I Became the Youngest Daughter of a Chaebol Family-Chapter 126: The Crumbling Fortress (1)

Sampoong Group Headquarters, Meeting Room of Sampoong Construction.

[Report of cracks in Sampoong Department Store’s ceiling... Several experts raise possibility of collapse]

[Sampoong Construction dismisses: “Our department store is safe.” Claims the ceiling cracks are minor flaws, not structural issues with the building itself]

–Pak.

A stack of Sangam Daily newspapers slammed down hard onto the hardwood desk.

A growl-like sound came out of the old chairman’s mouth.

“Who was it? What bastard spread this kind of slander...?”

“S-sorry, Chairman.”

Bowed deeply. The employees trembled after seeing the front-page article criticizing Sampoong Department Store.

They were the central figures of this chaebol group, but... the title ‘owner of the group’ was not for show. One word from Chairman Lee Jun, and they could be replaced at any time—just spare parts.

Chairman Lee Jun of Sampoong Group, looking down at his subordinates with a dissatisfied gaze, ground his teeth and said:

“There’s definitely someone else behind this.”

At that moment, the man seated closest to the chairman hesitantly opened his mouth. He was Lee Cheon-sang, president of Sampoong Construction and the “irreplaceable part”—in other words, the group’s successor.

“Well... we suspect that Myeongil Department Store may have tipped off Seoul Daily...”

–Bang!

Chairman Lee Jun, now extremely enraged, slammed his desk and glared.

“You think I didn’t know that? Huh? But, Cheon-sang. Do you think it makes sense, logically, that that girl’s Myeongil Department Store would do such a thing?”

“...”

No one could answer that. Because logically, it didn’t make sense.

Even if Chairman Yoo Seong-pil doted on his granddaughter, he was known for drawing a firm line between business and family. Even among chaebols, it was famous that he wouldn’t grant authority unless capability was proven—even to his own children.

Would he really give his granddaughter the authority to attack another group head-on, on the front page of a newspaper?

“...Father, but still, it’s not entirely wrong, is it? Wouldn’t it be better to carry out some repair work now and bury it quietly...?”

Lee Cheon-woo, Executive Director of Sampoong Construction and third son of Chairman Lee Jun, said with frustration. He had a rough idea—the current state of Sampoong Department Store was quite dangerous.

But... ‘logically,’ that wasn’t going to happen.

Because the chairman, the one with final decision-making authority, would never allow it.

“You! Are you really my son saying that? Do you know how much we’d lose if we start repairs now?”

“Better than having it collapse! Accidents have been piling up lately, and people are already on edge—if something really big happens, they won’t just let it go.”

“At your age, you're saying things like that...? If you’re going to worry about public opinion, you shouldn’t be in business. Didn’t I always tell you that!”

Chairman Lee Jun furiously pushed back, seething.

“But sure, there’s one thing you got right. That Daehwa Group bastard—they’ll never let us be. Not the people, them!”

“...Daehwa Group? You mean Daehwa Construction?”

Lee Cheon-sang asked in confusion. Lee Jun, calming his anger a bit, answered with a hardened expression.

In his mind, this was a serious crisis.

“You can tell just by looking. This is Yoo Seong-pil’s work. He acts all good-natured, always smiling, but dig deeper and he’s a schemer who manipulates people from behind. That guy might act like a gentleman, but he can’t fool eyes trained in the Korean CIA, no sir.”

Daehwa Construction? Myeongil Department Store? Weren’t those just shares Yoo Seong-pil handed out like favors?

These young punks didn’t know how skilled Yoo Seong-pil was at deception back in the day...

Would the department store really collapse? No way. At most, maybe some ceiling would crumble or sag. The reinforced concrete was plenty strong.

So this had to be Yoo Seong-pil’s doing.

The moment his thoughts reached that point, Chairman Lee Jun felt a chill run down his spine. He remembered the recent collapse of the Seongsu Bridge.

Ever since then, regulations in the construction industry had become extremely strict. And how fussy they were, using the excuse that the chairman’s granddaughter got injured...

‘Granddaughter... Myeongil Department Store... No way? No, no. Even Yoo Seong-pil wouldn’t go so far as to bring down a bridge just to destroy my department store...’

He rubbed his wrinkled arm, now covered in goosebumps.

“Phew... What the hell did I do wrong to deserve this damned mess. Seriously, at that age he should just quietly retire to the back room...”

A few people present nearly nodded their heads instinctively, but fortunately, Chairman Lee Jun didn’t see it.

“...”

Lost deep in his own thoughts, Chairman Lee Jun soon called for Lee Cheon-sang.

“Cheon-sang, go to Sangam Daily.”

“Ah, yes, understood, Chairman.”

It wasn’t a strange order. For a media outlet to expose a chaebol’s dirt so brazenly—it was almost like a declaration of war.

And Sangam Daily was a well-known conservative newspaper that split off from Daehwa Group. It made perfect sense that Sampoong’s next-in-line would go protest.

“If possible, get the article pulled. If that’s not doable, at least look into the circumstances. Find out who gave the order—that’s what I’m saying.”

His mind was working in overdrive, trying to identify where something had gone wrong.

Of course, because he was completely ignoring the most important issue—safety—he would never find the correct answer.

***

Sangam Daily is one of South Korea’s three major conservative newspapers.

The founders were Yoo Seong-pil, chairman of Daehwa Group, and Do Seon-gi, a former Minister of the Interior. While the CEO position had passed to Do Yeong-il—Do Seon-gi’s son and Yoo Seong-pil’s son-in-law—the paper was still effectively a Daehwa Group affiliate.

There had been strong public perception that the media was subordinated to the chaebols, and many expected the paper to decline. But even after the civilian government took office, Sangam Daily retained its influence thanks to clever maneuvering.

So it wasn’t strange that Chairman Lee Jun had immediately drawn the connection to Daehwa Group.

“...Uh, ah. Hello.”

“Haha, speak comfortably. Aren’t we the same age?”

Do Yeong-il, CEO of Sangam Daily, greeted him with a smile. Lee Cheon-sang wiped cold sweat from his brow as he forced a handshake.

‘I didn’t expect the CEO himself to show up.’

He cursed inwardly. Looks like Father’s guess had been right.

Do Yeong-il. Husband of Yoo Seon-young, the only daughter of Chairman Yoo Seong-pil, who otherwise had three sons.

Naturally from a prestigious family background. Aside from a few minor details—like his father Do Seon-gi having been sentenced to death for ordering troops to fire on protesters during the April 19th Revolution, and his name appearing in the pro-Japanese collaborator registry—his background was impeccably clean.

You couldn’t exactly fault the CEO for coming out directly. It was a very serious matter, and as he had said, the two were about the same age.

In South Korea, age is a serious matter.

That’s why Lee Cheon-sang was able to get right to the point with Do Yeong-il.

“I’ll be frank. How could Daehwa Group do this to us?”

Do Yeong-il chuckled slyly and stroked his chin.

“Hmmm, Sangam Daily maintains an independent editorial stance from Daehwa Group. You understand what I mean... right?”

In other words, he couldn’t officially acknowledge any connection. Lee Cheon-sang, realizing his blunder, immediately apologized.

“...I misspoke. I’m sorry.”

“Haha, it’s fine. We still have a bit of time before the affiliate split is finalized. Officially, we’re still a Daehwa Group subsidiary, so it’s understandable you’d think that way.”

‘So he’s basically admitting it, dammit...’

He cursed silently, but Do Yeong-il wasn’t someone the heir of a mid-sized chaebol could speak to recklessly.

These days, being a newspaper CEO was like being a shadow emperor of the underworld, especially after democratization when the military regime’s suppression disappeared. And during election seasons, their influence skyrocketed like mad.

Do Yeong-il, having already asserted dominance once, smiled knowingly and brought over a newspaper copy.

–Tuk tuk.

[Report of cracks in Sampoong Department Store ceiling... Several experts raise possibility of collapse]

“This is what you came about, right? I’m not that heartless, you know.”

A heavily featured column. It even included an op-ed by a professor of architecture.

The tone was as if he’d seen a building that never should’ve existed in this world—and was about to disappear from it. As someone in construction, Lee Cheon-sang couldn’t possibly accept it.

Everyone else was doing the same—so what exactly had they done wrong?

“Yes, thanks to this, our customers’ complaints are piling up. You know, right? Our department store doesn’t even open branches—we only sell from our main store...”

And yet, Sampoong Department Store boasted one of the highest sales in the country. It raked in tens, even hundreds of billions of won daily.

“To speak generally... well, safety issues are a hot topic in society these days. Our chief editor’s been particularly focused on that area, which is probably why the article came out.”

Lee Cheon-sang calmed himself and tried to steer the conversation.

“Then, what’s the truth behind it?”

Do Yeong-il glanced around casually, then made a gesture as if to whisper and said:

“Would you believe me if I told you it was at the request of Myeongil Department Store?”

“...”

Everyone already knew this. No—how could you not know, when the article came out and they immediately followed up with ads claiming theirs was the “safe department store”?

It was like being told a secret study tip from the class valedictorian, only to hear “Just study from the textbook.” That’s how ridiculous it felt.

And the CEO of Sangam Daily just smiled and nodded.

“Haha, if you don’t believe it, there’s not much I can do.”

Do Yeong-il stroked his chin again as if he understood everything. His face was insufferably smug.

‘You call that an answer...?!’

Some brat who just entered high school—one who maybe knew a bit about fashion or luxury, but nothing about construction—playing the part of a reckless little girl...

How could she possibly move the largest media outlet in Korea?

Even lies should have limits. The very idea of using some clueless relative as a shield—Lee Cheon-sang was trembling with disgust.

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