Many corporate tycoons who had once dominated the business world in the 1990s were now gone.
Most had either passed away from old age or stepped down from their positions as heads of their companies.
Even within the Taewoo Group, my grandfather had retired this year, taking on the title of Honorary Chairman before leaving for Vietnam.
But Chairman Oh Hee-gun of Samsung Group was still holding on to his position.
What's more, when I met him at the restaurant, he looked as vigorous as ever.
"It's been a long time," I greeted him.
"I heard you were away in the United States for quite some time on business. And though it's late, congratulations on becoming the chairman of Taewoo Group," he replied warmly.
"I'm not sure it's something worth congratulating. I tried to refuse repeatedly, but my grandfather forced the chairmanship on me and then left for Vietnam."
"Hahaha! Are you trying to make me jealous? If I had a reliable successor like Chairman Kim, I would've stepped back from management long ago."
It was clear that Chairman Oh would remain in power for at least another five years.
And even then, he wouldn't step down by choice—it would be due to health reasons. At least, that was how I remembered it.
"You're far too robust to pass things down to the next generation just yet. Honestly, having a great elder of the group remain in the chairman's seat makes a huge difference compared to not having one. Especially when a younger leader takes the helm, opposition often arises where there was none before."
"Chairman Kim, you're more than capable of withstanding that opposition. If my own son were even half as capable as you, I would have already handed over my position. Today, I truly envy Chairman Kim Tae-joong."
From my perspective, that wasn't the case at all.
It seemed to me that he simply couldn't step down because he still had lingering attachment to the chairman's seat.
Yet, no one could deny that Chairman Oh Hee-gun was a master of corporate management. His persistence didn't look like greed, but rather conviction.
We exchanged a few more pleasantries.
Then, when a natural pause in the conversation arrived, I finally brought up the main subject.
"First, I'd like to apologize. I failed to grasp the relationship between the Hankyung Daily and your family before moving to acquire shares."
"Why are you apologizing to me? That's a matter concerning my in-laws, not Samsung Group."
"Even so, since it may have disturbed your wife, I wanted to extend my apologies to you directly, Chairman."
"Hm. Regarding that issue, Samsung Group will not interfere in any way. That's something for Juan Group to handle on their own."
As expected, he wasn't going to be caught so easily.
Anyone could see that meddling in Juan Group's affairs would inevitably tie Samsung Group into the matter as well, but Chairman Oh Hee-gun pretended ignorance.
And of course, I couldn't outright ask him for help.
Instead, it was better to emphasize the advantages I could offer Samsung Group.
"I've heard the LCD market is doing quite well these days. As the number of smartphone users grows, won't demand for LCDs skyrocket even further? Not to mention, demand is also rising steadily for TVs and household appliances that use CLDs."
"Yes, the LCD market is strong. I can't tell you how relieved I am that Taewoo Group hasn't taken an interest in that field. Surely you haven't come here to declare war by saying you're entering the LCD business, have you?"
Chairman Oh's expression suddenly shifted.
Taewoo Group was one of the largest buyers of LCDs from both Samsung Group and CL Group.
If a customer were to suddenly become a competitor, profits would fall and competition would intensify—naturally leading to resistance.
"I don't have plans to jump into the LCD business just yet. But it's true that I am very interested in it."
"So, you're not entering the business, but you're interested. I don't quite know how to take that. Surely you don't mean to say, We won't join the LCD market, so hand over the shares of Hankyung Daily?"
As if I'd be that shameless.
Such a proposal would go against the principles of business ethics—I hadn't even considered it.
"I am interested in Hankyung Daily's shares, but I have no intention of acquiring them in that manner."
"Then I'd very much like to hear the reasoning behind your words."
"The truth is, Korea has already surpassed Japan and claimed the number one position in the global LCD market. But I don't believe LCD will dominate the display industry forever. Just as CRTs were overtaken by LCDs, won't the day come when a next-generation display pushes LCD aside?"
Cathode-ray tubes, which had dominated the display market for nearly seventy years…
But with the commercialization of LCDs, CRTs had already faded into history.
And I knew exactly which display technology would eventually push LCDs aside.
"So, you're saying you're interested in the next-generation display that will replace LCDs. And it almost sounds like you already know what it is."
"I believe OLED will take over the next-generation display market."
"Hm. Samsung Group has indeed been conducting research on OLED, but we don't see much potential for commercialization. To reach that stage would require enormous investments and a vast research workforce."
Chairman Oh wasn't wrong.
Samsung Group and CL Group were making massive profits from the LCD business.
But in exchange, they were forced to bear heavy losses from the costs of developing next-generation display technologies.
"Taewoo Group can shoulder part of those massive development costs."
"You wouldn't just invest for nothing. Don't tell me you mean to trade for shares of the Hankyung Daily?"
"The development costs are at least in the trillion-won range. That's more than enough to carry out a hostile takeover of Hankyung Daily. So no, such terms wouldn't even come close."
"Then what exactly are you asking for?"
"If Samsung Group succeeds in developing OLED, I want Taewoo Electronics to be granted priority usage rights. And I'd like OLEDs to be sold to us at cost. Of course, I only ask that we share those priority rights alongside Samsung Electronics."
In truth, it wasn't much of a gain.
The condition simply allowed Taewoo Electronics to receive next-generation displays under the same terms as Samsung Electronics.
If Samsung ever refused to supply them, Taewoo could always strike a deal with CL Group—so naturally, it was Samsung Group that stood to benefit by making this offer first.
"Under those conditions, of course I would agree. So if we give you shares of Hankyung Daily along with priority rights to the next-generation displays, Taewoo Group will support development?"
"If you do that, Taewoo Group will cover thirty percent of the OLED development costs."
"CL Electronics will throw a fit if they hear about this. Hahaha."
It was, in effect, a contract ensuring that Taewoo Electronics would be supplied exclusively with next-generation displays from Samsung Electronics.
Of course, OLED development would take at least another ten years, so for now the contract had little immediate significance.
"That's why I'd prefer this agreement to remain confidential."
"It's a little disappointing, but I'll accept that condition too. But are you sure there aren't any other terms? From what I can see, Taewoo Group seems to be taking a terrible loss here."
Chairman Oh studied me carefully.
The deal I proposed looked so disadvantageous that he suspected something.
Either I was an incompetent fool—less capable than my reputation suggested—or I had another agenda entirely.
Naturally, it was the latter.
But at this moment, I wanted Chairman Oh Hee-gun to see me as a fool.
"There are no other conditions. I only hope that Taewoo Group and Samsung Group can continue to grow together in mutual prosperity."
"At least for as long as I remain in the chairman's seat, this relationship will hold. And of course, I'll make sure to firmly instruct the one who succeeds me."
"For Korea to continue developing, don't you think the country's major corporations should help each other? What's the point of tearing each other apart in this tiny Korean market? Wouldn't it be far better to share the vast global market together?"
"Hahaha, if only things could truly work out that way, nothing would be better."
Chairman Oh raised his glass.
Since the negotiation had brought great benefits to Samsung Group, it was natural he'd want to toast.
But was Samsung Group really the only one to benefit from this deal?
After concluding the meeting with Chairman Oh Hee-gun, I went to Captain Kang's office.
President Han Jung-hoon was already there, waiting for me, and the moment I entered, he bombarded me with questions.
"How did it go? Did he agree to hand over the Hankyung Daily shares? What did Taewoo Group give in return?"
"Let's at least have a glass of water first. Why are you in such a rush that you won't even let a man catch his breath?"
"Ah! My apologies. I'll fetch you some water right away."
Gulp, gulp!
I downed a cold bottle of water in one go, loosened my tie, and sat down on the sofa.
"We secured all the shares of Hankyung Daily. From now on, the Baekseon Arts Awards will be hosted by Taewoo Group."
"There's no way Chairman Oh just gave them to you, is there?"
"I agreed for Taewoo Group to cover thirty percent of the OLED display development costs. Over five years, that will likely amount to close to one trillion won."
"Is it really worth spending a trillion won just to take over Hankyung Daily shares? That's enough money to launch a hostile takeover of the paper outright. And isn't it still uncertain whether OLED will even become the next-generation display?"
It had been a long time since I'd seen President Han react this way.
That was how lopsided this deal looked—on the surface, Taewoo Group seemed to be at a loss.
"I'm certain OLED will become the next-generation display."
"Well, there's never been a business you've been confident in that ended in failure, so I won't question that. Even so, a trillion won in investment doesn't seem like much of a gain."
"Then why don't we make it into one from here on out?"
"Do you have a way?"
"If we secure the original source technology for OLED, then it certainly will be."
At the mention of source technology, President Han's face brightened.
Taewoo Group already held numerous source technologies and collected astronomical royalties every year. Han knew better than anyone just how profitable such technologies could be.
"But can we really secure OLED source technology?"
"Kodak owns the original OLED patents. With the Lehman crisis shaking every company in the United States, isn't this the perfect time to buy up that source technology?"
If they could secure the source patents and collect royalties, the one trillion won investment would quickly be recovered.
On top of that, Taewoo Group would be able to receive high-quality OLED panels with priority from Samsung Group.
"If we can secure the source technology, then it doesn't sound like such a bad deal. Especially since, as a bonus, we've also gained shares of Hankyung Daily and the right to host the Baekseon Arts Awards."
"That's why we must move quickly to acquire the OLED patents from Kodak. We need to act before another company gets there first."
I pulled out my phone and called David.
It was 9 a.m. in the United States, so David picked up before the phone rang twice.
[Boss! What brings you to call at this hour?]
"I've got a job you'll love. I want you to acquire the OLED patents from Kodak. If necessary, you can even buy their entire OLED division. About a hundred million dollars should be enough to make the purchase."
[If that's the case, then of course I'll take charge. I'll reach out to them today. Since Kodak's headquarters are in New York, it's not far at all.]
"Kodak's financial situation can't be good in the wake of the Lehman crisis. Push the right buttons and it shouldn't be difficult to acquire. Just don't come on too strong—at this point, they still don't realize the true value of OLED panels."
[That's my specialty. I'll make it so that Kodak ends up begging us to take the OLED division off their hands.]
David's voice was brimming with excitement.
Who wouldn't be? Spending a million won on shopping could make someone giddy—how much more thrilling would it be to shop with over a hundred billion won at your disposal?