Before I knew it, the first half of 2005 had passed.
We didn't hold a full executive meeting; instead, I decided to get only a rough report through the planning director.
"Most of the affiliates are posting good results. Taewoo Electronics and Taewoo Semiconductor's sales increased by over 10%, and although Taewoo Motors' domestic market share only rose by 2%, its U.S. market share jumped nearly 8%. And Taewoo Construction has finally begun fullscale construction of the new headquarters building."
"Things are going very well."
Taewoo Electronics, Semiconductor, and Motors — these were already well-established systems that were running smoothly without much need for oversight.
"As for Taewoo Entertainment, we are preparing the second season of the audition program, and the albums of the winner and runner-up were released one month apart."
"How are the album sales?"
"The winner's album topped music shows and ranked first on digital music platforms for the month. The runner-up also achieved quite good results."
The momentum from the audition was still strong.
Like the saying goes, "Strike while the iron is hot," the winner's album was released quickly, allowing them to keep riding the wave of popularity.
"Proceed with producing the albums of the other contestants as well. If the production speed is slow, they might feel discriminated against."
"They are being handled sequentially. However, there are rumors that some of them have been in contact with other agencies."
I couldn't believe my ears.
These were 10 singers we secured with an investment of 10 billion won.
And yet, some of them were being poached by other agencies?
For the first time in a long while, I felt my blood boil.
"Be precise. Did other agencies approach them first, or did our singers reach out to other agencies?"
"It's both. For example, Kim Dajeong, who placed 4th in this audition, had a meal with an executive from SG Entertainment whom she was friendly with. After that, three other singers who were close to Kim Dajeong also met with SG Entertainment."
SG Entertainment.
SG Entertainment was a well-known agency in the music industry.
They were home to many singers who popularized the "cattle-driving" vocal style that dominated from 2004 to 2005.
"Did they just meet, or did they express intent to switch agencies?"
"They haven't said anything yet. But they've been coming to the practice room less often. Also, according to the Taewoo Entertainment staff, they took a copy of the contract with them."
"Is there anything problematic in the contract? Maybe they'll claim it's a 'slave contract' or something and demand cancellation."
"The contract was drafted directly by Taewoo Group's legal team. It was also reviewed by a law firm specializing in entertainment law, so there's absolutely no issue."
I tried to calm myself down.
Maybe I was overthinking the situation.
"Take good care of Kim Dajeong. The winner and runner-up's albums are out, but hers isn't yet, so she might be feeling neglected. Get her album production moving as fast as possible, and pay more attention to her welfare."
"All the songs for Kim Dajeong's album have already been composed. They're from one of Korea's top five composers. I'll also personally oversee the welfare concerns."
"Please look after the other singers as well."
"I'm sorry to make you worry about this personally, Vice Chairman. I'll handle it well as the middleman."
The planning director bowed deeply.
It was unusual for a vice chairman leading Taewoo Group to be involved in managing individual singers.
But since I had planned the audition program and founded Taewoo Entertainment, I didn't blame the director.
As July began and the weather grew hotter, I was already irritated by the heat. But what really made my blood boil was the news brought by Mr. Oh, the CEO of Taewoo Entertainment.
"Four singers, including Kim Dajeong, are demanding contract termination. If the contracts aren't terminated, they're threatening to take legal action."
"Is this related to SG Entertainment? There's no way a few singers would prepare a lawsuit on their own. There must be some force behind them, stirring things up."
"We don't have clear details yet. The singers demanding termination have stopped coming to the office, so it's difficult to even start a dialogue. We'll probably only understand the situation once the lawsuits begin."
Mr. Oh wasn't exactly an expert in handling this kind of crisis.
If someone were deliberately trying to poach singers, what could they do?
"Mr. Oh, please take good care of the other singers. I'll personally handle the contract termination issue."
"No, no! I'll try to resolve this on my end. It doesn't look good if the Vice Chairman gets involved directly."
"I'm not planning to get involved personally. I'll hire a professional to handle this matter. So please don't worry too much and focus on other projects. I know the atmosphere at Taewoo Entertainment must be unsettled, but you need to keep things steady."
Mr. Oh lowered his head as if he had become a criminal.
I patted his shoulder and encouraged him before sending him back to Taewoo Entertainment.
A little later, I left the office and went to Captain Kang's room.
"Captain Kang! I need your help after a long time."
"You've got a mission for me? I was just itching to do something besides running the taxi company."
"Do you know SG Entertainment? They're messing with Taewoo Entertainment."
"Isn't their CEO Kang Sugi?"
"Most likely."
"I've known them well for a long time. When I first joined the army, I was part of a gang crackdown operation, and Kang Sugi's name was on the list."
Gangsters and the entertainment business.
Before my return (to this world), the entertainment industry was mainly run based on expertise, but there were still plenty of cases where dirty money flowed in.
"So you're saying Kang Sugi is a gangster?"
"He's not exactly a gangster, more like a 'bandal.' He acts as a middleman between gangsters and legitimate businesses. They call him a 'bandal' because he's half gangster, half thug."
"Find his weak points. I want to smash SG Entertainment to pieces."
"We'll start 24-hour surveillance immediately. I already have some evidence from my military days, so catching him on something won't be difficult. I also know well which organizations Kang Sugi is connected with."
"Then I'll trust you with this. I don't want to drag this out. I want it handled before it becomes a big mess."
Captain Kang nodded confidently.
He immediately called in a few staff members, mostly those who had worked in intelligence roles during their military service.
"Starting today, we're putting a 24-hour tail on Kang Sugi, CEO of SG Entertainment. Deploy our taxi drivers around SG Entertainment. Contact everyone from executives to the lowest employees."
"Should we install wiretaps as well?"
"Don't go overboard with wiretaps—only if the opportunity arises. First, put a GPS tracker on Kang Sugi's vehicle and thoroughly monitor his movements."
I had nothing more to add.
For matters like this, Captain Kang was far more experienced and skilled than I was. I entrusted the entire operation to him.
Two days later.
The CEO of Taewoo Entertainment came to see me, his head bowed low.
"Vice Chairman, I am truly sorry."
"What happened now? Are there more artists wanting to leave the agency?"
"No, that's not it. I came to confirm that SG Entertainment is definitely behind Kim Dajeong."
"How did you verify that?"
"SG Entertainment's CEO, Kang Sugi, came to see me in person."
Not just a phone call, but he came in person?
Usually, these kinds of things are orchestrated behind the scenes.
If Kang Sugi himself showed up, it must mean he's confident of winning this fight.
"What did he say when he came?"
"He said we should resolve this amicably, but then threatened that we must release the four artists, including Kim Dajeong, unconditionally."
"What kind of evidence did he use to threaten you?"
"He claimed that we forced schedules on artists despite health issues, failed to deliver on album production promises, and didn't settle payments properly."
The reasons were utterly absurd.
Regarding health, Taewoo Entertainment was no small-time operation — it was connected with Taewoo Hospital and managed health more systematically than any other agency.
The albums were already fully produced.
And as for payments, the artists hadn't been active enough to generate any payments yet.
"Is there any evidence that would put us at a disadvantage in court?"
"There's nothing unfavorable legally, but if this turns into a public relations battle, Taewoo Entertainment would suffer losses."
"But wouldn't the other side suffer damage to their image as well?"
"SG Entertainment is already infamous in that regard, so they don't have much to lose in terms of image. They even subtly hinted that the four artists, including Kim Dajeong, are meant to be used as 'cannon fodder.'"
The world is unfair in a way.
When a scoundrel does something bad, people just accept it.
But when a good person makes a single mistake, they get finger-pointed.
"That means if this goes to court, Taewoo Entertainment and the artists will be the ones who suffer losses."
"To be honest, Taewoo Entertainment's image won't be severely damaged either. We've secured all the favorable evidence and can refute everything the other side has. After consulting the legal team, this is a fight we will win 100%."
"So it's just the artists who'll end up ruined."
"SG Entertainment seems to think that if the artists terminate their contracts, they gain more affiliated artists, and if the legal battle drags on, they have nothing to lose."
Is the entertainment industry devoid of ethics?
No, it's not the entire industry—it's SG Entertainment specifically.
Even gangsters wouldn't stoop this low, but this kind of dirty tactic is exactly what a 'bandal'—a half-gangster—would do.
"All that aside, I just don't understand what guts they have to pick a full-scale fight with Taewoo Group. Sure, SG Entertainment wields some influence in broadcasting, but taking on Taewoo Group like this is absurd, isn't it?"
"I can't understand it either. They're acting like they have a backer even bigger than Taewoo Group."
A backer bigger than Taewoo Group?
Could there really be a backer larger than Korea's number one conglomerate?
No matter how much I thought about it, no answer came to mind. So I decided to take the simplest approach to find out.
"I need to meet CEO Kang Sugi myself. Set up an appointment."
"You, Vice Chairman? Meeting someone like that will only lower your status. I'll handle it and talk to him."
"If meeting a single person lowers my status, then it's better I have no status at all. Arrange it at a Korean traditional restaurant in Myeongdong. Tell him to set the time."
"Understood. I'll try to schedule it as soon as possible."
I'll find out just how big that backer really is once we meet.
Strong as I am, I could probably figure out the backer in a few days through Captain Kang's intelligence team.
But my curiosity won't let me stay still.
No matter who the backer is, I'm confident I can crush them.
But it'll feel better knowing exactly who I'm crushing.