The Return of the Ruined Chaebol's Third-Generation Heir - Chapter 104

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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’s Third Generation — Episode 104
“Could it be because of the Seyang merger?”
The next day, in the Seonjin Logistics Conference Room.
Oh Jin-su whispered to Lim Do-hyun, who sat beside him.
All department heads and above were already seated in the conference room.
Yoon Sang-chul occupied the head seat, with the Head of Sales Division and Head of Operations Division — both director-level executives — positioned below him.
Everyone’s eyes betrayed unease.
“What’s the problem?”
“I’m not sure.”
Lim Do-hyun answered tersely.
Since Seonjin Logistics’ founding, this was the first time a group chairman had attended an operational meeting.
The previous evening, a notice had come down from the group’s secretariat — brief and to the point.
Tomorrow morning: all Seonjin Logistics department heads and above are summoned. Chairman will attend.
Without knowing the reason, the uncertainty gnawed at everyone.
“You don’t think another department screwed up something, do you? Have you heard anything?”
Oh Jin-su pressed further.
He was trying to narrow down which department — Sales or Operations — might have triggered this crisis.
“No, I haven’t heard anything.”
Lim Do-hyun’s voice remained calm.
But his thoughts were another matter.
‘Could Kang Seon-woo have moved directly on this?’
It was possible that Seon-woo had operated through another channel, but there was no certainty.
And even if there had been, he couldn’t say it aloud.
“Anyway, what could it be? This sudden summons is making me nervous.”
Oh Jin-su muttered to himself.
For each person present, the gathering was uncomfortable for different reasons. An entire operational meeting called suddenly, with the chairman attending in person — it had to mean something was wrong within the company.
There was no other explanation.
Just as they were speaking, the door opened and Chairman Kim Ja-young entered.
The conference room fell silent in an instant. The whispered voices ceased, leaving only the sound of chairs being adjusted.
Everyone rose and bowed their heads.
“Please, sit.”
Kim Ja-young spoke briefly and took her seat. As Choi Dong-su, the head of the headquarters’ Management Planning Office, settled beside her, Yoon Sang-chul cleared his throat and began.
“Then we shall begin the meeting. Since our chairman has honored us with her presence, I will now report on Seonjin Logistics’ current status.”
He opened the report.
“Our delivery volumes continue to show year-over-year growth, and revenue remains stable. While we face downward pressure on unit prices, this is being offset by expanded volume. Hub operations are also being managed within normal parameters.”
The report’s conclusion, as always, maintained that the current situation was quite difficult but manageable.
Kim Ja-young said nothing while listening to the report. When Yoon Sang-chul finished, silence fell for a moment.
“Director Yoon.”
Kim Ja-young asked.
“Have you run a simulation on how the market would be restructured if Seyang were to acquire Daeseong?”
Yoon Sang-chul’s hands froze over the report.
“Well……”
He tried to continue, but the words wouldn’t come. There was no merger simulation in the official report.
Kim Ja-young’s gaze shifted to Oh Jin-su.
“Has the Management Planning Office reviewed this?”
Oh Jin-su’s mouth moved and then stopped. He had the simulation report that he’d received through Lim Do-hyun, but he couldn’t mention it in this setting.
“Since the Daeseong acquisition hasn’t been finalized yet……”
“That’s not a sufficient answer.”
Kim Ja-young cut him off, and heavy silence descended over the room.
“Is there no one else from the Management Planning Office present?”
At Kim Ja-young’s question, Oh Jin-su nodded to Lim Do-hyun, signaling that it was all right for him to speak.
“Planning Team 2 Leader Lim Do-hyun.”
Lim Do-hyun opened his mouth.
“I can provide an answer.”
Kim Ja-young watched Lim Do-hyun calmly, inviting him to proceed.
“If Seyang acquires Daeseong, the combined market share would reach 34%, while our logistics’ current share is 12%. From that point onward, economies of scale would kick in. Seyang would be able to lower unit prices further while still turning a profit, while we would be squeezed out of the price competition. And there’s no guarantee we could even maintain our current market share.”
The words that had come from Seon-woo’s mouth yesterday were now coming from Lim Do-hyun’s mouth in identical form. Kim Ja-young asked with a stern expression.
“If we maintain our current strategy, how long do you think Seonjin Logistics can survive?”
Sensing that she wanted an honest answer, Lim Do-hyun took a moment to compose himself before speaking.
“If the current trend continues, driver attrition will accelerate. As unit prices drop, the pay for contract drivers falls with it. Once drivers start leaving, delivery quality deteriorates, and shippers will abandon us. At that point, we may no longer be able to sustain hub operating costs.”
All eyes in the room fixed on Lim Do-hyun. Yoon Sang-chul couldn’t bring himself to speak, and Oh Jin-su’s expression hardened.
Everyone in the room exchanged glances with those beside them.
The official report’s conclusion — that we could survive — was being directly contradicted in this room by a team leader’s words.
“You’ve been conducting this level of analysis,”
Kim Ja-young looked at Lim Do-hyun,
“yet you never reported it up the chain?”
Lim Do-hyun fell silent for a moment. Then he spoke.
“Understanding something and reporting it are two different systems.”
The room fell quiet.
“What the group wanted was the status quo. If that’s the case, then our job in the Management Planning Office was to provide data that aligned with those instructions.”
The air in the room froze. He had directly invoked the group’s directive in a formal meeting.
Depending on how one heard it, it could be taken as an admission that the group had erred.
‘I’m not saying Oh Jin-su or Director Yoon did wrong.’
Lim Do-hyun thought to himself.
‘But the decision-making system of this organization was created by the group, and these two simply followed it.’
Anyone in an organization knew the feeling of being unable to speak what you know to be true.
Lim Do-hyun himself was no exception. He’d known the report was being buried, yet he hadn’t brought it forward himself.
“…….”
Oh Jin-su and Yoon Sang-chul stared at Lim Do-hyun in shock. For a team leader to say such things before the chairman was unprecedented.
Their faces showed anxiety about what consequences might follow.
Kim Ja-young regarded Lim Do-hyun for a long moment. Then, slowly, she nodded.
“So the problem is with the group.”
To hold someone accountable for not reporting proper data was ultimately to deflect the group’s responsibility.
She herself — Kim Ja-young — had given the instruction to maintain the status quo, and they had simply followed it.
“Very well. Then I’ll take that to mean if the group changes course, we can see the true potential of Seonjin Logistics.”
Kim Ja-young turned to Yoon Sang-chul and spoke.
“Director Yoon.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
“We will establish a Normalization Task Force centered on the Management Planning Office.”
Yoon Sang-chul lifted his head.
“Using accurate data, reorganize Seonjin Logistics’ current state, and prepare two scenarios — one for investment and one for sale — and bring them to me.”
Announcing the creation of a Normalization Task Force was the chairman’s way of officially admitting that things were currently not normal.
“I will decide on the direction after reviewing that report and those scenarios. How long will you need?”
At Kim Ja-young’s question, Yoon Sang-chul thought for a moment before answering.
“I’ll have the report ready within a month.”
“Good. We’ll end the meeting here.”
Kim Ja-young stood, and everyone followed suit, bowing their heads.

* * *
Lim Do-hyun and Oh Jin-su walked down the corridor after leaving the conference room. Neither spoke.
Once they entered the office, Oh Jin-su finally spoke.
“Come talk to me for a moment.”
Oh Jin-su gestured toward his office with his hand, and Lim Do-hyun followed. As they entered, Oh Jin-su closed the door.
“Why did you do that?”
All eyes had been on Lim Do-hyun as he left the conference room.
Some had shot him looks of reproach, while others had nodded in agreement — though not all positively.
He had no regrets. If the board Seon-woo had laid out was correct, that meeting was the last chance.
“I simply reported what is.”
Lim Do-hyun answered dryly. There was no need to bare his every thought.
Oh Jin-su watched him for a moment, then spoke.
“That report…… why didn’t you mention it?”
“Which report are you referring to, sir?”
“The one written by the chairman’s son…… no, Kang Seon-woo. If you’d mentioned that, the chairman might have been able to make a more informed judgment.”
“If I’d mentioned that, what would have changed?”
“…….”
“It would only have created an atmosphere where you and Director Yoon could be held accountable.”
Oh Jin-su’s eyes wavered slightly. The atmosphere to hold him accountable.
“And how could I have spoken of both of your oversights with my own mouth?”
Of course, the Chairman Kim Ja-young he’d met today was not someone to assign blame, but someone to solve problems.
But that was something he knew only because he’d seen her in person today; he couldn’t have been certain before the meeting.
“…….”
Oh Jin-su regarded Lim Do-hyun quietly for a long time.
“Thank you.”
If he’d revealed the report’s source, it would have become clear that Oh Jin-su had buried it, which would have led to his censure.
Lim Do-hyun had deliberately blocked that path, and Oh Jin-su was thanking him for his protection.
“Anyway, the chairman has instructed us to proceed as she said. If we build the Task Force quickly, how long do you think it’ll take?”
Oh Jin-su asked as he settled into his seat.
“It depends on how we build it, but if we’re drawing personnel from all departments, I’d estimate a week.”
Oh Jin-su nodded.
“You lay the groundwork for it.”
“Will it be all right if I do it, sir?”
“Yes. I’ll lead the Task Force, but you’ll handle the operational work.”
“Understood. I’ll draft the Task Force structure and have the report ready within three days.”
Lim Do-hyun bowed respectfully and left the office.

* * *
“The company’s been quiet today, hasn’t it?”
Kim So-mi approached my desk and spoke. I’d already noticed that the office, which should have been bustling since morning, was unusually subdued.
“Yes, it really is. What’s going on?”
“Well, the director and team leader went out earlier, right? Apparently the group chairman is personally conducting a meeting.”
Kim So-mi seemed to catch herself and corrected her words while looking at me.
“Oh, the Chairman, I mean.”
She smiled awkwardly. Saying “chairman” in front of me, she’d become aware that the person in question was my mother.
“You can speak freely. That family doesn’t care about such formalities.”
“You’re something else, Seon-woo.”
Kim So-mi laughed and returned to her desk.
‘Mother is moving.’
The briefing I’d given in the chairman’s office yesterday had worked. The very next day, she came down to Seonjin Logistics and was conducting a meeting.
‘As expected.’
The mother I knew was not someone who pondered alone after hearing something. Once she made a judgment, she immediately went to verify it. That was Mother’s style as chairman.
‘The outcome is predictable.’
If I knew my mother, the reason she’d called this meeting was to verify whether the report from Seonjin Logistics was true and to set a new direction.
‘In that case.’
I needed to prepare the next move.
If Mother decided to save Seonjin Logistics, a concrete plan would be needed.
There would need to be materials for Mother to base her judgment on.
Who would create them?
‘Ah, I want to write it, but I’ve been too obvious already, so I need to hold back.’
I was thinking such thoughts when it happened.
“All right, listen up.”
Team Leader Lim Do-hyun returned to his desk and spoke to everyone.
“A Normalization Task Force for Seonjin Logistics management is going to be established.”
The office fell silent.
“We’ll be drawing some personnel from all departments to form it. Our team will be drafting the Task Force structure. Of course, since you all have existing work, I’ll only need a few people to help with my tasks.”
Lim Do-hyun’s gaze fell on Kim So-mi.
“Kim So-mi.”
“Yes, Team Leader.”
“Help me with my work, will you?”
“Yes, understood.”
Lim Do-hyun’s eyes, after considering each team member, eventually stopped on me.
“Kang Seon-woo, come to the conference room now.”
“Yes, understood.”

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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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