As the cold dawn air finally began to fade and bright sunlight streamed through the large floor-to-ceiling windows of the spacious living room, Chairman Park Tae-hong awoke and stepped out of his bedroom.
"You're up, Chairman."
Gunsan-daek, wearing an apron, bowed politely as she saw him.
Chairman Park gave a light nod in return and walked toward the living room.
"Bring me a cup of hot coffee."
"Yes, Chairman."
Beyond the enormous glass window that covered an entire wall of the living room, the garden was already filled with the warmth of spring.
Fresh green sprouts peeked through the soil, and the magnolia tree—just beginning to bloom—stood tall in elegant form.
Chairman Park sat in his usual seat and picked up one of the neatly arranged morning newspapers on the table.
The front-page headline immediately caught his eye.
[Hyunwoo Group Sibling Management Dispute Intensifies!]
He read the article silently, then let out a soft, disapproving click of his tongue.
"He may be old and in poor health, but Honorary Chairman Jung is still alive and aware. And yet his sons are already fighting over control of the group… It's pathetic."
At that moment, Madam Jo Deok-rye approached, touching her hair as she asked:
"What's making you click your tongue so early in the morning?"
"Here, look at this."
Chairman Park handed her the newspaper.
She glanced over the article, sighed, and sat on the opposite sofa with a troubled expression.
"A management fight between the Hyunwoo brothers… Chairman Jung's household must be full of worry."
Chairman Park tossed the newspaper onto the table and said:
"Honestly, it's a mess he brought on himself."
At his pointed remark, Madam Jo Deok-rye glanced at her husband.
"I heard Chairman Jung was especially fond of his fifth son."
Chairman Park Tae-hong opened a wooden box on the table, took out a cigarette, placed it between his lips, and lit it before replying.
"He favored Chairman Jung Jae-won the most among his eleven children. The boy resembled him, and though quiet, he had a gambler's instinct when it mattered. The chairman saw a lot of himself in him."
"When you raise many children, it's natural to feel drawn to one in particular. Still, considering Chairman Jung Yong-gil has carried the role of the eldest ever since the first son died in that accident, he must feel slighted."
Letting out a puff of smoke, Chairman Park nodded.
"That's exactly why the honorary chairman should've settled things properly beforehand. Dragging it out only created this mess."
Madam Jo grimaced and waved her hand in disgust before he could finish.
"Oh, honestly! Why smoke first thing in the morning? It's terrible for your health!"
"You're overreacting."
"You're filling the whole house with cigarette smell. At least step into the garden if you have to smoke."
"Don't scold me. It's not exactly someone else's problem—I'm already irritated thinking about it."
He muttered with a troubled expression, and though she frowned, she said nothing more.
Just then, Gunsan-daek brought over a tray with steaming coffee, set it on the table, and returned to the kitchen.
Holding the cigarette between his fingers, Chairman Park picked up the cup and took a sip.
"So what's going to happen to Hyunwoo Group now?"
"I don't know. One thing's certain, though—once brothers turn against each other, you can forget about seeing the kind of unity they had under the old chairman."
Madam Jo nodded slightly.
"When family breaks apart, they can end up as lifelong enemies."
In fact, being family meant the rift could become even deeper, impossible to mend.
"When I think about it, having our children get along without fighting over inheritance… that's a blessing people underestimate."
"That's true."
Like Honorary Chairman Jung, who favoured his fifth son, Chairman Park himself had long felt his heart drawn toward Seok-won, who displayed exceptional qualities.
His eldest son had sensed that shift early on and initially kept a wary eye on Seok-won.
Even if he had no intention of treating his brother as a rival, the surrounding atmosphere could easily push things in that direction.
Fortunately, before anything escalated, Seok-won made it clear he had no interest in taking control of Daheung Group. That allowed the succession plan to be settled smoothly.
If he hadn't done that, the sibling conflict erupting in Hyunwoo Group right now would not have been someone else's story.
"But seeing how relaxed you are… does that mean you're going in late today?"
"No. I'm taking the day off."
At that, Madam Jo Deok-rye's expression shifted to concern.
"Are you feeling unwell?"
"No, nothing like that."
"If you're not sick, then why skip work? You never miss a day."
Puzzled, she looked at him closely. Chairman Park took another sip of coffee before answering.
"It's time for the eldest to start taking over the group. I should begin handing things off, one step at a time."
"Oh my, that's a wonderful idea. You really should start taking things easier."
Madam Jo clapped her hands in delight.
She had always fussed over his health—herbal tonics, restorative meals, anything she could think of—so this news was more than welcome.
Truthfully, Chairman Park felt that he could stay active for another twenty years if he chose to.
However, as the Hyunwoo Group situation demonstrated, excessive attachment to power can lead to trouble later. So even if it felt a little bittersweet, he decided it was right to pass the reins to his eldest son and step back naturally.
"Yes. With time, it's only proper to hand things over to the next generation."
Just then, Gunsan-daek called out that breakfast was ready. Chairman Park pressed out his cigarette in the ashtray and rose from his seat together with his wife.
***
[Hyunwoo Construction - 5,550 (+620)]
Dressed in a crisp white shirt and a luxury tie, Seok-won sat alone at the modern, minimalist desk in his chairman's office, his expression unreadable as he watched the stock prices of Hyunwoo Group affiliates across three side-by-side monitors.
A light knock sounded. Choi Ho-geun, wearing a gray suit, stepped inside.
Seok-won pointed toward the sofa with a tilt of his chin.
"Sit there."
"Yes, sir."
As Seok-won rose with a thin file in hand and moved around the desk to take the main seat, Choi waited standing for a moment before sitting on the three-seater sofa to his right.
Crossing one leg over the other, Seok-won glanced at the upright-sitting Choi and spoke first.
"Hyunwoo Construction hit the upper limit again today."
Choi answered with a full smile.
"While many Hyunwoo subsidiaries are weak due to the management dispute, four of them—Construction, Securities, Elevator, and Shipping—have been hitting the upper limit every day."
His eyes shone with admiration as he looked at Seok-won.
"Hyunwoo Construction alone has already gained one hundred thirty-one point two five percent."
Knowing the "war of princes" was coming, Seok-won had bought shares in the key affiliates that formed the backbone of Hyunwoo Group's circular shareholding. The bet had paid off perfectly.
"That's more than enough profit. Sell all Hyunwoo Group affiliate shares except for automotive."
Choi's eyes widened at the unexpected order.
"You want us to sell everything now?"
"That's right."
If the succession fight escalated into an actual race to secure shares, stock prices could skyrocket.
So hearing that every share should now be dumped was naturally shocking.
A thought struck him, and Choi leaned forward and asked:
"You're not saying you've detected signs that the management dispute will be resolved early, are you?"
The surge in stock prices was driven entirely by expectations of a share-acquisition battle. If the conflict between the brothers ended, the stock would crash that very day.
"It's possible, but there's an even bigger time bomb."
"A time bomb?"
As Choi looked at him in confusion, Seok-won lifted the thin file he'd brought and held it out.
Choi accepted it reflexively, looking down at the folder before asking:
"What is this?"
"See for yourself."
Puzzled, Choi opened the file and examined the documents inside.
The more he read, the stiffer his expression became. Eventually, he looked up with his brows tightly drawn together.
Seok-won spoke in a calm tone.
"These are the records showing that Hyunwoo Investment Trust bundled all its bad loans together to create a sort of financial dumpster—a bad fund. Then they slipped the junk securities issued by that fund into other healthy funds without their investors' knowledge, forcing the losses onto them."
"So in short, they dumped their own insolvency onto their fund customers."
"Exactly."
Leaning back into the soft sofa, Seok-won continued.
"According to the documents, just two of the funds they manage illegally absorbed 156.2 billion won worth of bad assets without notifying investors, causing losses of 30 billion won."
"..."
Seeing Choi's expression turn grave, Seok-won added:
"A civic group has already found out. They're planning to hold a press conference soon to expose Hyunwoo Investment Trust's illegal fund management. The documents you're holding are part of the material they prepared."
Choi slowly set the file down, speaking with caution.
"If this gets exposed, the impact will be big… but even if Hyunwoo Investment Trust's stock falls, the other affiliates won't be affected that much, will they?"
"Under normal circumstances, maybe."
Choi frowned, not yet understanding the implication.
"Do you know how much total debt Hyunwoo Group is carrying?"
"Roughly thirty trillion won, from what I recall."
"As of last month, the exact figure is thirty trillion nine hundred eighty-nine billion. Of that, four trillion ninety-eight billion won is short-term debt—corporate paper that needs to be repaid within a year."
Choi still looked unsure, so Seok-won explained again:
"Now imagine this: investors find out that their money was used to cover bad loans, and they start pulling their funds out of Hyunwoo Investment Trust. Picture a large-scale bank run. What do you think happens next?"
Choi's eyes widened.
"With over three trillion won in debt and already in a capital impairment state—relying on government bailout funds—Hyunwoo Investment Trust won't be able to contain it. The shock will spill over to the entire Hyunwoo Group."
"Exactly. And the group is already a mess because of the succession battle. With thirty trillion won in debt, they won't have the capacity to save the investment arm. Then investors, remembering Daekwang Group's bankruptcy last year, will panic and start dumping Hyunwoo stocks."
"That's… very likely."
Choi nodded, his expression now much more serious.
"That's why I want everything sold while there's still buying pressure and while we're still sitting on profit."
"I understand. I'll liquidate the entire position as instructed."
Satisfied, Seok-won gave his next directive.
"And once the scandal breaks and Hyunwoo Group's stock price collapses, wait for my signal—then secure more than ten percent of Hyunwoo Precision."
"Hyunwoo Precision?"
Choi repeated the name, puzzled. Seok-won smiled, showing a row of white teeth.
"That's right."
It made no sense on the surface—Hyunwoo Precision wasn't even a core affiliate. But Choi trusted that there was a deeper reason he wasn't privy to.
"I'll take care of it."
Hyunwoo Precision, which handled railcars, aerospace parts, specialty vehicles, and automotive components, had once been a major company within the group. After years of spinning off its divisions and selling others to affiliates, it had shrunk considerably.
Small now, but still the second-largest shareholder of Hyunwoo Motors, holding 5.57 percent of its shares.
If Jung Yong-gil—the losing brother in the management battle—ever tried to carve out the automotive division into an independent subgroup, Hyunwoo Precision would almost certainly become its holding company.
If I secure control of both the automotive division and Hyunwoo Precision in advance, Jung Yong-gil will never be able to act freely again.
Imagining how stunned Jung Yong-gil would be when he eventually discovered Hyunwoo Precision had fallen into his hands, Seok-won's smile deepened.