Chapter 31: More Than Half the Market Share

Daehyun Automobile, the undisputed champion boasting over half of the domestic market share.

Ajin Automobile, long stuck in fourth place, launched the sturdy and dependable compact car, Proud, instantly catapulting them to second place.

Woosung Automobile, having slipped from second to third place by a hair, leaned on their American partner, GM Motors, and eagerly eyed the second position once more.

Soonyang Motors, barely clinging to third place, had fallen to the bottom of the industry.

For the proud Chairman Jin Yang-cheol, settling this humiliation by merely dismissing a president showed remarkable restraint.

If he’d followed his temper, he would’ve fired a dozen executives, but initiating a layoff frenzy at the start of the new year would have been difficult. The morale of the remaining employees had to be considered.

When the eldest son, Jin Young-ki, hesitated, Chairman Jin beckoned him with a playful flick of his fingers.

“Have you chosen? Twenty and one, which will it be?”

“I’ll take the automobiles!”

He emphasized the syllable ‘Do’ with particular force.

“But Chairman, realistically, two years is impossible. The new model currently under development won’t be released until the end of next year. Even if I dedicate all my efforts to its development… and even if the new car becomes incredibly popular, the results won’t be seen until the year after that.”

“Vice-chairman.”

“…Yes?”

“You should head to the automobile factory right now.”

“…?”

“At that factory, hundreds of cars are rolling out every day. Wouldn’t selling all of them put us in second place?”

Who didn’t know that? If it were as easy as saying it, would he be making such pathetic excuses? But he had to keep his mouth shut. These were the words of an absolute authority.

“You’re not even thinking about selling the cars we’re currently producing, only the new model? Is that your thinking?”

“Ah, that’s not…”

Vice-chairman Jin Young-ki tried to add a few words to create an escape route, but Chairman Jin had already raised his hand and pointed towards the study door.

“Go quickly. Seeing it for yourself will help you figure out what to do. Hurry.”

He wasn’t one to spout nonsense in a fit of anger. When he said go, you went.

What if you argued?

Even the chairman’s son wouldn’t escape the fate of the president who was banished to the packaging factory.

Vice-chairman Jin Young-ki abruptly stood, gave a slight bow, and quickly left the study.

As soon as the door closed, Chairman Jin turned to the others, his voice amiable.

“Let’s call it a day. It’s been tough listening to nagging from the beginning of the year. Everyone, go about your business.”

Everyone left the study in a noticeably brighter mood.

Their expressions hinted at the relief of not being dismissed from their precarious positions as heads of subsidiaries.

“How’s the situation with the Soviet Union? Is there no hope?”

Chairman Jin asked Lee Hak-jae, who remained in the study as if it were natural.

“That’s right. They politely declined, saying it’s difficult to concentrate energy on a specific company.”

“People call Roh Tae-woo ordinary, but he’s anything but, isn’t he?”

“This administration has designated Northern Diplomacy as its greatest achievement, so they want to proceed without causing any issues if possible… They ask for our understanding.”

“So? What can they offer instead of gas?”

“Regarding the support for East Germany you mentioned, they said they’ll entrust that channel to the private sector.”

“The private sector means…?”

“Our Soonyang Group. It’s a support plan for home appliances and food.”

“Food? What use is that?”

“That’s why I’m trying to persuade them to go with 100% home appliances. We’ll divert the entire support budget to the construction costs of our Soonyang Electronics local factory.”

“Those funds will only be released once the Berlin Wall is completely down, right?”

“That’s correct.”

“What’s the timeframe for that?”

“Combining the information we’ve gathered with the National Security Planning Agency’s findings, it’s likely to be September or October.”

“Then make sure preparations are solid so we can start construction in the fall.”

“Construction company employees are already surveying the areas around Berlin. We plan to secure factory sites in areas with high potential for development and transfer the facilities from the Hungary factory to East Germany.”

“As expected of Lee Hak-jae. Killing two birds with one stone.”

The home appliance factory already established in Hungary was barely surviving. This would effectively shut down that factory and expand into Germany without spending a dime.

“Not at all. This is just the beginning.”

“Japan?”

“Yes. We need to overcome the affection for Japanese home appliances in the Eastern Bloc. Hitachi and Sony, in particular, are absolute, aren’t they?”

At the mention of Japan, Chairman Jin bit his lip.

Korean products offered decent performance for a low price. This was the global market’s cold assessment.

Endeavoring to catch up to Japan’s technology had brought them this far. However, there were no consumers clamoring for Soonyang products. They worked tirelessly to overcome this gap, but a wall even higher than the Berlin Wall loomed. Still!

Just thinking about Japan filled Chairman Jin with inferiority and made his blood boil. Sensing his mood, Lee Hak-jae subtly changed the subject.

“By the way, how should we handle the land I mentioned before?”

“Land? Ah, you mean Do-jun’s land?”

“Yes. President Oh of PowerShares said Do-jun wanted to sell the land, but I suspect President Oh advised him to invest overseas.”

“What? I thought you said that guy was trustworthy?”

“Yes. I double-checked this time as well. He’s a good guy. He probably just judged that it would be more profitable than the land price increase….”

As if he didn’t need to hear more, Chairman Jin waved his hand dismissively.

“Alright. Just buy it.”

“Are you sure?”

“You said you double-checked, right? That Oh whatever-his-name-is isn’t a con artist?”

“Yes.”

“How much could the land price increase anyway? Let’s trust him. Besides… it’s commendable. It shows he’s not just waiting around idly, but taking initiative.”

“Understood. It would be best to purchase it at the market price, correct?”

“Of course. Otherwise, rumors of illegal inheritance or something will circulate. Give him the exact market price.”

“I understand.”

“And review PowerShares’ performance.”

“Yes? Why the sudden interest?”

“I was wondering if we should entrust the money scattered in commercial banks to them. Wouldn’t it be good to move that money to where Do-jun invested?”

“Hmm….”

The money in commercial banks referred to Chairman Jin’s personal slush fund hidden in borrowed-name accounts.

“Should we liquidate the bonds as well?”

“Check the performance and if it seems appropriate, liquidate everything.”

“Yes, I will take immediate action.”

Moving it overseas was certainly safer, and it would also allow them to track Do-jun’s money. Safety and surveillance, killing two birds with one stone. Not a bad idea.

As his mood, soured by thoughts of Japan, improved slightly, Chairman Jin began a genuine meeting with Lee Hak-jae. A meeting for just the two of them.

“What do you think?”

“I apologize. What are you referring to…?”

“The automobiles. And Young-ki.”

“The vice-chairman is doing a decent job in his own way, isn’t he?”

“I don’t keep you by my side just to hear pleasantries.”

“No, sir. Frankly, raising us to second place in the automobile industry by next year is impossible. You were a bit… harsh.”

“Hak-jae.”

These soft tones and the playful expression were when he was most dangerous.

Chairman Jin was a man who hid his true intentions within jokes.

“Yes?”

“Are you siding with him?”

Didn’t they say that a king is most wary when a subject offers an opinion on behalf of the crown prince?

Lee Hak-jae laughed it off as a joke without panicking.

“Haha, no, sir. I’m being sincere.”

“Sincere? So you’re saying it’s that difficult? Fine. Then you answer me. Is there really no way to rise to second place in the automobile industry within two years?”

Chairman Jin Yang-cheol spoke with a smile.

But Lee Hak-jae couldn’t mirror Chairman Jin’s smile.

“Public opinion will be unfavorable. There might even be significant losses.”

“The possibility?”

“If this administration steps in, 50%. If not… below 30%.”

Both men fell silent in thought for a while.

“Tell the Blue House I’d like to have dinner sometime. Ask them to set a date.”

“Do you want to meet them directly?”

“A banquet for businessmen should be appropriate.”

“Yes, I will make arrangements.”

It seemed he was serious, but Lee Hak-jae didn’t voice any objections. Wasn’t taking reckless risks the prerogative of the founder?

Starting today, Soonyang Group’s brain trust needed to be working at full capacity.

They needed to calculate, down to the last million won, how many shares to secure to swallow Ajin Automobile, whose governance structure was the weakest, and the investment costs required to acquire those shares. They also had to prepare public opinion campaigns.

To attack Ajin Automobile, they also needed to begin investigating the management’s backgrounds and at the very least, have the chairman and president of Ajin Automobile stand in the prosecutor’s office photo line.

Even if they were acquitted later.

Just as his mind was racing, Chairman Jin interrupted his thoughts.

“But why can’t that Young-ki fellow think of these things? Selling products is the president’s job. He doesn’t realize what position he’s in.”

“That’s because you are still hale and hearty, Chairman.”

Chairman Jin shook his head.

“No. A lord vying for hegemony should know that they need to start wars, expand their territory, and build castles. A lord deserves the title only when they expand the land for their workers to farm… All I see him doing is pushing the workers to increase yields. His capacity is small.”

“Isn’t this the era of defense now? Isn’t that how you’ve been training the vice-chairman?”

“The instinct for war needs to be stirring! Just sitting around because I told him to defend?”

Lee Hak-jae knew it was time to close his mouth. Lately, Chairman Jin had been frequently expressing his dissatisfaction with the vice-chairman.

Could Jin Do-jun’s influence be the reason?

Chairman Jin continued to voice his complaints about his children for quite some time afterward.

Lee Hak-jae mostly just chimed in occasionally, like dealing with a nagging wife.

* * *

The 80s passed, and the 90s arrived.

The new decade was an important period to prepare for the 2000s. Chairman Jin Yang-cheol was full of ambition from the beginning of the year, but less than a month later, he had to completely revise everything.

From the start of 1990, the political world was in turmoil. On January 22nd of the same month, Roh Tae-woo, the president and chairman of the Democratic Justice Party, abruptly agreed to dissolve the three parties and create a new conservative coalition party during a meeting at the Blue House with Kim Young-sam, the president of the Unification Democratic Party, and Kim Jong-pil, the president of the New Democratic Republican Party.

It was a political big deal known as the three-party merger. The opposition-majority landscape instantly transformed into a massive ruling party.

At 9 AM on January 30th of the same year, the Unification Democratic Party headquarters in Mapo was packed with nearly nine hundred delegates and party officials.

At the party convention held that day, President Kim Young-sam confessed, “I don’t know how much I agonized over this,” and began by saying, “Making the ruling party lose its signboard is a great decision made from the perspective of saving the nation.”

The 35-minute convention quickly concluded with the approval of the merger, ignoring the assemblyman who argued, “There’s an objection. We need to have a debate against it,” and the dozen or so dissenters who supported his claim.

Thus, on February 9th, the massive ruling party, the Democratic Liberal Party, was born.

Now, the business world had one more person to be mindful of.

The person leading the massive ruling party, the most likely candidate for the next president.

Chairman Jin Yang-cheol threw down the newspaper.

Damn it, just when I managed to appease that sly old fox, this stubborn old man shows up with a club. This sentiment was clearly written on his face.

I picked up the newspaper.

“This is him, right? The one who always comes in second….”

I pointed to the white-haired Kim Young-sam among the three photos with a raised hand.

“Yes, that second-place guy joined hands with the class president and is now likely to inherit the position.”

His grandfather’s gaze, looking at me with a frustrated expression, was a bit burdensome.

“Alright, let’s hear the thoughts of our smart Do-jun.”

So, he’s enjoying this now?

“Yes? What are you talking about?”

“If it were you, what would you do? That white-haired man is incredibly stubborn.”

He wants a different perspective and a unique word, but this time, I spoke like a child.

“Um… wouldn’t it be good to just be friendly with him?”

“That’s it?”

“Yes.”

Chairman Jin’s disappointment was evident on his face.

Nothing I can do about it.

Could there be anyone who delivered as much shock as President Kim Young-sam?

His shocking policies were something only I should know. By the time Kim Young-sam’s five-year term as president ends, I need to have a part of the Soonyang Group. A very lucrative subsidiary.