Still, I Will Live As The Son-In-Law Of A Conglomerate [EN]: Chapter 152

152. 44th. Clearing the Stage part.1 (6)

Seeing Bae Jaehoon and Lee Myungjin blinking, I said with a slightly boastful tone.

“It would be good to acquire a large amount of Daehan Steel shares through Haedong Securities.”

“Stock purchase, huh…”

Seeing their not-so-bad reaction, I continued my explanation.

“They will be a competitor to our group, but Daehan Steel is also a good company. Standard Capital has also been buying Daehan Steel shares since last year, so if both sides hold more than 35 percent, it will be enough.”

Daehan Steel pressures Haedong Steel with supply?

Then, as the largest shareholder, we can make all company management issues subject to shareholder approval, or throw a wrench in the selection of board members, and even sprinkle rat poison. Daehan Steel has enough investment value for about 10 years, so there’s no loss.

Only then did Bae Jaehoon relax his expression and wear a sinister smile.

“Shareholders’ meeting, huh… That’ll be fun, hehe.”

“He’s my nephew, but he’s really vicious, hehe.”

“Everything can be solved with money these days, hehe.”

It was a pleasant thing to imagine, so the two of us looked at each other and wore the most wicked smiles.

***

After finishing the steel mill story, we chatted about personal matters over a cup of tea.

“Director Lee was about to go crazy this morning. So, I fed him a Gongjindan pill and brought him back to life, hehe.”

“Wahahahaha! Thank you for saving my nephew, Vice Chairman!”

Amid Bae Jaehoon and Lee Myungjin’s hearty laughter, I just gave an awkward smile.

‘Hoo, when I go up to Seoul, I need to get some tonic made. I should also get some Gongjindan [a type of traditional Korean medicine] made.’

I eat Yang-boosting foods for more than one meal a day and exercise hard, but I don’t know why I’m so weak. I did it six times from last night to this morning, so it’s amazing that I regained my energy with one Gongjindan pill…

‘We did it because we liked each other, so what can I do?’

Isn’t this the time when we should be head over heels in love? I honestly wanted to skip work for a day, play ‘Calendar Girl,’ and run from morning till night, except for meal times. If it weren’t for my goal of taking down those Jang bastards.

Lee Myungjin laughed heartily as the corners of my mouth went up thinking about Hayeon in Seoul.

“Our nephew, are you thinking about your nephew’s wife?”

“Yes? …Ah… Yes, haha…”

Lee Myungjin said to me, who was stroking the back of my head and giving an awkward smile.

“I miss my wife so much. I miss my kids too, hoho.”

“Uncle…”

Not all chaebol [large Korean conglomerate] families and executives work in comfortable offices in Seoul, putting on airs. Our group is particularly eccentric, but tomorrow is the last day of the year, and Bae Jaehoon, Lee Myungjin, and I are all touring local sites, taking care of work, aren’t we?

After a moment of shared sympathy, Lee Myungjin said.

“It gets heavier as you go up. It’s good that the group is growing, but that means there are more people to be responsible for.”

“That’s right.”

“I’ve been thinking about that lately. Whether I can be responsible for the workplaces and families of the employees.”

As me in this life, not in my previous life, I agree with that a hundred times over. Isn’t the goal of our family and group to contribute to society with good jobs, good products, and good services and to last forever?

That’s not to say we should realize Agape [unconditional love]. Seeds that cause wasteful disputes, let alone productive debates, must be cut off mercilessly to stabilize and develop the organization.

Putting aside thoughts about my future as a manager, I replied.

“You must have a lot of worries, Uncle. Vice Chairman, you must be having a hard time too.”

Looking at Bae Jaehoon, he nodded.

“Wasn’t that why I fought with you over the Yeongdeungpo redevelopment? The fiber material R&D investment is also for that reason.”

Looking at Bae Jaehoon’s expression, I thought it was a good thing I prepared two fiber material items. Even if I can’t give detailed technical opinions, I remember the big picture, so it will help maintain jobs at domestic textile factories.

“That’s right, haha.”

Bae Jaehoon smiled contentedly at my awkward smile and sighed.

“Well, it seems like we’ve finished our business in Dangjin, so we’ll move on to Seosan. See you in Seoul, Vice Chairman.”

At Bae Jaehoon’s words as he got up from his seat, Lee Myungjin also got up and said.

“Okay, Vice Chairman. Have a good trip, Sungmin.”

“Yes, Uncle.”

After saying goodbye, I got in the car with Bae Jaehoon and left the Dangjin Steel Mill. It’s still desolate, but the thought of it being filled with blast furnaces that will make my heart swell later made the corners of my mouth go up.

‘Refining coke gas to produce hydrogen or the hydrogen reduction steelmaking method (making steel by putting hydrogen instead of coke) can be discussed later, right?’

If it’s a future we have to face anyway, it’s better to prepare step by step from now on, but I was disappointed that the schedule was tight. I should talk about it when we meet in the new year.

***

Lee Myungjin, who had seen Lee Sungmin and Bae Jaehoon off, returned to his office and chuckled while checking the construction status.

“He really takes after his brother.”

“Yes?”

Lee Myungjin smiled as the people in charge who were reviewing the construction status with him looked blank.

“I’m talking about my late brother. Isn’t Director Lee the only son of that person and his sister-in-law?”

“That’s right, but…”

Lee Myungjin said to the people in charge who still didn’t understand the meaning.

“My brother also told me every time he came back from a business trip to another country. He said that if our company gets bigger in the future, we have to coexist with the locals. But would the mine damage prevention project or the mining village hospital that Director Lee talked about come out if it weren’t for my brother’s bloodline?”

“Ah…”

Lee Myungjin said, looking at the people in charge who were exclaiming.

“I don’t think Haedong Steel will be free from the Kyoto Protocol that was signed this time. Isn’t a steel mill a place that emits as much greenhouse gas as any other? As soon as it’s established, we should research a method of boiling molten iron by putting hydrogen instead of coke. That’s all for the small talk.”

Lee Myungjin was busy reviewing the blueprints again, but he had no doubt that Lee Sungmin, the son of his brother who had left first, and Lee Sungmin, his wise nephew who could see the future, would agree with the eco-friendly steel mill he dreamed of.

***

We arrived at the former Taehyun Oil and Taehyun Petrochemical headquarters in the Daesan Petrochemical Complex after taking a car from Dangjin to Seosan. From now on, this place was the headquarters of Haedong Oil, Haedong Petrochemical, and Haedong Fine Chemical.

“It’s amazing.”

“I feel the same way. I can’t believe that all of our factories are from here to the end of Dokgot.”

The factory in Dokgot-myeon is the factory of Shinseong Group’s petrochemical division that was taken from Jang Homin. All of the companies from here to that factory became affiliates of the Haedong Group.

“We hit the jackpot thanks to Shinseong and Taehyun competing to build it.”

“That’s right. You and Standard took the Shinseong Group, and the Chairman took the Taehyun Group factory, hehe.”

Looking at Bae Jaehoon answering with a sinister smile, I thought to myself.

‘Grandfather… he’s a really scary person.’

It was a plan added by my grandfather, but I wondered if he had been thinking about it since I and Seon Haecheol mortgaged Jang Homin’s petrochemical division with the Hango Steel loan. If so, my grandfather was a really scary hunter.

Coming out of a brief reverie, I said to Bae Jaehoon.

“But from now on, it’s Haedong Oil, Haedong Petrochemical, and Haedong Fine Chemical. Now that we have the Haedong sign, we have to make it the best, Vice Chairman.”

“Blood doesn’t lie. Do well.”

Bae Jaehoon gave me a contented smile and patted me on the shoulder.

***

The joint audit team dispatched from the Haedong Group was rummaging through documents in the conference room, unaware that the eldest grandson of the Haedong Group’s chairman and the second-in-command of the Haedong Group had arrived.

“Damn it, this is ridiculous. It’s a 40-day round trip from the Gulf to here, but what’s so great about it that they paid this much for freight? There’s a limit to giving work to affiliates, damn it.”

“It’s one of two things, Team Leader. We need to contact the petrochemical division at headquarters or each Middle East corporation to confirm, but either Taehyun Shipping squeezed them dry or they were skimming off rebates.”

The people in charge, including Team 1 Leader of the Haedong Corporation’s trading division audit team, sneered at the freight contracts that Haedong Oil had signed during its Taehyun Oil days. This was because they had entrusted crude oil transportation to Taehyun Shipping, in which the owner’s family had a large stake, at a higher price than the average freight rate.

“Damn it… that’s why they were in debt. Manager Kim!”

“Yes, Team Leader.”

A man in a sky blue shirt and a blue tie ran over when the team leader, who had spat out a curse, called out in a loud voice.

“This is the cargo volume and freight data allocated to Taehyun Shipping, so copy it and send it to the logistics distribution division strategy office. We’re going to launch our own ships to transport goods, so we need to get rid of those guys’ straws, hehe.”

“That’s right, hehe.”

They couldn’t do anything to fatten someone else’s pockets when a shipping company would be established within the group soon. The two men exchanged documents to be copied, giggling.

“Section Chief Cha, Manager Moon, review all suspicious contracts. There are no more weeds under the Haedong sign. Pull out all the roots.”

“Yes, Team Leader.”

The team leader, who had given instructions to his team members, began to check other data. Then, another employee came to the team leader with a document.

“Team Leader, take a look at this.”

“What’s this again?”

The team leader was furious when he saw the paper.

“Hoo-, this is crazy, this is crazy. You gave this much margin to the client?”

The document he received was data related to the domestic distribution network and sales margins during the Taehyun Oil and Shinseong Oil days. Transportation companies and dealerships that took more money than other places were kindly marked in red.

“We need to investigate the personal relationships of the client’s presidents first. Looking at the list, it’s highly likely that they are relatives of executives from the Taehyun Group days, and some of the sales margins…”

The team leader waved his hand, cutting off the words because there was nothing more to hear.

“It’s obvious. It must have gone into the pockets of the Myung family. Our group doesn’t do this kind of thing…”

The Haedong Group also takes care of former and current executives and employees who have been smeared with mud and feces for the company, but the Haedong Group’s owner family does not receive a penny from behind the scenes. Perhaps it was because he had directly seen the dirty side of other groups that the team leader felt like he was going to throw up.

“Check the size of the company too. Find out who the real owners are. Ah! Bring all the sales representatives too. We have to grill them all.”

“Yes, Team Leader.”

The team leader, who had sent his team member, sighed.

“Hoo… I was going to go to the ski resort with my wife and kids…”

The team leader, whose face was wrinkled by the increasing amount of work as he dug deeper, continued to work.

“The wind is like a knife because it’s by the sea.”

The audit team leader got up from his seat when a man with a red face and hands opened the door and rubbed his hands.

“You’ve worked hard, Senior. Have a cup of tea. What would you like to drink?”

“Coffee. 1 to 1 to 1, you know?”

“I know, haha. Here, two coffees! 1 to 1 to 1!”

“Yes, Team Leader!”

The team leader, who had politely offered a seat as if nothing had happened, received the coffee that the youngest manager had brought with a cheerful answer, along with the man sitting on the sofa.

“How’s the factory side? I thought our kids would get ripped off, so I told the Vice Chairman and sent an SOS to your side.”

“You have to treat me, you know.”

The team leader blinked at the words the man suddenly threw out after taking a sip of the coffee he had just received.

“What do you mean…?”

“Our kids have been looking at the blueprints and ledgers here, but if they look any more, they’ll just get angry. It’s a mess.”

That man was the Team 1 Leader of the audit department of the Haedong Group’s Heavy Industries division strategy office, who had come to support with the necessary employees.

The trading division audit team and the petrochemical division could also check raw materials, freight, and sales network issues, but they were not able to handle issues related to mechanical equipment. Accordingly, Bae Jaehoon, who had received a request from the trading division audit team leader, asked Lee Myungjin, and the heavy industries division audit department was also dispatched.

“Then…?”

Even if the Haedong Corporation audit team leader blurred the end of his words with a dark face, the Haedong Heavy Industries audit team leader was not a person who hid what he had to say like his solid appearance.

“Tube Sheet, Forged Neck, Flange Channel… All plant equipment parts were replaced 10 percent more expensive than the industry average. Looking at the statement, the replacement cycle compared to the operating rate is half as fast as other companies.”

“…?”

The Haedong Heavy Industries audit team leader gave an awkward smile to his junior, who was stunned by the terms he was hearing for the first time.

“It’s an internal transaction. They placed all orders with Taehyun Precision, and they overpaid excessively for purchases that they couldn’t make directly. Even if they only received half of the premium… tsk.”

“They skimmed off the parts cost. It’s strange that the maintenance cost is almost the same as the GK Oil Refinery Yeosu plant, even though it’s smaller in scale…”

The Haedong Heavy Industries audit team leader continued to inform his junior, who was biting his lip, of the problems he had discovered.

“That’s also true, but there are many problems with the maintenance company.”

“What do you mean, Senior?”

“They’re subcontracting out things that don’t need to be turned into in-house subcontracting. It’s also suspicious that the union representatives and facility management team managers raised their voices when we said we would check directly…”

“Then… does that mean they put people in place and took labor costs?”

The Haedong Corporation audit team leader frowned, but the Haedong Heavy Industries audit team leader didn’t seem to have any particular feelings.

“There’s nothing to be surprised about. There’s nothing you can’t do if you set your mind to it. It’s been a few years since I left the site, but you can trust that the iron powder and sandstorm I ate haven’t gone anywhere.”

Unlike the Haedong Heavy Industries audit team leader, the Haedong Corporation audit team leader sighed.

“Hoo-, it seems like I bought a pile of shit instead of a gold ingot.”

“But if you get rid of the shit, the gold will be revealed. Petrochemical companies can make half of their money just by managing their facilities well and filtering the oil well.”

After that, the Haedong Corporation audit team leader and other employees, who continued to work, froze when they saw a middle-aged man with a half-shaved head and a young man open the door and enter.

“V, Vice Chairman?”

“D, Director?”

***

Bae Jaehoon and I went into the office and received the data on the current audit progress submitted by the audit team.

“Shinseong and Taehyun did all sorts of things. Considering the fierce competition, the financial condition was strange…”

“They were amazing, as expected of a chaebol.”

Bae Jaehoon and I both frowned at the various irregularities in the documents.

From inflating maintenance costs to excessively giving money to distributors who had former executives or their relatives as presidents… The money Shinseong and Taehyun had been making before handing over the petrochemical division to us was beyond imagination.

The Haedong Corporation audit team leader, who was sitting on the sofa with me, opened his mouth, looking at Bae Jaehoon.

“It’s a presumptuous thought, but it’s gone too far, Vice Chairman. We need to understand everything from scratch.”

Following the Haedong Corporation audit team leader’s remarks, the Haedong Heavy Industries audit team leader added his opinion.

“That’s right, Vice Chairman. So far, we have only identified the circumstances of corruption as instructed by the Vice Chairman, but we need to take action against all executives and unions.”

Ordinary people think that large corporations and unions only fight, but that’s not true. After causing a strike demanding wage increases, isn’t it common for executives centered on the owner’s family and union leaders to pocket money by raising the price of the company’s products?

‘It’s all a rigged game. Consumers are just fools, fools.’

Even as I was giving a bitter smile inside, the two audit team leaders continued their blatant report on the actual situation.

Bae Jaehoon nodded without losing his calm expression, but his eyes were full of anger. It seemed like he was about to make a major decision.