Story of a Big Player from Gangnam

Gun-Ho decided to meet the president of Mulpasaneop on his own as Chairman Lee suggested. The name of Mulpasaneop’s president was Se-young Oh. His name could be found on the Internet and also on the documents that Gun-Ho issued from a paid website that provided a company’s information. His father worked as a factory manager in a big company in the old days when Korea had Chung-Hee Park as the president of the country, and then he opened his own business and ran it until he passed it on to his son, the Mulpasaneop’s president.

Gun-Ho made a phone call to Mulpasaneop. He picked lunchtime to make a call to them around noon when most of their employees were out for lunch.

“Hi, I am calling from Daejeon District Court, may I talk to the accounting manager?”

“Our accounting manager is out for lunch right now.”

“When do you expect him to come back to the office?”

“It will be around 1 pm.”

“Oh, and what is the name of the accounting manager?”

“It’s Min-Hwa Kim.”

“Okay, thank you. I will call him later.”

“Stupid folks! They tell everything if someone claims he is from the court.”

Once it was 1 pm, Gun-Ho called Mulpasaneop again, and he asked for the accounting manager.

( NovelFull )     “I’d like to talk to Accounting Manager Min-Hwa Kim, please.”

“This is her.”

The accounting manager was a woman. She hadn’t answered phone calls at the office until recently because the call could be from a creditor; however, now she knew the creditors wouldn’t be able to call to press them to pay the debt because of the court order, so she answered the phone right away with her mind at ease.

“Hi. I am the president of GH non-bank financial institution. I’d like to meet with President Se-Young Oh. When would be a good time for me to come?”

“Excuse me? Are you asking to meet our president? Which non-bank financial institution did you just say?”

“It’s GH non-bank financial institution.”

“Give me one moment, please.”

The accounting manager seemed to be a smart woman. Once she realized that the caller was a president of some non-bank financial institution, she went straight to the president to let him know.

After a while, the accounting manager came back, and asked,

“May I ask what this is in regards to?”

“I’d like to discuss something with the president.”

The accounting manager went again to the president to let him know, and she came back after a while.

“The president said he would be in his office until 5 pm today.”

“Thank you. I will be there by 3 pm then.”

Gun-Ho drove his Land Rover heading to Asan City while singing Bohemian Rhapsody.

“It will take me about two hours to Yeongin Town, Asan City; that’s where Mulpasaneop is located.”

Once he arrived at Mulpasaneop’s factory, Gun-Ho asked for the accounting manager.

( NovelFull )    “Are you the accounting manager? I’m the president of a non-bank financial institution; we just spoke on the phone earlier today.”

The accounting manager seemed to be in her 40s. Gun-Ho looked like a rich man in her eyes because he was wearing a neat suit with an expensive tie. Gun-Ho usually didn’t wear a watch, but he started wearing one—an expensive one—recently. Moreover, Gun-Ho had good manners and that gave a favorable first impression to the accounting manager.

“The president is expecting you. Please come with me.”

When Gun-Ho entered the president’s office, the president was reading a newspaper; it was a large office.

“Hello. I’m the president of GH non-bank institution. Nice to meet you.”

“Please have a seat over here.”

President Se-Young Oh was a bold man in his 60s.

The president showed Gun-Ho a seat at a conference table in his office.

“What made you come to my company today? Our company already started the process of court receivership.”

“I am aware of that, sir. Even with the court receivership, I believe that you might still need funds, so I came to visit you quietly.”

Gun-Ho gave the president his business card which said GH Development.

After looking at Gun-Ho’s business card using his reading glasses, the president said,

“The business card said it is a real estate development company, not a non-bank financial institution.”

“Our clients are companies who need a substantial amount of money in a short period of time and the transaction has to be done quietly. We don’t advertise our business publicly. That’s why I carry a business card like this. I hope you understand.”

“Hmm. I see, but I can’t borrow money from anyone now. Our company is not capable of paying a loan interest, and we are under the court’s control right now.”

“I know that.”

“If you know that, then what are you suggesting?”

“I understand you borrowed money mostly from banks, but I am sure you also borrowed some money from people you know personally and used hard money as well.”

“That’s true.”

“Since the court receivership started, you must not be able to pay the interest to those people.”

The accounting manager came into the office with two cups of green tea.

“Let’s have some tea first. So, you are saying that if I used hard money, you would lend me some funds? Without collateral?”

“Yes, I can, depending on the circumstances though.”

“May I ask you the source of the money you would lend me? Please don’t get me wrong, but you seem to be a bit too young to handle that sort of significant amount of money…”

“I am working for my boss, of course.”

“Oh, I see. It would have been really nice if I met you before our company started the court receivership.”

“It’s still not too late.”

“To be honest with you, I borrowed 300 million won from my younger sister before the court receivership started. I haven’t been able to pay her the loan’s interest. She saved that money to buy a home. She is asking for the principal, but the court isn’t letting me.”

“I can lend you money as it is your personal loan not to your business. I can take your personal asset as collateral.”

“Haha. I wish I have any personal assets left that I could use for a loan as collateral, but my home in Bangbae Town is already taken as collateral two times already.”

“Did you say two times?”

“It was first secured for the loan from Kukmin Bank, and it was subsequently used three times more by our vendor when I couldn’t pay for the raw materials we used.”

“I admire you, sir. You used your personal property for the company’s debt. Not many people would do that.”

When Gun-Ho recognized the president’s selfless action and said it to him, the president seemed to feel good about himself. Someone appreciated his care and sacrifice for his company after all.

“In running a company, I don’t work for my personal interest.”

“You are a true businessman, sir. I wish there was more businessman like you in this world.”

The president who was feeling good and relaxed now became more cooperative in providing information to Gun-Ho with pleasure. Gun-Ho thought that sometimes reasonable buttering up was necessary and useful.

“How much is your home in Bangbae Town worth?”

“As far as I know, it’s about 1.8 billion won since the real estate prices went up a lot recently. It’s a 50 pyung condo. I raised all of my children in that condo.”

“How much in total did you use to secure your current loan with the condo?”

The president asked for the accounting manager urgently, hoping he might be able to borrow additional money using the same condo as collateral.

“Manager Kim, You know the address of my condo in Bangbae Town, right? Do you have the real estate registration of that property? If you don’t, please get one. You can get it through the Internet in no time, right?”

“Okay, sir. I will do that.”