The Art of Negotiation starring Lee Je-hoon, Kim Dae-myung, Sung Dong-il, and more aired episodes 1 and 2 on March 8 and 9, 2025 on JTBC. The Art of Negotiation tells the story of Yoon Joo-no, a merger & acquisition expert who made a return to Sanin Group after three years of disappearance.
With a clear goal to save Sanin Group from bankruptcy, he formed a team including lawyer Oh Soon-young (Kim Dae-myung), finance manager Kwak Jin-myeong (Ahn Hyun-ho), and risk analyst Choi Jin-soo (Cha Kang-yoon).
Yoon Ju-no navigated office politics to overcome the crisis at Sanin Group of clearing the debt of 11 trillion KRW. The Art of Negotiation episode 1 began with Lim Hyung-sub (Lee Kyu-sung) and Choi Jin-soo being seen setting up a conference room for a meeting about Sanin Group's debt.
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Lim Hyung-sub explained to Choi Jin-soo, who was still an intern, as to why everyone was so concerned about a man named Yoon Joo-no. Lim Hyung-sub introduced Yoon Joo-no, a vicious man known for his M&A skills, where he bought and sold subsidiaries during the corporate financial crisis. He called him a white snake and how everyone was worried that they would lose their jobs if he sold out their company to save the business group.
Later in The Art of Negotiation episode 1, CFO Ha Tae-soo (Jang Hyun-sung) and many other executives were against Yoon Joo-no's return from Hawaii to the Sanin HQ, but he learned that he was called by chairman Song Jae-sik (Song Dung-il) himself.
Ha Tae-soo decided to present a solution in the meeting using his authority as the CFO but soon Yoon Joo-no arrived. Despite the situation, Chairman Song Jae-sik allowed Yoon Joo-no to form an M&A team and handle the company’s debt crisis.
Notably, Yoon Joo-no was an underling of Ha Tae-soo three years ago, and the rumors say that Yoon Joo-no caused trouble for the Sanin Group, which could be the reason why Ha Tae-soo is against him. Ha Tae-soo and his line of people are already scheming plans for him to become the next CEO of Sanin Group.
The Art of Negotiation ep 1-2 recap: Yun Joo-no stuns the executives by proposing to let go of Sanin Construction
In episode 1 of The Art of Negotiation, Ha Tae-soo spoke about the revenues and operating profits of Sanin Group's subsidiaries. He analyzed that Sanin Construction is carrying the group while all other subsidiaries fail to bring in revenue, leading the company to go under a debt of 11 trillion KRW.
Ha Tae-soo suggested selling all the subsidiaries to save the company, but as soon as he was done, Yoon Joo-no arrived at the conference meeting with Song Jae-sik. The chairman allowed him to form a team. Yoon Joo-no quickly went to his former colleagues who worked with him at the M&A department and convinced Kwak Min-jeong and Oh Soon-young to join his team.
Choi Jin-soo was accidentally present at the meeting and volunteered to join the team out of curiosity about learning from Yoon Joo-no. Despite Lim Hyung-sub warning Choi Jin-soo, he took the interview and was selected. Meanwhile, it is shown that Executive Director Lee Dong-joon, who brought Yoon Joo-no back, is a close friend of the chairman. Song Jae-sik told Lee Dong-joon that he trusted him with the project but not Yoon Joo-no due to his past mistakes.
By the end of The Art of Negotiation episode 1, Yoon Joo-no and his team decided to sell out Sanin Construction, which would bring in 7 billion KRW, opposite Ha Tae-soo’s proposal, leaving people in shock. Song Jae-sik counterattacked him, asking whether he could only make 7 billion KRW out of Sanin Construction or if he was not confident that he could do better.
In The Art of Negotiation episode 2, Yoon Joo-no met the CEO of Sanin Construction, who was looking for his own benefit to keep his position after the acquisition. Yoon Joo-no learned about the risk of Sanin Construction, which was a building redevelopment project. The project could not move forward as they couldn't get consent from 75 percent of the residents. It could be resolved, but an elderly lady opposed it.
Furthermore, two companies, Chomok and Bium D&I, were interested in buying Sanin Construction. The chairman would not sell it if it was not a double figure; Yoon Joo-no requested Executive Director Lee to pursue him. Yoon Joo-no met the VP of Sanin Construction and found out that the elderly lady built a gravesite for her husband in the back of the building.
Notably, she was not married to him and had no right to oppose the reconstruction of the building according to the law. However, the husband died during a protest against the reconstruction, and so the VP Lee Jung-eum decided not to report it to the company.
As The Art of Negotiation episode 2 progressed, Bium D&I won the auction, purchasing Sanin Construction for 7 trillion and 999.9 billion KRW. However, Bium D&I CEO Ji Yeon-woo learned the risk and tried to get a discount of 530 billion KRW. Meanwhile, VP Lee Jung-eum met the elderly and proposed to move her husband's grave site to his hometown as a part of the project. The old lady signed the consent form.
CEO Ji Yeon-woo said she would pay 530 billion KRW only if the redevelopment risk is resolved before they sign the contract, and she was going to do the due diligence by the end of the day. Yoon Joo-no informed her that it had been resolved, and Ji Yeon-woo was taken aback as she was using her own funds to purchase the company. Yoon Joo-no spoke to her in private regarding the grave site relocation.
As the contract is signed, Bium D&I gets recognition in the press for the relocation of the grave alongside the project resolving as a part of the Sinan Construction Acquisition deal. Ha Tae-soo took the credit at the closing deal meeting. Yoon Joo-no informed the chairman. Song Jae-sik said he would purchase a company this time as they still need money to repay the debt. CEO Ji Yeon-woo introduced Bium D&I Construction's CEO Lee Jung-eum to Yoon Joo-no.
By the end of The Art of Negotiation episode 6, Ha Tae-soo is seen talking about some private funds on a phone call, which may be connected to Yoon Joo-no as well. Meanwhile, Yoon Joo-no is on another call discussing Jumbo Pharmaceutics. The other person on the call asked him to bury the case as the deceased wanted the same. But Yoon Joo-no could not do so.
The Art of Negotiation airs every Saturday and Sunday on JTBC.
