The drinking session continued late into the night.
Before parting, Chairman Ryu Cheol-gyun said to ,
“When I said I was leaving my position as head of Canline Group, everyone around tried to stop . It might sound like boasting, but for an Asian to climb that high in the heart of global finance was nothing short of a miracle. After leaving to establish RCK Bros independently, I had to start everything from scratch. Back then, Byeong-doo and I were young, filled with the fighting spirit to take on challenges and see what happened. Seeing you now, CEO Kang Jin-hoo, reminds of those days. You and Vice President Oh Taekgyu are even younger than I was then. In the future, the two of you will usher in a new era.”
I shook his hand and said,
“Thank you for your words today. I hope to see you again soon.”
After seeing Chairman Ryu off, Vice Chairman Shin Byeong-doo and Yuri got into their car as well.
“I'll see you at work tomorrow, CEO,” Yuri said.
“Okay. Get ho safely.”
We got into the back seat too. Since we had both been drinking, a bodyguard sat in the driver's seat. Even with autonomous vehicles, sitting in the driver's seat after drinking is still legally considered drunk driving.
Ellie leaned her head on my shoulder. Her face was slightly flushed from the alcohol, and a faint scent of wine drifted with each breath.
For a mont, I felt the urge to kiss her.
With her eyes closed, Ellie said,
“Yuri really is cute, isn't she?”
“She is.”
“Rember when we visited Hankuk University together? We bumped into your ex-girlfriend there, didn't we?”
I chuckled softly.
“Of course. Ellie was right beside then, just like now.”
Ellie squeezed my hand tightly.
“Did you like her a lot?”
Even without a subject, I knew who she ant.
I nodded.
“Yes, I did.”
It's all in the past now.
n and won et, break up, and et other people. It's a common occurrence. How many celebrities divorce or remarry?
Soone might say Go Jun-hyung stole my girl (though, of course, no one would dare say that to my face), but that's purely a male perspective.
She simply chose the person she liked.
It doesn't matter whether she t him before or after we broke up. There's no law saying a woman with a boyfriend can't date another man before ending the relationship.
Ellie must have brought up Seon-ah suddenly because we were just talking about GH Construction.
“Aren't you worried?”
“Not at all. You're not supposed to worry about chaebols.”
People tend to feel more pity for the downfall of high-status individuals. Like royalty from a fallen kingdom, or a collapsed chaebol.
But it's a Korean tradition that even if the company fails, the chaebol family doesn't. Even if the entire GH Group dissolves, the owner family will have no trouble making a living.
The real issue lies elsewhere. Whether the outco is a sale or restructuring, the harsh winds of layoffs are bound to blow.
I said with a wry smile,
“If we must worry about soone, it should be the employees who might lose their jobs.”
***
GH Construction's insolvency was far more severe than the market expected.
Already facing worsening financials due to reckless expansion and unsold properties, the bankruptcy of the Philippine SPC that commissioned the project was a fatal blow.
Rumors circulated in the financial sector that its stock trading might soon be suspended.
No construction company funds projects entirely with its own money. Financial support like loans and guarantees is essential for construction.
When a construction company becos insolvent, clients hesitate to place orders fearing projects will halt midway, and subcontractors demand upfront paynts fearing non-paynt. This further exacerbates the cash flow problem.
Indeed, as rumors of its poor financial state spread, GH Construction recently lost consecutive bids for Seoul reconstruction projects to other major builders.
Within GH Group, fierce debates raged over solutions. But turning the situation around wasn't easy.
They considered issuing bonds to raise funds, but corporate bond rates had already soared to nearly 15%. Issuing more bonds under these circumstances was unlikely to succeed. Having other affiliates provide guarantees to lower the rate was an option, but shareholders would surely oppose it.
Now that its insolvency was known, putting GH Construction on the market wouldn't fetch a decent price. Yet, selling GH Oil, the group's flagship affiliate and core business, was unthinkable.
Selling other affiliates to save the construction arm was also considered, but foreign shareholders of GH Group's holding company, GH Holdings, made their opposition clear.
President Go Jin-kwang scrambled in all directions trying to prevent GH Construction from falling into others' hands.
The fate of an acquired company is predictable. The acquirer first replaces the acquired company's CFO (Chief Financial Officer) to understand cash flow and control the purse strings. The original managent team is ousted, and new people take their place.
Go Jin-kwang was born into a chaebol family and lived his entire life as one. He joined GH Construction and inherited the company as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Now, the company he dedicated his life to might be snatched away by others.
A chaebol who loses managent control is no longer truly a chaebol. While making a living wouldn't be an issue, the current status and honor would be gone. It was tantamount to humiliation.
President Go Jin-kwang hadn't given up hope. Negotiations were ongoing with the Philippine governnt for paynt, and the unsold properties would eventually be dealt with over ti. If they could just survive the imdiate cash crunch, there was a chance to recover.
No, a golden opportunity was already close at hand.
The US was steadily progressing with the reconstruction projects for San Francisco and Silicon Valley. It was Arica's largest construction undertaking, expected to take ten years for full recovery.
If only they could secure assurances of winning a significant volu of contracts here, perhaps they could persuade the creditors and avoid the worst-case scenarios of court receivership or forced sale?
Over this, construction companies worldwide were engaged in fierce behind-the-scenes maneuvering to win even a slightly larger piece of the pie.
And OTK Company was involved in a key part of that project.
If only they could get Kang Jin-hoo's help, the problem could be solved!
The problem was that GH Group as a whole had no particular connection with him. Fortunately, President Go Jin-kwang's third son was Kang Jin-hoo's senior from the sa departnt at the sa university.
For now, that was their only hope.
Go Jun-hyung recalled Kang Jin-hoo from their past encounters.
Back in university, he was just a junior, hardly worth paying attention to. But so much had changed in just a few years.
Unlike GH Group, whose market cap was shrinking and chaebol ranking falling, OTK Company had grown into the world's largest corporation.
Recently, the Korean economy was practically being pulled along by OTK Company. If OTK hadn't collaborated with dostic giants like Seosung Electronics and Eunsung Motors, Korea's growth rate would likely be 2 percentage points lower.
It might not sound like much, but Korea's GDP is around 1.7 trillion dollars. 2 percent of that is nearly 40 trillion won.
If its impact on the national economy was that significant, its influence on individual companies was undeniable.
Go Jun-hyung had only run into Kang Jin-hoo a few tis at school. But he clearly rembered his face.
Because he was the ex-boyfriend of Seon-ah, who was now his wife.
But now, he was in the position of having to ask for a favor. It felt like a cruel twist of fate.
Go Jun-hyung sighed and muttered,
"Should I call this fate, or ill-fate...?"
***
While I was working, an unexpected visitor ca to the company.
Hearing the na, I hesitated for a mont. Should I et him?
Taekgyu, who had co to work only to play 'Lost Fantasy Online', shot up from his seat.
“What's there to hesitate about? You have to et him right away!”
He looked like he'd just found so entertaining spectacle.
Flabbergasted, I asked,
“You find this funny? Really?”
Taekgyu nodded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“Yeah. It's funny. So let's go et him quickly.”
“…”
Ladies and gentlen, this is the character of OTK Company's Vice President.
To indulge Taekgyu's wish, I went down to the eting room with him. A young man in a suit was there. Tall and handso.
His na was Go Jun-hyung. The third son of the GH Construction president, my senior from Hankuk University's business administration departnt. And also Seon-ah's husband.
This was the first ti since we bumped into each other at school back then. Since I rarely attend chaebol gatherings and our business areas differ, we hadn't crossed paths outside.
While I wouldn't call it ill-fate, there weren't exactly fond mories either. That's probably why neither of us had thought to et all this ti.
He bowed deeply and greeted .
“It's been a long ti, CEO Kang Jin-hoo.”
A stark contrast to the casual, informal speech he used back at school. It was only natural, given how both our situations and statuses had changed.
“It really has been a long ti. Good to see you.”
Taekgyu greeted him cheerfully.
“Hello. I'm Oh Taekgyu. Welco, glad you could make it.”
“I've heard a lot about you, Vice President.”
We exchanged greetings and sat down. A secretary brought drinks.
I asked him,
“What brings you here today?”
In Korea, no profession is more fixated on family succession than the chaebols. Go Jun-hyung had also joined GH Construction to prepare for succession, diligently learning the ropes.
His current title is Senior Managing Director. His older brother would likely inherit the main company, but he could probably expect to receive one of the smaller affiliates under it. Then GH Construction would diligently funnel work to it through internal transactions.
Of course, this was all assuming GH Construction remained intact.
Judging by the current atmosphere, a sale seed highly likely soon. If that happened, he and the rest of the owner family would have to step down from their managent positions.
Well, his grandfather is still the GH Group Chairman, so he'd probably take care of him sohow. Worrying about chaebols is the most pointless thing in the world.
Go Jun-hyung said with a somber expression,
“To get straight to the point, I've co to ask for your help.”
“What kind of help?”
“Regarding the San Francisco and Silicon Valley reconstruction project, I heard ArcIT won the urban design contracts for Palo Alto and Redwood City. GH Construction would like to participate in connection with that.”
So this was why he wanted to et. I had expected as much.
“The final design plans haven't even been approved yet, so it's not an imdiate project. The selection of construction companies will happen later.”
“But I believe if you were to step in, CEO Kang Jin-hoo, there might be a way. Even just an MOU (morandum of Understanding), not a formal contract, would be sufficient.”
Is his plan to use that to persuade the creditors, and in the anti, sort out the insolvent business sites to save the company?
When I didn't answer, Go Jun-hyung asked,
“Are there any conditions you require?”
Without needing much thought, I stated flatly,
“No. ArcIT will decide that matter on its own. OTK Company is an investnt firm. Our principle is to avoid interfering in managent as much as possible, unless the invested company itself requests help first. There's nothing I can do for you separately. I'm sorry I can't be of assistance.”
If I started accepting requests like this from Korean construction companies, there would be no end to it, and it would surely lead to gossip and criticism later.
Go Jun-hyung bit his lip, his body trembling slightly. He looked deeply humiliated. But what could be done?
Negotiations require parties of comparable standing. But this was essentially a one-sided plea for help.
A company's purpose is profit generation. If it doesn't benefit us, there's no need to help. Whatever conditions GH Construction might offer, other construction companies could likely match them.
Just as I was thinking that, Go Jun-hyung asked in a trembling voice,
“Is it... is it because of Seon-ah?”
“...Huh?”
What the hell is he talking about?
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