Real Man

It was the scene where Gerard Kim lectured about Hansung Display.

“In a word, the profit distribution policy of Hansung Display is populism.”

“Isn’t it natural that they get more bonuses because they performed well?”

Gerard Kim shook his head at the host’s question.

“No, it’s not. This is a one-time strategy that anyone can see. The crown prince of Hansung, the major shareholder, sided with the union to win the hearts of the employees.”

“Why would he want to win their hearts?”

“Because of the succession battle of Hansung. He’s trying to secure his supporters by loosening the purse strings. The acquisition of Shinwa Semiconductor is also…”

Gerard Kim disparaged Hansung Display’s policy as populism, and also denounced the acquisition of Shinwa Semiconductor as a result of the succession battle.

He attributed all the actions of Vice President Shin Kyung-wook to the greed of the chaebol.

Park Doo-sik, the deputy manager, paused the video and opened his mouth.

“As I explained earlier, Gerard Kim is cleverly using the information that has been spread in the media. After this broadcast, the reaction of the shareholders worsened significantly.”

“They must think that the part that was given to the employees was taken away from them. And the union was mentioned, too.”

Yeo Tae-sik, the executive director, nodded and passed the question to Yoo Hyun.

“But how did you know that Gerard Kim would do this, Han?”

“I didn’t know that Gerard Kim would appear, but I knew that he was preparing in advance. He repeatedly posted articles that targeted specific times and media outlets.”

“That’s true. Gerard Kim must be Shin Kyung-soo’s man, right?”

“Yes. He must be.”

Yoo-hyun said firmly.

It was obvious that Gerard Kim would return with Shin Kyung-soo.

The situation was different, but it was the same thing that happened in the past.

Yoo Hyun, who was recalling his memory, was interrupted by Park Doo-sik, the deputy manager.

“Thanks to you, we were able to preemptively deal with the media, but I don’t think we can completely stop it. It’s exploding simultaneously.”

“That’s how rumors are. It takes a lot of effort to prove a lie.”

“Then do we have to leave it as it is?”

“No. We have to try to stop it. The way to do that is…”

As Yoo-hyun was about to explain, Vice President Shin Kyung-wook stopped him.

“I think it’s better to hear that explanation after seeing the next content.”

“Yes. I understand.”

Park Doo-sik, the deputy manager, played the video again.

The host asked Gerard Kim.

“So you’re saying that Hansung shouldn’t acquire Shinwa Semiconductor? It seems like there would be a lot of synergy if they integrate vertically.”

“That’s what people who don’t know the efficiency of business say. Think about it rationally. Is Apple doing that?”

Gerard Kim gave a concrete example, and the host nodded as if he understood.

“Come to think of it, Apple is adopting the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) method.”

“That’s right. They don’t have factory workers, they only focus on their products. You can see why Hansung can’t compete in the smartphone market from this.”

“Ah, so Hansung should also focus on one thing.”

“Yes. I think this is the direction that Hansung Group, which is taking its first step as a holding company, should go. If you want to make Hansung Electronics like Apple.”

Gerard Kim summarized his long speech with an accent on the last word.

Make Hansung Electronics like Apple.

The power of the short keyword was immense.

With this one word, the reason why Hansung should reject the acquisition of Shinwa Semiconductor was clearly explained.

Not only that, but it also led to the logic that Hansung should sell off factories like Hansung Display.

It shook the two places that Vice President Shin Kyung-wook was focusing on at the same time.

Was this a valid argument?

Of course not, and there were plenty of reasons to refute it.

But that was the logic of the experts, not the position of the general shareholders.

In their minds, the simple proposition that Hansung Electronics could become like Apple was firmly embedded.

It was not an easy task to remove it.

‘He’s still a wicked bastard.’

Yoo-hyun recalled Gerard Kim, who was called ‘the master of agitation’ in the past, and curled his lips.

He felt the tension rise with his appearance.

When the video ended, Vice President Shin Kyung-wook spoke as if he had been waiting.

He probably didn’t know Gerard Kim, but he saw through his trick.

“Maybe this is the direction that Kyung-soo has set for Hansung.”

“That’s right. After Gerard Kim lays the red carpet, Director Shin Kyung-soo will walk in gracefully. That work has already started.”

Yoo-hyun agreed, and Vice President Shin Kyung-wook went a step further.

“That means, Kyung-soo also anticipates how the succession will proceed, right?”

“We should assume that the other side knows everything we know.”

“I see. A year later…”

The method of selecting the successor was not announced, but judging from the fact that he asked the two sons to present their directions, he would choose one of the two options.

The time when the holding company was fully established was expected to be a year later, so the timing was appropriate then.

March 2013 regular shareholders’ meeting.

There was a high possibility that he would choose the final direction there.

Park Seung-woo, the manager who didn’t know the exact situation, tilted his head.

“Yoo Hyun, if that’s true, then the acquisition of Shinwa Semiconductor is more important, right?”

“Of course it’s important. And we have to achieve it.”

“But? Why are you…”

Park Seung-woo, the manager, looked around as he spoke.

It was awkward to discuss organizational issues in this place.

Yoo-hyun explained the direction in the big picture instead of giving a direct answer.

“It will take at least six months to acquire Shinwa Semiconductor even if we set the deadline to the minimum. Even if we acquire it at the target price, we won’t be able to create synergy within the period.”

“So the acquisition won’t sway the minds of the shareholders who will attend the meeting?”

Park Doo-sik, the deputy manager, hit the nail on the head as if he understood, and Yoo-hyun added.

“That’s right. Even if we fight hard and win, we can’t guarantee victory unless we prove that the other side’s words are wrong.”

“So we might not win even if we win.”

“Yes. The other side will surely push it that way. Then we have to face the political maneuvering again.”

Everyone considered the acquisition of Shinwa Semiconductor as the key point of the succession.

It was obvious that the other side would use all kinds of tricks to hold on to it.

Was it the only way to fight against each other?

Yoo-hyun didn’t think so.

He didn’t want to be buried in the uncertain probability, but he needed to shift his attention.

Park Seung-woo, the manager, felt that Yoo Hyun’s words were abstract and asked impatiently.

“Then what’s the way? Everyone knows but me.”

“I don’t know either.”

Park Doo-sik, the deputy manager, raised his hand, and Park Seung-woo, the manager, turned his head sharply.

He couldn’t bear to look at Vice President Shin Kyung-wook, so he asked Executive Director Yeo Tae-sik.

“What about you, sir? You knew, so you moved to another organization, right?”

“It’s not just for that reason.”

“Wow. I thought it was strange. So that’s why you and Yoo-hyun were the only ones who left the Shinwa Semiconductor acquisition.”

“Come on. There were other reasons, too.”

Vice President Shin Kyung-wook smiled as he saw Executive Director Yeo Tae-sik feeling embarrassed.

Swoosh.

He shifted his gaze and gestured to Yoo Hyun.

“Han, you can tell us now.”

“Okay.”

Yoo-hyun nodded and told his two seniors from the beginning.

They had to do something for him, so he had to mention this part.

“Let me say it again, we have to acquire Shinwa Semiconductor.”

“Yeah, I know. That’s why we doubled the staff.”

“Tell us the real reason, not that.”

Yoo-hyun told them the core.

“The real battle is the success of the smartphone business.”

“Huh?”

The two of them widened their eyes at the unexpected answer.

What was the smartphone business to Hansung Electronics now?

It was like a thorn in their side.

They used to be the global leader, but now they couldn’t escape the deficit.

But they couldn’t just sit still when the market was growing continuously.

They were struggling to do something, but the results were getting worse.

It was all because of the emergence of smartphones.

And the one who appeared at this time of change was Vice President Shin Kyung-wook.

The problem started from there.

Vice President Shin Kyung-wook ruined the smartphone!

They could easily blame him for everything.

Of course, Park Doo-sik, the deputy manager, and Park Seung-woo, the manager, had different thoughts.

-If it wasn’t for the vice president, we would still be stuck with feature phones. If we did, we would have been overtaken by the Chinese companies long ago, let alone the third place in the market share.

-It’s because of the foreign executives that Shin Kyung-soo brought in. And they still blame the vice president. How ridiculous is that?

They said in the meeting room as they had excuses.

In fact, Vice President Shin Kyung-wook contributed greatly to the development of Hansung smartphones by setting the direction of smartphones and introducing Google reference phones.

Thanks to him, Hansung’s smartphone situation was much better than what Yoo-hyun remembered from the past.

But the shareholders didn’t know that, nor did they care.

It meant that Vice President Shin Kyung-wook couldn’t avoid responsibility.

The other side would surely exploit this weakness.

Yoo-hyun focused on this fact.

What if he could turn the other side’s attack around?

If he could set and achieve specific numbers as conditions, he could decide the game early.

It was possible because everyone thought the smartphone business was difficult.

Of course, doing this was another level of problem.

But Yoo-hyun believed in the potential of Hansung’s employees.

This was Yoo Hyun’s conclusion after turning his attention down.

After the meeting was over.

Yoo-hyun immediately moved to the office of Executive Director Yeo Tae-sik, who had joined him.

He pointed out the concern he had.

“It’s not an easy task. The innovation strategy department staff couldn’t do it either.”

“There were external interference factors.”

“No. Even without the foreign executives, we wouldn’t have achieved great success. There are too many problems within the smartphone business division.”

“I know. But you also decided that there was a possibility, so you took charge of the smartphone business, right?”

Executive Director Yeo Tae-sik chose the smartphone business instead of the Shinwa Semiconductor acquisition.

He left the core department of the innovation strategy department, the infrastructure strategy department, and moved to the less recognized product strategy department.

It was because of that.

Executive Director Yeo Tae-sik raised his hand.

“No. I moved to give the opportunity to another department. If I stayed in the infrastructure strategy department, the factional problem could get worse.”

“You did well. Thanks to your concession, the infrastructure strategy department grew a lot.”

“Yeah. But most of the existing innovation strategy department staff left the product strategy department.”

“Do you regret it?”

“No. You’re right, the infrastructure strategy department lacked experts in mergers and acquisitions. It’s right to support them to create a proper holding company structure.”

Many people, including Deputy Manager Son Jung-ho, moved to the infrastructure strategy department.

They were now playing a key role in building the holding company structure that Vice President Shin Kyung-wook envisioned.

It was the same as facing Shin Kyung-soo’s main force head-on.

This was what Yoo-hyun wanted.

“That’s a good decision.”

“I think so, too. But I feel frustrated when I actually organize the team.”

“In what way?”

“More than half of them are new people. Especially in the smartphone area, they are almost all from outside, and they have different backgrounds. I wonder if this will work well.”

The product strategy department consisted of the smartphone strategy team, the home appliance strategy team, and the B2B strategy team.

Among them, only one person was from the original smartphone strategy team that Yoo-hyun belonged to.