The Chaebol Who Flies From Space - Chapter 56



Only Noblemtl

56. Reorganization of the governance structure (1)

I was lying down on my bed in my room after chatting with my younger sister when Ariel spoke to me.

[Master, you have received a call from Valentina.]

“What’s going on?”

[The movie My Little Greek Wedding has finished filming.]

My Greek Wedding was a film that Valentina, whom I met in Miami, was trying to make but was struggling with the budget. Production began when I invested $20 million.

Perhaps because it was a low-budget film, filming seemed to have been completed quickly.

“It’s over quickly. You must have started editing the movie. Are you planning on releasing it in the fall?”

[Given the nature of the film, fall would be a good time to release it.]

“It has the feel of a family film, but isn’t it a work that is caught up in the times?

[However, for box office success, it is better to release in the fall or early winter. Statistically, such films do well in the American market in the fall.]

“It’s not a blockbuster, so why worry about box office success?”

[If you invest, you shouldn’t lose money.]

“very.”

Investing in movies wasn’t about making money.

It was part of a cultural project. The intention was to help Valentina, who seemed to be struggling.

If you want to make money, you should invest in stocks instead of movies.

My taste is more toward family films than loud blockbusters.

Blockbusters that cost a lot of money to make seem infinitely childish to me.

It was still fun to watch a family movie with a story.

[The TV drama Jamie is filming is not as popular as expected. It’s getting a 3% viewership rating.]

“I saw it too, but I didn’t like the story. In the US, a drama needs to get at least 10% in viewership ratings to be considered successful, right? I think Jamie will take a hit.”

In the United States, where there are many cable channels, the viewer ratings for popular dramas were lower than in Korea.

[Jamie’s character is a good one, as she appears as a successful female lawyer, but the story doesn’t seem to support it.]

“Should I call and tell them that I enjoyed it? And tease them about why the ratings are so low?”

[Your life will be in danger.]

“Friends, which airs on NBC, gets about 15% in viewership ratings.”

[Friends is a long-running successful drama. It’s the top American drama. There’s no comparison.]

“What if Jamie’s on a show right now that doesn’t guarantee a next season?”

[It’ll be hard. In the US, if the ratings are low, they just cut it out.]

“······. I can’t help it. I’m not even a drama producer.”

[If you get cut off, please give me a comforting call.]

“I guess so. Let’s see, Valentina said she sent me an email.”

I sat at my desk and checked my emails on my personal laptop.

The email was simple: filming was over and editing was underway.

We are currently coordinating the release date and discussing how many theaters we can show it in.

Since it is not a blockbuster, there are complaints that there are not many theaters that will show the film, and I was momentarily concerned when I heard that Valentina was negotiating with AMC about the number of theaters that will show the film.

In the United States, movie studio ownership and theater ownership are strictly separated by law.

“AMC was the largest movie chain in the United States.”

[We have 2,500 movie theaters across the United States and are in talks to expand into Europe as well.]

“How are the financial circumstances there?”

[This is a company that is always short on funds as it expands its size through aggressive M&A.]

“What if I take over the stake?”

[From an investment perspective, it doesn’t make much sense. It’s much more profitable to invest in other areas. The theater business is already a red ocean. The competition is fierce and the marketability is low.]

“You’re right. It doesn’t really matter.”

During the conversation with Ariel, his younger sister interrupted.

“Brother! What are you mumbling to yourself?”

Oh! This is a surprise.

“When did you come in? Knock.”

“What are you talking about? I knocked and came in too. I wanted to have tea with you. But you have a habit of talking to yourself since a long time ago. It doesn’t look good, so fix that.”

“Whether I talk to myself or not!”

“If other people saw this, they’d say I was crazy. This is it.”

My sister put her finger on her head and spun it around.

There was nothing else to say in response.

“Ugh, does it look that bad? It comes out on its own, so I can’t help it.”

To be honest, if I told you that I have an AI in my head and am having a conversation with you, you would literally be taken to the hospital.

“Other people might look at you strangely, so be careful. Your mom is worried too. She says it’s a bad habit.”

That’s why I left my perfectly good house and moved out. From now on, I have to be more careful about what people around me think.

“Were you checking your email? What email is it? MY big fat greek wedding?”

“I received an email saying that I invested in a movie and filming has finished.”

“You said your brother invested in American films too?”

“It was just a small film, so I made a light investment.”

“How much investment did you make, and you say it’s small?”

“It’s a small film, even though it was produced in the US, with a production cost of $20 million.”

“20 million dollars is 26 billion won? In Korea, this would be considered a mega-scale work.”

“Is that how much does it cost to produce a Korean film?”

“I don’t know much about it, but I heard that the movie I enjoyed the most was Shiri, and that the production cost was 3 billion won.”

“That’s all it takes. The production cost of Korean films is really small.”

“It seems to have increased recently. My Greek Wedding, is this movie interesting?”

I heard some surprising information from my sister. If the production cost of Korean films is that small, it seems better to invest in Korean films rather than American films.

“I don’t know either. I invested after only reading the scenario. I’ll have to wait until the movie comes out to find out if it’ll be interesting.”

“What is that? If that’s the case, you should invest in Korean films instead.”

It was a face that was pitiful.

I was lost in thought for a moment while eating the coffee and peeled apple my sister brought me.

“Would you like to find out?”

“What do you want to know? Please speak in detail and not in a choppy manner so I can’t understand.”

“I’m talking about movie production. Find out how much it costs to make a Korean movie. And what the total market size is. I’ll invest.”

My sister tilted her head.

“Even if we produce a Korean film, it won’t make much money.”

“It’s not an investment to make money.”

“You’re saying that investing isn’t about making money? How can that be?”

“Here you go, little brother. Do you know how much money I make a month from the Seohae Oilfield?”

Jeongyeon frowned at my words.

“How would I know that?”

I explained it to Jeongyeon carefully.

After the successful oil drilling, production was fixed at 100,000 barrels per day. It was planned to maintain this level for the time being.

This is because there is a lack of facilities to transport the crude oil produced.

In any case, the amount received last month from selling 100,000 barrels is $90 million. Considering the cost of constructing a drilling tower and purchasing an FPSO, it is still a deficit, but once the production facility is stabilized, the daily production will increase.

If we reach the stage of 1 million barrels per day production that I plan to achieve, the sales revenue will be 900 million dollars per month at the current oil price alone. The WD Oil Company that I created will become a profitable company that earns 1 trillion won per month after deducting expenses.

The problem is that oil prices will continue to rise in the future.

Jeongyeon grumbled after hearing my explanation.

“He’s bragging about making a lot of money.”

“Yes, that’s the problem. Just as you are complaining, other people will never look at you kindly. Right now, we are excited about the success of crude oil development in our country, but as time goes by, this excitement will be forgotten and jealousy will inevitably follow.”

This isn’t the first or second time I’ve experienced this.

If oil drilling had been successful in Korea in the 1970s, there would have been talk of nationalization right away.

We need to preemptively cut it off before such useless public opinion arises.

“So what are you going to do?”

“You have to invest. Instead of just making money, invest in culture and scholarships. Then jealousy will decrease. People will feel that the oil company I created is making money and using it for good things. Then, it will be safer.”

“complicated.”

“Did you think things in the world were that simple?”

“You can leave the scholarship program to the foundation that my mother runs, so you’re saying I should invest in the Korean film industry.”

“Yes, I see you understand now. Movies are just a part of it. Later, we should invest in sports and various cultural businesses.”

“I think it would cost too much for me to do.”

My sister had a face that seemed insecure.

“Are you going to start big from the beginning? Start small and increase the investment amount. I’m not telling you to make money. Invest in independent Korean films first.”

If you entrust a lot of money to Jeongyeon, who is graduating from college, you are at risk of being scammed.

You have to start by lightly supporting independent films and learn the job.

To put into practice the plan that came to mind while talking to my younger sister, I needed someone. A competent person at that.

While I was at it, I reorganized the governance structure on a large scale.

We have invited Park Young-joo, Vice President of Woori Foods and a financial expert, to the position of President of WD Holdings.

I got a lot of scolding from my father when I brought him here.

The main job of the holding company is to monitor the companies I have invested in. If I didn’t go to work every day at each business site and do my job, there was a high possibility that the discipline of the company organization would be disrupted.

We also had to gather the manpower of WD Chosun’s Seoul office, which has the most people, in one place, so we purchased a 35-story building in Gangnam.

Rather than leaving the buildings empty, the plan was to fill them sequentially as the lease terms expired.

I met with President Park Young-joo in the newly decorated holding company office and discussed work.

“The chairman told me to go and do a good job.”

“My father used to scold me for stealing people. The company was so small that he couldn’t raise me any more.”

President Park Young-joo looked embarrassed at what I said.

“Please give me some guidance on how to work at Holdings going forward.”

“We need to strengthen our capacity for gratitude.”

“You mean to prevent affiliates from doing other things? That’s what I felt when they appointed me, a finance person, as president.”

The companies I acquired are collectively called the WD Group, and the group has grown significantly in size with the recent acquisition of WD Shipbuilding.

“That too, we need to strengthen our controlling stake. We were only able to purchase 51% of WD Shipbuilding shares from the Industrial Bank of Korea.”

“Haha, does the additional equity acquisition include our food?”

Of course it is included. We have already purchased 18% of our food stock.

He smiled without answering.

“I heard that our food stock price has exceeded 1 million won.”

“It will go up further. I plan to increase my stake as much as possible. Kim In-young, the head of the investment company, is continuing to buy.”

Our food and toad F&B have been steadily purchasing from the market.

“Are you going to delist it?”

I am greedy, but I would not increase my stake to the point of delisting a listed company from the stock market.

“That’s not it. It’s just about strengthening my stake. I can’t stand it when people are talking nonsense while running a company.”

President Park Young-joo looked at me intently.

“Why are you doing that?”

“I think my management style is very different from that of President Dongwon.”

“It’s very different from my father.”