The Chaebol Who Flies From Space - Chapter 48



Only Noblemtl

48. If you must eat, eat big.

As Director Kim said, the Chinese government will gradually develop domestic companies to control information within the country.

“I totally agree with that opinion. Over time, the Chinese government will demand personal information from Internet search companies.”

Even in the United States, where lawsuits are frequent, it is possible to verify accounts and access personal information if national security is prioritized. After 9/11, the United States strengthened its laws in the name of counterterrorism.

Needless to say, dictatorships are no exception.

“They sent me a list of companies that could be acquired. They want me to acquire these failing companies and have them enter the Kaesong Industrial Complex.”

“Are there any companies that look worth using?”

“They are called insolvent companies, but they are companies that have fallen due to liquidity problems. If they have their debts forgiven and a company with ample funds acquires them, they can quickly turn a profit.”

“Give me a list so I can think about which companies I should acquire or not.”

To be honest, it was annoying.

If you live like this, doing only what you want, it’ll only be a year. If you take over a large company, you’ll have to start over again, pressed for time.

I understand that the government wants to use me as a problem solver, but I am not the type of person who does what others tell me to do.

As I was looking through the list of companies that Director Kim had handed me, my eyes were drawn to one place.

“Udaejoseon? Are you passing it here too?”

“I don’t know why this exists. I mean, I could always turn it over, but there’s no author. Who would buy a company that loses trillions of dollars every year?”

“Really? How much would it cost?”

When I showed interest, Chief Kim became thoughtful and stopped me.

“You can’t eat this. It’s poison that will kill you if you eat it.”

“There is a Japanese proverb that says, ‘If you eat poison, you will eat the plate too.’ Let’s try Woo Dae-joseon. If the deficit problem is serious, the price won’t be that bad, right?”

“It really won’t work! The shipbuilding industry is in a slump, so how can you save the company? Even though orders are increasing, profitability is still poor. You’re barely managing to keep your employees busy by cutting your own pockets. I’m absolutely against it. I’m against it. We don’t even understand the shipbuilding industry very well.”

“One of the companies I own in the United States has an oil exploration license near Cantarell, Mexico. Cantarell is the largest oil field in Mexico. It is the second largest oil field after Saudi Arabia’s Ghawar. They drill 2 million barrels of oil a day.”

“So?”

“The exploration company searched around Cantarell, but they failed miserably because they couldn’t find any useful oil. The exploration costs they poured in were not small. They plan to drill here.”

“Why are you doing another expedition when it has already failed? Even the experts have already failed.”

Oh my! You’re saying this because you can’t speak, but I’m a real expert in that area.

“It’s not like I’m going to take over right away. It’ll take time. I’ll just do it one by one.”

“I’m totally against it. No matter how much the president wants to take over Chosun Ilbo.”

[Master, you were making a fuss about me acquiring a car company, but what is this?]

“What is it? I’m going back to my main job.”

[What does going back to your main job have to do with going into shipbuilding?]

“Stupid AI Ariel. What’s the most glamorous mining business? Right now, it’s the oil business. If you want to do oil business, you’ll need a drilling rig. So you need to have a shipbuilding company.”

[You said you weren’t going to take over a big company. You said you wanted to just play and eat. Are you saying two things in one breath?]

“······. Well, a sparrow doesn’t just pass by a mill.”

Even if I try not to look away, my eyes are drawn to it without me knowing what to do!

[Is the oil business safe? If you develop oil fields, major oil companies will say it’s good. The future will be full of thrills.]

“Surely you wouldn’t do anything to me if you developed genetics?”

[Surely, they’re going to catch people. If the Master starts, the genetic size won’t be small, and since it’s Mexico, public security is a mess, so we’ll have to strengthen security. Oh my, it’s going to be thrilling from now on. Overflowing.]

This damn AI is toying with the Master.

“Does it look very dangerous?”

[This is not a joke. Where did the gentleman who was singing a song just a moment ago about not taking over a large corporation go?]

The moment I saw Woo Dae-jo, oil field development automatically crossed my mind.

It was an inevitable, automatic reaction, because my job is my job.

While listening to AI’s persecution like that, I seriously considered taking over Woori Bank.

I got a call almost as soon as I arrived. Still, I took a day off and made an appointment for the next evening.

“Chief Inspector, my gosh! He must be a wealthy gentleman, so his face is very bright. I read the Forbes article carefully. It is a blessing for the country that such a young businessman has emerged in Korea! Good luck! Let’s shake hands.”

The chief economic adviser who saw me started to fuss.

He said I was talkative and friendly, but when he first saw me, he kept smearing my face with gold paint.

“Thank you for your compliments. I will continue to learn a lot in the future.”

“Yeah, I’m dying these days. I’m dying. Every day, the North Koreans are getting angry and saying they want big companies to come into the Kaesong Industrial Complex, but the big companies are lying down and saying they can’t do it. The Sunshine Policy isn’t as easy as it sounds.”

Oh Soo-seok whined for a long time.

“It is true that it is difficult. Would it be easy to lead the closed North Korea to openness? The system needs to be changed.”

“But I feel like it’s something I have to do, so I work with a sense of mission. It’s a bit much for an older person to talk a lot. Let’s eat.”

We decided to meet for dinner and had a light drink with the meal.

“You know that liquor made from toads? It’s so famous and expensive? You say it’s all exported and none of it is sold domestically.”

To Korean shareholders, Maehrt was a rabbit on the moon.

I heard that it exists, but I couldn’t get it in quantity. As soon as it was produced, it was all sold out and exported to foreign countries, so most people only heard of it but never saw it.

“There are too many export requests from overseas. We are still short of inventory.”

Although they tried to supply and demand as much as possible, they were sold to China and Russia as soon as they were produced.

“That’s very filial. Very filial.”

It is a society where there is still a prevailing atmosphere that exporting is the best way to earn foreign currency.

“You can’t sell it domestically because of tax issues, right? I tried to get some to drink, but it was hard.”

“I can’t sell it, but I can drink it, so what’s the problem?”

“I’ve been looking forward to this for a while now. Is that it?”

I took out some alcohol from the paper bag I had brought. I had prepared it because I thought it would be talked about anyway.

As the golden liquid in the glass bottle filled the glass, its unique, deep, and luxurious aroma filled the room.

“It’s been a really long time. President Cho Dong-won used to give me gifts often, but these days he doesn’t give me gifts at all.”

I took a quick sip and shivered.

“This is it. This is the taste.”

I liked it quite a bit.

I emptied half the bottle in an instant.

The mood changed from “let’s eat” to “drinking.”

“They say it’s a shame to drink just one bottle. Should I have another?”

“No, this was probably brought as a gift. Let’s just drink one bottle.”

Oh Seon-woo, the senior secretary for economic affairs, is a former professor at Kangseo University.

Following the school’s tradition, he took the path of a professor, but he was an expert on the Russian economy. He was not a professional politician. When the alcohol took effect, Oh Soo-seok began to speak.

“I received support from my grandfather when I was in school.”

Our food company also runs a scholarship program like other companies, but it was different.

It is a company that provides support for pure purposes rather than to increase influence.

“I understand that the scholarship program is not very large in scale?”

“I didn’t need much help because my house wasn’t that poor. My younger brother was very sick.”

I thought I knew what you meant.

In the past, there was no health insurance, so if a family member got seriously ill, the household would be in turmoil.

“I see you received support for the surgery costs.”

“Support is support, but selecting a famous doctor is no easy task. What would the patient’s family know? Our foundation naturally gets to know capable doctors because we perform many surgeries, and we owe them a lot, so we often go around to say hello. Your grandfather and father are good people. They didn’t ask for favors even though I was in a high position.”

“That’s fortunate.”

If you get involved with politicians and ask for favors, it won’t end well.

Oh Soo-seok doesn’t seem to think so, though.

“In the past, it was not obvious that a schoolteacher would enter politics, but the world has changed and I have to be more mindful of the situation. Thanks to you, I am relieved.”

I understand what you mean.

Politics is about money from beginning to end.

“Did you have fun?”

“Very much, I put two in your company. I should have put them a little hotter.”

He had a really regretful look on his face. He bought it below the face value and it went up to 500,000 won, so he made a hundred times the profit.

“Well done.”

“Can I keep holding on to it? My wife is making a fuss about selling it since she made a lot of profit.”

This is what you really want to ask.

“If you have it, it will keep going up.”

“Really? Then that’s fine. I don’t know about other people, but I trust you.”

I asked Oh Soo-seok, who was pouring his drink with a satisfied look on his face at my answer.

“Are you going to run for president?”

“Would I be that kind of person? I heard that Special Envoy Han is leaving.”

“Among the people who support the president, Special Envoy Han is relatively young.”

“They are old gentlemen. They are too weak to come forward, and it is understandable for them to be greedy.”

“Do you think it will work?”

“Will it work? It’s just for show.”

“They agreed to select the candidate through a national primary rather than a vote by party members. I heard that former Governor Lee has made a big deal about it.”

The ruling party’s presidential candidate was practically already decided.

Former Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Min-jae lost in the ruling party primary, but ran in the last presidential election and ate away at conservative votes, effectively creating the Hyundai President.

“That guy is strangely untrustworthy. There are many rumors that he is having a hard time internally. He thinks he will be chosen as a candidate and keeps talking, but I’m not sure.”

“It seems like there is a lot of veto in the President’s entourage.”

“Of course. I don’t know where the bones came from, but they’re completely different from this one.”

Since I received a favor, I should stay still, but if another strong candidate came forward, I should change my position.

“Oh, I heard that you too had a hard time before.”

Compared to other professors who sided with the conservatives, Oh Soo-seok, who dipped his toes in the progressive camp, was persecuted a lot.

“I don’t fit in with the conservative side by nature. I’ve always had a good rapport with the president. He’s a really smart guy.”

The presidential term is less than a year away. The local elections will be held in three months as a preliminary battle.

“What exactly do you want from me?”

“It’s obvious, they’re telling us to invest in the Kaesong Industrial Complex.”

“You know that investing involves a lot of variables, right?”

“You know, I don’t know. In fact, it’s natural for large companies not to get involved. Isn’t the risk too great? That’s why they recommend acquiring a suitable insolvent company in return. Are there any companies you want on the list?”

“What about preferential treatment?”

I was very surprised to hear that Oh Soo-seok was a completely unexpected company.

“Isn’t it too big? Can your company handle it? If the president of the Industrial Bank of Korea hears me, he’ll think, ‘Wow, that’s crazy.’”

Unable to find a place to take over, the Industrial Bank of Korea had no choice but to take over and provide financial support, which was a burden.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding were needed.

“You just need to reduce the debt to a certain extent. In fact, even if you keep it, the subsidy will be astronomical. Of course, you will reduce the acquisition price.”

“I can’t give you a definitive answer right now. I heard about the intention to acquire, so I’ll discuss it with the people in charge.”

If you throw it away, it is something that requires time for internal coordination.

The size of the U-Tae ship is unusual.

This was the reason why other companies could not rush in.

Most companies are taken over and taken over. Even though the shipbuilding industry is improving, it has not yet made a profit.

“There is still plenty of time.”

“No matter how much I think about it, you’re saying that you’re a favored Joseon. Aren’t you being too reckless? Don’t you have any karma?”

Since he is young, he naturally has no previous experience. It is questionable that he rushed into the acquisition of a large shipbuilding company from the beginning.

If I hadn’t become famous because of the Forbes article, I would have been treated as a fraud.

It was a cause for veto among practitioners.

The ability to raise funds is certain, but the acquisition of preferential treatment may seem reckless. I poured out my true feelings while drinking.

“It’s true, but if we continue to focus on LNG ship orders like we are doing now, we’ll all die. Aren’t Hyundai and Samjeong both risking their lives to win LNG ship orders? With the low-price bidding war, there will soon be another mess over profitability.”

“Would it be different if you took over the company?”

“Of course it should be different. If I take over, I will shift the focus of the business to marine plants.”

“When you say offshore plant, you mean a facility that extracts oil in the middle of the sea?”

“All oil drilling facilities in the North Sea were built as offshore plants.”

“Did Woo Dae-jo have such technology?”

“No. The technology has to come from outside. Among the companies I have invested in in the US, there is one that has that technology.”

“I understand what you’re saying, but will that make any money? It’s not common to find a contractor who will take on a newbie.”

“There is no problem in getting the marine plant order. I will do it myself.”

“You’re doing it yourself?”

I don’t know about Oh Soo-seok, but my main job is space mining. Is it hard to extract oil in the rough sea? If you get hit with metal rain in a planetary mine, you’ll understand that.

Even the North Sea oil fields, which are said to be the most difficult due to the rough seas, look like child’s play to me.

If there is no oil, make it.

Petroleum is a mixture of hydrocarbons.

It is not that difficult to build a manufacturing facility. Let me show you, let me develop the Mexican oil field, and then where would be a good place to build oil fields in the South Sea and the West Sea?

If you make it on the seabed and extract it with a plant, isn’t it an offshore oil field?