The Return of the Ruined Chaebol's Third-Generation Heir - Chapter 111

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

Regression of a Fallen Chaebol Heir — Episode 111
“Meeting somewhere like this, we feel like people conducting secret operations.”
I left the office the moment work ended and came to the Han River Embankment. Tae-sung was already there, sitting on a bench waiting, and lately, our meetings were always in places like this.
“I actually prefer it to a crowded café. It’s a bit chilly, but the spring night air is nice too.”
At Tae-sung’s words, I smiled and nodded.
“Then shall we go over it? I need to hear about Ribbon first.”
“I was surprised to hear from CEO Han about a major transaction at dawn.”
“Yes, while checking the recent market situation, it seemed like the right timing.”
Tae-sung handed me a document and spoke.
“CEO Han said she completely liquidated her P&G equity stake. The next day, the stock price rose slightly as well, bringing the total return rate to around 58%.”
It did rise a bit more, though the change wasn’t particularly significant. I nodded and focused on Tae-sung’s words.
“And regarding Greek CDS, he said the movements at the 1,000 basis point level have been very weak.”
Since I’d given guidelines to Ribbon Capital, Han Jae-yi would handle things well on her own now.
“Next is DK. Lately, CEO Danny Kim has been making bold moves.”
“Yes, I was startled when I checked the news myself.”
Danny, with his natural charisma, was meeting various figures in business and finance circles, making a name for himself in Yeouido.
“I suspect it’s thanks to Ryan Holt from Volta.”
Ryan Holt, the CEO of Volta ahead of its listing, was conducting interviews with various media outlets, and the name that appeared without fail in every interview was Danny Kim.
“Danny must be pleased.”
“On the contrary, CEO Danny treats it lightly, saying the credit should go to you instead of him.”
Ryan Holt wasn’t mentioning my name in his interviews, apparently because Danny had emphasized that point.
“In any case, because of that, the domestic financial sector seems to view CEO Danny favorably. He’s someone mentioned by Volta’s CEO, whose listing success is guaranteed.”
“That’s fortunate. Tell him to grow DK more actively.”
“Understood. Next is news about Ochang. Both Shinhwa Welltech and Synapse Robotics have completed their move-in.”
Finally, both companies had begun moving into the Ochang Industrial Complex.
“For Shinhwa Welltech, rather than producing mass-market goods right away, they’re producing prototypes to adapt to the new line, and Director Park reported that the yield looks good enough from the start to move directly to mass production.”
“What about Synapse?”
“CEO Seo Min-seung and Lucas Jansen are satisfied with the line. It seems to have motivated them to move past the research phase quickly.”
I nodded and spoke.
“Tell CEO Seo Min-seung to research robots that can be used for warehouse organization before those for direct manufacturing.”
“Warehouse organization?”
“Yes. Once the Seonjin Logistics Fulfillment Center opens, we’ll need robots.”
The Seonjin Logistics Fulfillment Center was being developed on a massive scale. We couldn’t fill it entirely with personnel, and I envisioned it as an Amazon-model hybrid of human labor and robots.
Before logistics shipments go out, I have a vivid memory from my past life of small wheeled robots moving baskets around.
“That’s the market worth targeting right now.”
Somehow, in this life, I’d opened the floodgates to the Fulfillment system for Seonjin Logistics through my involvement, and soon Rocket Shopping would follow Amazon’s model as well.
“Amazon in the United States might be facing similar concerns. Since there’s a desired market, we could seize it right away.”
“Understood. I’ll investigate thoroughly and pass it on to CEO Seo Min-seung.”
Though I hadn’t initially aimed for this, as work progressed, I began to see gaps where Synapse could fit.
“Finally, I’ll report on Volta’s listing. The listing date has been set.”
“When?”
“June 29th on NASDAQ.”
NASDAQ was a market favorable to tech stocks. The listing process was progressing well.
“In the Pre-IPO, institutional response has been positive, so there’s a high likelihood the offer price will go toward the upper end of expectations.”
“Since we hold 28% equity stake, it will convert to quite a substantial value.”
“There’s a six-month Lock-up Period, so we can’t liquidate it before year-end.”
“Ah, I’m not looking to liquidate anyway.”
Once Volta goes public, the 28% stake Ribbon holds gets officially valued by the market. I don’t yet know what seven million dollars will become, but based on institutional response, it shouldn’t be bad.
“It feels like having our value recognized. I won’t liquidate. Once Shinhwa Welltech and Synapse establish themselves, Volta will become a very large customer. Is that all the reports?”
“……I was wondering whether to mention this, but since it’s not exactly a report, I was hesitant.”
“What is it? Feel free to speak.”
At my words, Tae-sung spoke.
“I heard your evaluation within Seonjin has risen considerably due to the GS investment matter.”
“Who did you hear that from?”
“The group has ears, after all.”
I found Tae-sung somewhat frightening now. He was hearing about internal evaluations even within Seonjin Group.
“I’m somewhat relieved that Director Jung is on my side.”
“It seems only natural, doesn’t it? You’ve been pulling off things related to GS investment from the moment you arrived.”
“To be precise, I was the one who invested.”
“But they don’t know that.”
At Tae-sung’s words, I laughed despite myself.
“Either way, it’s good that everyone in the group and its subsidiaries is evaluating you well.”
“Yes. I’m pleased about it myself.”
In my past life, I didn’t concern myself with my evaluation within the group. But this time had to be different.
I needed good internal evaluations so everyone would follow what the owner did.
It could also translate into shareholder support.
“Director Jung.”
“Yes.”
“You’ve worked hard. I’ll trust you and focus on company business. I look forward to your continued support.”
Tae-sung bowed his head.
“I will live up to your expectations as much as you trust me.”
At Tae-sung’s greeting, I smiled.

* * *
“Good morning.”
The next day, on my way to work.
As I entered the lobby of Seonjin Building, the security guard bowed first in greeting.
I gave a slight nod in return and headed toward the elevator, when I heard murmuring from those who saw me.
“He pulled off something big this time, didn’t he?”
“Yeah, they say that guy brought in the GS investment?”
“No way.”
“Actually, I have a colleague in the Planning Office, and they said he was flying around.”
‘Hey, I can hear all of that.’
I wanted to go say that, but I was used to it by now.
I’d heard murmuring since my first day at work.
-Why did the chairman’s son come here?
-Right, I thought he’d go to headquarters or a major operation.
-The company’s collapsing anyway, so maintaining the status quo looks good. That’s probably why they sent him.
At first, the looks suggested people wondered why this person came to logistics at all. I would have thought the same. But now the whispers had changed in nature.
‘The evaluation’s improved.’
It wasn’t bad. This was how I’d shift perspectives one by one.
Ding—
As I was thinking that, I arrived at the office floor. I got off the elevator and entered the office, when Kim So-mi looked up from her desk.
“Good morning, Seon-woo.”
“Good morning. Have a cup of this.”
I took a coffee from the tray in my hand and offered it to Kim So-mi.
“I told you to stop buying those.”
“This is how I get the seniors to like me.”
I said that, then walked around the office handing out coffees one by one before returning to my seat.
As I sat down, Kim So-mi sipped her coffee and looked at me.
“Enjoy. Now that you’ve handled all the big projects, we’ll have some downtime.”
Kim So-mi said this with a smile.
“Actually, since you’re my first junior, I was planning to teach you some things. But there’s nothing to teach.”
“Please don’t say that. I’m still learning eagerly.”
“Well, I appreciate the sentiment anyway.”
Kim So-mi and I exchanged light laughs, I powered on my monitor, checked emails, and started the day’s work as usual.
About an hour passed like that.
“Huh?”
At Kim So-mi’s voice, everyone’s gaze turned to her, her eyes widening at the monitor.
“What is it?”
“A personnel announcement just went up on the Intranet.”
The surrounding team members’ eyes turned toward the monitor. Kim So-mi began reading the screen.
“Wow…… Director Oh has been appointed as the new CEO.”
The office erupted in murmurs.
Director Oh Jin-su became the new CEO of Seonjin Logistics, and CEO Yoon Sang-chul was reassigned as president of the Seonjin Sports Division.
I’d already heard from Lim Do-hyun that Oh Jin-su would be appointed as CEO, but sending Yoon Sang-chul to the Sports Division was unexpected.
‘Mother really knows how to use people.’
Yoon Sang-chul had been employed by the group for a long time. If we simply cut him loose because his abilities no longer matched, it wouldn’t look good.
Though it was a less prestigious position, sending him to the Sports Division was necessary from a morale perspective. For other executives, it would be a warning that they could be sidelined even mid-term if they couldn’t keep up.
“And our team leader has been promoted to Director of the Management Planning Office!”
The atmosphere completely changed. Team members immediately turned to look at Lim Do-hyun.
“Congratulations!”
“Director, congratulations!”
Lim Do-hyun waved his hand with a smile.
“Thank you. But the announcement just came out, and there’s still a transition period, so I’m still the team leader for now.”
As congratulations continued, one team member asked.
“So who becomes our new team leader now? Since Director became the director, is Team 2 now directly under the director?”
The office went quiet for a moment. Everyone had the same thought, but no one seemed to know the answer.
Kim So-mi scrolled back through the Intranet and stopped.
“……Management Planning Office, Planning Team 2 Leader, Kang Seon-woo.”
The office went silent. All eyes turned to me.
I was shocked too. No one had mentioned anything related to this, so it was the first I was hearing of it.
“I recommended you.”
Just then, Lim Do-hyun’s voice came.
“I fortunately had a chance to recommend my successor, and I recommended to the new CEO that I’d like Kang Seon-woo to take my place.”
Team leader in two months. Normally, such a promotion would be impossible. Making someone a team leader without going through assistant manager or skipping the manager rank? Where does such a thing happen?
“Well, and as everyone knows, Seon-woo has good reasons for such an exceptional promotion. The new CEO also said there will likely be more exceptional promotions like this in the future.”
When Lim Do-hyun said that, everyone nodded, and Kim So-mi opened her mouth first toward me.
“Seon-woo…… or should I say, Team Leader?”
She was laughing despite her surprise.
“It sounds strange calling you team leader all of a sudden.”
“It’s not strange—you should be congratulating. Congratulations!”
I bowed my head slightly.
“He’s the guy who brought in the GS investment.”
“Still, it’s only been two months since he joined…”
“It’s possible because he’s the chairman’s son. And if Director Lim recommended him, his abilities are proven.”
Whispers came from other team members in the office, not just our team.
The remarks weren’t wrong. If I hadn’t been the chairman’s son, this promotion would have been impossible.
Still, Lim Do-hyun’s recommendation and the GS investment win gave it more justification.
Lim Do-hyun approached. He was smiling slightly.
“Congratulations, Team Leader Kang.”
“Thank you, Director.”
“No comment?”
“A comment?”
At Lim Do-hyun’s question, I thought for a moment before speaking.
“We all worked hard together, and it feels uncomfortable that I’m taking all the credit. I’ll work even harder so everyone here can receive the same recognition. I look forward to working with you all going forward.”
At my words, the team members applauded.
“Now you should buy me coffee, shouldn’t you? In celebration of your promotion.”
At Lim Do-hyun’s words, laughter erupted from around us. The atmosphere loosened.
“I’ll treat everyone to lunch today.”
“Lunch is just the basics—you have to buy drinks tonight too!”
Kim So-mi chimed in, and laughter spread among the team members.
“Yes, I’ll buy drinks tonight too.”
“Yes!”
Kim So-mi and the team members all expressed their joy, offering congratulations to me.

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