Still, I Will Live As The Son-In-Law Of A Conglomerate [EN]: Chapter 148

44th. Land Domination Part 1 (2)

Monday morning of the following week.

Jang Hayeon and I, after a passionate Sunday night, went to the Yongsan-gu Office first thing in the morning to submit our marriage registration.

“It’s finally here for you, sis.”

“I know. It’s been a long journey.”

Holding hands, we left the district office and gazed at each other with affectionate eyes.

After a five-year marathon, I reached the destination called Jang Hayeon, and Jang Hayeon reached the destination called me, crossing the tape called ‘marriage.’ If we had only made up our minds sooner, we could have arrived earlier, but there were many things to do, so we only crossed the finish line now.

Jang Hayeon, who was looking at me with honey dripping from her eyes, asked,

“I heard you’re starting as a group strategy consultant today?”

“Yeah. I couldn’t start from the bottom like Father or Uncle, but it seems they want me to get involved in group management quickly by having me review business issues with the vice presidents.”

At my answer, Jang Hayeon smiled.

“My dear husband, you’re going to be very busy from now on, aren’t you? I heard your senior won’t help you this time either?”

“Hyung [older brother/senior colleague] decided to stay out of this. He’s getting his executive director title next year, so he must have a lot to take over.”

That’s what he said, but somehow… it felt like they took Park Taejin away to make me work alone. Grandpa, who knows best that Park Taejin is my soulmate beyond age, took Park Taejin away… I licked my lips and said to Jang Hayeon.

“When you bring Goryeo Hotel and merge it with Haedong Corporation, you’ll be very busy too. Our family doesn’t give any special treatment just because we’re the owners. Heh.”

Even though the work they do and the places they work are different, our family members never slack off. Even my aunt, who is a full-time housewife, regularly goes to the orphanage run by the Catholic Foundation with my cousins to take care of the children. From now on, both Jang Hayeon and I had to work tirelessly every day to grow the group.

Jang Hayeon and I drove to the main branch of Goryeo Hotel. Arriving at the main branch lobby, I dropped Jang Hayeon off.

“Good luck.”

“You too.”

I lowered my hand, which I had been waving at Jang Hayeon as she disappeared into the hotel, and opened the driver’s seat door. It was then.

“Hey, brother-in-law!”

Turning my head towards the voice, I saw Jang Yongjae coming out of the lobby. I handed the car keys to the doorman and went into the lobby.

“I heard it from Director Jang. You went to register your marriage?”

I could clearly feel the look of contempt on Jang Yongjae’s face. Even calling Jang Hayeon ‘Director Jang’ bothered me twice as much.

But.

It was too early to openly confront that bastard yet. I still had to hide my claws and fangs, even if it was just a pretense, so I wore an awkward smile.

“Nuna [older sister] and I have been childhood friends since we were young. That’s how we ended up here.”

“That’s a shame. I was hoping you would end up with Suyeon.”

Jang Yongjae seemed to be quite good at managing his expressions now. I could give him high marks for his acting skills, but I’m above you guys, you little shits.

“What can you do? I met Hayeon nuna through work back then, but Suyeon nuna showed me such a pathetic sight that she gave up on her own.”

I brought up the department store consulting incident from three years ago and gave a bitter smile, hoping he would fall for it. Jang Yongjae didn’t show any reaction even while looking at my expression.

“Well… she’s my sister, but she was pathetic. Even though she ran into you by chance, she foolishly showed you a miserable sight even though there was a competitor.”

He even pretended to be understanding of my situation. As if he was Xerxes from the movie ‘300’.

Jang Yongjae, who expressed his feelings about Jang Suyeon with a sigh, composed himself and said,

“By the way, if it was such a jackpot investment, why didn’t you tell me sooner? If you had told me, I would have made money out of nothing and bet everything on it.”

“The financial market is like a seesaw. I just wanted to play in big waters, but I didn’t know things would turn out like this either. Do you think I’m a god if I knew everything?”

Even as I answered, Jang Yongjae tried to read my thoughts while looking at me, but it was impossible. Unless he knew that Standard Capital was my company, it was impossible to read me.

After that, Jang Yongjae tried to dig into me, but he couldn’t break through me, who was consistently feigning ignorance, and gave up.

“Okay. Still, even though you married Director Jang, you won’t cut ties with me, right?”

“Work is work, and life is life. I’ll be going.”

With a faint smile, I received the keys from the doorman and went to the parking lot. Try your best, Jang Yongjae.

###

Jang Yongjae stared at Lee Seongmin’s figure, which was getting smaller and smaller, with narrowed eyes.

“That bastard… he’s definitely hiding something.”

Jang Yongjae didn’t believe the words Lee Seongmin had just said.

There was no evidence, but his gut feeling was shouting that Lee Seongmin was hiding more secrets. The money he made in Hong Kong was too much to be a coincidence.

“But I can’t poke at the Hong Kong issue to dig it up…”

Jang Yongjae frowned, trailing off.

The Hong Kong investment was something that involved himself, Jang Suyeon, and Jang Minjae. If he touched it carelessly, the Shinseong Corporation’s stock purchase that he was currently pushing for could also come to light, and he might get covered in shit.

Wasn’t the owner family buying up the holding company’s stock at a bargain price ahead of the sale of Goryeo Hotel? Using insider information.

Jang Yongjae bit his lip and sighed.

“Okay. Lee Seongmin, Jang Hayeon… I’ll let the Hong Kong issue slide. But there won’t be any crumbs next time.”

A firm determination was revealed from Jang Yongjae’s tightly closed mouth.

***

I crossed the bridge as it was and entered Gangnam, parked my car in the Haedong Group headquarters parking lot, and went to see Go Seungju.

“Starting today?”

While we were talking, I was surprised to hear the news that the Group Secretariat would be reorganized into the General Strategy Headquarters, and that Go Seungju, Bae Jaehoon, Tae Jaeho, and Jo Youngchan had all become vice presidents as of today.

“Yes. The group has grown a lot, so the chairman seems to have considered expanding the organization, haha.”

“I see. All three of you are managing larger businesses…”

As the size of the group grew, it was more efficient for the General Strategy Headquarters to focus on coordinating between affiliates and handling group-level matters, while the heads of each division would operate under a small group system with responsible management. Nodding, I suddenly thought of something and asked Go Seungju.

“What about Chairman Geum?”

“The chairman told us to leave him as he is. He told us to take control of personnel, finance, technology development, and production, but he doesn’t want us to act like an occupying force in a blatant way.”

Go Seungju’s interpretation made sense. My grandfather hates causing trouble.

“Then, who should I meet first?”

“It would be good to meet CEO Tae first.”

“CEO Tae?”

That was unexpected. Haedong Group’s flagship is the trading division, so why meet Tae Jaeho first?

That question was resolved after hearing Go Seungju’s answer.

“The logistics and distribution sector has been struggling a lot because of this situation. CEO Bae, Vice Chairman, and CEO Jo all said it would be best to put out the most urgent fires first.”

“I see. I heard there haven’t been many customers in the marts and department stores lately…”

One way or another, when an economic crisis hits, the working class and the middle class suffer the most. Department stores and discount stores, which make money by selling goods to those working class and middle class people, will also be hit hard, so they had to fix it quickly.

After confirming the rest of the schedule, I immediately went to the main branch of Yeongdeungpo Haedong Department Store to meet Tae Jaeho.

“Hello, Vice Chairman.”

I entered the conference room and greeted Tae Jaeho, who was sitting on the sofa.

“Oh, Director Lee. I heard you became a group strategy consultant today. Others will be here soon, so please wait a moment.”

“Others?”

‘A one-on-one meeting… it’s not?’

Tae Jaeho chuckled as he looked at me blinking.

“Why are you so scared? You were even wearing a sash when you were advertising for the Hi-Mart opening.”

“Ahahaha… I understand, CEO.”

While waiting and drinking tea, the intercom rang.

[Vice Chairman, Director Na Changseok has arrived.]

“Tell him to come in.”

Na Changseok opened the door and came in.

“Hello, Vice Chairman.”

“Welcome, Director Na. You guys should greet each other, right?”

Na Changseok, who had bowed his head, heard Tae Jaeho’s words and approached me.

“Congratulations, Director Lee. I heard from the Vice Chairman that you came as a group strategy consultant.”

“Thank you, Director Na. I heard you’re being promoted to executive director next year. Congratulations, haha.”

We shook hands and sat down, drinking the newly arrived tea and chatting.

“So, you’re saying we should just buy the land for now?”

“Yes, Vice Chairman. The discount store’s performance is sensitive to the economy, so it can’t be helped. But we’re taking this as an opportunity to promote ‘No-Mark’ [a private-label brand], so I would appreciate it if you would think of it as a sowing season.”

Tae Jaeho and I nodded at Na Changseok’s opinion. If they mass-produce cost-effective PB [private brand] products like ‘No-Mark’ at a low price during these difficult times, no competitor’s PB brand will be able to match it.

“Instead, there will never be another opportunity to secure land for stores or logistics centers at a low price like now. We must secure as much good land as possible to avoid being pushed out of the store opening competition. It’s presumptuous to say, but I think the same goes for department stores.”

Tae Jaeho rubbed his chin with his hand after hearing Na Changseok’s opinion.

“That’s not wrong. Not to mention Roel and Shinsegae, Walmart and Carrefour are also moving.”

A land purchase war has begun in the distribution industry.

Roel Group is using yen borrowed at low interest rates from its base in Japan. Shinsegae Group is using the money from selling all assets except for distribution, food, and Shinseong Life Insurance shares. Walmart and Carrefour are also buying land with money sent from their headquarters.

‘It’ll be easy to buy land since land prices are dirt cheap like now. The important thing is a place that will make money…’

After thinking about it, I raised my hand and asked Tae Jaeho.

“Vice Chairman, I would like to meet with the people in charge of store development in the logistics and distribution division. I also need a map.”

Tae Jaeho’s lips curled up after hearing my request.

“Good. I’ll tell them to come in right away.”

Not long after Tae Jaeho gave the order over the phone, the people in charge of store development came into the office pushing carts loaded with plastic boxes.

‘What, what is it? It looks like they’re determined?’

Tae Jaeho said to me, who swallowed hard looking at the boxes on the cart, thinking I just wanted a simple national map.

“We need to pick a good place to build a store from now on. It’s a little difficult now, but aren’t we different from Roel or Shinsegae? Hehe.”

Tae Jaeho was looking at me with gleaming eyes while smiling sinisterly, as if he was determined to pick me clean.

If so, I should give him what he wants. Enough to make his stomach burst from picking.

***

“I understand, CEO.”

I took off my jacket, unbuttoned my shirt cuffs, rolled up my sleeves, and opened the plastic box on the cart. As expected, it was full of various materials, including map books.

Looking inside the box, I took a light breath and said to Tae Jaeho, Na Changseok, and the people in charge of store development.

“First of all, I have to tell you that we also need to consider private investment in train stations, leases, and donations of public facilities, Vice Chairman.”

“What do you guys think?”

One of the people in charge of store development raised his hand and opened his mouth at Tae Jaeho’s question.

“I don’t know much about donating public facilities, but private investment in train stations seems 괜찮습니다 [gwaenchanseumnida – okay/good], Vice Chairman.”

“That’s right. Under current law, ownership of private train stations must be transferred to the government after 30 years, but in that it sells internal space and receives rent, long-term cash flow is stable.”

“Furthermore, we also run distribution businesses such as department stores and discount stores, and we also have Haedong Construction. The construction cost of the private train station that we invest in becomes Haedong Construction’s sales, and if we have our department stores and discount stores move in, we will make even greater profits, Vice Chairman.”

The eyes of the people in charge of store development, who actively support entering the private train station business, were shining brightly. Tae Jaeho chuckled as he looked at them.

“We’ll proceed with private train stations as future projects come out. But what do you mean by donating public facilities?”

“Like in the United States, we build public facilities and donate them on the condition that we get a 99-year free long-term lease on commercial space. For example, the World Cup Stadium to be built in Sangam-dong.”

The site for the Seoul World Cup Stadium in Sangam-dong was decided last October, but it’s tight even paying back the money borrowed from the IMF [International Monetary Fund]. What money would the country use to build the World Cup Stadium?

On the other hand, we have plenty of ammunition and we also have a talented construction company called Haedong Construction. It’s a golden opportunity to get good discount store land, show off Haedong Construction’s skills, and take care of performance.

Tae Jaeho, who was thinking for a moment, opened his mouth.

“I understand. I’ll discuss both cases at the vice-chairman meeting. I like it, but our Vice Chairman Lee will like it, hehe.”

“Then, let’s look at the land to build stores from now on, Vice Chairman.”

Having received a positive answer about donating the Sangam World Cup Stadium, I circled the national map spread out on the conference table without stopping.

The people in charge of store development looked at me like a strange person, but I circled about 60 places, boxed about 20 places, and then raised my head and closed the pen cap.

“The places with small boxes are places to build logistics centers. From now on, please unfold the map for each city that I circled.”

The people in charge of store development tilted their heads but unfolded the map. And I circled every place I remembered on each city map.

After working for a long time, I stretched my back and took a breath.

“Later, if the Hankyung Group puts out the Hankyung Department Store site at Seoul Station, we must lease it and have Hi-Mart move in. When the 2002 World Cup starts, the number of overseas tourists will slowly increase and the demand for tourism will grow. And this land in Yeonsu-gu…”

I explained that demand would increase when Songdo International City is built in the future, and I also told the future prospects of other places at an appropriate level.

‘If you eat all of this, it will be your credit, you guys.’

The people in charge of store development and Na Changseok were looking at me like I was a ghost or a monster, but what could I do? It’s the result of watching and returning from 20 years ahead.

I cleared my throat to clear the air, composed my expression, and put strength in my eyes.

“You have to buy these lands no matter what. Isn’t it a good location at first glance? We have to push harder when others are panting.”

The head of store development looked at me confidently and answered.

“The location is definitely good. Most of them are expected to be new cities or have a large floating population, so sales per store are expected to be high.”

Following that, even Na Changseok looked at the map and added his opinion.

“Not only that. If we secure a large number of stores with high sales, we will also be at an advantage in price competition and we can sufficiently take care of PB product quality.”

As Na Changseok said, the more stores with high sales, the faster the inventory turnover of the store or the entire company, which increases margins and bargaining power. If they launch an ultra-low price offensive with that margin and bargaining power or distribute high-quality PB products like ‘No-Mark,’ Hi-Mart will become the undisputed number one.

Everyone’s lips were twitching like guests receiving a feast, but there was something they didn’t know.

‘Even if you only eat the land I marked and build stores, you’ll eat 25 percent of the discount store market in 20 years?’

The store sites I marked were ownerless lands in the top 70 in terms of sales among the 400 or so discount store locations that would increase in the future. I remembered these lands because of the memory of being neurotic about the ranking competition while managing the discount store business during my Shinsegae Group days.

‘No matter how hard I tried, what couldn’t be done couldn’t be done.’

I tried to increase sales with all sorts of ideas, but I couldn’t overcome the wall of location conditions. This time, I was going to occupy the good spots first, build a fortress with ideas, and even dig a moat to make an impregnable fortress.

Whether it’s Shinsegae, Roel, or a foreign company, come at me all of you.

You’ll be crying in front of Haedong Department Store and Hi-Mart until you die.