I Am the Third-Generation Heir of a Conglomerate - Chapter 500



Only Noblemtl

500. The saboteur (5)

A night when even the moon is dark.

I quietly headed towards Jongno.

The purpose was to go to the Blue House, the most famous building in Jongno.

With the help of security guards from the Blue House, I was able to meet with President Choi Jae-seok.

“I’m sorry to contact you at such a late hour.”

“No. What does time matter? It is an honor just to be able to talk to President Choi Jae-seok like this.”

“Haha, you’ve been getting a lot of flattery since I last saw you.”

“But were you drinking poison?”

President Choi Jae-seok has lived a restrained life.

He was the type of person who rarely drank even a glass of beer, let alone strong drinks like whiskey.

But on his desk, not only was there alcohol, but there was also an ashtray full of cigarette butts.

It was clearly a very difficult situation mentally.

I could feel it just by looking at the way he spoke.

After he was elected president, he had been more at ease with me, but now he had reverted to the way he spoke before he was elected.

“The position of President is truly a difficult one. Why did you desire such a difficult position so much?”

“What’s wrong?”

“China is harassing us with the THAAD ban, but when we try to resolve this, the US and China start a large-scale trade dispute. Korea, caught in the middle, is the only one getting hurt.”

“Compared to other countries, Korea is well-centered. The more we are centered, the more the situation will turn in our favor.”

To be exact, the Taewoo Group was at the center.

No matter how much the US and China shake it, Korea will not be shaken as long as Taewoo Group holds onto resources such as semiconductors, finance, and rare earth elements.

“The US and China are problems, but this time there is a conflict with Japan as well.”

“Is it perhaps because of the ruling on compensation for forced labor during the Japanese colonial period?”

“There are only a few days left until the compensation ruling. Do you know how many times the Japanese government has pressured us during that time? Hehe, they even threatened to reestablish relations between Japan and Korea once the compensation ruling is made.”

This was something that wasn’t even being circulated in the media or on flyers.

It was also a matter of the Blue House having to carefully manage information.

Given the Korean people’s sentiments, they could not help but react sensitively to anything related to Japan, and the issue of compensation for forced labor during the Japanese colonial period was a topic that could touch the national sentiments.

“Are you planning to put pressure on the Supreme Court?”

“Surely I would do something that would violate the separation of powers? I intend to accept whatever ruling the Supreme Court makes.”

“You must never do that, even for the sake of re-election.”

“In this situation, is re-election important? The moment the compensation ruling is made, Japan will respond strongly in some way.”

From the United States to China and Japan.

It was President Choi Jae-seok who was worried that three major powers would shake Korea at the same time.

But Korea was not as weak as he thought, and was already well prepared.

“Don’t worry too much. Taewoo Group will take measures to ensure that the Korean economy does not suffer any major damage, regardless of how the Japanese government responds.”

“In order to deal with China, we need to join hands with Japan. However, if Japan takes retaliatory actions, anti-Japanese sentiment among the Korean people will increase.”

“The Japanese government cannot back down either. So we cannot gently shake hands. There is no other way than to forcefully break their hands.”

It was clear that Japan was a superpower, ranked third in GDP.

But sooner or later, a situation arose in which Korea had an overwhelming advantage.

The variable of the COVID era, and the fact that only Sentryon in Korea can produce the only vaccine and treatment.

“Can we break Japan’s hand?”

“We can break it easily. We have been preparing for a situation like today for over 10 years.”

“I feel reassured when Chairman Kim says that. The Korean government will do its best to help. If you need anything, you can call me directly at any time.”

We had to do a good job, if only for President Choi Jae-seok.

The moment he was pushed back by the Japanese government’s retaliatory actions, his re-election bid was in jeopardy.

“Can I ask you a favor right now?”

“Just ask for anything and I will help you to the extent of my power.”

“The Japanese government may retaliate with key materials. In preparation for that, we must prepare measures to ease regulations on the Saemangeum Chemical Complex starting now.”

“You’re saying that you just want the bill prepared in advance?”

“I hope you are prepared to respond immediately the moment Japan imposes trade sanctions.”

The development of core materials was already almost complete.

However, mass production was difficult due to regulations, and it was necessary to prepare a bill in advance to respond quickly.

“I will instruct the People’s Economy Party to immediately create a bill to ease regulations on the Saemangeum Chemical Complex tomorrow.”

“I know this may be rude, but let me just say one thing. You are doing well. During your term, South Korea’s GDP rose to 10th place. Now, it has grown to the point where it is no exaggeration to call it a truly advanced country.”

Before the regression, South Korea ranked 12th in GDP.

But in this life, thanks to the advancement of several groups including Taewoo Group, I jumped up two more levels.

And after the US-China trade war and the COVID-19 era, it was clear that it would rise to a higher ranking.

“Haha, Chairman Kim really has a positive mind. When I talk to him, I get the feeling that I’m worrying for nothing.”

“It’s not that I have a positive mindset, I’m just facing reality.”

I looked straight at President Choi Jae-seok.

Then, President Choi Jae-seok, who had been drunk, gradually regained his composure.

President Choi Jae-seok shook his head vigorously from side to side several times and even washed his face dry.

“You’ve shown us your ugly side. Let’s each do what we can from our respective positions.”

“I will do my best to ensure that Korea will never be insulted or disgraced.”

“I will believe you. And Chairman Kim, trust me too. The Korean government will not be shaken either.”

We shook hands firmly.

It was a time when close cooperation with the Korean government was needed to turn the crisis into an opportunity rather than just overcome it.

***

A few days later.

I visited the sentry.

It was to prepare for the COVID-19 virus, which has only one year left.

“Is the development of new drugs progressing well? And I’m also curious about the results of research on the treatment of coronaviruses.”

“In the case of gene therapy, it is being developed to the point of completion. It is expected that FDA review will be possible early next year at the latest. And in the case of coronavirus, Sentryon is the only company in the world that has been conducting research.”

Research on coronaviruses has never been a lucrative field.

Compared to the influenza virus, which is called the flu, the infection rate was slow and the number of infected people was also very different, so the demand was very low.

“You must be seeing a lot of deficit.”

“We update the MERS and SARS variant viruses every year to develop treatments and vaccines. Thanks to AI, we can dramatically reduce development costs, but we still cannot avoid deficits.”

The coronavirus family also mutates quickly.

Even when treatments and vaccines are developed, new variants of the virus appear after just a few months.

So, it wasn’t a one-time development, but we had to continuously invest in development costs in order to properly respond.

And Sentryon was the only place that did this kind of research.

Of course, other research labs were also researching coronaviruses.

It was difficult to produce proper results because the development costs invested differed by more than 100 times.

“But please continue your research.”

“It is a necessary project, even if it is to study DNA treatment methods. That is why, even though we are running at a deficit, we are continuously hiring new staff and replacing our equipment with the latest ones.”

“We will continue to provide financial support at the Taewoo Group level. Please invest a little more in personnel and equipment than you have now.”

There is only one year left now.

The moment the hell called Corona descends, the whole world falls into panic.

So, we need to make huge investments from now on, but only Taewoo Group can keep its wits about it.

“The revenue from Yugovin alone is enough to cover the cost of research on gene therapy and coronaviruses. Sales are increasing significantly every year, so the funds are actually piling up.”

“We can further increase the size of our new factories, including those in the U.S. and Europe.”

“It is still an excessively large scale.”

“Once you build it, you can somehow generate profits, so trust me and invest. If anything goes wrong, Taewoo Group will take full responsibility for the losses.”

CEO Seo Jeong-jun could not answer easily.

That’s understandable, as a new factory was also being built in the Saemangeum Chemical Complex.

The scale of the factories being built in the US and Europe alone amounts to 20 billion dollars.

“We could invest our internal reserves in building a new factory, but I don’t think we’ll be able to achieve the proper utilization rate.”

“Taewoo Group will take responsibility for that part. If the operating rate does not come out, we will take over the cost of building the factory at 150%. We will also write up a contract based on that content.”

“If you go that far, we will invest more money in building a new factory.”

It was difficult to properly respond to COVID-19 with the current factory size alone.

And the larger the factory, the more profit Sentry could make.

If the new plant doubles in size from its current size, Centrian could grow into the world’s number one pharmaceutical company.

“Oh! And please also research a rapid diagnostic kit for coronaviruses.”

“We have already developed several types of diagnostic kits. There are antigen, antibody, and DNA methods, and hospitals mainly use antibody testing methods with high reliability, so we are focusing on developing antibody tests.”

The diagnostic kit business was also a lucrative business.

In order to sell a cure, shouldn’t we first determine whether or not someone is infected?

“I understand that antigen tests are a simple way to determine whether you are infected, even though they are not very reliable. Is that correct?”

“I am once again impressed by the chairman’s knowledge. Antigen tests have such advantages and disadvantages.”

“We would also like to develop a kit that can be easily self-diagnosed at home using the antigen test method. If there is the necessary manpower, Taewoo Group will provide support.”

“There is no reason to refuse since they are even providing human resources. We will establish a new team to develop self-diagnosis kits.”

A profitable business had to be secured in advance.

That way, we can monopolize the diagnostic kit sector.

“And finally, I have one question. Do you also have any technology for a mask that blocks droplets?”

“We are doing some research on this, but the scale is very small. It is also much cheaper to contract with a company that is already producing masks. Most of the production is done by small and medium-sized companies, so we have contracts with several companies.”

“Can you give me a list of small and medium-sized mask development companies?”

“Of course I will. I will organize it and send it to you right away.”

The mask business was also a profitable business.

This also needed to be secured in advance.

Of course, it was too small a field to be handled at the Taewoo Group level, and there were separate people to do this work.