Reboot the heyday

What is a weakness?
This is the thing I can use to attack you, but you can't use it to attack me.

Samsung, with its vast resources and business empire, has ironically found its biggest weakness in the issue of succession. Wang Taika, however, doesn't have this problem.

Faced with such an impeccable one-sided weakness, there's no need for them to take action themselves; they can simply spend money to set the pace.

In the following period, a quiet breeze stirred up the South Korean public opinion scene.

Initially, there were only a few scattered online posts circulating on a few niche forums. The titles were very ordinary, such as "Which of Chairman Lee Jae-yong's children is more suitable to succeed him?" and "The struggle for Samsung's succession is brewing."

The content wasn't radical; it simply presented the data objectively. Lee Jae-yong has a son and a daughter. Her son is still in school, with mediocre grades, and even faced a scandal involving falsified grades. Her daughter, however, excels academically and has commendable achievements in various aspects.

That's it.

But at this sensitive time, with Lee Jae-yong embroiled in lawsuits, Samsung's performance declining, and public discontent with chaebols accumulating, these seemingly neutral posts were like pebbles thrown into a stagnant pond, causing ripples to slowly spread.

Soon, larger media outlets began to follow up.

An in-depth report titled "Samsung's Future: Family Succession or Professional Management?" was published simultaneously on several influential online media outlets.

Instead of directly attacking Samsung, the article uses a wealth of data and case studies to analyze the pros and cons of succession in family businesses, and subtly points out that in a core national enterprise like Samsung, the choice of successor should not be just a family matter for the Lee family.

The comments section exploded.

"I heard Lee Jae-yong's son has terrible grades. Can he really manage Samsung?"

"The daughter is quite outstanding, but the Li family favors sons over daughters, so they definitely won't let her take over the family business."

"Why should we? Samsung isn't the Lee family's private property! It's the economic lifeline of South Korea!"

"This kind of family succession should have been changed long ago. Look at the big companies in Europe and America, which one is hereditary?"

The spark of public opinion was thus ignited.

Subsequently, a group of "unnamed insiders" began to reveal on social media that Lee Jae-yong's son had poor grades in school, failed many subjects, and was almost expelled several times, all of which were resolved by his family spending money.

Meanwhile, positive news about the daughter began to circulate, praising her outstanding performance during her studies in the United States and her demeanor as a well-bred young lady.

Truth and falsehood, reality and illusion.

But the public doesn't care about the truth; they only care about what they want to see. Soon, the impression that "sons are useless and daughters are outstanding" began to take root in many people's minds.

Then, the topic escalated again.

An article by a Korean-American economics professor has gone viral online with a sensational title: "Samsung Nationalization: An Inevitable Choice for the South Korean Economy."

The article's core argument is simple: Samsung is too big to fail; its fate is directly linked to the life or death of the South Korean economy. Such a company should not have its future determined by the rise and fall of a single family. Nationalization, or at least a model of "public shareholding and professional management," is the responsible approach for the nation and its people.

Once this article was published, public opinion completely spiraled out of control.

The public already had reservations about the Samsung family's succession, and this article itself was entirely reasonable, with not a single word of nonsense. Because this is the truth, it's simply unfair.

Some things, though known to the public, will be temporarily buried if no one mentions them. But once they are brought up, they become a hot topic.

Supporters of nationalization, opponents of nationalization, and those in the middle—a cacophony of voices rang out. Regardless, Samsung and the Lee family were thrust into the spotlight, every pore scrutinized under intense scrutiny.

Even more damaging is that some politicians have started to get involved.

These issues have little to do with Wang Taika; it's just that after such a strong public reaction, many people don't mind using this method to win more voters and votes. Faced with tangible benefits, Samsung isn't immune to offending others. Furthermore, Lee Jae-yong is still imprisoned, and the issues surrounding the former president remain unresolved. This new president is notorious for targeting chaebols. In this climate, while some may want to support Samsung, they dare not openly speak up for the Lee family; after all, votes are far more important than the support of chaebols.

Samsung headquarters.

Shen Wencheng felt his hair was turning white. He sat in his office, looking at stacks of public opinion reports, his temples throbbing.

Just over a month ago, he was a master strategist, putting immense pressure on Cornerstone Industries. Meanwhile, Han Jin's cooperation was flawless, causing logistical disruptions at every turn, and the company was on the verge of collapse.

First, Han Jin's son, Zhao, brought trouble upon himself, causing a death and plunging the entire group into scandal. Then, here we have this, where Samsung has inexplicably become the target.

Samsung tried to trace the source of the public opinion. They discovered that the initial posts had IP addresses scattered across the globe, making it impossible to identify who posted them. The so-called "insider" revelations were also nowhere to be found. As for the article advocating "nationalization," the economics professor was far away in the United States, making him impossible to locate.

Shen Wencheng sneered.

It's obvious what happened without even thinking. I must say, a brilliant tactic.

Instead of engaging in business wars or competing for resources, they'll target the most sensitive issue: the succession plan. This is Samsung's most painful weakness, and the Lee family's most sensitive sore spot.

So this is Wang Taika's table-flipping game! It's really shameless.

At this moment, the secretary knocked on the door and came in, her face looking very unpleasant: "Advisor Shen, the chairman has sent out a message."

Shen Wencheng's heart sank: "What did he say?"

The secretary said, "The chairman is very angry. He asked you why you let people talk about your private affairs as a joke in public. The chairman knows there are people behind all this, but isn't this what you're supposed to handle? These are his exact words; I'm just relaying them."

Shen Wencheng sighed and said, "I understand, you can leave now."

This timing is indeed very sensitive. Lee Jae-yong is still in custody, and with this kind of news, the public pressure is really immense.

Actually, Samsung, being a large and powerful company, became too arrogant, naively believing that no one would touch upon the Lee family's sensitive issues in this matter. But Wang Taika truly disregarded these so-called tacit understandings; if you mess with me, I'll mess with you.

Shen Wencheng pondered in his heart that the core of this matter was not the business war, but the public opinion.

That guy knows very well that he can't beat me in a head-on confrontation, so he's dragged the battlefield to where we're most uncomfortable. Now public sentiment is ignited, and continuing the confrontation will only make us more and more passive.

Shen Wencheng gritted his teeth and came up with the possibility he least wanted to face: temporary peace talks. Because apart from that, there really was no other way to resolve the current predicament.

But is negotiation even possible? Shin Moon-sung could only hope that Wang Tai-ka wasn't determined to fight Samsung to the bitter end, but rather that Samsung would stop targeting him. If Samsung withdrew its outstretched hand and allowed him to conduct his business peacefully, the matter would naturally subside.

When the controversy subsides, the public opinion will gradually dissipate.

This is a difficult choice, because Shen Wencheng orchestrated everything, ultimately leading to this outcome. Now, not only must we confront our own mistakes, but we must also propose peace talks to the enemy.

Most people would find this unbearable. But Shen Wencheng was flexible and didn't mind losing face once. It was just one loss; he could always win back later.

Shen Wencheng looked out the window at the gloomy sky and let out a long sigh.

He recalled that a few months ago, Wang Taika was nothing more than a clever outsider in his eyes. At that time, he thought that with Samsung's powerful influence, someone like Wang Taika could be crushed with a flick of his finger.

In fact, if it were really just a business competition, the powerful Samsung could easily crush Wang Taika.

But now Shen Wencheng realizes he was wrong. Because that person didn't fight him with fists, but with his groin.

But this move, unfortunately, struck right at the heart of the problem. (End of Chapter)