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Oh-Lee Enterprise CEO Opens Up About His Husband's Death
By: Kwak Jiseok
I interviewed Oh-Lee Enterprise CEO Lee Jooyeon about the death of his husband and business partner, Oh Seungmin.
Before starting the interview, I asked him if he was comfortable talking about Mr. Oh and he replied, "Sure. Seungmin should always be remembered, as he is eternal to me and it doesn't bother me at all to put his name in the spotlight." Something that I found very tender and very respectable. Some people who suffer from losses usually do not even want to talk about it, which makes the entrepreneur very brave. After so much waiting, here is the interview with Lee Jooyeon:
"You were recognized as Oh Seungmin and Lee Jooyeon; the richest couple in South Korea. Was that true? Do you think they were the richest couple in South Korea?"
"Well, we were named that for a reason, weren't we? Obviously, it wasn't because it was a lie. So I guess yes, we were the richest couple in South Korea."
"You are absolutely right. There are people who have done the sums and everything checks out. You were."
"But I really didn't like being called that."
"Why?" I asked, confused. Any couple would like to be called that, but his answer caught my attention:
"Because if they called us that, they would only focus on our money and not our beautiful relationship." Which surprised me.
"Wow. Well, how about 'Oh Seungmin and Lee Jooyeon; South Korea's Couple of the Century.'?"
"That sounds much better. It could be of the millennium but my boy did not last long" He smiles sadly.
"That’s grievous but, I'm curious, what did you like the most about Mr. Oh? You guys were very much in love with each other."
"I talk a lot and there are days when nobody listens to me, but even so I let out of my vocal apparatus letters, words and sounds that nobody seems to care. Many times I say things without thinking. Incoherent things. Hurtful things. Nonsensical things. In short, things that the human mind cannot capture in the way I communicate it. I have not had many friends, much less suitors, but in this world, there was only one person who listened to me, who, at least, tried to understand me and almost always took what I said the way I projected it.
That was Seungmin.
My beloved late husband, Oh Seung Min.
He listened to me when I had those delusions of saying everything that came to mind.
We could be sleeping in our bed, and if I started talking while he was sleeping, he would get up and listen to what I was saying until I got tired and ended up falling asleep before him.
And he listened to me because he was a man of few words but great thoughts and he liked to learn from me since, according to him, I am the wisest person he had ever known. "
"Nice story. So, was there something you didn't like about him? Since there are always two sides to the coin." I said, wanting to find out what all of South Korea was wondering but his answer, again, took me by surprise.
"Well ... what I really didn't like about him ... wasn't related to him as a person."
"Really?"
"Yeah. What I didn't like about him was that people misjudged him. Because... Tell me, did people ever describe Seungmin to you?"
"Well ... yes. He was famous."
"How did they describe him to you?"
"I feel like you're interviewing me." We both laugh. "But he was always described to me as an upright, firm, serious man and there are people who called him bitter since he hardly spoke."
"That last one I hadn't heard."
"Well I'm telling you how they have described it to me." I admit, here I felt a bit uncomfortable since I didn't want him to think that I saw Seungmin like that since it wasn't true.
"Don't worry. But that was what I didn't like about him. Nobody got to know him well and everyone described him as 'serious', 'straight', and 'bitter' as you said but really, he wasn't like that.
He was like an excited little boy but he didn't talk much and when he did, the sweetest words came out of his mouth. "
"Since he says he looked like an excited little boy, can you tell me what Mr. Oh Seungmin was like?"
"He was an exceptional person.
Wonderful.
If there was a human version of the word 'ideal', he would be the best and most perfect version.
Because he was not like the others.
Of course not.
Seungmin was like a different species from us. Well, he was a human but different from everyone.
He ... didn't have that cliche that we all have.
He was more than perfect.
He was like a mystery, that still not solved, fed my soul with the desire to continue finding out everything. "
"In short, Oh Seungmin was perfect. Right?"
He nods.
"We now know that he was perfect but did Mr. Oh have any virtues? Something that was more than perfect."
"His honesty.
He never lied.
If something bothered him about me, he would tell me.
If something I said was wrong, he was not afraid to correct me,
something many did not dare to do.
On the positive side, if he found something he loved about me ... he would tell me.
He would not let anything go by and although he often did not speak, he would tell me, breaking his comfort bubble.
That was one of the reasons why I fell in love with that perfect being. "
"And if he didn't like something about someone, did he tell him?"
"Yes. People didn't like that about him too, although I found it interesting since this world is full of lies and falsehoods."
"Is there something you strongly remember from your relationship?"
"I think the most memorable story we had was when we went to the beach together for the first time many years ago.
He had never been to a beach before and when I told him we would go, his beautiful smile came out like when the sun rises in the morning.
Like when a beautiful rose finally blooms.
That beautiful smile that only Oh Seungmin had, came out at that moment for the world to admire.
But that smile was not only shown when I told him the news
It was present throughout our little outing to the beach.
Every time the cold breeze of that November brushed his beautiful cheekbones.
Every time a little kid sat on the ground to play with the sand.
Every time the waves reached his feet.
Anyway, that smile was present all day and, that day I fell more in love with it and with the person who was wearing it.
Sorry... I got a bit lost in the memory. Either way, that day was perfect. "
"It’s totally fine. This interview is dedicated to your relationship. It doesn't matter if you talk a lot or get sidetracked. This is your moment for that. So, regarding the work sense, was he a good business partner?"
"The best. There is no one better than him."
"Really? That's a bold statement. Don't go get yourself another partner and say the same thing."
"I would never replace Seungmin. I know what I'm saying." He said serious and the interview ended there since he received a call from the funeral home and another one from his company. Anyway, he is a very busy man.
Interview by KWAK JISEOK. Journalist for The Morning Rise.
