The Return of the Ruined Chaebol's Third-Generation Heir - Chapter 121

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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 – Chapter 121
Seonjin Global Office.
Even though laughter drifted in from outside the office, Kang Jin-ho sat with a rigid expression.
After the competitive bid results spread, the employees’ spirits had soared, but the very architect of that success sat alone in his office, staring down at the notification on his desk.
[Primary Preferred Negotiation Target – Seonjin Global]
Until this morning, this single line was a sentence he’d dreamed of, but after meeting his father, Kang Tae-yong, and returning, the words felt drained of their power.
-If it were another company, they wouldn’t have been able to bid on just a shell.
Throughout the drive back, his father’s words refused to leave his mind.
It felt like his father was saying he’d won not through his own ability, but through his father’s name.
Knock, knock—
While he was lost in thought, the knock startled Kang Jin-ho into looking up.
“Come in.”
A subordinate entered, his face bright with a broad smile.
“CEO, congratulations.”
Kang Jin-ho’s lips curved upward.
“The atmosphere outside is really wonderful. Everyone’s energized. People from Seonjin Logistics who were wavering about transferring are starting to reach out to us.”
Hearing congratulations from his subordinate lifted Kang Jin-ho’s mood considerably.
“Is that so? That’s fortunate.”
“Yes, very fortunate. It looks like we’ll be able to speed up personnel recruitment as well.”
Kang Jin-ho nodded and leaned back in his chair.
“Good. Do you have an updated status report?”
“Yes, I’ll brief you right away.”
The subordinate spread out the documents.
“The TMS Construction vendor has finalized the main contract and construction has begun. We’re estimating roughly two months until completion.”
“What about the trucks?”
“We’re currently arranging lease contracts for the ten trucks we need urgently. The deposit per vehicle is 30 million won, so for ten trucks we’ll need 3 billion won.”
“Didn’t you survey the warehouse locations last time?”
“Yes, we’ve finished surveying two candidate sites. The scale is similar, but in terms of accessibility, Icheon looks better. If we go with that, we’ll need at least 500 million won for the warehouse deposit.”
Kang Jin-ho nodded. Having won the bid, they needed to prepare for implementation.
“Finally, the Seonjin Motors due diligence team is scheduled to visit next week. We’re preparing operational plans and financial materials.”
The subordinate paused before speaking more carefully.
“However… if we execute deposits for the projects currently underway, our cash situation will become tight starting next month.”
“Tight by how much?”
“After accounting for payroll and office operating expenses… we’ll have less than 1 billion won in available funds.”
“Don’t worry.”
Kang Jin-ho spoke.
“The investment side will finalize things soon. Just make sure we’re properly prepared for due diligence.”
“Yes, understood.”
The subordinate bowed and left the office.
Alone now, Kang Jin-ho picked up his phone and dialed a number.
-Ah, CEO Kang! Congratulations. I heard the news.
The voice on the other end was bright, and Kang Jin-ho found himself chuckling.
“Thank you, Danny. I couldn’t have done it without you.”
The caller was Danny, from DK Capital.
-What do you mean? You did it all, CEO Kang. That’s an impressive result, truly. I have to say I was impressed again. For a new company to beat an established player in a competitive bid—that’s not easy.
A smile spread across Kang Jin-ho’s face. What he’d accomplished really was impressive.
He’d thought getting that recognition would be hard, but with Danny’s affirmation, all his struggles seemed to melt away.
“Thank you. I wanted to check—how is the investment proceeding?”
-To be honest, I’d like to move forward immediately. But since I have to report to the investor, you see.
“The investor hasn’t made a decision yet?”
-It’s not a matter of decision—it’s a scheduling issue. They’re overseas on business right now, so the report meeting got pushed back. It’ll probably take about two weeks.
“Two weeks?”
Kang Jin-ho’s brow furrowed.
“Due diligence starts at Seonjin Motors next week. If we go through due diligence without securing funds…”
-Ah, you don’t need to worry about that. If they ask about investment during due diligence, we can send over a Letter of Intent. It’s not final, but it gives us grounds to show that investment is in progress.
A Letter of Intent would work for due diligence. While not a confirmation, it would serve as proof that funding was being arranged.
-CEO Kang, I don’t want to miss this opportunity either. I’ll do my best to move things up, so please wait just a bit longer.
“…Understood. I’ll wait.”
-I’ll bring you good news soon.
After hanging up, he leaned back against the chair.
“The process is dragging, but ultimately things are moving according to the game I’ve laid out.”
There was someone who didn’t want to acknowledge this, but Kang Jin-ho had decided not to care anymore.
“Eventually, you’ll have no choice but to acknowledge me too.”

* * *
“The group is consistent on this point.”
Four days later, I was summoned and holding a follow-up meeting with Oh Jin-su and Lim Do-hyeon in the representative’s office.
“They trust logistics to handle it, so resolve it on your own. That’s what they’re saying, but ultimately…”
Oh Jin-su trailed off, but I understood his position. Regardless of what the group said, Oh Jin-su had just stepped into the spotlight at the start of his tenure—he was now under scrutiny.
“Well, that’s something I’ll have to overcome on my own, so we won’t discuss it here. Anyway, that’s the group’s stance. Team Leader Kang, did Seonjin Automobile Group send over their evaluation report?”
“Yes, I have it here.”
I placed the evaluation score sheet from Seonjin Automobile Group on the table, and Oh Jin-su began reading through it.
“The scores are quite high.”
“Given that we’ve been handling Seonjin Automobile Group’s cargo for a long time, I’d say this is an expected performance report.”
From the start, the company was built to service the logistics needs of enterprises within the Seonjin Group.
Naturally the scores would be high, and if things had been normal…
“Looking at these scores, I can see why they did a qualitative evaluation. The fact that we scored this high and still didn’t get selected must mean they’re maneuvering to favor Seonjin Global.”
Both Lim Do-hyeon and I nodded in unison at Oh Jin-su’s comment.
“So, what’s our follow-up strategy?”
“As reported before, we’re currently filling the personnel gap in the sales division. Additionally, under Planning Division 2’s leadership, we’re converting one dock at the Gunpo Hub into a Fulfillment-exclusive facility.”
At Lim Do-hyeon’s report, Oh Jin-su looked at me.
“Team Leader Kang, didn’t you say we needed to strengthen personnel in the sales division?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Manager Lim reported that to me, so I gave the order, but let’s hear your reasoning now.”
At Oh Jin-su’s words, I nodded and handed copies of my prepared materials to both men.
“This is separately researched data on Seonjin Global.”
“You researched it yourself?”
“Yes, I conducted the research outside of work hours, but the accuracy should be quite high.”
“Not that there’s anything wrong with the hours, but you could’ve used company personnel for something like this.”
In truth, this was data that Jung Tae-sung had secured on Seonjin Global. So it made sense to say I’d handled it privately.
The two men spent considerable time reading through the materials I’d given them, and Oh Jin-su’s eyebrows began shifting with each section.
“So essentially, they’re just a shell operation?”
“That’s right. Nothing is functioning properly—not their logistics system, not their warehouse, not their trucks.”
The two men looked up, now fully focused on what I was saying.
“What seems most urgent is funding. It appears that Seonjin Motors’ internal team isn’t providing financial support to reduce legal risk.”
“…And do they have investors?”
“I can’t say for certain, but based on inquiries with vehicle lease companies and real estate agencies, I haven’t heard anything about Seonjin Global taking the lead on arrangements.”
“They don’t have money.”
Oh Jin-su was quickly grasping the context from my report.
“This means they could collapse during due diligence, or even if they sign the main contract, execution could be delayed.”
“That’s my assessment as well. There could be an opportunity for us.”
Both Oh Jin-su and Lim Do-hyeon nodded simultaneously at my words.
“Good. This deal doesn’t look finished. Fill the personnel gaps right away and let’s respond while we wait. And you had another report?”
“Yes, as Manager mentioned earlier, we’re upgrading one dock at the Gunpo Hub for Fulfillment-exclusive use. We’re planning to start the pilot project a week from now.”
“That soon?”
“Our team members are on site now training the facility staff, and we’re transitioning the vendor agreement from MOU to a main contract. Starting immediately while adjusting for issues and discrepancies seems like the better approach.”
Oh Jin-su stared at me in surprise.
“Your execution speed is really something. I figured it’d take about a month from report to start.”
“I’m impressed watching from the sidelines too.”
“Good. Moving fast on what we set out to do is better. And if by any chance Seonjin Global takes the cargo contract as is, we need to improve our operations, and Fulfillment is our only real option.”
Oh Jin-su straightened the documents in front of him before speaking.
“Report on both tracks on a daily basis, and let’s not overlook anything.”
“Yes, understood.”
The meeting ended there, and Lim Do-hyeon and I bowed respectfully, then left the representative’s office and returned to our desk area.
Buzz—
As I sat down and was organizing the CEO’s directives to brief my team, my phone vibrated.
[Articles set to run as exclusive features on three news outlets’ online platforms.]
It was a text from Jung Tae-sung. I nodded and flipped my phone over, then stood from my desk.

* * *
“Due diligence is currently underway, but I believe there are some matters that warrant reporting.”
Days later, in the Seonjin Automobile Chairman’s Office.
The Secretary Director began his report while unfolding documents, and Kang Tae-yong listened from his reclined chair.
“Personnel composition is adequate. Veteran employees from Seonjin Logistics are occupying key positions, with operational capacity at a verified level.”
Kang Tae-yong nodded. His son certainly had good instincts. It hadn’t been a simple matter of poaching employees from competitors; rather, securing veterans was exactly what was most needed when entering the market initially—that had been a sound decision.
“However, there are deficiencies in infrastructure. Currently, they have fifteen trucks secured, but full contract implementation requires a minimum of fifty vehicles. Apparently, lease agreements are in progress.”
Kang Tae-yong’s brow tightened.
“Fifteen out of fifty is nowhere near enough.”
“Correct. The warehouse also hasn’t reached the main contract stage. The candidate site surveys are complete, but it’s on hold due to deposit issues. The logistics system construction has started, but is expected to take approximately two months to completion.”
Kang Tae-yong touched his chin in thought. Trucks and warehouses were problems that money could solve. Lease contracts just required putting down the deposit, and warehouses were the same.
The problem was that Seonjin Global didn’t have that money right now.
“But they do have people. Once the money comes in, the system can be set up, right?”
“That’s correct. Personnel and expertise are already in place, so these are issues that will be resolved quickly once funding arrives.”
It all came down to DK Capital.
“How are things progressing with DK?”
“As far as I understand, CEO Kang Jin-ho has requested final investment confirmation. DK appears to be going through their internal procedures.”
“How far along is the process?”
“They’re currently coordinating the schedule. I confirmed receipt of a Letter of Intent issued by DK.”
“Investment firms are slow with paperwork, but that’s typical procedure. If a Letter of Intent came through, we can treat it as executed.”
Kang Tae-yong wasn’t anxious.
With an investment firm that had connections to Volta Motors, there was no reason to doubt their financial strength or execution capability.
Kang Tae-yong nodded and his lips curved upward.
“That boy picked a good place. You’ll make sure he’s well looked after…”
Buzz—
Midway through his statement, the Secretary Director’s pocket began to vibrate. The Secretary Director wasn’t someone who checked his phone during briefings, but this time his gaze dropped to his pocket.
“I apologize for the interruption.”
Kang Tae-yong nodded, and the Secretary Director checked his screen—his expression hardened.
“Chairman.”
“What is it?”
The Secretary Director looked at Kang Tae-yong.
“An article has come out that you should review.”
“An article? What kind of article?”
“It says Seonjin Global was established for CEO Kang Jin-ho’s loophole succession.”
At the words from the Secretary Director’s mouth, Kang Tae-yong’s eyes widened.

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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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