RR 36
[036] Mine 3.
Perhaps due to the chilly atmosphere at breakfast caused by Grandfather’s scolding, everyone was preoccupied with trying to please him.
My father and mother, the parties directly involved, left early as soon as breakfast was over, using the excuse of checking the theater situation, and my eldest uncle was the first to depart, citing urgent business.
To thwart Grandfather’s plan, I first needed to know its details.
The thick report I had glimpsed on the study desk kept nagging at me. It seemed clear that report was the plan to swallow Ajin Motors.
Looking at the people gathered in the living room around Chairman Jin, I figured I could buy some time.
I quietly slipped into Grandfather’s study, picked up the thick report from the desk, sat on the floor, and quickly read through it.
When I saw the table of contents, I felt a slight unease, and as I turned the pages, I understood why.
I read only the beginning of each chapter to grasp the overall content of the report, then closed it.
I had completely misunderstood.
This report wasn’t Sunyang’s strategy to absorb Ajin Motors.
It was about the necessity of industry consolidation in the automotive sector, corresponding government policies, and support measures. In short, it documented the justification and rationale for Sunyang absorbing Ajin, and if the government simply announced according to this report, Ajin Motors would be incorporated into Sunyang Group.
If Daehyun Motors absorbed Ajin, there would be concerns about a monopoly in the automotive market, and Woosung Motors had a significant GM stake, giving the impression of handing it over to a foreign auto company.
Ultimately, the report argued that Sunyang Motors was the most suitable acquirer.
Once again, I was astonished by the power of Sunyang—no, of the chaebol.
The chaebol creates policies it desires, presents them to the government, and the government puts those policies into action. Finally, the legislative body, the National Assembly members, faithfully act as rubber stamps.
Swallowing a perfectly sound company whole, without even peeling its skin, was possible through such a combination.
This report was evidence of the secret close ties between Sunyang Group and the government.
If this were leaked, it would become a political-economic scandal.
Damn it.
The impact would be too great. I didn’t care about the impact on the current administration, but the impact on Sunyang must not happen.
I couldn’t send my grandfather to the prosecution in a wheelchair, could I?
I needed to find something that could reverse the current situation.
I picked up the weekly intelligence report lying on one side of the desk.
I sometimes used to sneak a look at it when Grandfather wasn’t in the study.
There was no particularly useful information for me yet. I had only read celebrity scandals for fun.
This report was similar in nature to stock market tabloids or X-files.
A comprehensive report covering all information from politics, economy, society, and entertainment. However, the quantity, depth, and reliability of the information were incomparable to tabloids.
It was information meticulously verified by Sunyang Group’s intelligence team, leaked by Sunyang scholars from various fields.
I flipped through the file, wondering if there was anything useful.
But there was no source that could make my grandfather withdraw his hand from Ajin Motors.
I closed the intelligence report file and let out a long sigh.
I needed to stop the government from announcing the automotive industry restructuring before it happened, but for now, it seemed hopeless.
At this moment, a completely different idea came to mind. No, it’s more accurate to say I saw the situation from a different perspective.
Instead of stopping Grandfather, I just needed to stop the government. What if I could bewilder the government so much that they couldn’t even look at the automotive industry?
There was one highly relevant piece of information in the intelligence report I had just seen.
Information that I had let pass because other chaebols weren’t interested in making money from it.
It was…
[Hanbo Group – Case of Land Use Change in Suseo District Housing Development]
This was very useful.
The media’s favorite and most beloved prey was the government.
No matter how much they tore at it, no one in the public complained. The more the media criticized the government, the more positive evaluations they received for doing their job properly.
This also directly translated into money.
Because the more the public liked the media, the greater the value of each character.
If the current government’s morality suffered a fatal blow, the automotive report created by Sunyang Group would become a piece of waste paper.
If a government, critically damaged in its morality, were to proceed with automotive industry restructuring, it would become another scandal. It was obvious they wouldn’t dare to mention automotive restructuring again.
I quickly faxed the information related to the Suseo housing development to all media outlets in Korea..
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The Suseo Scandal and Its Aftermath
“This has grown too big… Will it be okay?”
Immediately after the Lunar New Year holiday, I organized the information files and sent them by mail to all media companies in Korea. For a few days, there was no reaction, and I wondered if they were being cautious about Hanbo Group, but it seemed they also took time to verify my tip.
A few days later, Segye Ilbo opened fire, followed by all media outlets, which began to focus their firepower on this incident. Not a single line about Ajin Motors appeared.
Newspapers and broadcasts were continuously pouring out main articles about protests demanding a thorough investigation into the Suseo preferential treatment.
It was almost the end of March, and the protests had continued for nearly a month without stopping.
In 1988, Hanbo Group Chairman Jung Tae-soo, having obtained the government’s plan to build apartments on 35,000 pyeong of the Suseo area, which was merely green space, bought all this land.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government’s initial plan was to build apartments and distribute them to low-income, landless citizens, but Chairman Jung Tae-soo’s extensive lobbying overturned the policy of ‘no preferential treatment for specific associations’ in just five months, deciding to supply housing lots.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government confessed that the policy was changed due to pressure from Jang Byeong-jo, the Blue House Secretary for Culture and Sports, but that wasn’t all.
It was also revealed that National Assembly members, regardless of party, had received illicit funds from Hanbo and pressured the Seoul Metropolitan Government.
While a Blue House secretary was named as the ringleader, it was clear that he was merely a small piece of the puzzle.
The media and protesters demanding a thorough investigation aimed their fire at the Blue House, and it was growing into the biggest scandal of the Sixth Republic.
“At this point, I don’t think they’ll have the presence of mind to even look at the automotive industry…”
As I had expected, the Blue House was concentrating all its efforts on resolving this crisis, and the Roh Tae-woo administration’s lame duck period began.
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“For the time being, we should refrain from contacting the Blue House. And we’ve also put a hold on stock acquisition.”
Lee Hak-jae cautiously watched Chairman Jin, who was frowning and tapping his desk. They had prepared so much, and it was completely unexpected for sparks to fly from an unforeseen direction.
“Hak-jae.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
“This isn’t a fire that will die down easily, is it?”
“It seems not. The Central Investigation Department of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office has launched an all-out investigation. Starting with six lawmakers in Yeouido, they’ve requested the appearance of Seoul City officials and Blue House secretaries.”
“What about Hanbo’s Chairman Jung?”
“He’s already under a travel ban. The group is scrambling to put together a defense team.”
“He’ll be looking for prosecutor-general-level lawyers, I suppose.”
Chairman Jin shook his head, as if he found it pathetic.
There’s a saying that a president’s term is 24 months. For the first two years, they have the power to push through anything, but the remaining three years are a steady decline.
Now, with only two years left in his term, this kind of scandal means the president has virtually lost all power.
Power would now rapidly shift to the ruling party’s chairman. The next general election was just one year away. Since the party chairman held the right to nominate candidates, it was obvious that the Blue House would be reduced to a lame-duck administration.
Such a Blue House could neither push for nor prevent the restructuring of the automotive industry.
“I told them so many times not to speculate in real estate during this administration… Tsk tsk.”
“Chairman Jung’s greed for land is well-known, isn’t it? I didn’t know that greed would ruin our plan, though…”
“Let the current chief prosecutors know. Warn them that if they resign to defend Jung Tae-soo, Sunyang will cut ties with them.”
“Understood.”
Lee Hak-jae’s feelings were no different from Chairman Jin’s, who wanted to vent his anger in some way. If he could, he would have loved to grab Chairman Jung by the collar and shake him.
Chairman Jin looked at President Jo Dae-ho, who had been sitting quietly beside him, and spoke.
“How is President Song? Didn’t he throw a party?”
“Similar. He laughed as he informed me that he wouldn’t hire me.”
“You’ve worked hard, President Jo.”
“Not at all. On the contrary, I apologize for doing nothing.”
President Jo Dae-ho bowed his head.
“Return to the automotive division during the April regular personnel reshuffle. You’ll need to prepare for new car development without a hitch.”
“Thank you, Chairman.”
When he raised his lowered head, President Jo’s beaming face was visible.
“Hak-jae. Did you lose some money buying Ajin Motors shares?”
“It’s fine. Didn’t the stock price plummet when Ajin’s President Song was being beaten up? We diluted our holdings with the shares we bought then. There won’t be any loss if we sell them now.”
“Alright. Clean house and get out.”
Chairman Jin, with a bitter expression, threw the strategy report prepared by the Sunyang Economic Research Institute into the wastebasket.
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New Horizons for Miracle Investment
As 1991, the year when Freddie Mercury, the vocalist of the British band Queen, died of AIDS, passed, Seo Taiji swept through 1992.
Also, Kim Young-sam, who would gain even greater popularity than Seo Taiji, was elected as the 14th president, and as if foreshadowing the end of the era of the two Kims, Kim Dae-jung declared his political retirement, and 1992 drew to a close.
Oh Se-hyun, watching this on TV, turned off the television and let out a long sigh of regret.
“One side retreats, and another begins. It’s truly amazing.”
“We should start now too.”
“Start what?”
Oh Se-hyun’s eyes turned suspicious. He had been surprised by me more than once or twice, but he still didn’t seem to be getting used to it.
“Next year, I plan to move some of the money we’ve invested.”
“Money? The money in Miracle?”
“Yes.”
“Where? How?”
I raised my hand to stop Oh Se-hyun from speaking and cautiously brought up my plan.
“Uncle. Let’s be partners now.”
“What?”
“I’m asking you to quit PowerShares and go all-in on Miracle Investment. After all, you’re a 2% shareholder, and we’ve made a lot of money, so we can certainly afford a high salary, can’t we?”
I expected shock first, then contemplation, but it was completely different. He shook his head as soon as my proposal ended.
“I don’t like that.”
“Huh? Why?”
“The 98% shareholder unilaterally decides investments, and the results have always been successful, so what would I have to do? Don’t you think?”
He wasn’t using the worn-out negotiation technique of ‘always reject the first offer.’ It was a complete refusal.
In that case, I had to make another offer to recruit him.
“We’ll also establish a branch in Korea. I plan to keep and manage some of the funds in Korea now. Also… you have Grandfather’s slush fund, right?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll only manage the money invested in Dell Computer, and you can manage Grandfather’s slush fund and the rest of the money. I don’t intend to make you a scarecrow.”
Oh Se-hyun reacted more sensitively to the mention of managing the money invested in Dell Computer than to my proposal itself.
“What? You’re going to pull that money out?”
“Yes. I plan to pull it out early next year.”
“Are you crazy? Dell is a golden goose that’s breaking new profit records every day. Why would you do that?”
“We’ll talk about this later, what do you think about what I just said? Oh, don’t misunderstand. I’m not proposing; I’m asking for a favor.”
Perhaps because of my calm tone, Oh Se-hyun got up and walked to the window to calm his excitement.
After several minutes of silently gazing out the window, he turned around, having returned to his negotiator’s posture.
“I’ll summarize what I need and tell you again. Let’s talk again after you’ve seen that.”
Whatever it was, I was ready to grant it. What I needed now was an adult like Oh Se-hyun.
Someone who no longer treated me like a child, yet was smart, experienced, and crucially, had a career that wouldn’t be outmatched anywhere in the world.
He was the person who would stand in for me until I became an adult.
But I didn’t say these words.
The negotiation process was also important. I had to pretend to review his demands and then accept them so he would feel satisfied. In negotiations, satisfaction from getting everything you want takes precedence over good terms.
“Do-jun, what on earth do you plan to do with the Dell Computer funds?”
“I’m thinking of investing in Japan.”
As soon as Japan was mentioned, he shook his head vigorously.
“No! Are you unaware? The Japanese economy is sinking right now. You read the newspapers too. Japan is facing its greatest crisis as its bubble burst.”
I, too, shook my head vigorously.
“Uncle. The greatest opportunities are always found in the greatest crises. You know that, don’t you?”
“That’s for the ones who succeeded! Only one in a million seized an opportunity in a crisis. Everyone else drowned in that crisis.”
“Uncle. Don’t you think I might be that one in a million?”
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