K. Hyun S. is the CEO of Sangji Menard, a Korean-French joint venture renowned for its world-class civil engineering technology. Before he even turned forty, he achieved the kind of wealth most people only dream of: a high-paying executive role, luxury real estate in Gangnam, and the financial power to buy back the farmlands his family had lost to poverty decades prior.
To the outside world, he was the picture of ultimate success. But behind closed doors, his greatest agony was just beginning—a profound, suffocating emptiness that no amount of money could cure.
Here is the story of how an entrepreneur built a solid, debt-free, and recession-proof business not by chasing money, but by letting go of his attachment to it through meditation.
The Relentless Climb to the Top
Born into poverty in a small rural village, K. Hyun S.’s early life was defined by struggle. After his mother was diagnosed with stomach cancer, his family lost everything. Driven by a fierce sense of responsibility, he joined the workforce at just 18.
He slept only four hours a day, juggling full-time work and self-study. He memorized entire English textbooks, earned five top-tier engineering certificates, and took on the grueling tasks everyone else avoided. His relentless work ethic paid off. He was rapidly promoted, fully sponsored for graduate studies in France, and eventually launched his own highly successful company in his mid-thirties.
The Illusion of Success and the Onset of Emptiness
He had reclaimed his family’s honor, secured a thriving business, and had a loving family. Yet, happiness eluded him.
“The thrill of making money faded far too quickly,” he recalls. “I thought I would be truly happy once I achieved financial freedom, but it wasn’t true. My dreams had come true, but why wasn’t I happy? I realized that wealth and prestige are exactly like a rainbow—beautiful from afar, but an illusion when you finally reach it.”
His inner turmoil began to manifest physically. Suffering from severe chronic fatigue, worsening insomnia, and digestive issues, he quietly sought psychiatric help. The existential questions he had buried since his youth resurfaced: Who am I? Where did I come from? Why am I living just to make money?
Reclaiming the Mind Through Meditation
In 2001, an article about meditation caught his eye. Desperate for answers, he dedicated himself to the practice. As he looked back on his life, a painful realization hit him: he had lived his entire life solely for himself. The “great self” he had built was a heavy burden.
Determined to find his true self, K. Hyun S. made a shocking decision. At 45, he submitted his resignation and walked away from the empire he had built. He was ready to start over with a street food stall if it meant keeping his peace of mind.
However, his absence was felt too deeply. Three months later, his company begged him to return. But the man who came back was entirely transformed. He had found the answers to his lifelong existential questions, and his chronic illnesses had completely vanished.
A New Paradigm for Business: Letting Go of Attachment
Through meditation, he realized that his business and wealth were never truly his own.
“I thought I achieved success because I was smart and worked hard. But after emptying my mind, I saw the truth: the world helped me earn that money,” he explains. “Material wealth is simply energy. If I selfishly claim it is ‘mine,’ it stagnates. But when I release it, it becomes the world’s energy.”
He transformed his corporate culture. He began pouring profits back into his employees and partners, providing university tuition support and covering meditation fees for his staff. For 18 years in the volatile construction industry, his company has maintained three remarkable traits: no debt, no bankruptcies, and no recession.
“Throwing away money doesn’t mean burning cash; it means throwing away your attachment to material things,” K. Hyun S. says. “For me, letting go means maximizing profits so I can release them back into the world. You can never truly obtain wealth by stepping on others.”
CEO K. Hyun S.’s 3 Principles for Work and Life
1. Poverty is a Great Teacher “If I had been born rich, I would have quit countless times. Poverty was my pillar. The responsibility I felt during hard times forced me to persevere. Embrace your hardships.”
2. Empty Your Mind to Overcome Financial Struggle “People always look for the ‘easy way’ to make money. But the real reason people fail is pride. When you hold onto your pride, you cannot lower yourself to do the necessary work. If you empty your mind of concepts like ‘high’ and ‘low’ status, you can work passionately anywhere. That is when true opportunities appear.”
3. Grow Without Greed “I never take on debt to force growth. I operate smoothly, within my given conditions. Because of this, my company has never missed a payroll. A company isn’t great just because it grows massively and rapidly; it’s great when it is sustainable and takes care of its people.”
