Episode 105. Loachs in the summer.
When I answered the phone, the voice of Choi Tae-sik, the chief of civil affairs, came out.
“Chairman Kang. This is Taesik Choi.”
“Yes, hello. Chief.”
“Are you free this evening? I ate a lot last time, so I’ll buy you a drink today.”
“haha. It’s a rare opportunity to get a drink from Senior Min Jeong, but if we don’t have time, we’ll have to make it.”
“Then let’s meet at Yuhan Kwan at 8 pm tonight. It’s a place that serves drinks that are not as good as the ones I had at Songunjeong last time.”
“yes. See you later.”
Yuhan-gwan was operated by reservation system, so there were no customers wandering around, and each room was quite far away, so it was a good restaurant to share secret conversations with.
Although a bottle of alcohol the size of a fist exceeded 500,000 won, it was a burdensome level for a civil servant’s salary.
Five or six bottles were already on the table.
Chief Choi grabbed the neck of the bottle engraved with lotus flowers and held it out to me.
“Have a drink. It tastes good, but it is a wine that smells good before you drink it.”
As he said, the clean scent reminiscent of the upper valleys instead of the fishy taste of alcohol comforted my nose.
“like. It really is. After all, I think the chief should make it a place for an appointment. Just smelling the scent makes me feel tired.”
“haha. Yes?”
Chief Choi drank alcohol in one breath and looked at me with sullen eyes.
“nice. good night! Besides, this drink is also slightly different on the outside and inside. When you smell it, it seems like a light and refreshing taste, but when you drink it, it is surprisingly heavy. Just like Kang.”
“Is that a compliment?”
“sure. To be honest, I made a lot of rudeness last time. I didn’t know too much about CEO Kang. CEO Kang has no connection with famous conglomerates, and his business is more foreign than domestic, right? If you don’t look at it with interest, it’s easy to think of you as a young businessman who’s quite successful for his age, and that was the case with me.”
“It’s the past tense. So, has your perception changed a bit now?”
Chief Choi nodded his head.
“Of course. Since one of my jobs is personnel verification for high-ranking government candidates, it’s not difficult to get to know people. I didn’t believe what CEO Kang said last time, so I did some research even though I knew it was not polite, and it was all true.”
“haha. How can you make bluffs in front of Senior Secretary Min Jeong, who is a key member of the Blue House? That is not polite.”
“Yes. But sometimes, there are people who do not follow the manners, so I also misunderstood CEO Kang a little. Of course not now. Moreover, what he said at the time was only part of the business that CEO Kang was running. It was so embarrassing to think that such a person who contributed greatly to the national economy was neglected.
candid conversation?
I mean let’s tell each other what we want.
“I am glad that the misunderstanding has been resolved. So can I take it as a sign that you are ready to have a deeper conversation with me?”
“Of course. Forget about the social position of politicians and businessmen, and speak frankly and openly about what is inside.”
The person who initially felt uncomfortable meeting businessmen like me has changed quite a bit in a few days.
Also, once you have a lot of money, you have to look at it.
“haha. Okay. Actually, I have some interest in world communication. You must have already noticed.”
Chief Choi nodded.
“I guessed it from the moment CEO Kang talked about the Doosung Group. But why suddenly jump into the telecommunications business? It has nothing to do with semiconductors, right?”
“There is not much connection. I think it’s just going to be a lot of money. Because I am a businessman by nature, I can’t just ignore items that can be used as money.”
“..the telecommunication business makes money? I don’t quite understand. Doosung Telecom, the No. 1 operator in market share, is barely avoiding the loss, and the rest of the telecommunication companies are suffering from losses.”
“It is now. But in just a year or two, things will change drastically.”
“Do you have any reason to think so?”
“Of course it is. That cell phone that you also have, that will make the carriers fat.”
“..a cell phone?”
“yes. The reason why the telecommunication business is in the red is because of subsidies. Now, because the number of subscribers is growing rapidly, subsidies are required, but soon the number of subscribers will stagnate. There is a limit to the number of people in our country. Then the size of the subsidy will be greatly reduced from that point on. After that, of course, there is no choice but to make a profit.”
“yes. Chairman Koo of the Doosung Group knew this and was in a hurry to take over World Telecom. I’m going to buy it when it’s cheap.”
Chief Choi looked up at the table as if worried, then looked up.
“CEO Kang wants me to move the FTC members to support the refusal to take over, right?”
“…isn’t it?”
“yes. All I want is for Chief Choi to do nothing.”
Chief Choi, who had been contemplating the meaning of my words, made an expression of understanding.
“Ah, Hagisa, if it were not for my influence, the FTC members would take care of the rejection side. It’s clearly a violation of the rules, so the public will notice a lot.”
“yes. And a person who has dedicated his life to the country like Chief Choi does not fit into such a muddy pool. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to take a step away and watch how the loaches in the world fight.”
Chief Choi laughed out loud as if he liked what I said that he didn’t have to do anything.
“Shh. Isn’t it usually called a dragon? You are comparing the chairman of the Doosung Group under the world to a loach, and as expected, CEO Kang is not an ordinary person.”
“Money is always dirty. The real dragons are people like Chief Choi who don’t come close to this kind of money.”
“Actually, if I had lived for money, I would have saved quite a lot of money, if not as much as CEO Kang. Instead, I would not have been able to participate in the great cause of running the country like this.”
“That’s right. So, like a dragon, enjoy quietly looking down at the underworld from the sky. I will prepare a soft chair for you to enjoy it comfortably.”
Chief Choi nodded as if he understood what I was saying.
“All right. As President Kang said, it would be against equity for a government official to unilaterally take a side. By the way, can we get a preview of that plush chair? I am very curious.”
It was a voice asking me to show proof because I couldn’t take my hands off of what I said.
I handed him the papers I had prepared.
“This is a document stating that you are appointed as an advisor to TM Future Corporation. My signature is already included, so you only need to add the signature of the chief.”
Chief Choi smiled with satisfaction.
“haha. It’s amazing that a young man is so thorough in his work. After all, there was a reason for success in every business I did.”
“Then the Fair Trade Commission won’t have to worry about it anymore, right?”
“of course. The FTC members will make the right decision based on the law and conscience.”
You need money to do something that should be done for granted.
It was a sad reality.
“haha. It’s great that you say that. Have a drink.”
Two days after the second meeting with Chief Choi.
In the plenary session of the Fair Trade Commission, a final ruling was made that Doosung Telecom’s takeover of World Telecom was illegal.
Doosung Telecom’s application for acquisition approval was rejected.
All that was left for me was to negotiate a price with Ulsan General Steel, which has a stake in World Telecom.
#Doosung Group Chairman Koo Yeo-beom’s office.
Clink!
When Yeo-beom Koo was informed that her application for approval to acquire World Telecom was rejected, she could not overcome her temper and threw an ashtray at the wall.
He clenched his teeth, staring at the ashtray shattered by the wall.
“Choi Tae-sik dares to break his promise to me, and he doesn’t even answer my call? How am I supposed to do this?”
Goo Yeo-beom wanted to go to Choi Tae-sik and blow her fists right away.
It was practically impossible to do such a thing to the chief of civil affairs, so I had no choice but to suppress my anger.
“..But Chief Choi, why did he break his promise to me and release the FTC members as they are?”
Originally, he was interested in wealth and had already exchanged several deals.
This time too, if only the FTC members moved, I was going to take a piece of real estate worth 1 billion won.
I will be able to resist such a price and act according to my conscience.
“Conscience? under. I’ve seen a lot of politicians, but have I ever seen a person with that conscience?”
Among them, Choi Tae-sik was a person who was far from conscience.
“…there is something. No matter how much you think about it, he is not a person who will act according to his conscience.”
Goo Yeo-beom called the chief of staff by pressing the intercom.
“Chief Hand. Come up right now.”
After a while, Goo Yeo-beom said to the chief secretary with a stiff face.
“Obviously, there must be someone who cheated on Choi Tae-sik. Be sure to find out who did it. I don’t know who the big guy who thought of taking my rice bowl was, but should I tell him he made a mistake?”
“We’ll find out right away.”
“okay. Call me as soon as you find out.”
Goo Yeo-beom has only stolen other people’s things all her life, and has never taken it away.
So the shock was even greater.
He thought he would never forgive him if he only found out who the big guy who overturned his feast table was.
#February June.
Washington DC, USA.
Apple CEO Steve Mars left the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and burst into anger.
“USTR! It’s like these nonsensical idiots. Is it okay to use a CPU made in the US? I’m really It’s only used if it’s capable of drilling, so how the heck are you going to use something that can’t even come close to a drill!”
Steve spit in the air, pouring out his anger.
That didn’t change anything though.
Steve returned to his senses a little and tilted his head.
“By the way, Mr. Kang, why is this guy so carefree? When he asks what he’s going to do, he just tells me to wait.”
An ominous thought came to Steve as he was muttering like that.
“..Isn’t it just a withdrawal from the US market? No, no, no..”
Steve, who was walking around, shook his head.
“..I can’t be anxious like this! I should go to Korea and check Mr. Kang’s thoughts.”
Steve pulled out his phone and immediately called the secretary.
“suggest. Please book me a flight to Korea.”
“When should I book?”
“On the fastest schedule.”
Steve got on a plane bound for Korea.
