I Became Park Jeong-ui’s Nephew - Chapter 180



Only Krnovel

He became Park Jeong-ui’s nephew. – (180)

“Construction spending is divided into private and public construction, and private construction can be further divided into residential and non-residential investment. Among these, residential and non-residential private construction is huge, accounting for 7% of our region’s GDP.”

This is California, USA.

Governor Ronald Reagan kept a serious expression on his face in the conference room.

The U.S. economy is currently in its worst state. The government cannot increase spending to stimulate the economy as it used to, and companies are losing money and laying off workers, a vicious cycle that continues.

So should I just sit still and take it?

Ronald Reagan concluded that if the government would not step in, the states would have to find their own solutions.

The problem, of course, is manufacturing. Even though the United States has recently transitioned to a service era, no other industry employs as many workers as manufacturing.

When we think of manufacturing, we usually think of building factories and producing goods, but the concept of manufacturing is broader than we think.

[Manufacturing includes all buildings and structures at a manufacturing site. For example, manufacturing also includes the cost of construction materials and installations used to support the equipment (plumbing, heating, elevators), power lines (including oil and gas pipelines), fixed equipment (storage tanks, refrigeration systems, etc.), and machinery.]

If you look at it this way, the scope of manufacturing is really wide.

So, is the US well-developed in this field? If you look closely, that is not the case.

Storage tanks – Refrigeration systems are an area that distribution companies deal with, as are pipelines and electrical wires.

This needs to be in place to properly supply supplies to each region.

But California has neglected this area too much.

■ FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) in California

– Manufacturing (19%), non-manufacturing (81%)

Investments in the service industry and financial industry have been enormous, but investments in manufacturing are at a desperate level.

Foreign entrepreneurs are also more interested in the service industry than manufacturing, so did the state invest in manufacturing?

Looking at the infrastructure spending of US state governments, the federal spending share is around 20%.

The remaining 80% is something that the state government has to take care of, but it is only natural that the state government has not invested in manufacturing.

If you thought that simply building factories was the way to develop manufacturing, you are a political novice.

As explained above, manufacturing does not end with building a factory.

If the infrastructure such as plumbing, heating, elevators, oil and gas pipelines, storage tanks, and refrigeration systems is not in place, the competitiveness of manufacturing in that area will inevitably decline.

This is why manufacturing collapsed in the US in the 1970s.

Then shouldn’t the state government expand its infrastructure even now?

The problem was that there was no visible solution.

“Manufacturing? I don’t really want to invest in it.”

“It takes a lot of time and money.”

Foreign investors are reluctant to invest in manufacturing.

Compared to the service industry, the initial investment cost is too high and it takes too long to establish a service network.

Because everyone is making money by putting money into places where they can make immediate profits, such as finance or service industries,

The manufacturing slump in the U.S. isn’t a problem that can be solved overnight.

So Governor Reagan is stamping his feet like this,

We can’t ask the government for help, we can’t get investment, what can we do? But there is a way out, so an idea came to us.

“How about reaching out to Daehan Transportation?”

“Daehan Transportation?”

“Yes, I heard that Daehan Transportation invested $500 million in manufacturing-based businesses this year. If there is any spare capacity, please do so here as well…”

Governor Reagan was lost in thought.

Daehan Transportation is a company with expertise in distribution and manufacturing, and employs about 500,000 workers in the United States.

The problem is that it is limited to that extent.

The United States has antitrust laws in place and is wary of one company monopolizing a particular field.

Besides, Daehan Transportation is a company that started in Korea. Should we feed American companies first and let the stones that rolled in take over the American market?

As lobbying efforts by American businesspeople continued, Daehan Transportation’s expansion into the American market stopped here.

But what about now?

It’s a monopoly and there’s no room for argument.

What can the federal government do when it has no money to support states after receiving warnings from the Fed and investors are unwilling to invest in manufacturing?

Ronald Reagan knocked on the door of the Korean Transport Corporation in desperation.

***

“Your Majesty, we have an invitation from California.”

“California?”

This is Changgyeonggung Palace. I opened the letter the butler brought me.

The sender was California Governor Ronald Reagan, who would later become President of the United States, but that was in the future.

What business does this person have with me?

First, I fixed my eyes on the first line of the letter.

[Greetings to the Head of State of the Republic of Korea. My name is Ronald Reagan, the Governor of California. – (omitted) – Manufacturing has the weakness of having very high initial investment costs and taking a lot of time and money.

However, Daehan Transportation is a company that has the know-how to reduce that weakness.

The evidence of this is the construction of a huge infrastructure linking Korea, China, Japan, and the Soviet Union. So, I earnestly ask you to do this.

Could you also transfer your know-how in transportation to California? If you are willing, the state government will provide financial support.]

“Butler Kim, I’m going on a business trip to the United States, so get ready.”

“All right.”

I boarded a flight straight to America.

It is true that business expansion in the United States has been sluggish, and the United States views Korea even more negatively because of the alliance between Korea and the Soviet Union.

But in the face of an economic downturn, even the United States is in a shabby state, and it is safe to say that there is no company that is as serious about distribution and infrastructure as Daehan Transportation.

And that one thing alone brought me here,

This is a golden opportunity to expand our business to the United States, so why would I turn it down? Besides, if the American manufacturing industry revives, the Korean economy will also revive.

America is not an enemy to be defeated, but a partner.

Ronald Reagan did not refuse the hand that was extended to him.

The governor and his entourage who came to pick me up at the airport, as well as my movements, attracted a lot of attention in the United States.

It’s shocking that Korea, which until recently was on the same side as the Soviet Union, is now wagging its tail at the US.

There was criticism even within California, but Reagan ignored it.

Is it time to choose between cold and hot rice now?

No one is investing in manufacturing, but the American economy can only survive if it receives investment in manufacturing. I am the big shot who can solve that problem.

An ignorant person with no concept of economics would push me away for one reason or another.

Thinking about those idiots still makes my blood boil.

[Daehan Transportation earned 8 trillion won this year, and excluding 1.9 trillion won in corporate tax, it swallowed up 6 trillion won.]

Daehan Transportation is not an evil that sweeps up the world’s money, but a company that pays over 2 trillion won in taxes to the government and reinvests 5 trillion won in technology development.

Are you out of your mind to push out a company like that?

If Koreans don’t like that, I can move all the infrastructure I have installed in Korea to the United States right now.

In short, is the Korean market bigger or the American market bigger?

I am the head of state of Korea, but I am also the largest shareholder of Daehan Transportation.

If there was an opportunity to invest in the United States, it was only natural to pour the budget here, so he first promised Governor Ronald Reagan an investment of $100 million.

“We will reorganize the infrastructure by 1975.”

“Is that really possible? Our experts say that we have to invest until at least 1979….”

“No. I’ll show you. Three years is enough.”

I immediately deployed my manpower and technicians to California.

The best agents who have been traveling around the world for 25 years since the establishment of the company called Daehan Transportation, have only improved the infrastructure.

For a long time, California has supported manufacturing with public funds, but has never received significant investment from private companies.

I intend to take this opportunity to demonstrate the power of transportation across America.

And so another great undertaking began.

***

[California enters declining unemployment rate.]

[Governor Ronald Reagan worked his magic]

[Private sector investment up 118% from last year, with Daehan Transportation as the largest investor]

This is America, and shocking news has shaken the North American continent.

In the United States, unemployment has skyrocketed as manufacturing faltered.

Even as the state government was drowning in debt, California was receiving a report card of economic growth.

The one leading this upward trend is Daehan Transportation.

As the Korean Transportation Corporation began investing, California saw spending on bridge construction increase 20 percent over the previous year, transportation increase 16 percent, and water and sewer infrastructure increase 10 percent.

As the economy turns around, state governments are also in a position to increase spending.

Governor Ronald Reagan, with the consent of the state legislature, further increased investment in manufacturing.

As the public and private sectors worked together to improve manufacturing and infrastructure, many people were amazed, but competitors were also trying to check them.

“Daehan Transportation is a bunch of bats that make money by clinging to both the Soviet Union and the United States!!”

“Daehan Transportation is a pro-Soviet company!!”

“Ronald Reagan, who joined hands with such a company, is a communist!!”

The expected reaction,

But Ronald Reagan responded decisively.

“Everyone is criticizing Daehan Transportation for being a pro-Soviet company, but let’s start with this. Everyone will agree that the biggest problem in the U.S. right now is manufacturing. And the state government is responsible for all the costs of investing in manufacturing.

Do you think I’m lying? The US government pays lip service to the importance of manufacturing, but in reality it’s leaving the problem up to the states.

So I tried to solve this problem by getting private investment.

However, investors only wanted to invest in the financial or service industries that would make money immediately, and no one invested in manufacturing. In this desperate situation, the only one who helped was Daehan Transportation.

Thanks to Daehan Transportation’s investment, the state was able to borrow money to invest, and California’s economy is recovering at a surprisingly fast rate.

Many people call Korea a traitor who clings to the Soviet Union, but what good does that attitude do for the United States? Daehan Transportation is a multinational company, and 15% of the company is American capital.

So are they all Soviet spies?

No matter what anyone says, I will join hands with Daehan Transportation and develop the California economy. You can just sit there and argue about the nationality of the company, but the American economy will not recover even if you do that.”

Reagan was right.

Manufacturing, which cannot survive without investment from state governments and businesses, what can be done when the US federal government has adopted austerity measures after receiving warnings from the Federal Reserve?

Ronald Reagan counterattacked, saying that he now knew why the United States was in this state, when he was talking nonsense like that, when he should have joined hands with the devil, not a pro-Soviet company.

“The U.S. government has only talked about revitalizing manufacturing, but has done nothing so far. Isn’t that proof that 80% of U.S. manufacturing investment is dependent on the private sector and state governments? The same goes for the rich in this country. They all want to make money easily, so they’ve done business in finance or the service industry.

So how many workers did they hire?

“Daehan Transportation employed 600,000 workers in the United States alone, but what have the rich people in America done for America? This country needs more fundamental reforms.”

This remark shook public opinion in the United States.

At first glance, it seems like this isn’t something a mere governor would say.

A statement made with the next presidential election in mind,

In fact, Reagan’s performance made him a strong contender for the next presidential election.