61. I think I’ve got the right guy.
“What do you mean, all of a sudden, you’re going to buy Dongyang?”
“I know it’s sudden, but what do you think?”
“I thought Hong Kong Capital became the majority shareholder of Orient a few years ago?”
“Yes, that’s right. I sold a 70% stake to Hong Kong’s Lee & Chang, and now my stake is 30%.”
“And?”
“Lee & Chang wants to get out of the East.”
“Hmm? Really?”
To be honest, I wasn’t surprised.
The reason was obvious.
“As you know, the Hong Kong kids took over our Orient so they could expand into China, and then—.”
“There was the THAAD thing.”
“Yeah, that’s right, the THAAD thing messed everything up, and at first we waited and hoped it would blow over in a couple of years, but it never did, and in the U.S., with the Trump administration, the risks have only increased as China and the West have been pitted against each other.”
Frankly, it’s hard to do business in China now.
“And to add insult to injury, the country’s birth rate has plummeted to the point where we can’t even look at the domestic market. Oh my God! The number of babies born in 2015, which was around 440,000, dropped to a whopping 320,000 last year, 2018. Isn’t this going to ruin the country?”
“They say it’s going to drop even more in the future.”
“Yes, that’s right, this is the future of the country, and I don’t understand why people are not having kids and getting married? Do they think they just fell out of the sky?”
You’re right, but you’re embarrassing me.
I’m a 35-year-old Korean bachelor.
“Isn’t that right, Mr. Chairman?”
“Humph, I’m sorry.”
“What?”
“I’m sorry I didn’t get married.”
“Ah—.”
Know what.
“Uh, this is rude.”
“No, you’re absolutely right, and I often say that even with Mr. Lee Jae-ha.”
“hahahaha! Is that so? Anyway, shouldn’t the chairman get married soon? I mean, since you’re so perfect and you’re the richest man in Korea, why aren’t you doing it?”
“…”
“I can’t say it’s because your son Nae-mi stole my girl.
It’s already in the past.
Anyway, why does this story keep going off on a tangent?
And now it’s about my marriage?
“Excuse me, I think you’re leaking my story.”
“Oh, I’m sorry about that. Anyway, that’s why Li & Chang in Hong Kong wants to get rid of their stake as soon as possible.”
“It’s going to be hard to get the full purchase price now, isn’t it? Things have changed a lot, haven’t they?”
“Absolutely, which is why they’re willing to sell at a loss. They just want to get the best deal they can.”
“Hmmm—.”
If he asked for full price, I wouldn’t know, but when he said cheap, I was interested.
After all, the brands in the East were still valuable.
“What do you think?”
“It’s too sudden for me to say right now, but I’ll discuss it with our CEO Lee Jae-ha and get back to you.”
“hahahahaha, I’d like you to think about it, and while you’re at it, I’d like to get rid of my 30%.”
“Hmm? You’re going to get rid of it altogether?”
“Yeah, it’s something I’ve been thinking about for a long time. I don’t have any kids to take over, the company is already 70% mine, and I don’t want to be constantly involved as a majority shareholder. I’d like to live a little more comfortably.”
“I understand, and we’ll take that into consideration.”
“Thanks.”
I drank a few more drinks, dealt with Mr. Seo, and went home.
When I went to bed, I couldn’t sleep for a while because I kept thinking about what Mr. Seo had said about the performance.
The nuances in his speech made it seem like he was very unhappy in his marriage.
To say that it was in jeopardy, even in the eyes of his father-in-law, would be an understatement.
You stupid b*tch, you should have just left me and gone on with your life.
Oh, I don’t know.
It’s not really my concern, is it?
It’s his choice, and he’ll make his own way.
By the way, I should probably start dating someone soon, but I’m even more afraid to meet a girl after the last time Amber pounced on me and it ended in an attempted murder, so this is a big deal.
Aung, get some sleep.
If it works out, it will work out with someone.
“Where? Oriental? Oriental Apparel?”
“Yes, Oriental Apparel.”
“What does that mean?”
“Well, it means—.”
I explained in detail to Jae-ha what had happened yesterday with Mr. Seo Chang-ryul, the president of Dongyang.
“Oh, me! He’s a big man, too. He asked me to meet with him about his business, so he was trying to sell you the company?”
“Something like that.”
“That’s great, that’s great, that’s great, that’s great, that’s great, that’s great, that’s great, that’s great, that’s great.”
“Hmph! Whatever. Anyway, what do you think about taking over Oriental?”
“I don’t know, what does Mr. Park think?”
When Jae-ha asked Mr. Park, who had been listening from the side, his face immediately seemed to light up.
This guy is a fish out of water these days.
Not only did he give me a huge raise, but he also gave me a new car, a Grandeur, and allowed me to use the corporate card without restriction as long as I had a good reason.
Under Mr. Hong, I could barely use the corporate card because it was a mess.
I mean, it’s a small business, but what if the head of sales says that I spent over 100,000 won when I met with a buyer?
At least I was a bachelor, so if I felt like I had to spend it, I just scratched it off with my personal card, but a middle-aged family man with a wife and children had a hard time doing that, so I was always getting ripped off.
I was so embarrassed when a team leader from another company once said to me, “Why is the head of sales at your company so stingy?”.
Anyway, I removed the corporate card restrictions and told him to spend as much as he wanted, and he seemed to have a lot of energy.
By the sounds of it, he’s going around proclaiming that he’s going to bury his bones in our company if he goes outside.
“I’m all for it.”
“You don’t mean you’re pro-choice because the organization is big?”
“Of course not.”
“Then why?”
“Well, for one thing, it’s the positioning of the brand in the East. We have the most brand power in the baby and children’s industry right now.”
“And?”
“Well, it’s a synergy. They’re the same age group as us, but as you know, obedience is very different, isn’t it?”
“That’s true.”
“Besides, even if we have to give up China, we can target Southeast Asia or even the West, especially now that the Korean Wave is sweeping the world.”
“Hmmm—.”
“I don’t think it’s an expensive acquisition, though, and I think it would be a good deal if you offered the right amount of money.”
I say no.
“Oh, really! How do you propose the acquisition price? It’s useless if it’s as expensive as Mr. Park said, isn’t it?”
“We won’t know until we start negotiating, but according to Mr. Seo, the majority shareholder, Li Anchang, wants to get out as soon as possible, so he’s willing to lower the price a lot.”
“Really?”
“Of course, we’ll have to give Mr. Xu a little more, even if it’s in the back.”
“Mr. Park, how much did the Hong Kong kids pay for the Dongyang shares before?”
“From what I heard, it was around 150 billion.”
“Then we can assume that Mr. Seo’s stake is between 150 billion and 100 billion at most?”
“I’d have to check to be sure, but that should be about right.”
“What do you say?”
I said, “I think if we offer to pay 50% to 70% of the price they paid for their stake in Li & Chang in the past, that’s probably what we’ll get.
Of course, the experts would have to evaluate exactly that.
“Well, let’s just negotiate, and I’ll get the experts involved, and you can work with Mr. Park.”
“Sure.”
“I’ll do it in the spirit of Gongsa Bonggong!”
“…”
Mr. Park is a bit overzealous these days.
He’s starting to sound like a desperate mortal.
“Oh, Director Park, can you leave for a moment? I need to talk to Mr. Kang in private.”
“Sure.”
Mr. Park bowed to me and left.
“Why? What do you want to talk about?”
“Yes, I need to talk to you about something urgent.”
“What is it?”
“Are you still going to invest in Korea?”
“Well, it doesn’t mean I’m only investing in the U.S. If I see a good stock or company, I’ll probably keep investing in it or buy it, but why?”
“Well, you need to find the right people.”
“The right people?”
“Yeah. You see, I’m limited to covering the apparel business. Anything beyond that is beyond my skill set.”
“Hmmm—.”
“Recently, when I met with Chairman Jang Young-dong and Ki-dong about the Magok building, I realized that we definitely need someone to oversee the for-profit business instead of the welfare business.”
From nob le mt l. co m
Jaeha is right.
In fact, it’s something I’ve been thinking about to some extent.
It doesn’t matter because Chairman Jang and my father are in control of the welfare business, but the for-profit business will be quite large even if we only acquire Dongyang this time, and it’s an integrated new building, so it’s beyond Jae-ha’s control if we add a security company, etc.
I feel messy because I’m doing things as I go along.
There is definitely a need for a control tower to oversee the for-profit business in Korea.
“I’ve been thinking about that.”
“Right? It’s not like you’re going to be in Korea forever, so we need someone to take the reins and run the show. Right now, it’s not even a hobby, it’s just a mess, with the welfare business and the clothing business and the security company, and you’re not even fully invested yet. What if you invested more here? Man, I’m getting a headache just thinking about it.”
“Hmph! Okay, I’ll look into it, get the people and systems in order.”
“Yeah, you’d better hurry.”
“Okay.”
But now that I think about it, I’m stuck.
There has to be someone I know, right?
But there’s a part of me that believes.
I whipped out my phone and dialed the number.
Ding, ding, ding, ding!
– Hello? Is it Alex?
“Uh, Jeffrey. Can I talk to you?”
– Yeah, go ahead. Oh, by the way, how’d it go with Mr. Seo in the East?
“Oh, that’s no big deal. He’s an asshole, but Mr. Seo’s a nice guy, isn’t he?”
– “Uh, I’ve been doing business with him for a few years now. He’s not a bad guy, he’s just a bit of a talker.
“Phew! I felt that too.”
– Yeah, I’m glad that went well, and yeah, what’s up?
“You know what I always ask you to do?”
– What is it? Ah! People?
“Bingo!”
I explained the situation to Jeffrey.
The way things are going, I need someone reliable and capable to run the for-profit business in Korea.
– Actually, it’s a little late.
“Isn’t that right?”
– I see what you mean. I’ll do some searching, but it’ll take a few days.
“Oh, that’s fine.”
– Okay. I’ll find someone as reliable as I can.
“Thanks as always, heh!”
– Asshole!
Then, a few days later.
I get a call from Jeffrey.
“Ah, Jeffrey.”
– I think I got the right guy.