A Great Entrepreneur Leaves Behind OO After Death (feat. Ilhan New of Yuhan)
"Society is the owner of a corporation. The money I’ve earned isn’t mine; I am merely a 'steward' entrusted by society to manage its assets."
In 1969, an unprecedentedly shocking event occurred in the history of South Korean business. Dr. Ilhan New, the founder of Yuhan Corporation—which had grown into the nation's top pharmaceutical company—forced all of his relatives and his own son to step down from the management team, handing over total control to a professional executive who had climbed the ranks from within.
Then, on March 11, 1971, the will he left behind upon his passing sent a profound tremor throughout the entire nation.
It was a declaration to return 100% of his shares in the company he had dedicated his life to building back to society and educational foundations, without passing down a single share to his children. To his son, he left exactly zero inheritance, stating, "I have put you through college; now, stand on your own two feet."
Location 1. The Impregnable Fortress that Even Imperial Japanese Tax Authorities Couldn't Breach (1930s Yuhan Corporation Headquarters in Gyeongseong)
During the Japanese colonial period in the 1930s, as Yuhan Corporation grew into a formidable national enterprise, Japanese police and tax authorities frequently raided the company and confiscated ledgers to find faults and bring them to their knees.
They were certain that digging into Yuhan’s background would uncover tax evasion or corruption. However, after months of rigorous audits, the Japanese tax inspectors arrived at a shocking conclusion: they couldn't find a single cent of tax evasion or a single line of fabricated records.
Instead, the inspectors left in sheer admiration, admitting, "We have never seen such flawless and honest tax ledgers among Korean businesses."
What he learned at this location was this:
"Honesty is the ultimate business defense mechanism. The trust built by uncompromising ethics becomes an impregnable fortress that even massive capital and power cannot breach."
Location 2. The Site of a Resolution for Armed Independence with Overseas Compatriots (1941 Korean Liberty Conference in California, USA)
In April 1941, Korean-American organizations gathered in Los Angeles to hold the 'Korean Liberty Conference' to discuss strategies for the independence movement. Stepping far beyond his role as an entrepreneur, Dr. Ilhan New actively participated in this convention.
Serving as an executive committee member, he strongly supported armed independence movements for Koreans. In 1942, he poured his own funds and network into the independence movement, contributing to the establishment of the 'Tiger Brigade', a Korean armed unit under the California State Guard.
What he learned at this location was this:
"An entrepreneur's leadership shouldn't be confined to their business fences. The true leader is the one who acts first in the face of the justice the era demands."
Location 3. The Training Ground Where a 50-Year-Old Entrepreneur Risked His Life with a Gun (1945 OSS Catalina Island, California)
As the Pacific War reached its climax in the 1940s, Ilhan New left behind the safety of his executive chair and threw himself onto the front lines of the independence movement.
In early 1945, the U.S. Office of Strategic Services (OSS) launched the 'Napko Project' to infiltrate secret agents into the Japanese-occupied Korean peninsula. At 50 years old, the highly successful businessman voluntarily enlisted in the OSS under the codename 'Agent A'.
At a secret training camp on Catalina Island in California, the 50-year-old Ilhan rolled in the mud right alongside young operatives, completing guerrilla training, radio operations, infiltration drills, and parachute jumps. It was a life-threatening mission where failure meant brutal torture and execution.
What he learned at this location was this:
"Without a nation, a corporation cannot exist. An entrepreneur must be ready to throw all their resources on the line whenever their country and society are in crisis."
Location 4. The Office That Birthed Korea's First Professional Executive System (1969 Daebang-dong Headquarters, Seoul)
After Korea's liberation, Yuhan Corporation stood tall as the nation's premier pharmaceutical company. However, in 1969, in a society where hereditary succession was the norm, Dr. Ilhan New removed all relatives from management and completely handed over the reins to CEO Cho Gwon-sun, a professional executive.
"Handing a company down to your children just because they share your blood ruins the business and is a betrayal to society."
What he learned at this location was this:
"The owner of a company should not be dictated by bloodline, but by a management team equipped with competence and ethics. An organization can only endure when personal greed is set aside."
Location 5. The Will That Perfected 'Stewardship Management' and a 100-Year Legacy (1971 Daebang-dong Headquarters & Yuhan Foundation)
The will revealed after Dr. Ilhan New's passing on March 11, 1971, showed Korean society what true 'stewardship management' really means.
- To his son, Il-sun: "I put you through college, so stand on your own two feet." (0 won inheritance)
- To his daughter, Jae-ra: "Donate the 5,000 pyeong of land at the entrance of Yuhan Middle and High School, and donate your remaining shares to the educational foundation."
- To his granddaughter, Il-ling: "I leave only $10,000 for tuition until you graduate from college."
- All his remaining shares: "Donate them to the Yuhan Educational Foundation and Yuhan Foundation to be used for scholarships and giving back to society."
The 'willow tree' he planted remains an unwavering shade of trust, supporting the lives of countless scholarship students and citizens, even as eras change.
What we realize at this location is this:
"The money I’ve earned isn’t mine. Managing the assets society temporarily entrusted to me with honesty and then returning them to society—that is the perfect closure for a steward."
Epilogue: The Willow Tree Does Not Break
Even though he could have lived a comfortable life as a billionaire in the U.S. thanks to the massive success of La Choy, Dr. Ilhan New returned to the dusty soil of his homeland to mass-produce medicine and take up arms.
He defined an entrepreneur not as someone who 'makes money,' but as a 'steward who bears the pain of society.'
Just like that willow tree in Jongno that roots deeply despite the storms to share its shade with the weary people, true business only becomes eternal trust and legacy when it gives itself away to the world.
A tiger leaves its skin when it dies, and a person leaves their name, but a great entrepreneur leaves behind 'the honesty that saves the world and the trust of a steward.'
I hope that in the business and workplace you are cultivating today, you plant your own 'willow tree' that will not be shaken by any storm.
※ The facts in Part 2 of this newsletter are based on Dr. Ilhan New’s tax audit anecdote during the Japanese colonial era, his participation in the 1941 Korean Liberty Conference, his 1945 U.S. OSS Napko Project Agent A combat record, the introduction of Korea’s first professional executive system and the retirement of relatives from management in 1969, his 1971 will returning all his assets to society and donating to the Yuhan Foundations, the Independence Merit Record, Yuhan Corporation's 90-year history, and other official historical records.