Chapter 18
First Assignment (3)
The moment he heard “10 percent,” President Kim Sangdo looked uncomfortable.
“That’s a bit excessive. I’ve analyzed my company’s value as well. Comparing us to publicly traded companies of a similar size, 4 billion won for about 5 percent seems appropriate.”
He had clearly put some thought into it, but all he was doing was exposing weaknesses in his argument.
“That’s the current market price. If GF went public tomorrow, I’d gladly buy 5 percent for 4 billion won too. But this is a first-round investment before the store has even opened. Getting it at half price is already generous, wouldn’t you agree?”
That alone wasn’t enough to erase the figure of 5 percent that had lodged itself in the man’s mind.
“And as I said before, I’m merely a long-term investor. Unlike other early-stage investors, I have no interest in management. And I can protect your company.”
“Protect the company?”
“If a major corporation targets GF’s new technology, I’ll protect you. If there’s a patent dispute, I’ll hire the best patent attorneys and lawyers available and make sure we win in court. If necessary, I’ll even bring in former Supreme Court justices. When it comes to money, I won’t lose. You’d be gaining a very reliable ally, so give me a little concession.”
It was an appealing offer.
But an offer was still just an offer.
For an offer to become a promise—and for a promise to become trust—much more was needed.
“And didn’t I tell you before? I’ll sell my GF shares in ten years. That means I’ll protect you for ten years. Put it in the contract. A clause stating that for ten years, my voting rights are delegated to you. Another clause stating that no investment reducing your ownership below 51 percent can be accepted without my consent. And another clause stating that I will bear all costs necessary to defend management control, with specific examples listed. How does that sound?”
The proposal had transformed from mere words into concrete contractual promises.
President Kim’s expression changed immediately.
“You’re willing to go this far just to invest? It’s not as though there aren’t more attractive companies than ours.”
Just think of yourself as lucky and take the deal. Why so suspicious?
“I always go this far when I invest. That’s why I’ve never taken a loss.”
Chairman Kang raised a finger and waved it lightly.
“To live in a place like this, losses aren’t an option. The maintenance costs are expensive. Ha ha.”
“So that’s your investment philosophy.”
Chairman Kang merely nodded quietly.
The choice now belonged to Kim Sangdo.
He waited for the man’s next proposal.
President Kim slowly opened his mouth.
“May I discuss it with my executives before making a decision?”
“No.”
Apparently, he had not expected that answer.
His face showed clear surprise.
“President Kim, you own 85 percent of the company. You’re considering bringing in another owner who will hold 10 percent. Work matters should be discussed with subordinates, but ownership is not something subordinates have any business interfering with. This is the kind of matter you discuss with a capable lawyer. And the decision should be made by the owner alone. Like an owner. Understood?”
He had just taught him a lesson.
***
Because the previous evening’s meeting had gone well, he arrived at work in a good mood.
That mood disappeared the moment he saw Manager Oh Taeho glaring at him again.
“Did I do something wrong again?”
“Why would you think that?”
“You’ve been staring at me since morning...”
“I was planning to lecture you about showing up earlier, but seeing you stroll in looking so cheerful made me give up. Anyway, come with me.”
Once they entered the meeting room, Chairman Kang spoke first.
“Do you still have questions?”
“Plenty. But I realized it’s just curiosity. Curiosity doesn’t need to be satisfied for work to get done. I’m just going to give you work.”
He got rid of his curiosity in only a day.
Not bad mentally, this guy.
“Sounds good. So what’s the assignment?”
Manager Oh handed him a file.
“Review this and give me your opinion. And this time, don’t get by with verbal explanations. Submit a proper report. Make it look nice.”
Manager Oh lightly patted his shoulder and left the room.
Chairman Kang opened the file.
“Coal? What’s this?”
Looking through the documents carefully, he realized the file hadn’t been prepared by Trading but by Construction.
“Dongseong... that little bastard. What kind of trouble is he secretly stirring up this time?”
Chairman Kang closed the file.
If it worked out, it wasn’t a bad project.
There was only one reason his eldest son had hidden it.
ST Construction.
The name Chairman Kang hated most appeared in the consortium business proposal.
If that name appeared, Chairman Kang would have thrown the proposal away immediately.
That was probably why it had been hidden.
But this was an SOC project.
Ultimately, such projects depended on whose connections to the government were stronger and more influential.
Choi Sung Group’s connections were weaker than ST’s.
ST would inevitably become the lead contractor, while Choi Sung Group would have to settle for being a supporting player.
Chairman Kang picked up the file and left the meeting room.
“Why are we reviewing this? It looks like a construction project.”
“That’s exactly why we’re reviewing it. Construction builds things. We’re the outsiders who decide whether to get involved or stay away. Isn’t that obvious?”
“Isn’t this an SOC project? Something this large would normally be coordinated at the group level.”
Manager Oh leaned back in his chair and interlocked his fingers behind his head.
“How did you know that?”
“Know what?”
“That SOC projects are coordinated and decided at the group level?”
Apparently, he hadn’t completely abandoned his curiosity.
“The New Employee Work Manual. Division of responsibilities and coordination between affiliates. I don’t know the page number, but it’s in there. Coordination work is handled by each affiliate, but infrastructure industries such as SOC projects are often coordinated by the Group Strategy Headquarters.”
He had no idea whether such a manual actually existed.
But surely Manager Oh wasn’t going to start searching through a new employee handbook right now.
Oh Taeho lowered his hands.
“Impressive. You’re good at improvising too. Fine. So what’s your opinion?”
“I may not know everything, but I can’t find a reason Trading absolutely has to be involved. Construction seems capable of handling it alone.”
Manager Oh clapped his hands.
“Okay. Then write two reports. One explaining why Trading absolutely must withdraw from this project. The other explaining why, despite that, we absolutely must get involved.”
“What?”
“What are you standing there for? Get to work.”
Chairman Kang stood there blankly.
Oh Taeho grinned as though he found it amusing.
Returning to his desk with the file, Chairman Kang let out a sigh.
Amazing.
So this is what they do when they can’t make a decision.
It was like playing rock-paper-scissors with both hands.
They prepared both options, then withdrew one after seeing which hand the superior revealed.
Was this really the secret to surviving in the workplace?
***
Setting aside his irritation over his son secretly pushing the project—and setting aside the hated ST Group—the project itself wasn’t actually bad.
More than writing reports, he wanted to investigate it properly.
If he were sitting in the chairman’s seat, he could simply order someone to gather information.
But now he was just a lowly new employee.
He had to do the legwork himself.
Chairman Kang headed to the Resources Division.
He wanted to hear the opinions of the department responsible for evaluating the project.
“A new employee?”
“As you can see.”
“But you’ve been assigned to the President’s Secretariat? Wow...”
The Resources Division manager examined the business card Chairman Kang had handed over.
“So what brings you here?”
“The President ordered a more detailed review, so I have a few things I’d like to confirm.”
“Really? Go ahead.”
The manager looked remarkably friendly.
Maybe that was why people said business cards determined everything in corporate life.
A manager showing cooperation to a low-level rookie.
It wasn’t because he was kind.
It was because someone who reported directly to the president could easily carry bad impressions upward.
“The President believes Trading can withdraw without any issues. But more importantly, he’s concerned about the project itself. What did you think when Construction first requested cooperation? About the project itself?”
“That’s right. Trading can withdraw. Even if the bid succeeds, there’s not much for us to gain. If it fails, we’ll get criticized alongside Construction. No reason to stick our spoon into it.”
“Then what if you look at it from Choi Sung Construction’s perspective?”
“No downside for them. The total construction cost exceeds 600 billion won. Once the consortium is formed, we’d probably secure over 250 billion won of it.”
“Anything else worth considering?”
“Well... what else is there?”
The manager’s expression changed.
The smile vanished.
Look at that.
He didn’t want to reveal more information than necessary.
“I understand. Then I’ll report that the department has no opinion.”
Chairman Kang closed the file and stood up.
The manager immediately grabbed his arm.
“What do you mean, no opinion?”
“Everything you’ve said is already in the report. The Secretariat already knows it too. Since there’s nothing additional, that means no opinion. Is there something more?”
The manager was clearly getting anxious.
If the president had ordered additional investigation and the department responded that there was nothing more to add, he knew exactly where the blame would land.
And he was a manager, after all.
“Wait. What exactly are you doing?”
Looks like it’s time for a suddenly remembered opinion.
Before that, he needed the man to talk more.
To do that, he had to appear open and sincere.
That was the key to lowering someone’s guard.
“To be honest, this project has us worried because of the Construction Vice President. We just need a justification for withdrawing. If you know of one, please tell me. The President would be pleased.”
“A justification for withdrawing from a project that makes money? Where would you find one? Though...”
“Though...?”
“Getting the project started won’t be smooth. Every resident of Incheon opposes it.”
“Wouldn’t expanding port facilities be a good thing? It creates jobs.”
“It’s coal. People are already suffering from fine dust pollution. This is coal. Everyone knows it’ll make things worse. That’s why residents and environmental groups are already protesting. And the project hasn’t even been officially announced yet.”
In other words, there was still no business-related reason to oppose it.
Why would a company care about demonstrations by citizens and environmental groups?
That was a problem for government officials.
And calming those protests was also the officials’ responsibility.
A corporation had no justification for abandoning a project unless the numbers showed it wouldn’t make money.
Still, this might become the clue needed to steer the project in a completely different direction.
The Resources Division manager lacked the ability to connect this issue to another important fact.
If he had that ability, he’d be a very capable employee.
“I’ll attach your opinion to my report. What would you like me to do? Include your name or leave it out?”
A wise decision.
For office workers, avoiding failure was often more important than achieving success.
If his name ended up attached and things went wrong, he would bear the responsibility alone.
Since he understood that it was better for an individual manager not to stand out than for the Resources Division as a whole to take credit, he was probably the type who could make it to department head without much trouble.