“If things stay like this, after Seyang acquires Daesung…….”
If Seyang swallows Daesung, the industry market share becomes 34%.
From that point on, economies of scale kick in. More volume means lower per-unit costs.
They could lower prices further and still make profit. At Seonjin’s scale, there’s no way to survive that.
“That’s why in my previous life, logistics couldn’t hang on and ended up being sold off.”
I spent a long time organizing the materials that way, consolidating them into a single file.
“Done.”
The work I’d been doing over the past four days, both at the office and after leaving, was finished. For a final review, I read through the entire compiled material.
“……Something’s off here.”
When I’d consolidated all the individual materials, I only saw fragments, but now as I read through the complete document, a picture emerged.
Four files were drawing a single picture.
Margins shrinking, people leaving, competitors growing stronger. Three currents pointing in the same direction simultaneously.
“This isn’t just consolidation.”
It was a document showing the entire company’s trajectory.
“He had a new recruit do this?”
The team had associates, and if these were materials for reporting upward, it seemed like something Team Lead Lim Do-hyeon should be handling himself.
“But the fact that he entrusted this to me…….”
Lim Do-hyeon wasn’t a thoughtless person.
He must have known from the data he saw daily that the company was in danger, but alone he couldn’t change anything.
No answers were coming from above.
When the logistics chief or planning director reported to the corporate headquarters, there was no way they’d present these bleak figures raw.
Somehow they’d massage the numbers and frame it as sustainable.
“So that’s why he gave this to me?”
Lim Do-hyeon might be trying to use my background.
That is, my identity as the group’s heir.
“……Or maybe not.”
But if that weren’t it, there’d be no reason to give this to a newcomer. As a simple skills test?
There were plenty of ways to evaluate work ability. He didn’t need to assign core materials to a new hire.
After a long deliberation like that, I considered whether I might be misinterpreting Lim Do-hyeon’s intentions, but the answer was singular.
“By my own analysis, logistics can’t survive as things are. If that’s true, then this job Lim Do-hyeon gave me might just be the answer. Lim Do-hyeon—he knows how to use people.”
No further deliberation was needed.
“If I’ve overstepped, I’ll get scolded by Lim Do-hyeon. Simple as that.”
With that resolve, I began writing my thoughts into the document’s conclusion section.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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