For a mont, a heavy silence hung in the hearing room.
Breaking the silence was Representative Hong Hyun-woo. Known for his activism during his student days, he was considered a hardliner within the New Politics Party.
He started strong right from the beginning.
“OTK Company has invested tens of trillions of won in the United States. But why is it that you haven’t made any significant investnts in Korea?”
I was wondering when this issue would co up. It’s a problem the dia has been harping on since before.
I answered based on principle.
“OTK Company established an investnt firm called K Company with its capital, and has been continuously investing in Korean companies. And as you know, all the profits earned in Korea are reinvested back into Korea.”
Representative Hong Hyun-woo firmly shook his head.
“That’s not enough. In the United States, you’re not only acquiring existing automobile factories, but also constantly building new ones, aren’t you? But why haven’t you built even a single factory in Korea?”
Anyone listening would think I owed Korea a debt to build a factory.
It’s not that I don’t understand the reason behind this line of questioning.
Regardless of increased exports and tax revenue, Korea lacks quality jobs. And it is corporations that create those jobs.
Over the past few years, except for Seosung Group, major corporations have reduced investnt and hiring dostically.
If that’s the case, they should find the cause and solve it, but the political circles are not thinking of that and are just pushing companies to invest blindly.
A corporation’s top priority is money.
If it seems profitable, even if you try to stop them, they will sohow build factories and hire people. Conversely, if it doesn’t seem profitable, no matter how much you pressure them to invest, they will move sluggishly.
“Currently, the United States has a lower corporate tax rate than Korea due to the passage of tax cuts. The market is also much larger than Korea, and state governnts provide various support for factory establishnt and operation. Furthermore, the average wage for workers is lower, and labor-managent negotiations are held only once every four years, resulting in fewer strikes.”
Representative Hong Hyun-woo glared.
“Are you saying this is because of the workers?”
I clearly ntioned several reasons, why is he pushing it in that direction?
I pondered for a mont. Should I deny it and gloss over it, or should I say everything I want to say, even if I get cursed at?
Living by saying what you want to say is the right way, isn’t it?
“Over the past 20 years, not a single new automobile factory has been built in Korea. In the anti, Eunsung Motors has increased factories in places like the Czech Republic, Russia, and xico. Isn’t it possible that labor union issues are partly to bla for this?”
Among those factories, so were built out of necessity, but there are also factories that are not. If only those factories had been established in Korea, the job problem would have been sowhat resolved.
“Are you saying that Korean workers’ wages are high right now?”
“Korean workers’ wages are not high. But automobile factory workers’ wages are high.”
“But the countries you just ntioned have lower national inco than Korea, right?”
“Then why is it that automobile factory workers in the United States and Germany, which have higher national incos than Korea, have lower wages than Korean workers? Based on Eunsung Motors, the average wage has already surpassed that of the United States and Germany.”
Representative Hong Hyun-woo presented data.
“As shown here, the base salary is lower in Korea, and the hourly wage is also lower.”
“And HPV is also significantly lower in Korea.”
HPV refers to the labor hours required to produce one car. Although direct comparison is difficult due to differences in production models and lines, it is true that the productivity of dostic factories is declining.
Representative Hong Hyun-woo said angrily.
“The growth of Eunsung Motors was thanks to the blood and sweat of the workers. What’s wrong with workers sharing the fruits of that growth?”
He’s right. Managent performance should not be enjoyed only by executives and shareholders, but should be distributed fairly to workers as well.
It is certainly a good thing for workers to earn 100 million won [approx. $75,000 USD] a year.
But…
“While the average wage of Eunsung Motors workers is 95 million won, the wages of workers at primary subcontractors are less than 50 million won, and those at secondary and tertiary subcontractors are again half of that level. Is it only Eunsung Motors workers who shed blood and sweat for the growth of Eunsung Motors? Subcontractor workers also shed blood and sweat together, so why does the wage gap continue to widen?”
The New Politics Party has consistently advocated for wage increases and the abolition of non-regular employnt for a long ti. However, perhaps due to the nature of a progressive party, they are critical of corporations but passive in their criticism of labor unions.
“Are you trying to fra the current situation as conflict between workers?”
“From my perspective, it seems like you, Representative, are trying to fra my words as ‘framing it as conflict between workers.’ What’s important is that there is no rit in building factories dostically. Which company in their right mind would build a new automobile factory in Korea when there are annual general strikes like annual events?”
“Strikes are a legitimate right of workers!”
“I think so too. And building factories in countries with fewer strikes is a legitimate right of managent.”
Perhaps having nothing more to refute, Representative Hong Hyun-woo shouted angrily.
“What does a capitalist know about workers anyway?”
To think I would be called a capitalist soday. Should I be happy about this?
I nodded and said.
“I appreciate your comnt that sounds like a Red Guard. But isn’t it the capitalists who actually build factories?”
***
Seoul Station waiting room.
People watching the hearing on a large TV while waiting for their train were speechless.
Kang Jin-hoo exposed the flaws of the questioning representatives, and the representatives closed their mouths, unable to say anything.
It was the sa regardless of whether the opponent was from the ruling party or the opposition party, progressive or conservative. The targets of criticism also did not distinguish between politics and economy, corporations and labor unions.
It was to the point where it was confusing who was actually being questioned in the hearing.
The elderly people who had been indignant just monts before, saying things like, ‘That young whippersnapper has no manners!’, ‘That rude brat!’, ‘How dare he to a Free National Party Congressman who is doing the nation’s work!’, were taken aback.
“Wasn’t that guy a leftist?”
“What? He’s doing that to leftists too?”
“Heavens! Such an unbelievable thing!”
Kang Jin-hoo is a famous figure not only in Korea but worldwide.
Foreign dia also paid attention to the hearing, and it was already broadcast on channels such as CNN, BBC, NHK, and CCTV.
The internet was once again heating up.
– He’s criticizing everyone, ruling party and opposition, leftist and rightist.
– All-kill doll acknowledged/confird
– lol crazy. Truly amazing.
– The National Assembly hearing is currently being broadcast on CNN.
– WTF is this national disgrace?
– A German exchange student here. I’m too embarrassed to even lift my head for a while.
– Chinese kids are using ntal victory thods saying this is why democracy shouldn’t be done in their country.
– Completely international embarrassnt lol
– What’s the point of spending money on national promotion for a hundred days? The congressn are ruining it all.
– Exports are already difficult these days, can’t we export congressn?
– Many countries have banned the import of waste. The principle is that waste generated in a country should be processed in that country.
– That’s because our country can’t process it ㅠㅠ
***
The hearing was temporarily suspended.
As if it were a tiout during a ga, representatives from each party gathered for a eting.
Before the hearing, they had all volunteered to ask questions, but now no one was stepping forward.
Initially, the Free National Party had intended to find fault with Kang Jin-hoo and humiliate him, and the New Politics Party had intended to strongly pressure him and gain various concessions.
Looking at the results, both sides had failed.
The hearing was a ss, and the National Assembly beca a laughingstock. The nas of the questioning representatives were listed in real-ti search rankings on portal sites, one after another.
One piece of good news for the New Politics Party was that no one surpassed Representative Lee Jung-hye’s dominance.
From 1st to 4th place in search rankings were occupied by ‘Lee Jung-hye’, ‘Gensei’ [Japanese loanword aning check/interference], ‘Resign now!’, ‘Self-Defense Forces Anniversary’. And behind them, ‘Hong Hyun-woo’, ‘Red Guard’, ‘Kim Sang-soo’, ‘Double Standards’, ‘Lee Yong-soo’, ‘Jungseon Won’s University Illegal Admission’ etc. were vying for rankings, going up and down.
Quick-witted reporters wrote articles about various allegations that erged during the hearing, and comnts calling for re-verification of the allegations were flooding in.
The congressn were dumbfounded as allegations that had been barely buried resurfaced.
ssages poured in in real-ti to the representatives whose phone numbers had been leaked. Until yesterday, there were many complints and encouragents, but today most were criticisms and insults.
[Your salaries are a waste.]
[Quit being a congressman and go farm instead]
[Did your household finances improve a bit by selling land in Gimpo?]
[If I do it, it’s investnt, if others do it, it’s speculation. Well seen, double standards.]
[On my way to protest and demand the cancellation of your daughter’s illegal admission to Jungseon Won’s University]
[If you have any conscience, make your daughter withdraw from school]
[Cut it out already. Is being a congressman a title of nobility?]
[Why don’t you just start a Cultural Revolution and kill all landlords and capitalists?]
[Red Guard Representative. Let’s see in the next election ^^]
[If I vote for you again, I’m not human]
For politicians and celebrities alike, popularity is what they live on. Comnts are one thing, but talk about not giving votes is fatal.
Floor Leader Jang Hyun-joon shouted in an angry voice.
“Who the hell suggested summoning Kang Jin-hoo to the hearing in the first place?”
Although it was the Free National Party who first brought it up, it was also true that the New Politics Party had agreed to it.
Everyone’s gaze turned to Representative Hong Hyun-woo.
He was bewildered. He still didn’t understand the situation well.
‘Why…?’
This was not common sense.
The National Assembly is a legislative body. Depending on their will, they can create new laws, and existing laws, or even abolish them entirely.
Corporations want laws to be made in their favor. That’s why they try to maintain good relationships with the political circles.
AD1 and AD2, which are being sold normally in the United States, cannot be sold in Korea. This is because there are no laws related to autonomous driving.
They should be pleading with the National Assembly to prepare related legislation right now, yet they are coming out like this!
Representative Hong Hyun-woo didn’t know well, but most people knew the reason well.
-Rebel groups may have many things to regret, but why would OTK Company bow down to you when they have nothing to regret?
-Looking at CarOS alone, Korea is a low priority anyway. There are many countries where it needs to be released now.
-If you summon a perfectly normal person to a hearing and scold them, would they want to increase investnt in Korea, or would they want to leave Korea?
-This is like summoning Bill Gates or Warren Buffett to a hearing and making them sit there.
-If I were Kang Jin-hoo, I would have already gotten US citizenship and flown away.
Floor Leader Jang Hyun-joon frowned as he looked at the posts on the party’s hopage.
‘They completely misjudged.’
Kang Jin-hoo didn’t care about Korean congressn from the beginning. They should have gone and politely asked him to increase investnt, but they summoned him as a witness to a hearing and scolded him, so it was bound to go wrong.
Representative Park Chang-soo asked.
“What should we do?”
Floor Leader Jang Hyun-joon said nervously.
“What do you an what should we do? Is there anyone who wants to be more humiliated?”
***
I waited in the waiting room and talked to Taek-gyu on the phone.
Taek-gyu said excitedly.
[Hey hey, the reaction is amazing right now. We even got a few legendary s that will go down in constitutional history.]
“……”
s will be circulating on the internet for a while again.
The surroundings were noisy. It sounded like Team Leader Jung Gi-hong’s voice.
“Are you at the office?”
[Yeah. The employees are also supporting you wholeheartedly.]
“I guess so.”
Hearing this, I feel the worth of paying salaries.
[The atmosphere is very good right now. Let’s keep this montum and drop a few more bombs. Let’s collect them all and release them as ssenger emoticons.]
“……No. I don’t want to expand the business area any further.”
Just the businesses I’m doing now are giving a headache.
No sooner had I finished the call than calls started coming in from everywhere. My mother was among them.
She’s definitely going to nag.
While I was debating whether to answer the phone or not, an employee ca in and said.
“Today’s hearing is over. You can go back now.”
“Already? Why is it ending so early?”
Then he looked at with eyes that seed to ask, Do you even need to ask?
Anyway, I got up.
“Please send my regards to the representatives who worked hard.”
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