I’d Rather Live as a Villain

Even such an evaluation falls short.

In the chairman’s office of Daeyoung Group’s headquarters, a welcome face appeared. President Min Byung-jin of Mulsan. To Chairman Kang Man-ho, President Min Byung-jin was an indispensable figure. The long-time friend of his brother-in-law, An Cheol-hyun of Hanshin Newspaper. At the same time, he was a drinking buddy whom Chairman Kang Man-ho had kept close since his days as vice president of Mulsan, right up until just before he ascended to the presidency of electronics.

To this day, if anyone asks about President Min Byung-jin, Chairman Kang Man-ho consistently replies, “If I hadn’t met Min Byung-jin at Mulsan back then, it wouldn’t be me but probably my brother-in-law sitting in the chairman’s seat of Daeyoung.”

President Min Byung-jin. He is not someone whose business foresight and ability to increase sales are overwhelmingly superior. Yet, he has held the position of president of Mulsan for nearly a decade. This was separate from the special trust that Chairman Kang Man-ho personally placed in him.

Had it not been for the fact that President Min Byung-jin was a close friend of An Cheol-hyun, the owner of Hanshin Newspaper, and had not been labeled as one of Kang Moon-jung’s people before the succession structure between Kang Young-jin and Kang Moon-jung was formed, it is generally believed that he would have ascended to the group’s headquarters long ago, holding at least the position of group vice-chairman, if not the chief of staff.

Political acumen. Now, his hair may be frosted with age, but when Chairman Kang Man-ho first met President Min Byung-jin, he was still an unmarried man in his late twenties. How could such a young man possess such exceptional political acumen… So much so that even the then-chairman of the group, Kang Ki-young, advised Kang Man-ho, then vice president of Mulsan, that true political acumen is ultimately completed through understanding people, and that being able to conduct oneself with such sophistication at a young age indicates a naturally refined nature, urging him to keep Min Byung-jin close and form a deep friendship.

Back then, Mulsan was not yet the organization combined with construction, fashion, and leisure as it is now, but a standalone trading company called Daeyoung International. Especially at a time when the influence of overseas branches was incomparably greater than it is now.

Where were smartphones in that era? International calls? The concept of email was not even commercialized in the late ’80s and early ’90s. It was preposterous to think that employees on overseas assignments could afford international call charges on a regular salaryman’s monthly wage.

Even looking at Daeyoung Group alone, it was a time when the electronics sector couldn’t even catch up to the heels of Japanese companies, and it wasn’t dominating domestically as the number one.

The mobile phone business that made Daeyoung a global company? It was still in its infancy, with a defect rate exceeding 40 percent.

Certainly, the concept of a group headquarters did not yet exist, and it was a time when the chairman’s office was located in the electronics conglomerate’s building, overseeing all affiliates.

In those days, what we would now call an executive assistant, Kang Man-ho, then vice president of the conglomerate, had placed Min Byung-jin, a junior manager from the HR department, by his side.

He was tasked with driving and, occasionally, running errands.

It was Min Byung-jin, now president, who had suggested to Kang Man-ho, then vice president, to use the holiday season to boost the morale of overseas branch employees by preparing Korean food items they couldn’t get locally and to make an international tour.

The results of that international tour were so tremendous that Kang Ki-young, the group’s chairman at the time, saw his second son, Kang Man-ho, in a new light.

Thus, the bond between the two men had spanned over 35 years.

Once full of youthful vigor, their hair was now frosted with age, and the skin that was once taut bore deep wrinkles from the years gone by.

“Are you here?”

“Yes.”

President Min Byung-jin had plenty of reasons to visit the group’s headquarters’ chairman’s office.

Even without a reason, who would dare to question him if he said he just thought of the chairman while passing by and decided to visit?

Yet, he had avoided visiting the chairman’s office as much as possible.

Especially after Yoon Tae-sik, the head of the division, married Kang Moon-jung, the president, and started his life in the conglomerate again, he refrained from visiting unless called upon.

Mainly because he didn’t want to burden Chairman Kang Man-ho with succession issues, and paradoxically, it was out of consideration for Kang Moon-jung, the president, and Yoon Tae-sik, the division head, to do something for them when it mattered most.

* * *

“Does this quarter’s performance report seem earlier than usual?”

Chairman Kang Man-ho asked with a meaningful expression as he watched President Min Byung-jin place the prepared file folder on the sofa table.

Kang Man-ho, the chairman who had ousted his brother and the iron-willed businesswoman sister to take over the Daeyoung Group’s headquarters.

President Min Byung-jin, who had come to him under the pretext of the second quarter’s conglomerate performance evaluation report, while his son Kang Young-jin’s appointment as vice president of electronics was being confirmed.

Could Min Byung-jin’s intention to visit the group’s headquarters at this timing be purely for the quarterly performance evaluation report?

Unlikely.

Pretending not to know even though he knew.

Chairman Kang Man-ho was just acting, curious about what was inside that file folder.

“I rushed a bit because there were a few praiseworthy items last quarter.”

“Praise? What’s the point of receiving praise at your age when you’re sitting in a position that should be giving it to others?”

“The recognition I can’t even get from my wife and children at home, I have to seek it out here. What joy would there be in life without such a consolation?”

“Try saying that in front of our father.”

“You really are something, Chairman. Do you think I’d be called to kneel before the senior chairman at my age?”

President Min Byung-jin opened the file folder he had prepared for Chairman Kang Man-ho’s easy viewing, turned it around, and laid it down, waiting for his inspection.

The overseas construction division, and the European region of the trading division.

As President Min meticulously reviewed the documents he brought, Chairman Kang Man-ho thought to himself.

The sales in the European division had indeed risen significantly compared to the same quarter last year.

It wasn’t that the overseas construction division was struggling; in fact, it had achieved a substantial sales growth of 4.6 percent compared to last year’s revenue, yet the difference with the European division was almost negligible.

But surely, President Min wasn’t presenting this early performance report just to show this.

At that moment, as he flipped through the pages to the performance evaluation of the China division, Chairman Kang couldn’t help but tilt his head in curiosity.

And President Min Byung-jin did not miss Chairman Kang’s reaction.

“We’ve started a new venture in the China division, targeting the FP distribution sector with Hainan coffee beans and capsules made from those beans.”

“Is that even profitable? Even if it is, how much could it really make? And if you’re going to do it, you should secure a wider and more diverse channel. Does it make sense to invest this much in a business dealing with just two coffee shop brands in distribution?”

To this, President Min Byung-jin, who had rarely shown confidence in front of Chairman Kang, replied with a newfound assertiveness.

“Director Yoon Tae-sik. I’m not sure if it’s appropriate to say this in front of you, sir, but every time I see him, I’m truly impressed.”

“Yoon Tae-sik?”

“Yes.”

“What about him?”

“He knows the value of people. That means he has an eye for talent.”

“What are you talking about?”

Chairman Kang heard the story about Director Jang Ki-won of the China division through President Min Byung-jin.

The China division had tried everything but still couldn’t find a breakthrough.

Director Jang Ki-won, who couldn’t escape responsibility for this.

The story went that Director Yoon Tae-sik, who had no ties to the China division, personally visited the president’s office to persuade President Min Byung-jin on behalf of Director Jang Ki-won.

“The journey we must embark on with President Kang Moon-jung is vast, spanning thousands of miles. Yet, he has the luxury to look around. That luxury comes from respect for people and loyalty to the organization. I call it ‘luxury,’ but how could it be just that? Despite his busy schedule, Director Yoon takes the time to stop and help a fallen colleague stand. He doesn’t just help them up; he supports them and walks with them.”

“So, is that a profitable business?”

“The atmosphere in the China division is reviving.”

“Since when did you become such a humanitarian, President Min? Are you really getting old?”

“The China division is currently building Daeyoung’s brand in China, which is more important than the current sales.”

At that, Chairman Kang’s eyes narrowed to slits.

“Director Yoon said this to Director Jang. ‘If there’s a general, there should also be a foolhardy soldier in business, right?'”

At that moment, the report President Min Byung-jin had prepared seemed insignificant to Chairman Kang.

“At first, I didn’t understand why Director Yoon was focusing on a business that required so much effort for such little margin. Starting with the Marco coffee machines.”

“But aren’t the Marco machines performing quite well?”

“The performance is unbelievably good. There’s a reference from Marco’s headquarters. In the last six months, our Daeyoung Corporation has doubled the sales that Taesung made in the Korean market over the past three years.”

Chairman Kang Man-ho is well aware.

The figures are not solely due to the FP division of distribution replacing all the machines in the establishments with Marco’s.

It was just a bit of assistance from the distribution side at the beginning, but now, it has resulted in a win-win situation where the industrial side significantly contributes to the distribution’s sales.

“We are currently preparing to enter the Chinese market with this system. Have you heard anything specific about this from the distribution side?”

It’s impossible to check and manage every single business plan across all affiliates in detail.

Especially for a division like the FP division of distribution, where the sales portion has clear limits, it’s even more challenging to manage in detail.

“The industrial division’s China branch is preparing to bring the FP division’s brand to China?”

“I’ve received reports that preparations are almost complete. The three local branches in China are ready to set up as soon as we get the signal from the distribution side.”

A single small item.

And a shift in thinking.

Did just that breathe new life into the industrial China branch that had been hitting rock bottom?

Although Chairman Kang Man-ho, being the son-in-law, should be more conservative in his evaluations, if everything President Min said is indeed a result of Yun’s ingenuity, then this is something that definitely deserves separate praise.

“If it weren’t for Director Yun’s request, I might have given up on Director Jang. That would have required a significant amount of time and cost to create the current atmosphere in the China branch, not to mention several stale personnel assignments. Isn’t that better than what I would have done?”

“That’s an overestimation on your part.”

“Chairman. Have you ever kept Director Yun Tae-sik by your side and observed him, like you did with President Kang Moon-jung and Vice President Kang Young-jin?”

“Kept by my side?”

“Besides the reports I submit, have you ever called Director Yun separately to sit down and discuss business matters? If you haven’t had the chance yet, perhaps you might consider doing so.”

President Min Byung-jin is someone who never crosses the line.

The fact that such words came from President Min’s mouth meant that it was something worth considering.

“I’ve been really curious lately.”

“About what?”

“I wonder what the outcome would be if Director Yun didn’t choose business items aligned with mutual growth with distribution, and instead, like Director Na Dae-woong, focused solely on the sales of the European division.”

“Na Dae-woong?”

“A person who was already capable of planning the establishment of the Madrid branch when he was just an agent. Surely he’s not focusing only on miscellaneous items like coffee machines and sherry wine because he lacks the vision for bigger profits?”

President Min spoke with a confident expression.

“He’s someone who would have soared far on his own by now. But instead, he’s deliberately maintaining his pace to go together with distribution.”

“Hmm…”

“Knowing all this, I still can’t say much to Director Yun. With just those items, he’s managed to boost the European division’s sales to such an extent, what can I say? And for Director Yun, supporting distribution where President Kang Moon-jung is, must be the most important thing.”

To President Min Byung-jin, who said this, Chairman Kang Man-ho responded with a pleased smile.

“Setting everything else aside, this is the first time I’ve seen you bring up Na Dae-woong’s name and praise someone to such an extent.”

“What meaning would my evaluation have? But by my standards, even this rating is insufficient.”

“I understand. I’ve taken note of everything you want to say.”

* * *

After President Min Byung-jin left, Chairman Kang Man-ho sat at his office desk for a long while, recalling the past year’s trade performance that Yun Seobang had established.

Once again, his father’s judgment was precise.

His father, who had suggested giving Yun Seobang, who had not yet married Moon Jeong-i, the position of head of the European division of trade after just a few minutes of testing.

Had his father anticipated such results a year ago?

At a time when everyone in the group, who had secured their positions, was solely focused on the succession structure of Young-jin and Moon Jeong-i, Chairman Kang Man-ho’s greatest concern was not the succession but his father’s health.

The existence of his father was synonymous with the name of Daeyoung, and Chairman Kang Man-ho believed that Daeyoung was his father.

Indeed.

For Chairman Kang Man-ho, preparing for a Daeyoung without the great Chairman Kang Ki-young was the biggest task at hand.

He opened his phone to look up his son-in-law’s number.

Yoon Tae-sik.

Why had he saved it so formally?

He then searched for his daughter-in-law Joo Yeon-hee’s number.

Surprisingly, her name was saved affectionately as “Dear Daughter.”

Feeling sorry for the son-in-law, he soon changed the saved name from Yoon Tae-sik to Yun Seobang.

And then he pressed the call button.

“Yes, I’ve answered the call, Chairman.”

Was it because he was the son-in-law?

It was clear from this call that not only he but also Yun Seobang still felt intimidated by him.

Was it because they were on the phone that it felt more so, even though he tried to be friendly in person?

“Do you have some time this evening?”

“This evening? Yes, I’m available.”

He liked that spirited response.

The son-in-law, who had moved into Pyeongchang-dong after that tilting marriage, had never shown a defeated demeanor.

Today, Chairman Kang Man-ho planned to share a drink alone with his son-in-law for the first time.

“How about we have dinner together this evening? We could have a drink and talk. Would that be alright?”

After finishing the call with Yun Seobang, Chairman Kang Man-ho immediately called Director Jang.

“I’m thinking of having a drink with Yun Seobang this evening, just the two of us. What should we eat?”

Director Jang was only confused in the face of that question.

The chairman of Daeyoung Group couldn’t decide on a dinner menu to share with his son-in-law, so he called to ask him?

It even seemed like he had pondered quite a bit before finally being unable to make a decision and sought him out.

“Perhaps choosing the menu that Executive Yoon likes would be…”

“Yoon’s husband seemed to enjoy sashimi quite a bit last time. How about Daedo for taking the young people these days?”

“That sounds good. Shall I make a reservation at Daedo Restaurant?”

“Daedo… Is that place alright?”

“I’ll make sure to tell them that the chairman is hosting a special guest and to pay extra attention.”

“Alright, then make the reservation there, and send Yoon’s husband the address.”

“Yes, I understand.”