Mining And Construction Tycoon [EN]: Chapter 34

34. Using the President to Set the Stage (2)

Park Tae-jong spoke with a serious expression.

“Do you happen to know Samwon Construction?”

“Samwon Construction? Aren’t they a mid-sized company that’s been making a name for themselves by specializing in government-funded projects?”

“That’s right. That very Samwon Construction has now started to venture into Saudi Arabia.”

Tae-soo was taken aback.

‘There’s no way Samwon Construction has already entered Saudi Arabia.’

It was strange.

‘Samwon Construction is indeed the first Korean company to enter the Middle Eastern construction market. But it’s too early now.’

Samwon Construction turned its eyes to overseas markets early on.

The target was Middle Eastern countries with abundant oil money and a lack of industrial infrastructure, construction materials, and technology.

Among them, they first targeted Saudi Arabia.

‘Samwon Construction won its first construction order in Saudi Arabia in 1974, the Khaibar Highway. It’s still too early in terms of timing, but the Saudi royal family is protesting about a Middle Eastern road construction issue? What is going on?’

Samwon Construction is building a 164km, two-lane highway connecting Khaibar, north of Jeddah on the Red Sea coast, to AlUla.

That became the first successful case of Middle Eastern construction for Korea, and later, coupled with oil money, it led to the Middle Eastern construction boom.

Knowing that fact, Tae-soo couldn’t quite understand.

“Already?”

“It’s been quite a while. They won the road construction contract last year.”

This couldn’t be.

‘They won the road construction contract in ’72? I thought they failed.’

Samwon first knocked on the Middle Eastern market’s door in 1972 with a road construction bid in Saudi Arabia.

However, the Saudi government did not trust Samwon Construction, a foreign company unknown in the Middle East.

In the end, they selected a local company as the final contractor and started construction.

‘Why is it a little different from what I knew?’

He was puzzled.

So he focused even more.

“What kind of road is it?”

“From Yanbu to Umluj.”

“Hmm… that’s different from what I know. Didn’t the Saudi government favor a local construction company?”

“Last year, the Saudi government planned two major road construction projects, and Samwon Construction won one of them. A Saudi local company won the other.”

“Hmm.”

“I heard it’s a $12.5 million project with a construction period of two years.”

“I thought the Saudi government wouldn’t trust a foreign company, but they managed to win it.”

Tae-soo was surprised by this new information.

‘I smell money. This is going to be profitable.’

What if he smelled money from a job that Samwon Construction had already taken?

Tae-soo clicked his tongue with regret.

“To do construction work in Saudi Arabia, you must need a sponsor. Who is their sponsor?”

“On the surface, a local construction company called Shobokshi has accepted Samwon’s partner position.”

“On the surface? Then who is actually backing them?”

“Rahman bin Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. As the name suggests, he is the 12th son of Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the fifth son of the first king.”

“Khalid’s son?”

Tae-soo couldn’t help but jump up from his seat.

‘Good heavens! Isn’t Khalid the man who will soon become the King of Saudi Arabia! His son!’

Tae-soo felt his head spinning.

From the moment he heard that he was involved with the Saudi royal family.

‘The smell of money is too strong. This smells so enticing, it’s driving me crazy!’

He was dizzy.

The smell of money was so strong that it was hard to come to his senses.

‘This is a jackpot! I’m pretty used to the smell of money now, but it’s still this strong! Middle Eastern oil money is amazing!’

Tae-soo tried to calm his breathing.

‘Khalid will be crowned king in March ’75 after his brother, the current king, is assassinated. His son is sponsoring a Korean construction company? I can’t believe it.’

Historically, Samwon Construction is known to have lost the road bidding competition.

‘But in reality, they won the bid, and because of that, Saudi Arabia and Korea are now having diplomatic problems?’

It was absurd.

The historically known facts do not match reality.

That means.

‘Someone powerful deliberately buried this matter.’

Again, a question arises.

‘Why was this buried? Unless there is some kind of agreement between the Saudi royal family and the Korean government.’

Tae-soo swallowed hard.

Let’s take a step-by-step approach.

“If a Saudi Arabian royal family is sponsoring them, there’s nothing to worry about, but why is the Saudi royal family so angry that they sent a letter of protest?”

“From the executives to the lowest workers, they all abandoned the construction and ran away. The construction has been completely stopped for months.”

It was absurd.

‘So they sent a letter of protest to the president unofficially? Is there another story?’

Tae-soo frowned at the impossible situation.

“There must be a reason?”

“They got caught up in a Bedouin tribe fight.”

“A Bedouin tribe? Huh.”

Tae-soo was dumbfounded and clicked his tongue.

The Bedouins are nomadic people who form clan societies in the Arabian Peninsula and the Middle East.

They are famous for their inter-clan disputes and are known to be fierce and ruthless.

Moreover, they are one of the strongest supporters of the Saudi royal family.

“If they got caught up in a Bedouin fight, it’s understandable that they would abandon everything and run away. They wouldn’t dare to stand up to them in many ways.”

Park Tae-jong swirled his whiskey glass and smiled.

“You know about the Bedouins too. They are quite fierce desert warriors.”

“But how can a fight last for months?”

“This case is a bit special. The fight broke out over a desert well. I heard the chief’s son died too.”

“A fight over water in the desert? The chief’s son even died? Then they’ll fight for the survival of the tribe.”

“So the Saudi royal family made the first move. The executives of Samwon Construction are all missing now because they were caught up in the fight. Their whereabouts are unknown.”

Only then did Tae-soo nod.

‘They informed us of the situation in advance under the guise of a protest because there is a risk of it becoming an international issue. It means they won’t take diplomatic responsibility. They are deliberately pressuring us to handle it unofficially.’

Park Tae-jong frowned.

“There’s another problem. Cheongil Group intervened when Samwon Construction was finalizing the Saudi construction order, but they are turning a blind eye now that problems have arisen.”

“Cheongil Group?”

“How could Samwon Construction have a Saudi royal as a sponsor? It was possible because Han Cheong-ho of Cheongil used his power.”

“Oh, my!”

Tae-soo couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

‘Han Cheong-ho used Cheongil Oil’s connections to arrange a sponsor and pocketed money in the middle.’

But what to do?

Because Samwon Construction ruined the construction, Han Cheong-ho’s face was also splattered with mud.

“Han Cheong-ho is in a very difficult situation this time.”

“What can I say?”

Park Tae-jong also smiled.

Park Tae-jong is also an enemy of Han Cheong-ho.

“How do you think we should solve this problem, Mr. President?”

“If we follow the natural course… Since the executives of Samwon Construction are missing, Cheongil Construction, which contacted the Saudi royal family, should take responsibility for the matter.”

“Do you think Cheongil will take responsibility for the matter?”

Park Tae-jong shook his head.

“Han Cheong-ho of Cheongil is cutting off his tail like a lizard and running away.”

“Hmm.”

Park Tae-jong closed his eyes.

“Cheongil is insisting that they are only responsible for connecting the Saudi royal family and Samwon Construction. In fact, Samwon Construction is the construction manager and is receiving the payment directly.”

“Still, if the royal family is protesting, shouldn’t the President tell Cheongil to solve the problem?”

“It seems that Cheongil has bribed well from top to bottom. Those who work under the President are taking the lead in defending Cheongil, saying that Cheongil is not at fault.”

Park Tae-jong frowned as if he was thinking of Han Cheong-ho.

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia established diplomatic relations with South Korea in 1962. It is a rare Middle Eastern country that takes a friendly stance towards Korea, and thanks to that, we are importing oil cheaply.”

“Oil is essential for the heavy and chemical industry development policy that the President is pushing for, so the President wouldn’t want to offend the Saudi royal family.”

“That’s right.”

Park Tae-jong nodded.

Tae-soo also nodded.

“So, it has become a headache for the President. That’s why he came down to Pohang to discuss countermeasures.”

“Hmm. That’s just my guess.”

Tae-soo’s eyes lit up.

“If the President consults you about this matter…”

“I have no choice but to insist that Cheongil take responsibility. There’s no other way, is there?”

“But if the President was going to do that, he wouldn’t have come all the way down to Pohang.”

“Hmm.”

That’s right.

Park Tae-jong sighed heavily and closed his eyes.

Tae-soo swallowed hard.

The more he talked, the more he smelled money.

‘If I do this well, it’ll be a win-win-win situation, won’t it? I can screw over Han Cheong-ho, attract Middle Eastern oil money, and build a relationship with the Saudi royal family.’

This is an opportunity!

An opportunity that must be seized before the oil shock comes!

Let’s make a lot of money to build an apartment in Gangnam! [A wealthy district in Seoul]

“In short, someone has to finish this construction, but there’s no one to go, right?”

“That’s right.”

‘In short, everyone is avoiding it because of the Bedouin problem, but conversely, if that problem is solved? It means that the construction will change to a project that everyone is eager to do. Look at this smell of money.’

The smell of money doesn’t come from anywhere.

To something that is likely to happen!

To something that is worth doing!

To something that has a big reward!

‘I can’t even dare to do things, and conversely, I don’t smell this mouth-watering smell in trivial things.’

If you follow the smell of money, you can see success!

Tae-soo smiled.

“Saudi road construction, how about I give it a try?”

“You?”

Park Tae-jong opened his eyes wide.

But he frowned slightly.

“It will be difficult. Why else would Samwon run away and Han Cheong-ho cut off his tail?”

“That’s right. It will be very difficult. But it’s also worth trying.”

“The Bedouin tribe is determined to attack. If there was a compromise between them, things wouldn’t have come to this point.”

“Even the longest conflicts eventually come to an end. Even a seesaw in the air eventually touches the ground on one side.”

Tae-soo smiled as he roughly made a seesaw with a ruler and an eraser lying on the desk.

“Sometimes the seesaw doesn’t touch the ground and floats in the air like this. This is a tense state of conflict.”

Tae-soo balances the seesaw.

“Let’s say that one side of the seesaw touching the ground is the conclusion. Do you know how to make one side touch the ground?”

“It must be the difference in weight.”

“Good. First method. Someone puts more weight on one side of the seesaw.”

Tae-soo put a coin on one side of the seesaw.

The seesaw tilted to one side at once.

“It’s done, right? But putting weight on a seesaw in the air is harder than you think. How much money do you have to put on to tilt the seesaw?”

“Hmm.”

“So I’m going to use another method.”

Park Tae-jong was curious.

He wondered what Tae-soo would do to stop the Bedouin tribe’s fight.

“What are you going to do?”

Tae-soo just smiled.

Park Tae-jong was convinced when he saw that confident smile.

“You are confident in solving this problem. That’s why you said you would try the construction.”

“So, Mr. President, you need to help me a little.”

Park Tae-jong’s eyes widened.

“What can I do?”

* * *

Buuaaang. Squeak.

The president’s car stopped in front of the Pohang Steel office.

Security vehicles guarded it in front and behind, and several other luxury cars followed.

Park Tae-jong and other key executives of Pohang Steel were all lined up in front of the Pohang Steel office.

It was to welcome the president.

Tae-soo also took a seat at the end of the line.

Tak.

The back seat door opened and two middle-aged men in well-tailored suits got out of the car.

One was President Park Jeong-hwan, whom he had seen familiar with on television and in photos, and the other was Chief of Security Cha Ki-beom.

‘President Park Jeong-hwan and Chief of Security Cha Ki-beom.’

Tae-soo clearly saw them.

He thought it was a little strange because they were people he had never seen in person in his previous life.

‘The two were involved in the 10.26 incident in ’79 [The assassination of President Park Chung-hee], and they were close at a glance.’

Their eyes were full of trust in each other.

Park Jeong-hwan turned his trustworthy eyes to Park Tae-jong this time.

He smiled happily, raising the corners of his mouth.

“It’s been a while. Tae-jong, have you been well?”

“Yes, Your Excellency. I hope you have been well too.”

Park Jeong-hwan chuckled as Park Tae-jong bowed sharply at a 90-degree angle.

“You’re so stiff. I heard that the construction speed of the steel mill is picking up quite a bit these days?”

“I’m sorry that I couldn’t build it like this sooner.”

“I came a long way to inspect the steel mill, so I have to check it with my own two eyes before I go back. Lead the way.”

“I’ll guide you.”

Park Tae-jong took the lead, followed by Park Jeong-hwan and Cha Ki-beom.

The three exchanged conversations about the steel mill.

However, Tae-soo was surprised to see the person getting out of the luxury car following President Park Jeong-hwan.

‘Chairman Jang Jun-yong of Geumsan Group?’

The head of a chaebol group [A large South Korean business conglomerate] came down to Pohang with President Park Jeong-hwan.

‘I needed Geumsan’s backing to do this easily, but the stage is set like this. It’s great. It’s the best.’