September 10, 2002, Yeouido, Seoul.
As Seok-won entered the office suite with Manager Han Ji-seong, the secretariat staff—already at work—rose from their desks in unison.
"Good morning, Chairman."
"Good morning, everyone."
Seok-won gave a light nod in acknowledgment of the greeting.
As he continued walking and stepped into his private office, the view he had come to love most since relocating the headquarters to the 63 Building unfolded before his eyes.
Beneath a vivid blue sky, the unobstructed panorama of the Han River stretched out endlessly—nothing short of a masterpiece.
The Yeouido Hangang Park, blanketed entirely in lush greenery, and the river flowing leisurely beyond it created a refreshing sight just by looking at it.
While Manager Han Ji-seong carefully placed the briefcase on the desk, Na Seong-mi, who had followed in behind, took his jacket, hung it on a hanger, and neatly stored it in one side of the wardrobe.
"There's nothing scheduled for this morning, right?"
"Yes. Aside from a luncheon at noon that will also serve as a meeting with the heads of our affiliates, you have no other engagements."
At Na Seong-mi's response, dressed neatly in a two-piece suit, Seok-won nodded.
"Alright. Oh, and bring me a strong Americano."
"Yes, sir."
Na Seong-mi and Manager Han Ji-seong bowed before straightening up and stepping outside.
Leaning back into the plush leather chair, Seok-won, as always, let his gaze settle on the headlines of the major daily newspapers neatly arranged on one side of his desk.
[President Bush Declares 'Decisive Action' Against Iraq]
[White House to Submit 'Iraq Action Plan' to Congress Within 48 Hours]
[U.S. Military Action Against Iraq Imminent]
Following his strongly worded condemnation of Iraq's dictatorial regime during his address at the United Nations General Assembly, President Bush made it clear once again in an interview aboard Air Force One on his return to Washington that military action was on the table.
Among the various newspapers, Seok-won picked one up and slowly read the article featured on the front page.
The article detailed President Bush's remarks that Iraq's sudden decision to allow the return of UN weapons inspectors immediately after the UN speech was merely a delaying tactic, and that, for the sake of security, not only in the Middle East but across the world, the Iraqi regime must be brought down.
"The Iraqi dictatorship poses the most direct threat to the safety of Americans and the world, so if the United Nations does not take action, the United States will take every measure it can on its own…."
Seok-won murmured as he quietly looked down at the photograph of President Bush, surrounded by reporters inside the aircraft, wearing a resolute expression.
"With him dropping such a massive bombshell like that, it's no surprise the stock market went into chaos overnight."
Even before the UN address, most had already anticipated that strong rhetoric would be delivered.
However, when he unleashed remarks far beyond expectations—words that were essentially tantamount to a declaration of war—the market was completely overturned.
The moment President Bush's statement became known, a wave of panic selling began. In the end, the Dow plunged below the 8,000 mark, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed down sharply by 2.85% and 3.01%, respectively.
The shockwave that erupted in the United States crossed the Pacific and, with the break of dawn, was shaking the Asian stock markets.
Korea was no exception, reeling from the aftershock as well.
[KOSPI : 704.12 34.73]
[KOSDAQ : 53.68 11.02]
Moving the mouse to bring up the stock window on his monitor, Seok-won calmly watched the two major indices plunge sharply the moment the market opened, sliding steeply downward.
"Excuse me."
At that moment, Na Seong-mi entered after knocking and set the coffee she had brought on a tray down on the desk.
"Thank you."
A soft smile spread across Seok-won's face at the rich aroma of the beans, enough to lift his mood.
"You're welcome. Also, Director Eom Tae-jun is here. What would you like me to do?"
"Tell him to come in."
"Yes."
As Na Seong-mi gave a brief reply and opened the door, Director Eom Tae-jun, dressed in a gray suit, walked inside.
Watching him approach the desk and bow politely in greeting, Seok-won asked,
"What is it?"
Director Eom Tae-jun then respectfully held out the approval folder he had been carrying and stated his purpose.
"I've brought the approval document for the Typhoon Rusa disaster relief fund that you instructed last time."
"Ah, I see."
Taking the folder and opening it, Seok-won spoke as he reviewed its contents.
"We've decided that the entire group will contribute 10 billion won."
"Yes. Rather than having each affiliate make separate donations for the recovery effort, we thought it would be better in many ways to combine everything into a single contribution."
"That would certainly look better."
"The amount has been allocated proportionally based on each affiliate's revenue."
With the Hyundai Group having been split into several parts due to the succession struggle, the Samsung Group had risen to the top of the business world. Considering that they had donated 10 billion won for typhoon recovery efforts, this amount actually felt somewhat on the higher side.
"If we were to match the amounts of other groups with similar rankings, even 5 billion won would be sufficient, but taking the Chairman's reputation into account, we decided on the same amount as the Samsung Group."
Director Eom Tae-jun spoke while cautiously glancing at Seok-won.
"I hold the title of the world's richest, after all. If we just put forward a token amount to save face, we'd end up being called stingy even after spending money. Don't you think?"
"Th-that…"
Caught off guard, Director Eom Tae-jun faltered, his lips parting slightly.
Unable to bring himself to deny it, he hesitated with an awkward expression, prompting a faint chuckle from Seok-won.
"I'm not scolding you, so don't worry. It's not like the money is being used elsewhere—it's going to help those displaced by the typhoon. There's no reason to be stingy about it."
As Seok-won brushed it off casually, Director Eom Tae-jun let out a quiet sigh of relief.
However, for some reason, instead of signing right away, Seok-won tapped the desk lightly with his fingertips, lost in thought for a moment, before soon picking up his favored Montblanc fountain pen.
Then, without hesitation, he drew bold lines across the number written in the amount field.
"C-Chairman?"
Startled by the sudden action, Director Eom Tae-jun's eyes widened, while Seok-won calmly wrote a new figure beneath the crossed-out amount.
"Let's change the amount and make the donation like this."
Seok-won closed the cap of his fountain pen, a satisfied expression on his face.
￦ 100,000,000,000
Seeing that an extra zero had been added at the end, Director Eom Tae-jun looked as if he might faint.
"A-Are you saying we should donate 100 billion won?"
"Don't you think we need to give at least that much to maintain our reputation?"
Leaning back comfortably, Seok-won replied with a faint smile, as if making a joke.
"But 100 billion won is far too much!"
"The company will contribute the original 10 billion as planned, and I'll personally cover the remaining 90 billion, so there's no need to worry."
"What?"
Director Eom Tae-jun's eyes widened even further.
"You mean you'll pay that entire amount out of your own personal funds, Chairman?"
"That's right."
Seok-won nodded as if it were nothing.
No matter how wealthy a conglomerate owner might be, handing over 90 billion won in cash all at once was by no means an easy task.
It was even more so considering that most of a chaebol owner's assets were typically tied up in shares of their group companies.
Breaking into a cold sweat internally, Director Eom Tae-jun suddenly parted his lips in realization.
It was the expression of someone who had belatedly remembered that Seok-won was a global super-rich figure, incomparable to other domestic conglomerate owners.
'I see… I momentarily forgot what kind of person the Chairman is.'
Director Eom Tae-jun steadied his startled heart and thought to himself.
Even without knowing the exact figures, Seok-won's wealth would far exceed the combined fortunes of not only the Samsung Group but also the top ten conglomerate families in the business world.
Unlike other chaebol families that controlled entire groups through complex cross-shareholding structures with only minor stakes, Seok-won was the largest shareholder in most affiliates, including Bluehole Venture Capital, which functioned as the holding company of the Bluehole Group.
'Even just calculating the value of the group shares the Chairman holds, it would easily amount to several trillion won.'
What was even more astonishing was that the Bluehole Group shares made up only a small fraction of Seok-won's total wealth.
Recalling that just from last year's dividends alone, he had received over 400 billion won from Bluehole Venture Capital and its affiliates, Director Eom Tae-jun felt somewhat embarrassed for having overreacted.
Though still young, Seok-won was an extraordinary super-rich figure—something Eom Tae-jun realized once again as admiration and respect filled his gaze.
Meanwhile, Seok-won calmly continued speaking, his fingers interlaced.
"Hmm. Now that I think about it, it might be better to just cover the full 100 billion with my personal funds and make the number clean."
"…Then are you saying that, in total, 110 billion won will be donated for the typhoon disaster recovery fund?"
"That's right."
Though it was still an amount that made his heart race, Director Eom Tae-jun nodded without showing the same level of shock as before.
"Once the donation amount is revealed, everyone will be astonished. It's possible that the amount contributed by you and our group could exceed the total recovery funds raised elsewhere."
Seok-won looked at Director Eom Tae-jun standing before him with a serious expression and said,
"I heard that this typhoon caused over 200 deaths and left as many as 90,000 people displaced."
Receiving his gaze, Director Eom Tae-jun responded with a sombre expression.
"Yes. The storm itself was powerful, but unlike other typhoons, it moved very slowly as it passed straight through the center of the Korean Peninsula, which made the damage even worse. On top of that, Gangneung recorded a historic rainfall of 870.5 millimeters in a single day—an immense deluge—and with strong winds added to the mix, the situation deteriorated even further."
Seok-won responded in a heavy voice.
"I heard the damage was so severe that the name 'Rusa' will never be used again for a typhoon."
"That's correct."
Indeed, considering the scale of destruction it had caused, it was understandable that the name would be removed entirely from the list to prevent such a horrific memory from being repeated.
"I hope that this donation can offer at least some comfort to the residents who have suffered and fallen into despair, and help them find the strength to stand again."
Director Eom Tae-jun bowed his head with deep respect.
"It will not only be of great help to those affected, but everyone will also come to understand the warmth of your intentions, Chairman."
Seok-won gave a slight smile and handed the approval folder back to Director Eom Tae-jun.
"I'll make sure the funds are transferred within today, so proceed as discussed."
"Yes, understood."
After Director Eom Tae-jun took the approval folder and left, Seok-won lifted the still-warm coffee to his lips and took a sip.
"Even after making a donation for the typhoon recovery, considering the profits I'll make from this bet, my cash balance will actually increase."
Having achieved the paradox of his wealth growing even as he spent money, Seok-won murmured in a relaxed manner.
He then moved the mouse and, seeing that the already wavering yen and the Japanese stock market were forming long bearish candles under the impact of a massive negative shock from the United States—recording the steepest decline among Asian markets—drew a deep smile across his lips.