The Chaebol Who Flies From Space - Chapter 101



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The Tycoon Who Flies Into Space Episode 101

Episode 101 What Happened in Seoul

When I predicted the long-term future with Ariel and various variables, it seemed that if things continued as they were, Korea’s future would be bleak.

Although the future has become much brighter as I have developed offshore oil fields on a large scale, the surrounding situation has not yet improved much.

It was absolutely necessary to strengthen national defense capabilities.

The Korean government also spends a lot of money on the military every year, but the proportion of the army is extremely high. It is necessary to strengthen the navy and air force.

To build new battleships, aircraft carriers, tanks and self-propelled artillery, we had to prepare in advance, but we needed the political power to protect them.

How long can you keep a secret if you throw in a new technology to strengthen your national defense?

I guarantee that it will leak to neighboring countries in less than a year.

“How long do you think the new technology will remain confidential if you hand it over to the Korean government? I think it will flow to the United States within half a year and to Japan and China within a year.”

The grandfather nodded after pondering for a while, wondering if he could deny what I said.

“I guess what you say is true, since the country has no power.”

“It’s not that there is no power, it’s that there are a lot of thieves.”

We had to thoroughly weed out the vested interests that had turned into rotten water, including the political world.

The ecosystem becomes healthy only when the water is reasonably clear.

If a country becomes a place where robbers and swindlers run rampant, it will once again end in ruin.

Even though my country may not be a country that can make a big splash in the world, I couldn’t just sit by and watch it fall apart.

To do that, I had to build a political force that would move according to my voice.

“… … .”

“So, please, Grandpa, help me. This is not because of my greed, but for the future of Korea.”

“Let’s think positively.”

I felt relieved because it seemed like my grandfather was halfway there.

* * *

It’s been a really long time since I’ve been to the Toad headquarters office.

Until last year, I had been going in and out of a building every other day, but when I entered it, it felt strangely unfamiliar.

As I went in, I took another look at the exterior of the building.

It was only when I entered the empty president’s office that I realized I was back.

I read the daily newspaper while drinking the coffee my secretary brought me.

Chief Park Seong-gyu came running as soon as he heard the news.

“I came running as soon as I heard that the boss had arrived.”

It was Park Sung-kyu who greeted me at a 45 degree angle as soon as he saw me.

“Why are you greeting me like that? How have you been, Chief Park? Is there no problem at headquarters?”

“Yes, it’s going well.”

“Even Director Do is busy with M&A work, so Director Park is the only one looking after the headquarters.”

Director Park, who was in charge of the sales division, seemed to have become thinner as he was busy practically acting as the president.

“Please work a little harder. If we reorganize the job titles, the workload will be greatly reduced.”

We were planning a grand opening in the fall.

Not only were there changes to job titles, but the number of people who needed to be promoted this time was also considerable.

As soju sales skyrocketed, the number of employees more than doubled.

“Haha, people are really looking forward to the regular fall personnel transfer orders.”

“It makes sense since there are many people who are up for promotion. I heard you are also increasing the number of overseas branches this time. According to the report, you said that you need to increase the number of overseas branches.”

“As overseas sales skyrocket, we are running out of branches to keep up. We plan to open two more in China, one in Russia, and one in North America.”

“Instead of sending out managers as they are now, send out directors as originally planned. Also, give a promotion to the branch managers who are currently out.”

“Then there is the problem of people getting promoted too quickly.”

“Like the Russian branch manager. He was a senior manager and then got promoted and left, right?”

“Yes. It hasn’t even been a year since I was promoted to manager, so it’s hard to promote me again.”

“Then what about Chief Park? He was a manager before the takeover and is now an executive director. Haven’t you heard any complaints about his promotion being too fast?”

“… … .”

Chief Park kept his mouth shut, as if he was speechless. It was like a frog not remembering its tadpole days.

“Stop nagging and promote all the candidates this time. Director Park should also be promoted to Vice President this time.”

Park Sung-kyu’s face brightened as the unexpected words came out of my mouth.

“Will I be promoted this time too?”

“Actually, if you look at what you’re doing, you should have already raised it, but then there’s only one more place to go.”

“Yes, that’s why I didn’t expect much either. Then what about Chief Do?”

“If we take over Bush Brewery, we’ll need someone to manage that side of things. That’s where I’m going.”

“Are you working with Merrill Lynch again this time?”

“We don’t get along well with Goldman. We were the ones who hit them first, so it can’t be good. If you take out Merrill Lynch, what’s left are Bear Stearns and Lehman. If possible, I feel more comfortable doing business with someone I know.”

Whichever you choose, the difference is whether you pay more or less.

The big four investment banks could easily handle an M&A the size of Bush Beer on their own.

“Will this acquisition make us the world’s number one liquor company?”

“We will have to compete with SAB and InBev, which make Miller beer, but we will have a bigger sales volume.”

“Philip Morris sold Miller to SAB last year?”

“It seems that SAB is short on funds and cannot afford to go all the way to Bush. The same goes for InBev. As Director Park knows, the Bush acquisition is a stepping stone for Dugeobi to attack the North American market. Dugeobi will sell Dugeobi soju in North America using Bush Beer’s existing sales network. We will also expand the St. Louis beer factory and build a soju factory in a nearby area. The domestic soju market has already reached its limit. We need to attack overseas.”

“Your Majesty, you are right. Domestic market sales and profits have already reached a standstill. It is difficult for the sales organization to generate additional sales. If we succeed in conquering the North American market, the total sales of Ddoobee Soju will exceed 10 billion dollars. The profit will be a whopping 8 billion dollars.”

“Last year, Bush beer sales were $11.5 billion and profits were $1.4 billion. Starting next year, sales will be similar.”

In both Korea and the United States, the same headache was alcohol-related taxes.

The reason why toads are so profitable is because they are exported to China and Russia and do not interfere with the wholesale price.

The consumer price of toad soju was much higher than the export price.

The production of toads made in American factories is significantly less profitable due to the impact of American taxes.

Any additional production after the 2 billion-bottle U.S. soju plant was built was planned to be made at domestic plants.

“Building a soju factory in St. Louis is inevitable in order to obtain approval for the merger with Busch Beer. There are also voices within the U.S. government that are wary of Busch Beer falling into our hands.”

With Miller being sold to South African-based SAB, the opposition to the sale of Bush, the remaining American beer icon, to foreign countries has gained ground.

In order to suppress opposition, they decided to build a soju factory in St. Louis, where Bush Beer’s headquarters and factory are located.

“I heard that there is a serious security problem in St. Louis.”

“As far as I know, the security situation is a mess. It’s probably worse than Detroit, which was a steel city but then fell apart. Fortunately, I heard that the area around the soju factory is not like that. The city continued to fall apart because there was no industry to support it, but if we move in, things will get better. Why would Rep. Portman exert his power?”

St. Louis was once the fourth largest city in the United States and a center for railroads and waterways, but it declined and its population fell to 300,000.

The reason Missouri Senator Harry Portman is actively risking his political life for this M&A is to obtain a turning point that will revive the declining city.

If the Toad Soju factory, which is a huge profitable company, moves in, at least 1,000 people will be directly employed.

Congressman Portman wanted me to acquire Busch Brewing and bring additional manufacturing plants to St. Louis.

But the problem was that none of the companies I owned were willing to build a factory in St. Louis.

The company that Senator Harry recommended for acquisition was the automobile company Chrysler.

Chrysler, America’s third-largest automaker, was suffering greatly from a botched merger with Daimler-Benz.

I couldn’t tell Director Park about this, and he was in the middle of acquisition negotiations with Holdings.

The negotiations did not proceed properly because Benz remembered the principal they had invested and asked for a high price.

Since there was nothing urgent, I thought we would take our time and discuss it.

If the negotiations did not make any progress, the company was considering acquiring Ssangyong Motors, a domestic automaker.

There was the problem of the small size of the production plant, but since everything had to be torn down and renovated anyway, building a new plant was the solution.

As soon as Director Park left, he discussed the acquisition of an automobile company with Ariel.

“No matter how you look at it, the Ssangyong acquisition seems better than Chrysler.”

[What did I say? If you try to acquire an American car company, you’ll have a headache because of labor issues. It’s better to just acquire a small company and build a factory.]

“I don’t know. Ssangyong is too small.”

[It’s easier to think of it as starting a new company and jump right in.]

“Ugh, I feel uncomfortable because it seems like you’re being forced into the company you want.”

[Entering the automobile industry is inevitable. Inevitable.]

“Why? Is that inevitable?”

[Because the automobile industry is currently the flower of industry. Semiconductor companies are good, but when you think about related industries, the answer is to grow automobile companies.]

“Are you saying that we need to increase the manufacturing workforce?”

[Yes, no matter what anyone says, we need to grow the automobile industry to increase employment.]

“Growing a parts company is not easy.”

[You have to grow them one by one. If you think that growing a parts company is also a fun thing to do, then you can start.]

“It’s easier said than done. It takes a lot of work to create each and every technique.”

I didn’t have the courage to do it, but what can I do? Somehow, I was pushed into entering the automobile industry.

[That will increase employment. Anyway, there is no rush, so let’s slowly prepare the parts factories first.]

When I got home from work, Jamie got all excited when he saw me.

“Yongwon, Yongwon.”

“why?”

“I had a fun time walking around with my mom. We ate and went shopping.”

“Where did you go during the day?”

“I went to Gyeongbokgung Palace and somewhere else! Oh! I also went to a place called Jongmyo. I also ate in Jongno.”

Jamie was very excited after going out with his mother during the day.

Hollywood actresses have to live their lives being chased by the paparazzi. Even though she finally came to Korea and was able to move around freely, she seemed to be having a very hard time because no one recognized her.

My younger sister, who used to whine about not going with me, couldn’t come to her senses on the long-haul flight.

“Is Jeongyeon still sleeping?”

“Yeah, I guess I was really tired.”

Jeongyeon and Jamie had different basic physical strengths.

“Look at this! Isn’t it pretty?”

Jamie showed off the clothes she had bought at the department store to me. I enjoyed watching her show of changing into the new clothes she had bought.

Plus, I had a great time for the first time in a while. Hmm.