Investor That Can See The Future

Chapter 240

Following the main branch of the Ceylon Hotel, the first branch of the affiliate was also opened.

The second store was downtown Paju, not downtown like Gangnam or Hongdae.

I visited the store with President Lim Su-mi. Even after lunch, the line was long. Wouldn’t it take three or four hours to stand in line now?

As if everything had been delivered, the oven bikes and oven trucks that were supposed to be in front of the store were nowhere to be seen.

Kim Jae-hak’s expression as he walked around the store looked brighter than ever. It didn’t matter if one leg was uncomfortable.

After a while, he found me and said warmly.

“Jinhoo Kang! You must be busy, so why are you here?”

I looked at the store full of customers and the long line outside.

“I tried to buy a pizza, but I can’t even order it.”

President Lim Su-mi said with a smile.

“Congratulations, first store manager.”

At that, Jae-Hak Kim put on an embarrassed expression.

“Oh, thank you.”

She pulled something out of her bag and held it out.

“This is an opening gift. Come visit with your parents on your day off.”

The gifts he handed over were a Ceylon Hotel accommodation voucher and a buffet use voucher.

We went out the back door so as not to be seen by the guests.

“You don’t smoke?”

“I want to quit. If your body smells like cigarettes, wouldn’t your customers like it?”

“Well done.”

It’s nice to see that the mindset has changed from before.

“Now, all that remains is to work hard and pay off the debt.”

“That’s it, but there’s one more thing I need to do.”

At my words, Jae-Hak Kim had an expression on his face that he did not understand English.

“What happened?”

* * *

The Hwaan Group is the 9th largest conglomerate in the business world.

It started out as a gunpowder safety company, and after liberation, under the U.S. military government, it was in charge of managing and manufacturing gunpowder, and after that, it grew explosively thanks to the special case of the Vietnam War.

After that, it was similar to other chaebol groups. The business area has been expanded in all directions beyond the main defense industry, and now the business has been diversified into insurance, construction, and finance.

Hwaan Group Chairman Ahn Hyun-seong held an executive meeting at the headquarters. The agenda is the future business power of Hwaan Construction.

Hwaan E&C, like Eunsung E&C, grew significantly through the Middle East, and was still actively engaged in construction activities in the Middle East. However, the construction volume in the Middle East has been gradually decreasing due to the fall in oil prices and local political instability.

Fortunately, the dramatic conclusion of the nuclear deal between the United States and Iran was expected to open a new path. Iran is the second largest in the Middle East after Saudi Arabia and has a population of over 80 million. Another Middle East special could be expected because buildings and other urban infrastructures were aging due to long-term restrictions.

In preparation for the opening of a huge market, Hwaan Construction was fully prepared. But suddenly there was a problem.

That is, Ronald took out a renegotiation card, claiming that the nuclear agreement of the previous administration was wrong. Naturally, Iran strongly opposed it, but the international community’s sanctions were highly likely not to be lifted for a while.

In the meantime, I had to endure with the work I had ordered in advance, but this year was the problem right now.

In addition, an unexpected disaster occurred last year under this circumstance. That’s Big One.

The earthquake completely destroyed the entire San Francisco Bay area. When restoration begins in the future, there will be major construction work to build several new megacities.

Construction companies around the world paid attention to this, and Hwaan Construction did the same.

It was a good opportunity to take a step forward, but the prospects were not very bright. This is because Hwaan Construction has no experience in winning orders in the US, and the US sales network as a whole is weak.

Everyone in the room had the same thought.

‘Am I supposed to build a friendship with Kang Jin-hoo?’

He did a great job in preparing for the Big One, and he is supplying the US government with huge amounts of raw materials he had purchased before. There is also a British design company called Akit.

As such, it will play an important role in future restoration projects.

Chairman Ahn Hyun-seong recalled a young man in his 20s whom he had seen briefly before. Until then, he had been considered a lucky kid… … .

‘In the meantime, it’s going to be this big.’

A meeting was in progress, and the secretary came inside.

In an instant, everyone’s eyes turned to him. When the meeting atmosphere suddenly broke, Chairman Ahn Hyun-seong made a slight impression.

“What’s up?”

“A guest has arrived.”

He preferred to move according to a set schedule, like a soldier. Because of this, I tend to avoid unexpected meetings.

“Make an appointment later and tell me to come back.”

The secretary said calmly.

“You are an important guest. It would be nice to meet you.”

“who?”

“I am the CEO of OTK Company Jinhoo Kang.”

Chairman Ahn Hyun-seong, as well as his executives, were astonished at those words.

“CEO Kang Jin-hoo came to visit?”

“That’s right.”

I don’t know what’s going on, but it’s a good opportunity.

“The meeting is not enough.”

Chairman Ahn Hyun-seong got up from his seat.

* * *

The staff offered to guide me to the drawing room, but I sat in the lobby and waited.

I had nothing to do, so I sat quietly and watched the company. The staff, dressed in black suits as neatly as uniforms, walked around at a brisk pace.

As you can see, each company has a slightly different atmosphere.

While the Seoseong group feels a little free, the Hwaan group feels systematic and organized. Since the field of focus is different, there must be differences in the characteristics of the work.

Some of the staff recognized my face and were startled.

Not long after waiting, Chairman Ahn Hyun-seong came down to the lobby. Age is early 50’s. But in reality, he looked much older than his age.

Due to M-shaped hair loss, the forehead was almost peeled off to the top of the head, and thick wrinkles were evident on the forehead because of frequent impressions.

Chairman Ahn Hyun-seong has been leading the group since his 20s due to the sudden death of the previous chairman. Perhaps because of that, he had a strong charisma from his impression.

This isn’t the first time we’ve met, I’ve seen him at a meeting with President Ronald before. At that time, I just said goodbye and passed by.

Chairman Ahn Hyun-seong looked at me and was happy with his arms wide open.

“Five! Nice to meet you, CEO Kang Jin-hoo.”

“Good morning.”

“It’s not like this here, it’s going up.”

We went up to the president’s room.

I said looking out the window.

“The atmosphere in Yeouido is good. You can see the Han River at a glance.”

Chairman Ahn Hyun-seong laughed out loud.

“Hahaha! When I look at the flowing river, my complicated thoughts are organized.”

The secretary served coffee, and I sat down with Chairman Ahn Hyun-seong.

Like other chaebols, he caused a stir in the news and has been tried several times. Although he was still a chaebol, he was all out on probation.

“Anyway, I thought I wanted to have a drink with CEO Kang Jin-hoo. What did you come here for?”

“I have something to talk about.”

He smiled friendly and leaned his body forward.

“What are you talking about?”

I said while drinking coffee.

“Do you remember the KM188 explosion in the past? The product supplied by Hwa An Jung Chemical had a defect and exploded during training.”

A light of embarrassment appeared on the face of Chairman Ahn Hyun-seong, who was smiling at my words.

You probably don’t know. As a result, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration was turned upside down, and the investigation was expanded to the general defense corruption, and even the former Chief of Naval Staff was arrested.

At that time, all of the planned overseas exports of Hwa An Jung Chemical were canceled, and all of the supplies already delivered had to be recalled.

“It killed one person and injured another. But I recently found out that they agreed to pay only 50 million won to a soldier who lost his leg. Do you know this too?”

For reference, an agreement was reached with the family of the deceased noncommissioned officer by paying 100 million won. This, too, was arranged by the generals.

Chairman Ahn Hyun-seong looked at me and asked.

“Hmm, why does CEO Kang Jin-hoo care about that?”

Why would you be interested in someone else’s business?

I gave him an acceptable answer.

“Because I was at the training ground when the KM188 exploded. The man who lost his leg that day was my shooter. I was able to save my life because I was in the back.”

In other words, I almost died because of the defective mortar supplied by Hwa An Jung Chemical.

Chairman Ahn Hyun-seong’s expression hardened.

“If you think about it, I was really lucky. If I was unlucky, I would have died or lost a limb.”

“Is that really true?”

I nodded.

“If necessary, I can even remove medical records from military hospitals. Well, there are many people who know the Ministry of National Defense, so you can check it out yourself.”

He had a puzzled expression on his face.

I didn’t know there was such a relationship (?) between us.

There was silence for a while. Chairman Ahn Hyun-seong kept his mouth shut as if he was thinking of something.

“Well, I have no intention of publicizing or making an issue of the incident now. I know that the people of Hwaan Group faithfully fulfill their military service duties, unlike other chaebols. The president also served as an officer, so I think you are well aware of the reality of our country’s enlisted soldiers. As the Huaan Group has grown through the defense industry, how about doing something meaningful this time?”

“What would you like me to do?”

I have some thoughts on this part. Before coming here, I also finished talking with Chairman Im Jin-yong.

Hearing my suggestion, he looked confused.

“It is not an easy matter to decide.”

I got up.

“If you refuse, OTK Company and Seosung Group will proceed separately. Then I will.”

Then, Chairman Ahn Hyeon-seong got up and followed him.

“Uh-huh! what a disgusting thing to say I would be happy to do that.”

* * *

[OTK Company, Seosung Group, and Hwaan Group jointly established a foundation!][Compensation, rehabilitation, treatment, and re-employment support for military and police officers who died or suffered an accident while on duty][Hwaan Group Chairman Ahn Hyeon-seong expressed his feelings of pleasure to be able to support military and police officers who have dedicated their lives to the country… … ][Seoseong Group Chairman Im Jin-yong plans to gradually expand the scale of support in the future… … .]

Like it or not, they decided to spend the money, so Seoseong Group and Hwaan Group worked hard to promote the establishment of the foundation to raise their corporate image.

The public reaction was, of course, positive.

– For some reason, Korean companies are doing good things.(Read more @ wuxiax.com)

-If you were taken away forcibly and injured while serving, you should treat yourself properly.

-Aren’t those who have already been discharged from the service not eligible?

-I got a shoulder injury in that army and I still can’t use my left arm properly ㅜㅜ

– Don’t just leave it to the company, but give it some support from the state. What are you doing with your taxes?

– So I don’t pay taxes.

– I’m proud of it.

* * *

Ceylon Hotel Japanese restaurant.

Taek-gyu and I came first to place an order, and after a while, Hyun-joo’s sister and Eli arrived.

“Hey, we’re here.”

Ellie had a bright expression on her face, but Hyunjoo noona looked tired as always.

“Are you very busy these days?”

“It’s always the same.”

Taegyu said.

“Sister, dark circles will come down to her chin.”

“shut up.”

We ate sashimi and drank sake.

Hyunjoo noona took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes.

“You know how noisy politics are these days, right?”

“Yes.”

When was there a day when politicians were quiet, but these days it was especially noisy.

“As you can see, the OTK company has grown too big. Politicians seem to be paying close attention.”

Then Taek-gyu, who was eagerly eating sashimi, asked.

“Now that the government has changed, isn’t it okay?”

Hyun-joo’s older sister answered calmly.

“If you have a bad relationship with the conservative government, it doesn’t mean you have a good relationship with the progressive government.”

That’s right.

Unlike my close relationship with the Washington family, I have nothing to do with Korean politics. This is also because I deliberately avoided it.

So far, I have rejected all requests to meet with politicians. However, even after the change of government, politicians continued to come, and many of them were members of the New Politics Party and members of the Blue House.

Why the hell do you keep trying to meet me?

said Ellie.

“I know very well what happened to the last government, but should I do anything wrong?”

At my words, Hyunjoo noona drank sake and smiled bitterly.

“That’s because you don’t know our politicians.”