The 3th Generation of the Chaebol Wants to Live Quietly - Chapter 237



Only Noblemtl

#237.

Team leader Jo Seong-don also recalled the commotion at the extraordinary shareholders’ meeting convened by CEO Choi Du-jin. He attacked KM Electronics, which was then at 1,500 won, as a pretext.

Choi Min-hyeok tried to explain that KM Electronics was making efforts to improve its stock price, which had plummeted at the time.

I couldn’t help but laugh bitterly as I recalled the past events.

“Instead of putting gold on my face, think about a plan to make the main players in the development of Collins, including Manager Choi Gu-man, heroes. Isn’t that a total drama? Since they’ve also requested an interview with me, I’m sure the broadcasting station PD will be interested. Talk to the PR team and have them talk to the press or broadcasting station officially.”

“Are you talking about the broadcasting station?”

“Yes. It’s better. Let’s use this event to promote KM Electronics to citizens who don’t know much about it. It will also help increase the company’s brand value. Shouldn’t we now shed the image of a company on the verge of collapse?”

Team leader Jo Seong-don also stuck out his tongue. He could never have imagined that they would try to cover up the issue of stock donations in this way.

‘Well, if people knew about KM Electronics’ past, they would praise it rather than criticize it. Especially if they only knew a little about Director Choi’s actions, people wouldn’t care about the stock issue.’

“… Okay. Then I will schedule a separate date.”

“You must prepare thoroughly. And please ask for any necessary information about me separately. I will provide it to you.”

“…yes.”

Team Leader Jo Seong-don also stuck his tongue out and got up from his seat, but when he received a call that Director Jang Seung-il had arrived, he went back to his seat and waited.

‘… It must be because of the Oculus project.’

* * *

Director Jang Seung-il, who entered the planning office, did not look much different from usual, but Deputy Director Gu Gil-mo had a completely different attitude than before.

Vice President Koo Gil-mo didn’t even dare look at Director Choi Min-hyeok.

Director Jang Seung-il did not show any particular emotion about the fact that Deputy Director Koo Gil-mo’s passive behavior was because he had finally come to know Director Choi Min-hyeok’s capabilities.

After a brief greeting, we quickly got down to business.

“Sir, I have something important to discuss with you regarding the TRS business.”

“Please speak.”

Choi Min-hyeok, who knew very well the internal atmosphere of Geotech that he had stimulated and turned into a mess, just listened to Director Jang Seung-il’s story as if he was watching an interesting movie, and then pretended to be surprised and shouted.

“Oh, you really decided to close down the TRS Geotech business?! Geotech won’t just stay that way, right?”

The acting, with a hint of worry, was perfect.

There was no way the joint venture between the two companies could be stopped so easily. There was also a minimum period of business operation.

In other words, if you were to close down your business now, it wouldn’t be strange if you were to get sued.

But Director Jang Seung-il was calm.

“I decided to take responsibility.”

“The loss will not be small… … .”

“I plan to negotiate that part with Geotech.”

“I don’t know the details of the contract either, but I don’t think the lawsuit will end easily. Americans are surprisingly sensitive about such things.”

Director Jang Seung-il paused for a moment as he recalled the incident where Director Jamie Nicholas came to KM Group as a legal representative and made threats.

“… There was such talk. However, they will not be stubborn about it unilaterally. If we think about the future with other companies, it will be difficult to prescribe extreme measures. Instead, they need help in conquering the domestic market, and we plan to provide support in that area as compensation for losses.”

Geotech had a more positive view of the Korean market than other countries. That is why they absolutely needed the help of KM Group.

This is why Geotech established a joint venture. Even if KM Group withdraws from the joint venture, there is no reason to sue since they are helping with this.

Then there is no reason why negotiations cannot be held.

Choi Min-hyeok was also impressed by Director Jang Seung-il’s calm attitude. Although he had carried out the operation himself, Director Jang Seung-il surprisingly did not find it difficult.

And Director Jang Seung-il’s point wasn’t entirely wrong.

If they knew that they would fail in a few years, they would cling to KM Electronics tenaciously, but at this point, Geotech itself thought that it was a company with a bright future. It would not want to attract the attention of other companies by aiming for money.

‘… I said your skills are good too.’

Choi Min-hyeok was also secretly impressed by the neat solution of Director Jang Seung-il. He also did not particularly care about the Geotech issue. He knew very well that the reorganization of the TRS business itself would have a huge impact on Vice Chairman Choi Moon-kyung.

“Even if that’s possible, does that mean our eldest uncle would tolerate it?”

Director Jang Seung-il also glanced at Choi Min-hyeok, who kept asking questions about Vice Chairman Choi Moon-kyung. He had no intention of blaming him. It was natural to attack Vice Chairman Choi Moon-kyung as a candidate for the same management succession at a time like this.

“…yes.”

“This is truly amazing.”

Choi Min-hyeok was genuinely surprised. There was no way that the obsessive Vice Chairman Choi Moon-kyung, whom he knew, would act so obediently. However, he couldn’t help but chuckle as he recalled Vice Chairman Choi Moon-kyung’s recent activities.

‘Is this our eldest grandmother’s work?’

It could have been.

It is hard to say that the person behind those who watched over Choi Min-hyeok until his death in the first episode of Life was definitely Vice Chairman Choi Moon-kyung. It is more correct to say that Kim Yi-kyung gave the orders from behind. That is how vicious Kim Yi-kyung was.

And Choi Min-hyeok wasn’t particularly angry about that either. He did more to Executive Director Choi Hoon-yeol and Managing Director Kim Hyeon-woo.

No, that’s why I couldn’t give up what I was doing. If I don’t drag them down to the bottom, they will never give up their desires. In the end, they will fall like the first time in their lives.

Even if it wasn’t necessarily their own power, it wasn’t difficult for them to incite people like Oseong Electronics like they are now.

Right now, Choi Min-hyeok has the advantage, but he didn’t know how the situation would change.

‘I need to come to my senses.’

Director Jang Seung-il did not ask a single question about the Oculus project. Instead, he raised the issue of the share donation.

“From now on, the Chairman will not say a single word about the past stock donation.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. The incident the other day was nothing more than a reckless act by Chairman Kim Sang-gu, as he is also human. The Chairman himself admitted his mistake. Something like that will never happen again.”

“Chairman Kim Sang-gu… … .”

Choi Min-hyeok sighed as he thought of DL Group Chairman Kim Sang-goo. He suddenly thought of Executive Director Choi Hoon-yeol again. He knew that DL Group was behind him.

‘Yeah, the revenge hasn’t even started yet.’

Choi Min-hyeok stared intently at Director Jang Seung-il.

“You haven’t gotten to the main point yet.”

Director Jang Seung-il, feeling embarrassed, coughed in vain and finally revealed the reason he had come here.

“Actually, I’ve heard a lot about the Oculus project. But there’s also talk that Director Choi is related to ETRI… … .”

“Do you think I have something to do with the Oculus project?”

“It wouldn’t make sense otherwise. The Oculus project, which had been going on and on at ETRI, changed after Director Choi came and went several times. It was the first time I’ve seen the Ministry of Information and Communication work so crazily, leaving other large companies.”

“It’s circumstantial evidence.”

Director Jang Seung-il also didn’t ask detailed questions while keeping an eye on Choi Min-hyeok. He also didn’t think that Choi Min-hyeok would be the kind of person who would readily tell his secrets, having met Choi Min-hyeok a lot.

TRS Geotech is proof of that. Before the ink on the joint venture contract had even dried, Choi Min-hyeok hit him in the back of the head.

If I hadn’t intended to screw Vice Chairman Choi Moon-kyung, I wouldn’t have done that.

It is foolish to think that Choi Min-hyeok will answer that question obediently.

However, if it is a business that is beneficial to Choi Min-hyeok, it is a different story.

“… So, can we get some help with this Oculus project?”

Choi Min-hyeok also did not say that he could exert power over the joint venture.

“Are you saying you want to get a stake in the joint venture?”

“Anyway, given the speed of progress of the Oculus project, we will soon establish a joint corporation. It is a corporation that participated in this development, including the Ministry of Information and Communication and ETRI. I would like to acquire a portion of the shares of that corporation. Of course, I plan to pay for the shares.”

“Because it’s a joint venture… … .”

What Choi Min-hyeok thought of was Skylife. However, it was a business that was carried out after a full 6 years in the first round of life. It was because the satellite broadcasting business encountered various obstacles and wandered around.

But the situation was different now. It was not completely impossible to establish a joint venture as early as next year.

‘Even though it’s small in scale, it’s a really lucrative business.’

This is because it is a business that accumulates hundreds of billions of won every year even if you only have a small stake.

Choi Min-hyeok didn’t like it at first either, but he thought of digital satellite broadcasting as a means of promoting MP3. He had no choice but to change his mind.

“So you’re saying that instead of folding up the TRS business, you want to start a satellite broadcasting business? You’re going to use the buildings you purchased and the employees you hired for this project to do that?”

“Yes. The loss due to the cancellation of the TRS Geotech joint venture is not small. In particular, the handling of newly hired personnel is also a problem. The number is too large to be transferred to another affiliate.”

“I guess they’re saying that since it would cause an uproar if the media found out, they’re going to turn it around and focus on establishing a new corporation.”

There was no way for KM Group to establish a new corporation now. Moreover, the future of that corporation had to satisfy the needs of new employees.

It wasn’t a bad proposition for a digital satellite broadcasting business.

“…Please help me with just this one thing. Please.”

Director Jang Seung-il bowed his head.

He, too, had a hard time shaking off his worries about this incident.

In particular, Director Jang Seung-il could not avoid responsibility for the losses caused by the TRS Geotech business.

Of course, the responsibility for this business reorganization lies entirely with Vice Chairman Choi Moon-kyung.

In fact, because of this incident, KM Group executives and employees began to doubt Vice Chairman Choi Moon-kyung’s leadership.

Thanks to this, Choi Min-hyeok was emerging as the next generation CEO of KM Group without lifting a finger.

‘Furthermore, if we do well, we can hand over the satellite business division to Vice Chairman Choi Moon-kyung at a high price. Hmm, but I don’t know if Vice Chairman Choi Moon-kyung will accept Director Lee Il-tae.’

The first scenario that comes to mind is, of course, Tosa-gupeng.

That seemed like a more certain revenge than cutting down Director Lee Il-tae himself.

However, the digital satellite broadcasting business was not all that advantageous to Vice Chairman Choi Moon-kyung.

Even if a digital satellite joint venture is established, it will not be profitable until the second half of next year. Until then, the deficit will pile up.

If Vice Chairman Choi Moon-kyung fails to properly handle that part, she will inevitably suffer a blow.

‘Furthermore, the IMF is waiting. What will happen when the IMF hits? It will probably be difficult to proceed with the digital satellite business. We will have to sell our shares at a low price. It is the same for other companies. It would not be a bad idea to pretend to be under some pressure this time and sell our shares, and then quietly acquire the shares again during the IMF period.’

If the digital satellite business runs smoothly, it is a business that will generate an annual net profit of over 60 billion won. It is by no means a business to be taken lightly.

Choi Min-hyeok was silent for a moment. He also saw Vice-Chief Gu Gil-mo, who couldn’t even breathe properly.

Team leader Jo Seong-don, who was sitting next to him, also didn’t say anything. He also didn’t come forward because of various conflicts of interest.

However, I hesitated to help Director Jang Seung-il because of the new hires.

Honestly, what did the new employee do wrong?

But Choi Min-hyeok was cool. He didn’t say anything about what influence he could have on the Oculus project.

instead.

“There is no such thing as a free lunch.”

Director Jang Seung-il also did not ask Choi Min-hyeok what he did for the Oculus project.

“What do you want?”

“I will handle the issue of the KM Electronics stock donation separately. That alone is not enough. Hmm, let’s do this. Hand over the 5% of KM Industries stock. Oh, I’m not saying you’ll get it for free. I will pay you in cash. Unlike last time, Grandpa did something to me, so you should pay a fair price.”