029 Making Time to Attend the Shareholders' Meeting

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What propelled SBS to instant fame was the legendary 1995 drama "Sandglass," which boasted an average viewership rating of 46% and peaked at 64.5%.

It was the first drama to address sensitive issues such as the Gwangju Uprising, perfectly blending major historical events with artistic creation.

SBS, short for Seoul Broadcasting System, struggled to expand beyond Seoul in its early years and faced the risk of bankruptcy. The success of "Sandglass" opened up the national market, allowing it to stand alongside KBS and MBC.

The drama’s lead actress, Go Hyun-jung, retired from the industry after the show ended to marry into the Shinsegae Group, part of the pan-Samsung family.

Even the rookie actor Lee Jung-jae, who played the bodyguard in a supporting role, sparked a craze for Kendo among the youth thanks to his impressive sword skills.

It is hard to imagine that such a drama was funded by a real estate tycoon who began as an aide to a conservative lawmaker (under the Park administration) and was backed by a moderate lawmaker (under the Roh administration).

This man was Yoon Se-young, the founder and first chairman of Taeyoung Engineering & Construction.

It was hardly surprising, however, as he had his own agenda.

For instance, why were all the villains portrayed with Jeolla-do accents, while the heroes were from Gyeongsang-do? And why was the protagonist a former gang member?

From the very beginning, SBS and its parent company, Taeyoung Engineering & Construction, remained firmly rooted on the right, maintaining a staunchly pro-business and pro-chaebol stance.

Five years ago, the first chairman of Taeyoung, Yoon Se-young, said at a lunch meeting for senior executives:

"Do not criticize her," "To gain the President's support, we must help her," "We are grateful to the President," and "We have benefited from her."

Three years ago, when this came to light, Yoon Se-young and his son, Yoon Suk-min, were forced to resign from their management positions at SBS.

A year ago, Yoon Suk-min succeeded his father as the second chairman of Taeyoung Engineering & Construction.

Today, in June 2020, Yoon Yun-hui took some time out of his schedule to head to the Taeyoung headquarters in Yeouido to attend the shareholders' meeting.

Yun-hui changed his clothes, wearing a suit for a rare occasion.

"Brother Hui, I guessed you would look handsome in a suit, but I didn't expect you to look this good. You were born to wear one."

Assistant Kim was acting purely as a driver at this moment.

"The man wears the suit; the suit does not wear the man."

Yun-hui wore a simple, slightly expensive off-the-rack suit with no extra accessories, save for the gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose.

He was not nearsighted; they were just frames.

"That's enough. Wait for me here."

Carrying a briefcase, Yun-hui entered the aging building.

The venue was well-prepared. The main agenda for this shareholders' meeting was the restructuring of the group. Of course, the necessary discussions had already concluded last year, and they had simply been waiting for the approval of the Korea Communications Commission.

Indeed, Taeyoung Engineering & Construction, a real estate firm, is subject to additional oversight by the Korea Communications Commission due to its ownership of the SBS television network.

On the second of June, the approval finally came through.

"Director Yoon, so you really did come to the shareholders' meeting. I am [Name] from [Name] Securities. Here is my business card."

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As soon as he entered the hall, a securities firm manager ran over to greet Yun-hui.

"Hello."

Yun-hui exchanged a few brief words, handed over his own card, and then followed the guidance of a Taeyoung secretary into the hall.

"Who was that young man? A director? Could it be..."

"Don't talk nonsense; just look for yourself."

The securities manager showed the business card to his newly acquainted friend: [Yoon Taek-ro, Director of the Songdo Memorial Foundation].

"So it was him..."

The friend showed immediate respect, and the manager nodded.

That Director Yoon rarely made public appearances, so not recognizing him was normal, but if one didn't know about the Songdo Memorial Foundation, one would have to reconsider whether that new friend was worth associating with.

There were no surprise encounters. Once the approval from the Korea Communications Commission arrived, Yun-hui knew that the landscape for SBS would not change over the next two years.

Clearly, after the two chairmen were forced to resign three years ago, Taeyoung Engineering & Construction—which had always sat on the right—had bypassed the Songdo Memorial Foundation to make contact with the Democratic Party.

As to whom they had connected with, it was not yet clear, but the answer was surely limited to those few rising political stars.

Regardless of who it was, no one could refuse the overtures of a media outlet like SBS.

With such a card in hand, one would inevitably feel the urge to play it. After all, they were not trusted confidants, and both sides needed actions to build mutual trust.

Yun-hui waited for the day when the SBS news department would suddenly launch a large-scale report on someone's negative news.

That person's opponent would undoubtedly be the one with whom Taeyoung was secretly colluding.

As the Songdo Memorial Foundation was the second-largest shareholder of both Taeyoung Engineering & Construction and SBS, Yun-hui sat in the front row.

He met with the second-generation chairman, Yoon Suk-min, once again.

"I heard you signed with an agency?"

"Yes, Artist Company, founded by seniors Lee Jung-jae and Jung Woo-sung."

"Ha, I hope you become a big star soon."

"Thank you."

Yoon Suk-min was exceptionally "sincere." He desperately wanted Yun-hui to indulge in hedonism so that he could easily reclaim the shares held by him.

Chief Producer Choi had reported to him that Yun-hui was at the age where he craved female companionship.

Wait? Wasn't CP Choi playing the victim in front of Yun-hui? How could he be a double agent?

He should have said so earlier.

Women weren't complicated; whoever you want, I'll handle it.

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That was what Yoon Suk-min thought, but he didn't show it on his face; he couldn't let Yun-hui become suspicious.

He wasn't in a hurry, either.

The structure of the Taeyoung Group used to be simple: Taeyoung Engineering & Construction acted as the parent company, directly controlling all subsidiaries, including SBS.

It wasn't until Yun-hui’s grandfather intervened as the second-largest shareholder that the ownership and management of SBS were separated:

Taeyoung Engineering & Construction – SBS Media – Seoul Broadcasting System.

Now that Yun-hui’s grandfather had passed away, Taeyoung Group, having temporarily fended off the potential iron fist of the current administration, was attempting to shed the influence of the Songdo Memorial Foundation without hesitation.

Following an agreement, Taeyoung Group established TY Holdings as the parent company, forming:

TY Holdings – Taeyoung Engineering & Construction – Other subsidiaries

And:

TY Holdings – SBS Media – Seoul Broadcasting System

These two structural chains.

The concession Yun-hui made was to exchange all his shares in Taeyoung Engineering & Construction for shares in TY Holdings.

Holding shares in the top-level parent company looked like it would give him more influence over the group's decisions, but in practice, he was isolated from specific operations, effectively losing his voice.

Yoon Suk-min was no mere figurehead; he would never allow Yun-hui to influence group policy.

As for the long, indirect dividend path, slow arrival of funds, and high tax burdens—those minor issues weren't even problems.

The main trouble was the complex structure, which carried the risk of dilution through financing, though it did make it easier to exit, as shares could be transferred quickly.

Yoon Suk-min hadn't dared to touch SBS yet and hadn't demanded that Yun-hui exchange his SBS shares for parent company shares, as that would easily trigger Yun-hui's resistance.

It seemed that Taeyoung Group's new "patron," one of the rising stars of the Democratic Party, did not support such a move.

TY Holdings was expected to go public in September. The question was how many shares he would have left by then; Yun-hui’s psychological floor was 5%.

It was simple logic: if Yoon Suk-min wanted to dilute his shares, he would inevitably have to bear the risk of being diluted himself.

However, the external investment firms Yoon Suk-min brought in would certainly be "allies" he found acceptable.

The secretary distributed voting cards to all shareholders present. The results were tallied on the spot: passed unanimously.

One middle-aged fox and one young fox were standing there, shaking hands and smiling at each other. The old fox, the former chairman, hadn't even shown his face. This paper-thin "peace" agreement could be torn up at any moment.

Employees from the public relations department caught this "united" image on camera.