[036] It’s Mine 3.
The atmosphere at breakfast was tense, thanks to Grandfather’s outburst. Everyone was on edge, trying to keep him in a good mood.
My parents, who were at the center of the issue, made a quick exit right after breakfast, using the excuse of checking on the theater. My uncle claimed he had urgent business and left first.
To stop Grandfather’s plan, I needed to understand its details.
The report I had glimpsed on the desk kept nagging at me. It seemed to be the blueprint for swallowing up Ajin Motors.
With everyone gathered around Chairman Jin in the living room, I had a bit of time.
Quietly, I slipped into Grandfather’s study, grabbed the thick report from the desk, and sat on the floor to read it quickly.
The table of contents made me uneasy, and as I flipped through the pages, I realized why.
I skimmed the beginning of each chapter to get a sense of the report and then closed it.
I was completely off the mark.
This wasn’t a report on Sunyang’s strategy to absorb Ajin Motors. It was about the necessity of restructuring the automotive industry, government policies, and support measures. In short, it justified Sunyang’s acquisition of Ajin Motors, and if the government announced it, Ajin would become part of Sunyang Group.
If Daehyun Motors absorbed Ajin, it would raise monopoly concerns in the market, and Woosung Motors, with its significant GM shares, would seem like it was being handed over to a foreign company.
In the end, Sunyang Motors was deemed the most suitable acquirer.
Once again, I was astounded by the power of the chaebol.
The chaebol creates the policies it wants, presents them to the government, and the government implements them. Finally, the legislators in the National Assembly act as rubber stamps.
This combination allows a company to be swallowed whole without even peeling off its shell.
This report was evidence of the secret collusion between Sunyang Group and the government.
If this got out, it would be a major scandal.
Damn.
The impact would be too great. I didn’t care about the current regime’s downfall, but Sunyang’s downfall was unacceptable.
I couldn’t let Grandfather end up in a wheelchair heading to the prosecutor’s office.
I needed to find something to turn the situation around.
I picked up the weekly intelligence report from the desk.
I had occasionally sneaked a peek at it when Grandfather wasn’t around.
There wasn’t anything particularly useful for me yet. I just found the celebrity scandals amusing.
This report was akin to the stock market rumors and X-files.
It was a comprehensive report covering politics, economy, society, and entertainment. But the quantity, depth, and reliability of the information were incomparable to mere rumors.
Sunyang’s scholars from various fields provided the information, which Sunyang Group’s intelligence team meticulously verified.
I flipped through the file, hoping to find something useful.
But there was nothing to make Grandfather withdraw his hand from Ajin Motors.
I closed the intelligence report file with a long sigh.
I needed to stop the government from announcing the automotive industry restructuring, but I was at a loss.
Then, a completely different thought occurred to me. Or rather, it was seeing the situation from a different perspective.
Instead of stopping Grandfather, I could stop the government. If I could distract the government from even looking at the automotive industry…
There was something in the intelligence report that was perfect for this.
Information that other chaebols had overlooked because they weren’t interested in making money from it.
It was about…
[Hanbo Group - Change of Land Use for Suseo District Development]
This was very useful.
The media’s favorite target is the government.
No matter how much they bite, the public never complains. The more the media criticizes the government, the better they are perceived for doing their job.
This, too, translates into money.
The more the public likes the media, the more valuable each word becomes.
If the current government’s morality takes a severe hit, the automotive report created by Sunyang Group becomes worthless.
If a government with a tarnished reputation tries to restructure the automotive industry, it would be another scandal. They wouldn’t dare mention automotive restructuring.
I quickly copied the information about the Suseo land development on the fax machine.
“This is getting too big… I wonder if it’ll be okay.”
Right after the Lunar New Year holiday, I organized the information file and sent it to every media outlet in the country by mail. There was no reaction for a few days, and I wondered if Hanbo Group was keeping an eye on things, but it seemed they took time to verify my tip.
A few days later, the Segye Ilbo opened the floodgates, and soon all the media outlets focused their firepower on reporting this incident. Not a single line about Ajin Motors appeared.
Newspapers and broadcasts were pouring out main articles demanding the truth about the Suseo special treatment scandal.
As March was ending, the protests had been ongoing for almost a month.
In 1988, Hanbo Group Chairman Chung Tae-soo acquired 35,000 pyeong of land in Suseo, which was just green space, after obtaining the government’s plan to build apartments there.
Seoul City’s initial plan was to build apartments and sell them to homeless citizens, but Chairman Chung’s extensive lobbying overturned the policy of “no special treatment for specific associations” in just five months, leading to the decision to supply the land.
Seoul City confessed that the policy change was due to pressure from Jang Byung-jo, the Blue House’s cultural and sports secretary, but that wasn’t all.
It was revealed that lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties received kickbacks from Hanbo to pressure Seoul City.
Although the Blue House secretary was identified as the main culprit, it was clear he was just a scapegoat.
The media and protestors demanding the truth were now targeting the Blue House, and it was becoming the biggest scandal of the Sixth Republic.
“With this, they probably won’t have the mental capacity to focus on the automotive industry…”
As I had hoped, the Blue House was concentrating all its efforts on managing this crisis, and the lame-duck period of the Roh Tae-woo administration had begun.
“For the time being, we should refrain from contacting the Blue House. We’ve also put a hold on stock accumulation.”
Lee Hak-jae watched Chairman Jin, who was tapping his desk with a frown. They had prepared so much, but the unexpected fire had caught them off guard.
“Hak-jae.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
“This isn’t a fire that will die down easily, is it?”
“It seems so. The Central Investigation Department has launched a full-scale investigation. They’ve summoned six lawmakers from Yeouido, as well as officials from Seoul City and Blue House secretaries.”
“What about Chairman Chung of Hanbo?”
“He’s already been banned from leaving the country. The group is scrambling to assemble a legal team.”
“They’ll be looking for prosecutors of high rank.”
Chairman Jin shook his head in dismay.
There’s a saying that a president’s term is 24 months. The first two years, they have the power to push through anything, but the remaining three years are a steady decline.
With only two years left in the term, a scandal of this magnitude means the president’s power is effectively gone.
Power will now rapidly shift to the ruling party leader. With just one year left until the next general election, and the party leader holding the nomination rights, it’s clear the Blue House will become a lame-duck administration.
Such a Blue House can’t push for or even attempt to restructure the automotive industry.
“I told them not to engage in land speculation during this administration… Tsk tsk.”
“Chairman Chung’s greed for land is well-known. I didn’t expect it to ruin our plans…”
“Inform the current prosecutors. Warn them that if they resign to defend Chung Tae-soo, Sunyang will sever ties with them.”
“Understood.”
Lee Hak-jae shared Chairman Jin’s sentiment of wanting to vent his frustration in any way possible. If he could, he would have liked to grab Chairman Chung by the collar and shake him.
Chairman Jin turned to President Cho Dae-ho, who was sitting quietly beside him.
“How’s Chairman Song? Isn’t he throwing a party?”
“Similar situation. He laughed while informing me they wouldn’t be hiring.”
“Good work, President Cho.”
“Not at all. I’m sorry for not accomplishing anything.”
President Cho bowed his head.
“Return to the automotive division during the regular personnel reshuffle in April. We need to prepare for new car development without any setbacks.”
“Thank you, Chairman.”
When he lifted his head, President Cho’s face was bright.
“Hak-jae, did we lose money buying Ajin Motors stock?”
“It’s fine. When Chairman Song of Ajin got hit, the stock price plummeted, didn’t it? We averaged down with the shares we bought then. If we sell now, we won’t incur any losses.”
“Alright. Pull out and cut our losses.”
Chairman Jin tossed the strategic report from the Sunyang Economic Research Institute into the trash with a bitter expression.
As 1991, the year Freddie Mercury of the British band Queen died of AIDS, passed, Seo Taiji swept through 1992.
Moreover, Kim Young-sam, who would become even more popular than Seo Taiji, was elected as the 14th president, and as if signaling the end of the era of the two Kims, Kim Dae-jung announced his retirement from politics, marking the end of 1992.
Watching this unfold on TV, Oh Se-hyun turned it off and let out a long sigh of regret.
“One side steps down, and the other begins. It’s quite something.”
“It’s time for us to start, too.”
“Start what?”
Oh Se-hyun’s eyes turned suspicious. He had been startled by me more than once, but it seemed he still wasn’t used to it.
“I’m planning to move some of the money we’ve set aside next year.”
“Money? The money in Miracle?”
“Yes.”
“Where? How?”
I raised my hand to stop Oh Se-hyun and cautiously revealed my plan.
“Uncle, it’s time to partner with me.”
“What?”
“Quit PowerShares and go all-in with Miracle Investment. You’re already a 2% shareholder, and we’ve made enough money to afford a high salary, don’t you think?”
I expected shock, followed by contemplation, but it was different. He shook his head as soon as I finished my proposal.
“I don’t want to do that.”
“What? Why not?”
“With 98% of the shares in the hands of a single decision-maker who’s always successful, what am I supposed to do? Right?”
This wasn’t some worn-out negotiation tactic like ‘always reject the first offer.’ It was a flat-out refusal.
Which meant I needed to make another proposal to win him over.
“We’re planning to establish a branch in Korea. We’re thinking of managing part of the funds there. And… you know about Grandpa’s secret stash, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll only handle the money invested in Dell Computers. You can manage Grandpa’s secret funds and the rest. I have no intention of making you a puppet.”
Osuhyun seemed more intrigued by the idea of managing the money tied up in Dell Computers than by my proposal.
“What? You’re planning to pull that money out?”
“Yes. I’m thinking of doing it early next year.”
“Are you out of your mind? Dell is a golden goose, setting new profit records every day. Why would you do that?”
“We can discuss that later. What do you think about what I just said? And please, don’t misunderstand. I’m not proposing; I’m asking for your help.”
Perhaps it was my calm tone that helped Osuhyun regain his composure. He stood up and walked to the window, staring out for a few minutes before turning back, the negotiator in him reawakened.
“Let me summarize what I need, and we can talk again after you look it over.”
Whatever it is, I’m ready to agree. Right now, I need someone like Osuhyun—someone who doesn’t treat me like a child, who’s smart, experienced, and has a reputation that commands respect anywhere in the world.
Someone to stand in for me until I come of age.
But I didn’t say any of this.
The negotiation process is crucial. By pretending to consider his demands and then accepting them, he’ll feel satisfied. In negotiations, the feeling of having gotten everything you wanted is more important than the actual terms.
“Dojoon, what exactly are you planning to do with the funds from Dell Computers?”
“I’m thinking of investing in Japan.”
The moment I mentioned Japan, he shook his head vigorously.
“No way! Don’t you know? The Japanese economy is sinking. You read the papers. Japan’s facing its worst crisis since the bubble burst.”
I shook my head just as vigorously.
“Uncle, the greatest opportunities always lie within the greatest crises. You know that…”
“That’s what successful people say! Only one in a million seizes an opportunity in a crisis. The rest drown in it.”
“Uncle, don’t you think I might be that one in a million?”