Story of a Big Player from Gangnam

At that moment, Gun-Ho could hear the sound of the machine that was cutting a metal piece. It was certainly not a pleasant sound.

Gun-Ho asked as he was pointing at a machine sitting in the corner, “That’s the Dyeon Korea’s machine which requires some repair, huh?”

“Yeah, that’s our sample too. We’ve already built a new machine and sent it to Dyeon Korea.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, we used the twin screws from America along with other parts that we purchased from various domestic factories in building the machine. I just received a call from Dyeon Korea’s Manager Ahn in its maintenance department confirming that the machine is working great, and they are producing their products with it just fine. So, I think we will just need to build the same machines like the one that we sent to Dyeon Korea earlier.”

“Really? Did you get the tax invoice issued for Dyeon Korea for the machine then?”

“That… I don’t know. I guess that President Song will take care of it. The price of the machine will be determined by the sales department here. I already sent all of the receipts for the parts that we purchased to build the machine to them. They will consider the money that we spent to buy those parts, labor cost, the amount of electricity that we used, etc. in determining the price of the machine.”

Director Jong-Suk Park then yelled at the person who was running a machine from the place a bit distant from where he was.

“Brother! Is it done yet?”

“It’s done.”

“Aren’t you supposed to call him with his position title? You are calling everyone brother, huh?”

“Haha. I just feel so comfortable calling them brother.”

The maintenance manager was carrying a twin-screw after cutting it in the size that they wanted. When he saw Gun-Ho, he quickly greeted him.

Director Park laughed and said to Gun-Ho indicating the maintenance manager, and he didn’t forget to talk in a formal way, “Sir, this man can dismantle and reassemble Dyeon Korea’s machine with his eyes closed.”

“Oh, really?”

The maintenance manager scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

Gun-Ho went up to his office on the second floor. When President Song saw Gun-Ho going into his office, he followed Gun-Ho.

“Did you stop by the maintenance department, sir?”

“Yes, I saw them building Dyeon Korea’s machines.”

“They already sent one machine to Dyeon Korea.”

“Did you get the pertinent tax invoice issued for it?”

“I’m waiting for their confirmation before issuing the tax invoice. I want to first make sure that the machine is producing good quality products without a glitch.”

“Hmm, I see.”

“We haven’t yet issued the tax invoice, but the price is determined already.”

“What price did you come up with?”

“It’s 150 million won. We purchased about 30 different parts in building the machine, and it cost us around 45 million won.”

“Hmm.”

“150 million won is a reasonable price. If Dyeon Korea buys the same machine from America, it will cost them even more. You know that, right?”

“Okay. Once you receive a confirmation from them about the machine working fine, then issue the tax invoice as such.”

“As to H Group’s new product order on their engine mount brackets, our research center finished testing, and they sent a sample of it to them. They will contact us again later after reviewing our sample product.”

“Do we already figure out the number for the product cost for it?”

“Yes, sir. Manager Seo is handling our cost accounting these days, and he is good.”

“Hmm, is that right?”

“If they decide to let us manufacture the brackets for them, we can safely achieve our monthly sales of 15 billion won. There are three different types of brackets, by the way.”

“Are we going to use Dyeon Korea’s raw materials in manufacturing the brackets?”

“We informed H Group that we would be using Dyeon Korea’s raw materials to fulfill their product order. They, of course, prefer us to use H Chemical’s raw materials, but since Dyeon Korea offers excellent quality raw materials and it’s part of the multinational company—Lymondell Dyeon—so they didn’t complain about it.”

“Hmm, really?”

“Once we hear from H Group about the brackets, I will let you know, sir.”

“Okay. And, the maintenance manager is a major contributor in successfully building the machine for Dyeon Korea. I think we should raise his salary.”

“Yes, sir. I will include him in the list where all of the employees, who would be promoted or receive an increase in their salary at the end of this year, are listed. For now, I’m thinking of sending the maintenance manager and the plant managers to Seattle to have a tour at West Moulding Corp. and Lymondell Dyeon’s factory, after completing building the machines for Dyeon Korea.”

“That’s a good idea.”

“And, we named our first machine that we sent to Dyeon Korea. It’s called GHMM-0101.”

“GHMM?”

“Yes, GHMM stands for GH Mobile Machine. And, the first two digits—01—means that it’s a large-sized machine. If we build a small-sized machine in the future, it will be called GHMM-02xx. We also attached a metal sticker on the machine that has information such as the date of manufacture and the name of the machine. With the date of manufacture, we can trace who built the machine, later when we find any problems with the particular machine.”

“Hmm, that’s very good.”

“When are you planning to register Dyeon Korea with KOSDAQ, sir?”

“I originally intended to wait until we get the year-end financial report, but I’m thinking about doing it earlier, maybe after we receive the first half year’s financial report.”

“I see. Oh, and I wanted to ask you about this. Have you personally known H Group’s CEO Choi for a long time? CEO Choi doesn’t usually meet with the executive officers from their vendor companies. I was surprised when he asked me to stop by his office the other day.”

“Well, I just know him.”

“H Group’s officers in the purchasing department and other executive officers are now treating us differently, a lot nicer, after they realized that CEO Choi has a personal relationship with you.”

“Haha, really?”

“Well, I will just get back to my work if you don’t have anything else to talk about with me, sir.”

After President Song left the office, Gun-Ho was thinking about something for a second, and then he called for the accounting director—Ms. Min-Hwa Kim.

“You wanted to see me, sir?” The accounting director asked when she came into Gun-Ho’s office.

“How much do we have in the reserve?”

“As of today, we have 5.1 billion won, sir.”

Gun-Ho called President Song and asked him to come to his office again. When President Song entered Gun-Ho’s office, Gun-Ho said to the accounting director and President Song, “I will need to make a contribution to the political party—Gongmyeong.”

“Huh? You want to make a contribution to a political party, sir? How much are you thinking?”

Gun-Ho didn’t answer President Song’s question, but instead, he looked at the accounting director and asked, “If we make an official contribution to a political party and get a receipt, then we can get a tax benefit, right?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Then, please withdraw 100 million won from the company account. I want a 100 million won check for it.”

“100 million won, sir?”

Both President Song and the account director were startled.

“We will get more benefit in the long run. We are investing the funds for our company’s future business. Ms. Accounting Director Min-Hwa Kim, please get the check and give it to Mr. President Song.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Mr. President Song, once you receive the check from Ms. Director Kim, I want you to take the check with you and go to the office of Gongmyeong Party and make the contribution directly in person.”

“The secretary-general of Gongmyeong Party is actually one of my college friends at Korea University.”

“That’s even better. Then, visit their office and find the secretary-general and deliver the check to him in person. And, make sure that you get the receipt from them for the contribution.”

“Yes, sir.”