Story of a Big Player from Gangnam

Gun-Ho continued to talk with Jae-Sik Moon about transferring the farmland that he bought with Jae-Sik’s name to GH Logistics.

“I can put my personal funds of 3 billion won into GH Logistics like I’m lending it to the company. After the sales contract is signed, I will deposit 3 billion won in your personal bank account. You then withdraw that amount and send it back to my personal account.”

“Hmm.”

“We then put up the land for sale—the farmland and the 980 pyung large land that GH Logistics’ office building is on. So, we put the total of 5,080 pyung large land on the market.”

“That’s right. The auto repair shop that we purchased at the very beginning was on the 980 pyung large lot. We then purchased a 1,500 pyung large land and then a 2,600 pyung large parcel of land. So, it makes the entire land 5,080 pyung large.”

“After completing the land use conversion, it will become a big parcel of land for factory use. I’m sure we can sell it for at least 6 billion won.”

“Whoa! 6 billion won?!”

Jae-Sik did his math about the transaction involved in those three parcels of land.

‘Gun-Ho started by purchasing the 980 pyung large automobile repair shop for 2 billion won. Since it was located on the main road, it was kind of expensive. He then purchased the farmland adjacent to it for 900 million won. It was 1,500 pyung large. He additionally acquired the landlocked property behind the auto repair shop for 1 billion won. So, he spent 3.9 billion won in total to buy those three parcels of land. It then cost him 400 million won for taxes and fees and an additional 100 million won for the agency fee and stuff. Therefore, he invested 4.4 billion won, and he will sell the land for 6 billion won? Wow.

If he successfully sells the land for 6 billion won, he will make 1.6 billion won without really doing anything. I’m not sure how much income tax he has to pay for the transaction, but he will at least take 1 billion won in cash. Wow. This is how he accumulated his wealth so far. He is really smart. I thought Byeong-Chul Hwang, who was ranked number one in the class in high school, was the smartest one among us, but I guess Gun-Ho was way smarter than him’

Jae-Sik took a moment before asking Gun-Ho, “Are you going to close GH Logistics?”

“As long as it doesn’t lose money, I don’t have to close the business.”

“But you’re going to sell the place.”

“I can move its location. We can lease a place for the business, and if the company generates enough profits to pay for all the operating expenses, we don’t have to close it.”

“Where are you going to move it to?”

“I haven’t decided yet.”

“Do you have anyone in mind who would run the company?”

“I don’t know. I think we will need someone who has experience in the transportation field.”

“I think Dyeon Korea’s Director Kim would do an excellent job in running GH Logistics. He is very good at communicating with potential clients and workers.”

“Haha. Then, who’s going to do the sales work for Dyeon Korea?”

“Haha. I’m just saying.”

“You said that we currently have 27 trucks in GH Logistics, right?”

“Yes.”

“What about the sales revenue? Is it generating 100 million won per month?”

“More or less.”

“Hmm. Its monthly sales revenue is not even half of GH Development’s daily sales revenue.”

“Haha. You can’t compare with GH Development.”

Jae-Sik was wondering how much Gun-Ho would give him for borrowing his name in acquiring and selling the land.

‘Gun-Ho told me earlier that he would share some profits with me since he used my name for the transactions. I wonder how much that would be. Several million won? Several tens of millions of won? If he doesn’t say anything about it, should I ask him? Will he feel uncomfortable if I ask him about it? Should I decline his offer? But, it’s commonplace to get paid if someone used another person’s name in doing business. My dad once let someone use his name in purchasing a condo, and he got paid several million won for it.

And this is not a condo, but it is a huge land. I guess he would pay me more than several million won.’

When Jae-Sik was lost in thought, Gun-Ho asked him, “What about the current workers in GH Logistics? Do you see anyone who can run the company?”

“Nah, I don’t think so. The male worker is good at auto repairing, and he has some experience in the field, but I have no idea how good he would be in business and management. Moreover, he is too young. If a young person runs a company, the truck drivers wouldn’t listen to him.”

“I can’t think of anyone from GH Mobile or Dyeon Korea.”

“Of course, they are doing well in a large company, and they have no reason to take a position with a small company like GH Logistics.”

“Do you remember my sister?”

“Of course. Your sister was a proud lady when we were in high school. She looked down at us at that time.”

“Haha, she did?”

“Do you know what she said when I went to your house?”

“I don’t know.”

“She described me to you like a boy who just woke up. I overheard that.”

“Haha. She said that? Well, you did look like someone who just woke up back then.”

“Did I really?”

“She was a very good student in high school, but she couldn’t go to college because of our family’s financial situation. My parents sent me to college instead just because I am their son. At that time, my dad had no job.”

“Hmm. Yeah, I think I heard of it.”

“She started working in a factory, and she met her husband there, who was working in the logistics department. They are doing okay now.”

“I saw your sister at your wedding. Your sister looked fine and happy. Her daughter was very cute. I talked to her, but she didn’t seem to remember me though.”

“You should have described yourself to her as the boy who just woke up.”

“Haha. That’s right. I should have.”

“My sister is living with my parents right now.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Her husband is driving a truck, his own truck. He transports liquors like soju and beer with his truck.”

“Really? You need a wing-body truck to do the transportation work with beer or soju, and it costs 100 million won to get a truck like that. The drivers make an okay sum of money if they own their trucks. I once thought of doing that job. Oh, you know what? Maybe you should ask your brother-in-law to take over GH Logistics.”

“I don’t know.”

“He should be in his 40s by now, right? That’s a good age to deal with truck drivers. He has work experience with a logistics business, and he is driving a wing-body truck. That’s perfect. He is in the transportation business. He should have connections with a lot of truck drivers.”

“I’ve been trying to avoid getting my family involved in my business, so I haven’t really talked about my business with them.”

“You would feel better if your brother-in-law runs a company rather than just driving a truck. You are a big player from Gangnam. It looks better that way. If your brother-in-law takes the company, I would feel relieved, and I would be able to focus on the work in China.”