Story of a Big Player from Gangnam

A while after the internal auditor left the office, the new director—Mr. Hyeong-Woo Lee—entered Gun-Ho’s office.

“How are you, sir?”

Director Hyeong-Woo Lee greeted Gun-Ho in a respectful way as he entered the office.

“How’s your work here so far?”

“It’s good, sir. I don’t have a lot of work to do yet anyway. Most of the time, I just sit at my desk surfing the web.”

“I understand that you are using the small meeting room as your temporary office. It must be uncomfortable.”

“It’s okay, sir. It’s not like I need a nice office, so I can have clients coming over to see me here.”

“It’s almost the election day for the leader of Gongmyeong Party, isn’t it? Oh, well, it’s actually tomorrow.”

“Speaking of which, I have something that I’d like to talk to you about, sir.”

“Please go on.”

“Once and if my brother is elected as the leader of Gongmyeong Party tomorrow, people will vigorously talk about anything around him.”

“Like what?”

“Those incompetent reporters from newspapers will talk about anything on my brother based on their speculations. That’s very possible. Even though he hasn’t mentioned anything about running for President, they will persistently ask him questions related to it and write their cover story as if my brother is determined to run for President or something like that.”

“Hmm.”

“If that happens, Dyeon Korea can draw public attention as well.”

“Dyeon Korea? Why would that happen? Dyeon Korea is a business entity. It has nothing to do with politics.”

“It is very possible that those jerks playing with stocks will try to tie Dyeon Korea’s stock to politics in any way that they could think of.”

“Hmm.”

“Dyeon Korea will be targeted because my brother presided over your wedding, sir. That’s the link that they could think of between Dyeon Korea and politics.”

At that moment, Gun-Ho thought, ‘It’s not about your brother presiding over my wedding years ago. It must be about you. You joined Dyeon Korea, and you are the little brother of his. Isn’t it what you wanted? Also, that’s what I want too.’

Gun-Ho smiled and said, “Well, we just do what we can do, right? We just work here.”

“So, I was thinking that maybe I should stay away from Korea for a while by going on a business trip abroad. I can work on developing the international market for Dyeon Korea in another country.”

“Which country do you have in mind for your trip?”

“A country where a lot of moulding companies are found would be an ideal place for me to start with, in expanding our overseas market. Therefore, I was thinking of Guangdong Province in China, or Vietnam.”

“Hmm.”

“I know that you already have several companies in China such as a company in Suzhou City, Guangdong Province, and also a factory in Tianjin City, not to mention the intercity bus business in Antang City, Guizhou Province. If we can get help from the people from these companies, there wouldn’t be a problem acquiring a factory in Guangdong Province.”

“That’s not necessarily a plausible plan though. Those people are already extremely busy working hard all day long in running those companies. We can’t expect them to stop their work and travel back and forth between their area and Guangdong Province in searching for a factory. You should do the work, Director Lee. We can establish a factory in Guangdong Province, China first, and then we move on to find another one in Vietnam. Don’t you think that sounds more reasonable?”

“You are right. That is actually the job that an executive officer of the international market development department is supposed to do.”

“You can stay there until we establish a factory. We will still support your stay even if that would take a long time. The company will pay for your stay and salary, of course.”

Directory Hyeong-Woo Lee smiled.

Gun-Ho continued as he was sipping his jujube tea, “Once your brother becomes the leader of his political party, it only takes a slight implication of your brother that he might run for President, to make A Group’s stock and Dyeon Korea’s stock to be considered closely connected to politics. I’m sure that you know that.”

“That is very possible.”

“Moreover, you should know this better as well since you had worked for a global investment bank for years. A Group’s stock is ‘heavy’ in a sense that the significant number of their stock and the high price per share. So, more investors will probably be attracted to Dyeon Korea’s stock.”

“You are absolutely right, sir. I’m impressed.”

“So, I agree with you on you staying in another country for a while, Director Lee. In addition, if you stay in Guangdong Province, China or in Vietnam for work at this time, that will seem to be understandable and reasonable. The timing is right as well.”

“That’s true, but…”

“What is it? Is there something that I’m missing here?”

“If I go to Guangdong Province in China and fail to establish a new factory in a short period of time, my ability to handle the work in my position can be questioned, and subsequently, I can be attacked by the executive officers here in Dyeon Korea. That’s the concern that I have now.”

“I will cover for you. You don’t have to worry about it. And, once your brother is elected as the leader of the political party, and Dyeon Korea’s stock is deemed to be a stock that is influenced by politics, then they will understand why you had to stay away from Korea for a while.”

“I’m very impressed by your insight, sir.”

“Alright. Go to Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, and do some research work in the area with the purpose of acquiring a factory or other real estate in the future. I would say that a 5,000 pyung large factory should be adequate. Our factories in Chennai, India, and the one in Noida, India, and also the factories in Suzhou City and Tianjin City in China are all about the same size—more or less 5,000 pyung large.”

“Understood, sir.”

“For your stay in China, Director Yoon will take care of all monetary matters including the travel expense, living expense, accommodations, and etc.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Well, since I’m here today, I will talk to Director Yoon about it.”

Gun-Ho then made a call to Director Yoon right away using the interphone. He asked Director Yoon to come to his office now. It didn’t even take 5 minutes for Director Yoon to show up in Gun-Ho’s office.

“You wanted to see me, sir?”

“Our new Senior Director Hyeong-Woo Lee here will work on developing overseas markets. If he has to go on a trip abroad or stay in another country for a while, please take care of all the necessary expenses including a place to stay and living expenses. We do have a policy about our executive officers’ travel, don’t we?”

“We do, sir. If you could let me know the area and the duration of stay, I will handle the expenses. The necessary amount of money varies depending on which area you are traveling to, so I need that information in advance.”

“In case that he has to go on a trip to China, please get him a visa to China as well.”

“Yes, sir.”

After Director Yoon gave a bow to Gun-Ho and left the office, Gun-Ho looked at Director Hyeong-Woo Lee and said, “Once the area is determined, you will have to fill out the travel request form for approval.”

“I will do that, sir.”

“Write down the area that you will be traveling to and the duration, and then get an approval signature from Vice President Adam Castler, and then give it to me. Since it is a joint venture company, we need to get a signature from the person who our American partner sent here.”

“I’m well aware of it, sir. I will follow the procedure.”

“And then, you will need to take the signed request form to Director Yoon. He will handle the cost.”

“Yes, sir.”

Senior Director Hyeong-Woo Lee gave a bow to Gun-Ho in a respectful way before walking out of the office. Gun-Ho then picked up his smartphone from the table and checked Dyeon Korea’s stock.

‘The price is now exceeding 6,000 won. The trading volume is continuously increasing even today. Is that Director Hyeong-Woo Lee who keeps buying Dyeon Korea’s stock these days? Or anyone related to him?’