The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 302



Only Noblemtl

302. Struggling (1)

In any business, once a system is established, there is no room for major changes.

On the contrary, it meant that we had to tinker here and there while creating the system.

Taewoo Group, which had acquired large companies such as AIZ and GM, was experiencing an explosion of jobs.

Especially since I had so much to do.

First, we had to weed out GM’s employees, including its executives.

I looked at photos of GM employees all day, checking detailed information.

Unlike Korean companies, it was difficult for foreign companies to even obtain photos.

Therefore, we had to use CCTV data to check faces, which resulted in two to three times more eye fatigue than usual.

It didn’t end here.

In order to reduce the deficit, the production system had to be completely overhauled.

In order to reduce labor costs as much as possible, we had to build a new automated facility, so we had to check hundreds of reports a day.

“Chairman! Didn’t you come home from work yesterday? You’re still young, but if you keep going like this, your body will get hurt. Even the honorary chairman is not in Korea, so if he collapses, the Taewo Group could be shaken.”

“I just have to work hard for a few more days. I’m the one who caused the problem, so I have to take care of it. It’s not something that anyone else can do.”

The planning director looked at me with worried eyes.

Am I in such bad shape?

I turned my head to look at the window, and my appearance was no different from that of a zombie.

“···I guess I should at least go to the sauna.”

“Please take a good night’s sleep in the sauna.”

When I got up from my seat, my whole body screamed.

I desperately wanted to soak myself in hot water, but one of the secretarial staff hurriedly ran into the president’s office.

“The National Assembly has sent a request for witnesses to appear for the hearing!”

“That’s what happened in the end.”

The issue of excessive construction on Subway Line 9 was causing a stir.

At the beginning of this year, no one was paying attention, but politicians were intentionally amplifying the problem.

As problems arose, of course the media began to take notice.

As the cycle continued several times, Taewoo Engineering & Construction had become an unscrupulous company that had taken a huge share of the money with Subway Line 9.

“The chairman told us not to respond, so we just left the media alone. Shouldn’t we respond proactively now?”

“Just leave it as is. It will be revealed at the hearing.”

“Are you really planning on attending the hearing? Just having your picture taken on the photo line can take a huge toll on your image.”

“Why would my image suffer if I haven’t committed a crime? If I prepare thoroughly, my image will actually improve.”

“The planning office will do our best to prepare materials!”

“No. There is a separate expert for this matter. I will leave the preparations to that person.”

Is there anything special about preparing for a hearing?

All you have to do is answer the National Assembly member’s questions faithfully.

There was something else to prepare, not Q&A.

* * *

A few days before the hearing.

I sought out experts to prepare for the hearing.

“I think this will be enough. But I didn’t expect you to come and ask for this after such a long time.”

“I’m sorry. I’ve been neglectful while I was in America. I’ll visit you often from now on.”

“But I’ve met a lot of people, but this is the first time they’ve asked me to prepare clothes to attend a hearing.”

The expert I found was Delphine Arnor.

Delphine, the eldest daughter of the Anor family, who created a kingdom with luxury goods.

I asked her for an outfit to attend the hearing.

“I can’t think of anyone other than Branch Manager Delphine who would make this request.”

“I’m glad you remembered me. I’ll see you often from now on. I know you’re busy, but we still have time for a meal.”

“After the hearing, we will arrange a meal.”

“I will be watching the Chairman through the news.”

The costume preparation is complete.

I left Branch Manager Delphin’s office and moved to Captain Kang’s office.

To be exact, we headed to the underground parking lot at Captain Kang’s office.

“Chairman, are you here? I have set up the vehicles you asked me to prepare by type.”

“Thank you for your hard work. Some vehicles may not have been easy to obtain, but you prepared well.”

“But do you really plan on driving one of these vehicles to the National Assembly? Wouldn’t people say something about the head of a conglomerate bragging about his money?”

All of the cars set up in the underground parking lot were luxury vehicles.

There were cars worth billions of won, which are difficult to find in Korea, and even a sports car that did not suit the head of a conglomerate was parked there.

“If you use a wheelchair, you are bound to be called a sinner. So I need to show this kind of showmanship to let people know that I am confident.”

“Isn’t it still difficult to accept this kind of showmanship in terms of public sentiment?”

“People who are going to swear are bound to swear anyway. In other situations, I would be as humble as possible, but there is no need to do so during this hearing.”

“I don’t know, but haven’t the owners of American car companies been in trouble for taking private planes to hearings? I’m concerned that something like that will happen.”

The situation was different then.

It was a hearing where American car company owners went to the government to ask for money.

However, this hearing was not about me requesting support from the government, and it was only because politicians wanted to raise their profile by humiliating me.

“That’s not going to happen. Hmm, let’s see. A sports car looks best. I’ll take that one.”

“Are you talking about an open car?”

“There was no case where you attended the hearing in an open car, right?”

“There was no case of anyone attending in a sports car, let alone an open-top car. I don’t know exactly what the chairman’s intentions were, but it is certain that it will become a huge issue.”

“That’s enough.”

Now everything is ready.

A hearing where you appear for the first time.

Normally, the star of the hearing would be a politician, but that won’t be the case this time.

* * *

The day of the hearing came.

I headed to the National Assembly in an open car from the Taewoo Group headquarters.

In front of the National Assembly building, a huge number of reporters were waiting for me with cameras.

Boom!

He rode in a bright red convertible car and moved to the front of the reporters.

The reporters were taken aback for a moment, but quickly came to their senses and quickly pressed the camera shutter.

I smiled and waved goodbye to the reporters.

While standing in front of the photo line, he even took the poses the reporters wanted and responded very sincerely to interviews.

[Do you acknowledge the excessive construction of Subway Line 9?]

“I don’t admit it at all.”

[Is there a reason you came in an open-top car?]

“Isn’t it better than a wheelchair?”

[Did you come wearing a convertible car and designer clothes to win the battle with the National Assembly members?]

“I took special care for today. How does it fit? It’s my first time wearing an outfit like this, so it’s a little awkward.”

[Ha ha ha ha ha!]

It was an interview where we even exchanged jokes.

Who would even think that this was an interview in front of a photo line at a hearing?

After interviewing reporters for longer than the prepared time, I entered the hearing room.

The hearing room was quite noisy.

Usually, the hearing would begin in a solemn atmosphere.

Aides were constantly whispering or passing notes to the National Assembly member.

Maybe I was making a fuss because I was trying to tell the lawmakers what I did at the photo line.

“The hearing will begin. This agenda item is the excessive construction of Seoul Subway Line 9. Taewo Group Chairman Kim Min-jae attended as a witness.”

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport was in charge of this hearing.

Therefore, the chairman of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport was in charge of conducting the hearing, and the moment the agenda was brought up, a skit broke out here and there where people raised their hands to get the right to speak.

“This is Choi Hae-jin, secretary of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. I would like to ask Taewoo Engineering & Construction. Why did you increase the scale of construction without following the feasibility study conducted by the government?”

“It wasn’t in accordance with the feasibility study, but I don’t think it was excessive construction at all. It was just a measure for the passengers using subway line 9.”

“It’s not for the passengers, it’s for Taewoo Construction’s sake! Please look at the materials I have prepared.”

It was Rep. Choi taking out a B4 size panel.

Inside the panel, it was written in an easy-to-understand manner that Taewo Construction had increased the scale of the construction and spent more money than the original plan.

“Even after seeing this, can you still claim that it was for the sake of the passengers? Wasn’t the scale of the construction excessively increased to increase Taewoo Construction’s sales?”

“Why do sales increase when the scale of construction is increased? Was the construction cost supported by the government or the Seoul Metropolitan Government? The entire construction cost was raised through Taewoo Engineering & Construction’s in-house reserves and a consortium.”

Where would the government have money during the IMF era?

However, because Taewu Group had too much money, the entire construction cost was borne by Taewu Group.

Therefore, Taewo Group was able to take charge of the construction of Subway Line 9 alone and could increase the scale of the construction at our discretion.

“It is said that Taewoo Construction paid for the construction, but if you collect subway fares for 20 years, it will more than cover the amount!”

“You are telling me what I wanted to say. Anyway, for 20 years, subway fares will be Taewoo Construction’s responsibility. Rather, we can make more profits by reducing the scale of the construction. If we increase the scale of the construction, the profits coming to us will actually decrease. there is.”

From the beginning, it was not even a topic for a hearing.

Which company would increase the scale of construction at the cost of giving up profits?

There was no benefit for Taewo Construction to see by increasing the scale of the construction.

“Isn’t it true that the government’s policy was not followed? Why would the government spend a lot of money to conduct a feasibility study? It is entirely Chairman Kim Min-jae’s responsibility that Taewo Construction violated the government’s policy and increased the scale of construction! Resign!”

“Are the politicians interfering with corporate management? Or is this the government’s will?”

“Are you disrespecting the members of the National Assembly who were elected by the people? Resign immediately!”

Resignation.

It was a way to insult him by blindly yelling at him to resign.

I never would have thought that a new tool, usually used only in ministerial hearings, would be used against the heads of conglomerates.

“Representative Choi, calm down. Now, Representative Kim can speak.”

“Thank you, respected Chairman. I also have a question I would like to ask Chairman Kim. Putting aside the controversy over excessive construction, Taewo Construction is almost monopolizing major projects such as Subway Line 9 and Geoga Bridge. Do you admit that?”

“We won the business through a fair process. We did not do anything illegal during the process.”

“It’s not that I did anything illegal. I just want to point out that the subway and bridge usage fees are excessively high. Isn’t the people’s blood money being used to enrich Taewoo Engineering & Construction?”

The result was the same as the question asking about corporate social responsibility.

In the case of subways and bridges, they were national projects, and citizens had no choice but to use them unconditionally.

In the case of home appliances and automobiles, there was a choice, but in the case of subways and bridges, there was no choice, so Representative Kim was looking into this point.

It comes out like this, right?

Then I can’t just suffer.