[Interview] Lee Young-seop, President of Jeonju Judo Association, "Everything Flows Like Alcohol~, Life Is Alcohol"

Glimpse into the Life Philosophy of Lee Young-seop, President of Jeonju Judo Association

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Geon-ju] Due to COVID-19, people's shoulders appear slumped, wallets remain closed, and the dark future outlook born from uncertainty makes it impossible to predict even an inch ahead. We live in an unpredictable world where what is a crisis for some is an opportunity for others.

I met Lee Young-seop, former chairman of the Jeonju Judo Association, who believes that others' crises can become his opportunities, that life flows smoothly if you like drinking, and whose seemingly ordinary words carry a strange power, in his office on the second floor of his building in Hosodong.

Life Glimpse Act 1: ‘Both Drinking and Giving Are Addictions’

“People who drink also work well,” said Lee Young-seop, chairman of the Jeonju Judo Association and CEO of Gaebyeok Comprehensive Construction. He began, “There are three things in life that can be called addictions: one is alcohol addiction, another is health (fitness) addiction, and the last is ‘addiction to beautiful giving.’”

Chairman Lee was born as the only son among one boy and four girls in Bongdong, Wanju, and followed his father’s wish, who lived with the regret of not having had an education, to study at Jeonju Life Agricultural High School. While attending agricultural high school, he started judo and drank alcohol as he got to know judo. He recalled that he went to college just to drink Makgeolli, and that he earned his high school tuition by gambling with rural friends and seniors, using the profits from those bets.

As a child, he was good at marbles, and he joked that understanding the principles of Go-Stop (a Korean card game) could help one make money in real estate development. He said Go-Stop is only fun with four players, and that in real estate, intersections with four roads have higher investment value than three-way intersections. Few would agree with his claim that “making money in the world is the easiest.” The chairman, who earns money without much effort, said, “I hire employees who are good drinkers,” and “I enjoy meeting with sports activists born in 1965 when drinking.”

He said, “I like drinking so much that if I don’t drink even for a day, I can’t sleep,” and he is equally passionate about ‘beautiful giving.’ He always puts the word ‘beautiful’ before ‘giving.’ It is hard to list all his beautiful donations. As the judo chairman, he has made significant donations to the judo association, and smaller donations around 5 million won. He also donates to the House of Love, which cares for alcoholics and homeless people. He smiled subtly, saying that giving shakes his heart as much as his love for alcohol, calling it “close to an addiction.”

Life Glimpse Act 2: ‘A Life Flowing Smoothly’

His office is filled with plaques of appreciation and awards from various sectors and institutions. Although he spent his time drinking while attending Jeonju Agricultural High School, he never lost first place. He hinted that vocational high schools are evaluated differently from general high schools. He supplemented expenses during high school trips by gambling, and in college, he learned politics as a class representative and delegate council chairman.

Confident that he has lived as an owner since college, he joked, “Everything started from college, and whenever I planned my dreams, alcohol was the guide to designing life.” With an optimistic personality, he advised, “An owner doesn’t have to be good at everything. You just need to fit the puzzle well and assemble it properly.”

No matter how much he drinks, he wakes up at 6 a.m. to visit the gym, relieves his drinking hangover with exercise, and manages stress moderately. He even runs a gym in his own building.

Having attended Wonkwang University, he named his company ‘Gaebyeok’ (meaning ‘new beginning’), inspired by the phrase he heard in college, “You are workers of Gaebyeok.” He says he lives as a person of ‘Gaebyeok.’

He has never gone to places where development projects are already successful; instead, he chooses to develop areas others call “dead zones.” He is the so-called ‘chairman’ of a group owning eight companies. Naturally, he is very popular among banking officials.

According to him, he has so many loans that for ten years he has been paying about 300 million won in interest every month. Starting with nothing, he actively participates in the good landlord movement. Over 1,000 tenants have passed through his properties so far, and his dream is to become a ‘respected landlord.’

The only person from Jeonju Agricultural High School to go to college within five years, a man with his own philosophy that “even if there are times when rent is not collected, people who can grow should be helped,” Lee Young-seop said, “The problem with construction projects in the province is that everything is pulled to Gwangju,” and he lightly criticized, “Local companies must survive for the region to develop stably.”

Life Glimpse Act 3: ‘This Is Life’

The chairman, who calls both drinking and beautiful giving ‘addictions,’ is experiencing the true taste of life through his two sons. Compared to his eldest son, who studies well and attends college in Seoul, his younger son is known as a ‘rebel.’ When he calls him ‘rebel,’ the younger son is actually a more reliable support. The younger son works part-time at the gym during the day and attends Vision College at night. Seeing him donate his first paycheck to society moved the chairman deeply. Watching his younger son find his own way to live without parental prompting, the chairman reflects on his own life.

He said, “In life, you can meet people through travel, and to build relationships through travel, you just need to take a chance.” The special reason he likes travel is that he can drink from morning until bedtime.

He said, “It has become a superstition that whenever I take a plane trip, buildings or land get sold.” To him, the current COVID-19 situation is rather an “opportunity.” When the national economy is difficult, interest rates drop, and real estate transactions become timely. He explained that the price drop in the chronic legal town is also due to this, emphasizing, “Real estate is all about timing,” concluding the interview.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.