The Chairman Who Wants to Play and Eat

Chapter 43. Right here.

After finishing the call with Steven Jackson, I pondered for a long time.

‘Why Ireland of all places?’

At first, I thought it was trivial. But soon, I changed my mind.

He wouldn’t have said it without reason.

He’s not that kind of person.

So there must be a clear reason why it had to be Ireland among so many countries.

Thus, I studied.

I studied and studied again.

And then,

What began as learning Irish conversation transitioned into the laws of that country, moving through criminal law, civil law, commercial law, and tax law, until I could finally grasp what Jackson was trying to teach me.

Indeed, the answer was within.

‘So that’s it.’

That was precisely why I had to rush to the chairman’s office.

I told my grandfather this.

“I’ve experienced America, so I want to broaden my horizons by exploring the European market. Please allow me to go before the vacation starts. It can’t be delayed. The longer I wait, the colder the weather will get.”

I couldn’t afford to waste a moment.

Now that I had discovered it, I needed to hurry and prepare to meet Steven Jackson and sign.

In a pub in Dublin.

It was the meeting with Steve Jackson.

“Hahaha, Mr. Hyun. You don’t actually think your chairman will believe such an excuse, do you?”

He laughed at my words, drinking dark beer repeatedly.

“He will believe it.”

“Ah, yes. I suppose so.”

It had arrived a week ago.

In the meantime, I had been running breathlessly.

After rushing around with Deputy Lee Beom-seok to hasten the establishment of the new corporation, I was finally able to complete all preparations in time for Jackson’s arrival date.

I had spent thousands of dollars just on expedited fees.

I know it shouldn’t be this way.

But isn’t it a classic method that works in any country?

Above all, if I hadn’t thoroughly studied Irish law and administrative procedures from Korea, none of this would have been of any use.

After everything was done, I met Jackson, who had come to Ireland.

From then on, everything went smoothly.

First, I sold Axel’s license to my Irish corporation, ‘Yoon International,’ which I owned 100%.

Then, I signed a contract allowing Appel’s Irish subsidiary to use the exclusive license for Axel, owned by my corporation, for a fee over the next three years.

“We call that the Double Irish,” Jackson explained.

“It’s the method our two subsidiaries in Ireland have been using all along. Now we’ve adapted it. In any case, it’s an incredibly effective method. It reduces what would normally be a 30-40% tax to under 10%.”

To summarize,

it was a tax avoidance strategy that cleverly exploited the loophole in the tax law, which states that Ireland has a lower corporate tax rate than other countries and only taxes profits after dividends.

The key was that Appel’s Irish subsidiary would distribute Appel products, including my Axel, to branches worldwide, then recover nearly 100% of the profits from those branches under the guise of royalties, and finally, distribute those recovered profits back to the parent company as dividends before taxation.

“I see.”

I nodded.

“By the way, Mr. Hyun, there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask.”

“Go ahead.”

It was a question I had been mulling over for quite some time.

“Of course, I thought Mr. Hyun would manage it, but still, it’s quite remarkable. How on earth did you figure all this out? Did you, I don’t know, grill someone from our side?”

My answer was already decided.

“It’s all in the law.”

“The law isn’t just a page or two…”

“If it’s not just a page or two, then you just have to read all of it. If you read all of it, what’s inside becomes clear.”

It’s the simplest way.

To find something, you just have to check the whole.

“······Well, that’s true.”

He frowned, his expression showing that he was at a loss for words.

“You know, if Steven could do it, then I can too. I think that’s the reason.”

“Right. Exactly. We’re on the same wavelength.”

At my words, he finally smiled brightly.

He liked my answer.

“Anyway, I’m really happy today that we could make a good deal with Mr. Hyun’s company, ‘Yoon International.’ I came all this way, forgetting everything else, so let’s have a drink and celebrate, bravo!”

Clink—,

The glasses clinked together.

And in that moment, I thought.

About the dream I’ve had since I was a child.

‘I wish I were rich, but no one knew how much money I had.’

This is the dream.

As Steven Jackson said, the idea of the ‘Double Irish’ was a fresh shock to me.

No matter how much money I gather, it goes unnoticed by anyone.

This is more crucial than taxes.

It perfectly aligns with my goals.

Perhaps what Jackson wanted to teach me wasn’t just tax-saving methods, but stories like this?

Life is an endless journey of learning.

“Thank you, Steven!”

I learned from him once more.

“What did you say?”

“I said thank you. For teaching me so well!”

But he didn’t hear me.

As midnight approached, the pub grew increasingly noisy. As if it were saying that it was time to leave Ireland.

‘Thank you, Steven.’

I said it to myself once again.

*

It was already December.

While I had left Korea, many things had happened.

First,

[ Seonghyeon Electronics, Hwangwon Semiconductor’s No. 1 Plant finally completed. ······ Chairman Hyun Byeong-geon, ‘We will invest over 300 billion won in the next five years.’ (Comprehensive) ]

After completing all construction, including equipment installation, Seonghyeon’s first semiconductor plant finally held its completion ceremony.

Starting next year, they will mass-produce the 64K DRAM developed by Seonghyeon here.

It has been just a little over six months since the groundbreaking.

It was a race against time.

‘Fast, indeed.’

I thought to myself.

Anyway,

That also means the worldwide release of the movie “Future Killer” is just around the corner.

That is all that matters to me.

This is the last harvest of the year.

At this point, some might want to ask.

What’s the difference between “Axel” and “Future Killer”?

The money Axel makes is “my money that no one knows about,” while the money “Future Killer” makes is “the company’s money that everyone knows about.” That’s the difference.

I could almost hear my grandfather’s voice saying this.

‘You’ve achieved a lot for the company, but did you think I would understand your choice to pour two million dollars into a movie like this? Disappear from my sight at once. Go live in Ireland, where you love so much, and don’t let me see you again. Do you understand?’

He had endured for a long time.

There is a limit to being laid-back, isn’t there?

He must have many things he wants to say. That’s only natural.

The release in Korea was also progressing well.

“There are no issues with the import discussions with the Film Promotion Corporation. The import price is only one dollar, so it’s only natural. You have no idea how much I had to persuade them to refrain from issuing a press release as a model import case,” said Deputy Lee Beom-seok, laughing.

“What about the release schedule?”

“I’ve found a decent agency among the importers and entrusted them with the task. You don’t need to worry about distribution or screenings.”

He was confident.

He added that it seems the film will be released around Christmas in our country, and that the success will largely depend on the North American performance.

Even after being so busy since the end of summer vacation, he managed to get everything done without missing a beat. Truly, he is the ace of the secretariat.

“Is it okay to take a little out?”

I thought they really had no sense.

Meanwhile,

Director Seo Jung-gil of the Korea Data Communication Institute (KIDC) was engrossed in the final stages of his work.

“Every second counts if we are to meet the young master’s expectations.”

His heart raced.

A seismic shift was occurring in the domestic personal computer market.

With the launch of 16-bit personal computers from both Jeongsang and Geosan, they were racking up delivery records to public institutions and financial companies.

It made his stomach churn.

[ Jeongsang, with the launch of the JCM16, accelerates Korea’s information age. ······ A new era of one person, one personal computer is about to begin. ]

[ Geosan Electronics, launching the Super Micro Computer! ······ Affordable prices for home use! ]

Every time he read such articles, it stung.

“We’ve already developed something around 16 bits.”

It was just that they hadn’t moved to mass production.

In fact, their performance was even better.

Just recently, Korea University had accessed the internet network as a node for the first time. It was a first for Korea.

And what about that operating system?

Young Master Hyun-sung had improved X-DOS, which he obtained a full license for in the U.S., to create SH-DOS.

It was the result of collaboration between the computer division of Seonghyeon Electronics and the research institute’s personnel.

Yet, there was still no launch.

All of this was due to the judgment of Seonghyeon Electronics’ leadership, who believed that rather than entering the fiercely competitive 16-bit market late, it would be more advantageous in the long run to quickly develop a 32-bit personal computer and lead the market.

Of course, he agreed.

But that didn’t ease his anxious heart.

Then one day, it happened.

“I’ve developed SH-DIR.”

The young master brought a floppy disk one day, and what was inside was a whole new world he had never seen before.

“Where did you find something like this?”

“Right here.”

He pointed to his own head.

“You made it yourself?”

At first, there was doubt.

But then the diskettes kept piling up one after another.

Even if I didn’t want to believe it, I had no choice but to accept it.

Moreover, seeing my friend Professor Eon Nam-jun coding and vouching for it, I had no other option but to trust it.

That’s why it was even more astonishing.

SH-DIR was just the beginning.

What came next, the thing called Axel, was even more than that.

The first impression was, of course, BizCalc.

No one who dabbled in computers had ever missed out on that killer software included in Apple II.

But,

‘No, what on earth is this?’

It was something that completely surpassed BizCalc.

If this were to be implemented, perhaps with the release of Seong-hyun’s 32-bit personal computer, it might be possible to target not just the Korean market but the global market as well.

I thought that way, but then,

A problem arose. It couldn’t be.

‘Axel has decided to provide exclusive licensing to Apple.’

It was the words of the young master that shattered my world.

And then he left for Ireland. They said it was for the final signing with Steven Jackson.

He steadied his mind.

I firmly believed that the young master must have other thoughts.

The person I had seen until now, Hyun Seon-yoon, was that kind of person. He had never disappointed me.

While I was thinking that,

“Director! A package has arrived.”

A researcher knocked on the director’s office door.

“A package?”

“Yes, should I leave it here?”

“Just set it down and go. But where is it from?”

“There’s no address written on it. The sender is just labeled in English as YOON INTERNATIONAL.”

Yoon International?

It was a name I had never heard before.

“Then I’ll be going out.”

As soon as the staff member left, I tore open the package. Inside, unexpectedly, was a single diskette.

The label read:

From noble mtl dot com

[Pro Hangul]

‘What is this?’

I executed it immediately.

And he tasted a new world.

‘I can write Hangul on a computer? This is insane! How on earth? No, more importantly, who sent this?’

It wasn’t that there was no way to write in Hangul.

By using a crude Hangul card that circulated in Cheonggyecheon, one could display Hangul even at a thousand-character level.

But this was on a different plane.

It was a system that called up Hangul code from memory without any hardware.

It was revolutionary.

But wait a minute?

The sender’s name felt oddly familiar. It was an indescribable feeling.

Yoon International?

Yoon?

Strange.

For a fleeting moment, I thought I might know who it was.

‘Could it be that person I know whose name ends with Yoon?’

But he was already realizing.

There was only one person in this world who could create something like this, and who could send it to him so easily.

How on earth does one even think like this?

It was a foolish question.

‘Right here.’

I felt as if I could hear the voice of a young master pointing to his own head.

“Director?”

At that moment, a researcher who had entered without a clue called out to him. He hurriedly replied.

“No, I’m not crying. Something got in my eye. Anyway, yeah.”

He took out a handkerchief.

The lab was filled with dust.

*

The day had come.

“Future Killer” premiered first in North America.

And then, the long-awaited first week.

The results were in.

Before I could even process it, Cameron Smith called to let me know.

– We did it! We did it!

His voice was charged with joy.

– We achieved number one at the box office for the first week. Just from the first week’s sales, we’ve already surpassed three million dollars. If we keep this up, we’re golden. Yoon, we hit the jackpot, we really did!