031 : Deal with Chairman Wang
“Of course, aren’t you the CEO of Hyunsan Construction, Wang Joo-young? I’ve heard a lot about this and that.”
“You said it was informative, and it was amazing. Then, do you know why I came?”
“I guess, but let’s hear it directly from the person concerned.”
I expected to meet in some form, competitor or collaborator at any time, but I didn’t know that I would meet this soon.
“Help me. Our Hyeonsan also wants to participate in the US military construction.”
“I see. I heard that the US military is building a highway in Thailand.”
The Thai highway was announced at a meeting between President Park and Van Flint, so it is okay for Korean companies to participate.
“… Was it… that simple?”
Simple, of course.
Because in the original history, Chairman Wang built Thailand Expressway.
And I can’t go to Thailand because I have to go to Quy Nhon.
“It is not easy to build a highway, but it is not difficult to arrange it. Can you please?”
“Just leave it to me.”
“Then make a promise. Spend a million dollars more than what you think when you bid.”
“Yes, use more?”
Even if I spend another million dollars, Hyunsan will take care of it anyway.
In its original history, Hyunsan Construction sees a large deficit of nearly $1 million in Thai highway construction.
What is the need to endure such a deficit in this history? I have to pay my debt to Chairman Wang for teaching me this.
“Laying a highway in the jungle is harder than you think. Don’t even dare to shorten the construction period.”
Chairman Wang’s competitiveness was the shortening of the construction period.
Even after bidding at a lower price than other foreign companies, it made a net profit by reducing the period to an extreme.
In a word, manpower was replaced, but it is impossible to build a highway in Thailand.
“You don’t even dare to shorten the period?”
“Doesn’t President Wang also have the ability to stop pouring rain?”
“!!!!!”
“As much as I help, I will help more. We will negotiate with Ulsan Galp to supply asphalt at a lower price than the market price.”
“Ugh! Even the asphalt.”
“Instead, please do just two things for me.”
“Say anything. If I can do anything, I will do it.”
He came out hot like Chairman Wang.
The general opinion in the industry was that this nobleman repaid grace according to grace and had a bad end.
The way to have a good relationship with President Wang is for me to take the reins.
“First, please localize this cement. If it is localized, give me the right to preemption.”
I handed out the cement donated by the US military to President Wang. It was cement that would be used day and night in the future.
“Cement has already been localized. The Danyang plant produces 400,000 tons a year.”
President Wang said proudly.
Danyang is a limestone region, so it was a good place to secure limestone, which was a raw material for cement.
“This cement is no ordinary cement. It is a sulfate-resistant cement, and it is what is called a class 5 cement in the field.”
“Grade 5 cement?”
“It is a cement that is resistant to seawater and pollution. It is essential for port construction. Demand will continue to grow.”
I had to prepare by now.
If you depend on income, it is difficult to supply and demand as you want. Class 5 cement is a must-have for structures that come in contact with water, so it was an essential material for those aiming for a plant business like me.
“You are paying for arranging the asphalt.”
“That’s right. Nothing is free in this world.”
“good. We will definitely localize it and deliver it to President Woo first.”
President Wang readily agreed.
From the standpoint of Hyunsan Cement, there is nothing to lose as it has secured a regular customer.
“The second is to ask that construction equipment be damaged as much as possible during the Thai highway construction.”
“Yes? I beg your pardon? Destroy the equipment?”
“The US military will provide construction equipment. Destroy it as much as possible. Then it will be ours.”
“It’s ours. If I break it, shouldn’t I ask?”
“Why do you ask? If you use equipment, it becomes used, and if you keep using it, it breaks down. If you ask me, ask me to move to Korea. He said he would repair it and return it to me.”
“Does that make sense?”
it doesn’t make sense
By the way, in the original history, Chairman Wang was like that.
Even though the local weather in Thailand entered the rainy season, the equipment was operated excessively, and the equipment was damaged, and the US military paid a huge amount of equipment acquisition costs.
It was the main reason for the deficit of $ 1 million.
However, the more interesting thing is that the equipment acquired through crying and eating mustard has become a valuable asset for Hyunsan Construction.
Anyway, when the company was on the brink of bankruptcy in a situation where it had to take over the damaged equipment, Chairman Wang harassed the U.S. military by saying, “Get out of business.”
In the end, the equipment was acquired at a low price, brought into Korea, and the equipment was repaired and used with parts supplied through the US Army Corps of Engineers in Korea.
Such heavy equipment was of great help when building the Gyeongbu Expressway and the Ulsan Shipyard.
It was to such an extent that I no longer had to purchase heavy equipment for such a large construction project.
It was something that drove the construction of Hyeonsan to the brink of bankruptcy, but life should be said to be new.
I’m going to have to put a spoon on this history.
Of course, I’ll try something similar in Quy Nhon, but it won’t be easy to openly destroy equipment in the presence of US soldiers.
But in Thailand, the situation is different.
Although the actual ordering body is the US military, it is nominally a construction project ordered by the Thai government.
The surveillance is loose, so you can break the equipment as you please.
“Why doesn’t it make sense? We know that the US military is the actual ordering body, but officially the Thai government is the ordering body. Even if the equipment is damaged, the Thai government has nothing to be frustrated about. The US military who lent us equipment is just frustrating.”
“…deceiving the US Army… it could be…”
“I am not cheating. When construction is complete, the US military will sell the equipment to the Thai government at a bargain price. We should buy it after struggling to sell it at a bargain price. As a builder, shouldn’t you have that much right?”
The words were slick, but half fraud.
But what can I do? How can I pay for that expensive construction equipment?
I’m going to make it hot and buy it at a bargain price.
“Could it be repaired?”
“If you go through the 8th Army Corps of Engineers, it won’t be that difficult to get parts.”
“!!!!!”
“Destroy the equipment so clearly that Hyunsan Construction is on the brink of bankruptcy. That way you won’t be suspicious.”
If you want to do crazy things, you have to do it hot.
so there is no backtracking
“Then what if it really goes bankrupt?”
“I will go in at the right time. Let’s split it in half.”
If it were President Wang, he would be hot and would break it easily.
“If President Woo can’t keep that promise, our Hyeonsan construction will really pass.”
“If you’re afraid, you don’t have to. I do it alone.”
“Who said no? Of course you should.”
Chairman Wang asked for a handshake without hesitation.
It’s really like a human bulldozer.
I held his hand.
“Congratulations in advance for winning the expressway order.”
“I will definitely repay this favor if I receive an order.”
Reciprocate… How many people have heard this from Chairman Wang? The calm heart wriggled.
The tide of the times began to roar.
The Vietnam Special was coming.
It was time to go beyond the waves to the new world.
***
May 18, 1965.
Washington White House.
“Even the weather seems to welcome you.”
“Thank you for inviting me to such a special place.”
President Park and President Johnson, who completed the official schedule of the Korea-US summit, began a light conversation while walking in the rose garden located on the south side of the White House.
In the official negotiation meeting between the working-level officials, there was no progress on the issue of dispatching combat troops or loans.
Naturally, without the presence of official entourage or aides, seats were created for the heads of state.
“Was the flight uncomfortable?”
“The plane you sent me was like a big hotel. Thanks to you, I came here very comfortably.”
“How many hours did it take?”
“It took 17 hours.”
“I will send a faster plane next time, so please come visit often.”
“thank you.”
President Johnson sent a Boeing 707 for the US president to Korea. It was a respectful treatment for Johnson, but it hurt President Park’s pride.
A president who has to borrow a private plane from a foreign president.
That said, it was more humiliating to go to Japan like a normal person and transfer to a Japanese civil aircraft bound for the United States.
‘We need to grow the Korean economy. I must use this opportunity to stand on my own unconditionally!’
President Park hid her eyes and clenched her fists.
I took a deep breath not to fall for Johnson’s conversation, which even touched my pride and put pressure on me.
He knew that it was a shallow and desperate gamble to find a way out of the national economy at the cost of the lives of young soldiers.
“You said you talked about the memorandum with the staff?”
“Wouldn’t this be an opportunity to prove the strength of the ROK-US alliance?”
President Park bounced back at Johnson’s prodding question.
The slightly out of focus answer was technology.
“An increase in the number of Korean troops is absolutely necessary. Wouldn’t it be enough if it were a condition of giving up the expansion of the loan and the withdrawal of the USFK?”
The United States, which had already stepped into the Vietnam War by sending division-level troops, was in an urgent situation to increase the number of Korean troops after the bombing of the US embassy.
“Korea should also try to dispatch combat troops, but I heard that the U.S. Congress is also strongly against it, saying it is a contract war or a mercenary war.”
“It is just an exaggerated expression of some media, not the National Assembly. I believe you will fully understand.”
Read at noblemtl
Johnson was committed to this negotiation.
A memo was sent to government agencies, instructing the government to make the process of welcoming President Park “completely” and “grandly,” and to make newspapers deal with articles about President Park in a big way. begged to ask
Rice and kimchi were prepared at the Blair House where President Park and his party were staying, and they were welcomed by presenting pure gold presidential coat of arms, a silver set, an oil painting of the White House, Johnson’s books, and a portable record player.
At the welcome dinner ball, Arirang was played.
“It is true that it is politically burdensome. Honey, it would be better to make it clear through a memorandum.”
President Park pushed forward the memorandum again.
“Because it is so one-sided, there is a backlash from the working-level staff…”
“The memorandum was reviewed by myself and with the US Department of Commerce advisors. These are the terms that could be reached if you step forward.”
President Park wondered why Johnson was like this.
It’s a one-sided clause. It made no sense.
Wasn’t it the memorandum already agreed upon with Van Flint, who had come as an emissary?
“Please start by announcing a joint statement agreeing to the troop dispatch and further negotiations on the memorandum.”
“The memorandum takes precedence.”
A joint statement was not the subject of negotiations.
It was just the announcement of the results that had already been decided.
“Phew, you said you wanted to negotiate, but you’re not holding back.”
“It is absolutely not a one-sided memorandum. It is a pledge of mutual trust necessary to fight the war to defend freedom against communist aggression.”
President Park said confidently with a firm expression.
“Go away. I can’t help but admire your courage.”Read at noblemtl
Johnson led President Park to the back entrance of the rose garden. On the other side, Johnson’s aides had already spread out a memorandum.
‘That’s right.’
President Park sat down to sign the memorandum. I read it, but the terms of the memorandum have already been…
– The US government will bear the ‘equipment and finances of the Korean army’ following the dispatch.
– Supplies and services for the Korean military in Vietnam are procured from Korea as much as possible. ‘We also purchase munitions from the U.S. forces in Vietnam in Korea in the form of special recruitment whenever possible.’
– Prioritize Korean companies to participate in various relief and construction projects in Vietnam.
what? When did the clause change like this?
It wasn’t just a change, but even a provision for Korean companies’ priority participation was inserted. From the perspective of President Park, it was a unilaterally favorable condition for Korea.
‘Could it be, CEO Woo Chan-soo?’
Woo Chan-soo passed through President Park’s head.
Of the few people aware of the memorandum, he thought, no one else was crazy enough to change the terms he and Van Flint had agreed to.
‘…Did you think I would forget if I ran away in Vietnam for about a year? Did you think there was no need to report it to me because it was a clause favorable to the motherland? Didn’t you hate being close to the political world?’
President Park pressed the question that popped into his head and hurriedly signed it.
On the side, Johnson also finished signing.
“Shake hands in front of reporters.”
“It is.”
When Johnson’s aide opened the back door to the garden, flashes went off in all directions.
“Did you agree to dispatch troops?”
“What price did you exchange? Is the withdrawal of the USFK a thing of the past?”
“The loan is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, but did the National Assembly approve it?”
“Please say something.”
The reporters were gathered in groups, and physical fights were in full swing as they pushed the microphones at each other.
Read at noblemtl
Jones took the podium to issue a joint statement.
“The United States deeply appreciates the Korean government’s support for Vietnam, and the United States promises to maintain the same level of US forces in Korea as before, and the loan will invest 150 million dollars to…”Read at noblemtl
Johnson read the sentences that will be the headlines of today’s newspaper.
For President Park, the joint agreement had already been refined several times, so there was no need to listen.
“President Park, please make an announcement.”
Soon after, Johnson finished his presentation and handed over the right to speak to President Park.
“The Korean government…”
President Park looked up to read the prepared joint statement. Like a parrot, do we need to repeat Johnson’s statement in Korean? The thought suddenly came to me.
“…Before coming to Washington, I had doubts about the interest and understanding of the Korean people’s efforts to achieve self-sufficiency and their struggle to defend freedom against communist aggression, but now these two doubts It has been completely resolved.”
President Park knew better than anyone else that it would benefit her only if she made the most of the people’s sacrifice.
“Ohhhhh.”
Reporters widened their eyes at the discourse that deviated from the clichéd statement. Even the interpreter’s voice trembled with excitement.
“I am convinced that the relationship between Korea and the United States and between the United States and Korea has gone one step further than an alliance from this moment on.”
“Waaa!”
pop. pop. pop. pop.
More intense camera baptism than during the Johnson presidency poured in.
