The Return of the Ruined Chaebol's Third-Generation Heir - Chapter 114

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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 Heir, Chapter 114
“Team Lead, they said you just need to go up to the third floor.”
A week later, I was stepping into the lobby of Seonjin Automobile Headquarters. Kim So-mi had retrieved visitor passes from the information desk and distributed them to the Sales Division deputy director and me, speaking as she did.
“Deputy Director, have you had many meetings with Seonjin Automobile?”
I asked while fastening the visitor pass around my neck.
“Yes, they’re our biggest shipper, after all. But it’s always been formal until now. We’d discuss the cargo, inspect it, grab a meal, and that was it. This time is a bit different, though.”
“Different how?”
“Well, normally it’s just the sales teams meeting. But this request came through under the name of the Seonjin Automobile Group Logistics Task Force, so……”
It meant Seonjin Automobile Group intended to control the cargo of all its subsidiaries at the group level, and we too had been forming a Task Force to respond.
“Let’s head up and see what it’s about. Shall we go?”
The Sales Division deputy director and Kim So-mi followed in my wake.
We rode the elevator to the third floor and walked down the corridor when people began emerging from an inner room.
A group in business suits was exiting what looked like a meeting room, exchanging greetings. Then our eyes met.
“Kang Seon-woo.”
The man standing at the front of the group, his eyes meeting mine, broke into a radiant smile and approached.
“Man, how long has it been? Since we saw each other at the wake when your father—I mean, Uncle—passed away?”
“That’s right.”
“Good to see you.”
The man was Kang Jin-ho, Kang Tae-yong’s son. He extended his hand, and I took it.
“Wow, you were already good-looking, but your shoulders are completely different now. You’ve really transformed.”
“I bulked up a bit after my military service.”
“Yeah, I heard. You did the Marines, right? That’s impressive.”
As Kang Jin-ho and I exchanged pleasantries, Kim So-mi and the Sales Division deputy director wore puzzled expressions. I turned to them.
“This is my cousin, Kang Jin-ho. He’s the son of Seonjin Automobile’s Chairman Kang Tae-yong.”
“Hey, why are you introducing me so formally?”
Kang Jin-ho patted my shoulder, then pulled out business cards and handed them to the two of them.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Kang Jin-ho, CEO of Seonjin Global.”
Seonjin Global.
Kang Jin-ho was now revealing the name in front of me as if it were no longer a secret. He probably thought I hadn’t caught on yet.
“Hello. I’m Kim So-mi, Management Planning Division at Seonjin Logistics.”
“I’m Seo Jin-won, Deputy Director of the Sales Division.”
The two of them exchanged business cards with Kang Jin-ho.
“My younger brother is doing well, isn’t he? I owe you a great debt. He’s not the most social, you know.”
“Oh, no. If anything, we’re the ones indebted to Team Lead.”
Kim So-mi waved her hands dismissively, and at her words, Kang Jin-ho looked at me.
As if reading something in my expression, he spoke.
“Ah, I’ve started a company. You’ll find out soon enough……”
“A company? You started one?”
I asked as if I knew nothing.
“Of course. I studied abroad and all, but I can’t just laze around forever, right?”
“An automotive subsidiary?”
“How could it be? You know our father’s personality. I wanted to go into a subsidiary like you and have an easy time, but he won’t give me an opening. So I started one on my own outside the group.”
Kang Jin-ho was playing the good older brother, but his condescension toward me seeped through with every word. I’d lived twice now, yet this man remained unchanged—not that I’d ever hoped otherwise.
“I’d heard you studied abroad.”
“Yeah, I worked my tail off studying and came back. Once I was in Korea, I knew what I needed to do. So I started the company.”
“What kind of company? The way you’re talking about it, I’m dying to know.”
At my question, Kang Jin-ho smiled warmly and patted my shoulder.
“You’ll find out soon.”
He probably hoped I’d be shocked, but that wasn’t going to happen.
“Let’s grab dinner sometime. Your number’s the same, right?”
“Same as before.”
“Good, then I’ll see you later. And you two as well—who knows, we might end up working together.”
Kang Jin-ho said this to Kim So-mi and the Sales Division deputy director, then moved off with his employees.
“He seems like a nice guy.”
The Sales Division deputy director said this to Kim So-mi and me.
“Both you, Team Lead, and Director Kang don’t feel like heirs to a chaebol family at all, which is refreshing.”
I offered a smile to the deputy director and gestured toward the meeting room.
“Shall we go in?”
At my words, the two of them entered the office, and I watched Kang Jin-ho’s receding figure down the corridor before stepping into the meeting room.

* * *
“Welcome. Thank you for coming such a long way.”
As I entered the meeting room, the members of Seonjin Automobile stood to greet us.
“I’m Shin Hyun-beom, director of Procurement Planning, leading this Task Force.”
“Thank you for the warm welcome. I’m Kang Seon-woo, team lead of Planning Team 2 at Seonjin Logistics.”
Those on the other side were director-level. We’d made clear we were sending a team lead and deputy director, yet they’d brought in one rank higher.
“We had word that you’d be coming in person, Team Lead Kang, but I confess we were surprised.”
He was speaking as if he’d matched his rank to my social standing rather than my title.
I gave a slight bow, exchanged business cards, and took my seat.
“First, I want to say how genuinely grateful we are for the partnership with Seonjin Logistics.”
The director opened his mouth immediately.
“You’ve reliably managed our group’s logistics for decades, and that’s something we highly value within the group.”
“Seonjin Automobile Group has trusted us with your cargo, so it’s only natural we’ve done our best.”
The director nodded with a smile at my response, then broached the subject.
“However, as you know, unit price competition in the logistics market has become quite fierce recently.”
He was bringing up what I’d anticipated.
“There’s a substantial gap between the per-ton freight rate at the time of the contract ten years ago and current market rates. To be frank, your current contract rate is roughly 15 to 20 percent higher than the current market.”
Corporate logistics freight rates fluctuate based on fuel costs, labor expenses, and competitive conditions.
Over the past decade, competition in the domestic logistics market and technological innovation had brought rates down significantly. In fact, to be blunt, it was a contract where we’d been living comfortably for ten years.
“I understand your point completely. We agree that a unit price adjustment is necessary.”
At my response, the director seemed satisfied, paused thoughtfully, then spoke carefully.
“……So the conclusion Seonjin Automobile Group has reached is to shift subsidiary logistics to a turn-key competitive bidding model starting with this renegotiation.”
Kim So-mi and the Sales Division deputy director beside me looked shocked.
I’d considered the possibility that Seonjin Automobile Group might try to push us out in this renegotiation round, but I hadn’t anticipated a turn-key competitive bid—that was a move I hadn’t foreseen.
“A competitive bid?”
“That’s correct.”
A turn-key competitive bid meant bundling all logistics for Seonjin Construction, Seonjin Parts and Materials, Seonjin Machinery, and other Seonjin Automobile Group subsidiaries into one package and putting it to bid.
It wasn’t about adjusting unit prices—it was about changing the entire game.
‘So Kang Jin-ho was the variable after all.’
Kang Jin-ho, with zero experience in the logistics industry and completely green, had laid the perfect table to wedge himself in.
There was no way to avoid suspicion of internal deal-making, but with a competitive bid format, there was nothing to point to beyond the suspicion itself.
“When you say competitive bidding, does that mean other companies will participate?”
The Sales Division deputy director, who had been listening quietly, asked.
“Yes. We plan to solicit proposals from multiple firms, including Seonjin Logistics.”
The director gestured to a staff member beside him, who pulled out document envelopes and placed one in front of each of us.
A bidding guidebook. A document densely printed with timelines, evaluation criteria, and submission formats.
Kim So-mi began flipping through the documents, and Deputy Director Seo Jin-won picked up his copy as well.
“We understood this meeting as a preliminary discussion to negotiate terms, but Seonjin Automobile has come very well prepared.”
At my remark, the director momentarily looked flustered before speaking.
“It seems our guidance went out incorrectly. We apologize for that.”
No, he meant it.
But since he was apologizing, I had nothing more to say.
The unit price adjustment was the pretext laid out front, and the competitive bid had been the conclusion all along.
“Thank you for the apology. Since we came in completely unprepared, let me ask one thing.”
There was still one detail I needed to confirm—whether this bidding process had been rigged for Kang Jin-ho’s benefit.
“I notice the evaluation criteria in the guidebook are blank. Has the evaluation methodology for this bid been decided? Will it be quantitative or qualitative?”
Quantitative evaluation ranked competitors on objective metrics like unit price, track record, and logistics volume capacity.
Qualitative evaluation was when a panel of judges assessed the quality of proposals and operational strategies.
If it were the former, we at Seonjin Logistics would have the advantage given our existing contract and proven track record. If it were the latter, the game could be rigged.
Plainly speaking, scores could be concentrated on a pre-selected candidate.
“It will be qualitative evaluation.”
“……”
If the goal was to resolve the unit price issue and optimize costs, the answer should have been quantitative.
But choosing qualitative evaluation shifted my suspicion into certainty.
“Then your preliminary meeting request to us was essentially an invitation to participate in the competitive bidding.”
“That’s correct.”
“Did you send the same to other companies?”
The director, who had hesitated briefly at my question, nodded.
“Yes, we’ve invited five firms.”
“Thank you. We’ll review this internally and let you know our decision on whether to participate.”
At my response, the director’s face relaxed as if he’d cleared a major hurdle.
“From our perspective, we very much hope Seonjin Logistics will participate.”
“Of course. We’ll respond positively after our review.”
With that, we left Seonjin Automobile Headquarters.
“A competitive bid means it won’t be easy……”
The Sales Division deputy director spoke first.
“But if we match the unit price, aren’t we in an advantageous position? We have the track record of running it all this time.”
“Right. Even if another company comes in, nobody knows Seonjin Automobile Group’s cargo the way we do.”
Kim So-mi nodded. Both of them were making the same assessment.
Competition was on, but we held the advantage.
What the two of them were saying wasn’t naive. Under normal competitive bidding, whether quantitative or qualitative, any evaluation format would favor a logistics company with our experience.
But this time, there was a variable.
“Let’s go back and report to upper management, then meet with the Sales Division again to strategize.”
Now that I’d confirmed my suspicion, it was time to respond.
Things wouldn’t go the way those who wanted us to fail were hoping.

* * *
“Thank you for your hard work.”
Meanwhile, Kang Jin-ho, who had slipped out of Seonjin Automobile’s building, climbed into the car waiting for him.
“It was nothing.”
He gave a casual reply and leaned his head back against the seat, lost in thought.
‘Still full of himself.’
When he saw his younger cousin for the first time in seven years, the man had held his head high without lowering his gaze.
‘Irritating bastard.’
It had always been like this. From childhood, unlike other cousins, he’d never acknowledged Kang Jin-ho’s rank or crawled before him—nor had he ever tried to climb his way up, either.
He hated that inscrutable expression, that blank face.
“What about the thing I asked you to look into?”
At Kang Jin-ho’s question, the employee driving made eye contact through the rearview mirror.
“I’ve prepared it in the pocket behind the passenger seat.”
Kang Jin-ho opened the pocket and pulled out a document envelope.
“As you instructed, we’ve retained a headhunting firm and are making contact with personnel at Seonjin Logistics.”
“What are their reactions?”
“They’re startled. We’re offering 1.5 to 2 times their current salaries.”
Kang Jin-ho’s lips curled into a smile.
“Of course they are. Why would they stay at a dying company for that salary when they could take a much higher one at a startup that’s just beginning?”
“……”
“Go after the sales people and the cargo handlers especially. They’re people we need anyway, and if they leave, Seonjin Logistics will be in real trouble.”
“Understood, sir.”
“Spend whatever you need. Just secure them first.”
With that instruction, Kang Jin-ho gazed out the window.
“Let’s see if he can still look down on me with that cocky face this time.”

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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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