President Woo Sung-il was as efficient as ever.
That was exactly why I had kept him in his position at the head of Taewoo Electronics.
It hadn't been more than a few hours since I mentioned wanting to meet Cyworld's CEO, Seo
Kwang-soo — yet here he was, already seated in the vice-chairman's office.
"Welcome. You must have been surprised by the sudden invitation."
"Not at all. It's an honor to be called by the vice-chairman of Taewoo Group."
It had been a while since I met someone around my own age.
Seo Kwang-soo first created Cyworld as a college graduation project, then officially launched the service after graduation. He was still in his late twenties, not yet 30.
"I came across Cyworld by chance — it's an excellent site. It has boundless potential for growth."
"Thank you for saying so. But right now, it's nothing more than a small-scale online community with only a handful of users."
Cyworld was the SNS platform that would sweep through South Korea in the mid-2000s.
However, at this point, the "Mini Homepage" feature that would become its signature hadn't even been introduced yet — making it a niche site known only to a small group of people.
"Taewoo Group can fill in the gaps you're lacking. How about joining hands with us?"
"Are you suggesting Taewoo Group would like to invest?"
I didn't bother dragging the conversation out.
I laid my investment and equity acquisition plan on the table right away — and Seo Kwang-soo's
interest was immediately piqued.
"We'll provide as much investment as you need. In return, Taewoo Group will acquire 49% of
Cyworld's shares."
"Could you tell me the exact amount of investment you're offering?"
"At least 5 billion won. If you need more, we're open to negotiation."
"5 billion won? Are you serious?"
At this stage, Cyworld wasn't worth even a fraction of that amount.
The platform was still in its infancy — even the popular features that would later make it a
sensation hadn't been developed yet.
But I called out such a large figure without hesitation.
It was a number driven by my confidence that, with Taewoo Group's backing, Cyworld's value
could skyrocket far beyond that.
"Along with the investment, we'll also provide manpower and server infrastructure support."
"Server support too? We've been experiencing frequent outages due to rising traffic… That's been our biggest headache."
For small startups, server costs were often the biggest hurdle.
Countless ventures went bankrupt simply because they couldn't afford proper server
infrastructure.
"Taewoo Telecom will handle your server needs. Additionally, Taewoo Electronics will provide
skilled engineers to support your development."
"Thank you! Thank you so much! But... I can't make the decision on my own right now. I'll need
to discuss it with my friends back at the company. We'll give you an answer by the end of this week — and even if they oppose, I'll drag them by the hair to sign the contract if I have to!"
Seo Kwang-soo blurted out the words in a single breath, looking as if he was ready to dash
straight out the door.
"Take your time. Here's my business card — reach out whenever you're ready."
"Thank you! Really, thank you so much!"
He clutched the business card tightly and sprinted out of the office.
I didn't hand out my business card to just anyone.
That's how much Cyworld meant to me.
If the iPhone was going to truly take off in South Korea, SNS platforms would be essential.
Cyworld could serve as the perfect bridge — filling the gap until Facebook inevitably made its
debut.
***
A few days later.
The vice president of KS Telecom personally visited the Cyworld office.
"Let me introduce him — he's one of our university seniors. When Taewoo Group showed
interest in our site, he came all the way here to give us some advice."
"Nice to meet you, sir! I attended one of your lectures back in school."
"It's a pleasure to meet such promising juniors. Would it be alright if I spoke comfortably?"
Korean society still operated heavily on personal connections.
The more prestigious the university, the stronger the sense of solidarity among its alumni.
"Of course, please speak comfortably. You're like a sky-high senior to us — it's only right."
"Come on now — there's no such thing as sky-high seniors once you're out in society. Just think of me as a fellow industry colleague. So, I hear Taewoo Group is looking to acquire shares in your company?"
"They proposed acquiring 49% of our shares for 5 billion won. The offer came directly from Vice
Chairman Kim Min-jae."
Vice President Park Dong-hee's lips curled into a knowing smile.
KS Telecom had been plagued by Taewoo Group for years.
They had already lost their number one market share to Taewoo Telecom — and the gap had
widened to a point where catching up seemed nearly impossible.
Taewoo Telecom's projects were always runaway successes.
The situation was so dire that during board meetings, KS Telecom's executives were now issuing orders to copy everything Taewoo Telecom was doing.
Now, it seemed Taewoo was about to embark on another ambitious project — and here was a rare opportunity to steal it away.
"How long has your company been running?"
"We're in our third year. We started developing the platform while still in school, then officially
registered the business after graduation."
"Then you probably haven't tasted how ruthless this world can be yet. You've heard stories about
big corporations sucking the technology out of startups and tossing them aside, haven't you?"
"We've heard the rumors."
"Well, Taewoo Group is infamous for that. They're not offering you 5 billion won to buy shares — they're investing 5 billion won to steal your technology."
"They promised to provide manpower and server infrastructure as well."
"Why do you think they're offering manpower? They're not helping you — they're sending their
engineers in to rip your technology from the inside out."
There was an undeniable weight to the words of a successful industry veteran.
And they'd all seen plenty of cases where small startups had their technology stolen by large
corporations — so they couldn't help but nod along.
"Come to think of it... I've never heard of a large corporation providing manpower to a startup
before."
"Exactly! And they offered to buy 49% of the shares, right? If they were serious about long-term partnership, they would have just acquired the entire company outright. The 49% stake is just a safety net — once they've drained you dry, they'll cut you loose."
"If it weren't for you, we might have made a huge mistake."
Park Dong-hee put on a benevolent smile.
Just a little more sweet-talking, and Cyworld would be KS Telecom's for the taking.
"I can't just sit back and watch my juniors suffer like that. I'll talk to the higher-ups at KS
Telecom and arrange for us to acquire Cyworld entirely."
"Wait... you mean a full acquisition?"
"You could get around 7 billion won — not in cash, but in KS Telecom stock. If Cyworld grows,
those stocks could be worth ten times more — maybe 700 billion won someday."
"Would such favorable terms really be possible? Cyworld doesn't have many users yet... and we
haven't developed any groundbreaking technology."
"It's not about your current value — it's about protecting you from being scammed. I'll handle
everything. All you need to do is sign the contract. What do you say we head out for a drink and discuss this in more detail?"
Park Dong-hee led the Cyworld executives out to a bar.
Meanwhile, KS Telecom's legal team was already drafting a contract.
By the time the paperwork was brought to the bar, the Cyworld founders were drunk out of their
minds.
Without even properly reviewing the contract, they stamped their seals on the papers.
***
The next day.
I visited the Technology Research Center for the first time in a while.
I was there to meet Jonathan, who was working on the initial design drafts.
"Jonathan! You came to Korea but didn't even call me?"
"I thought... you're too high up now for me to contact you directly, Vice Chairman."
"What are you talking about? We're comrades who went through tough times together!"
"Is that so? Then I'll reach out more comfortably from now on."
Jonathan showed polite humility.
Even though I was now the Vice Chairman of Taewoo Group, Jonathan himself was Apple's Head of Design, a position far from low-ranking.
"How's the TV design coming along?"
"I've designed phones and computers before, but designing a TV is a whole new challenge. It's
not easy to draft the initial concept. I've sketched a few ideas — would you like to see them?"
Jonathan pulled out his sketchbook and showed me.
Even after having seen countless TV designs in my past life, I couldn't help but be impressed.
As expected from the man behind Apple's groundbreaking designs — every sketch was exactly what I had in mind.
"I love all of them. Honestly, I want to put every single design into production."
"I'm approaching this with the same mindset as when I designed the iPhone — something simple
yet futuristic."
"Have you shown these to Steve yet?"
"Not yet — I want to finish a few more concepts before showing him. You know how meticulous
he is... If I don't sketch at least 50 different designs, he'll only approve one — if I'm lucky."
Jonathan grimaced at the mere mention of Steve Jobs.
If even Apple's top designer reacted this way, I could only imagine how much pressure Steve
must have put on him.
"Designs are meaningless if they can't be manufactured. Make sure you're working closely with the TV development team."
"I'm well aware of that. You have no idea how many fights I had with the engineers when we
were designing the iPhone."
I glanced back at the sketches.
Minimalism, geometric simplicity, perfect symmetry.
They exuded Apple's signature aesthetic.
Even though they were only rough sketches, I could already feel it — the Apple-Taewoo
TV would be a massive hit.
But the excitement didn't last long.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the Head of Planning Department rushing toward me.
His face was pale — something had clearly gone very wrong.
"Vice Chairman... KS Telecom has officially announced the acquisition of Cyworld. They've
acquired the entire company for 7 billion won, paid entirely in shares."
"They sold the company for only 7 billion won? And not even in cash?"
My offer had been far better in every aspect.
If Cyworld chose KS Telecom, something must have happened behind the scenes.
"Let's continue this conversation in the car. We're heading back to headquarters."
On the way to Taewoo IT, I listened to the full story from the Head of Planning Department.
"After our meeting, Vice President Park Dong-hee from KS Telecom visited Cyworld's office. It turns out Park Dong-hee and Cyworld's executives are alumni from the same university."
"So they used their senior status to force the deal through."
"We tried reaching out to Cyworld for more details, but they've completely cut off contact with us."
"With the acquisition already announced, they have no reason to answer our calls."
A long-forgotten rage began to rise inside me.
How dare they steal what I'd already marked as mine?
If they thought they could snatch Cyworld away and get away with it, they were sorely mistaken.
Even if I had to tear apart my entire plan and rebuild it from scratch, I would make sure
they regretted this decision for the rest of their lives.
"Take me to Taewoo IT. We need to come up with a countermeasure — immediately."
I'll make them regret it.
I would turn KS Telecom's acquisition of Cyworld into the worst decision they've ever made.
TL/n -
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