The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 124



Only Krnovel

Episode 124 Before the Storm (3)

It was the day of the Russian President’s appointment ceremony.

Until then, I had been living in a villa at a resort, so I was able to meet many people for the first time, especially people whose names I had heard countless times.

“This is Kim Min-jae, Vice Chairman of Taewoo Group. “It is an honor to meet you.”

“This is Governor Roman of Chukotka. I heard a lot of stories from him. “You have a very deep relationship?”

It was a meeting with Roman, who is more famous as the owner of a British soccer club.

He was one of the Russian oil tycoons who was now serving as governor to help Putin.

ah! And since Roman had not yet taken over the football club, he had not yet made his name known to the public.

“It’s an honor to meet you. “No matter how deep my relationship with him is, wouldn’t I be worse than Roman?”

“Don’t think too hard of me. For convenience, just call me Roman. “Is it okay for comrades on the same boat to be awkward?”

Roman seemed friendlier than I expected.

Maybe it’s because I’m anxious.

Putin declared war on the oligarchs, and Roman was also a member of the oligarchs.

In order to survive, he betrayed the oligarchs and stood next to Putin.

So how anxious would you be?

Relations with Silovik, who follow Putin, could not be good, and the oligarchs also hated him.

“I heard that you like soccer. Next time you get a chance, would you like to watch a game in England together?”

“oh! “I see you like soccer.”

“It’s a small club, but we run a soccer team in Korea.”

“You are the same team owner. “It’s been a while since I met someone I like.”

Is this why my grandfather runs a soccer club?

The distance between me and Roman got closer at once, and we continued talking about soccer until just before the appointment ceremony began.

“The installation ceremony has begun. “Please come with me.”

We moved forward under Roman’s guidance.

Because he and I were placed at the front, we received the attention of those invited to the appointment ceremony, including the faces of officials from Korea.

***

The appointment ceremony ended on a grand scale.

There were officials who even shed tears at President Putin’s speech emphasizing a strong Russia, but on the contrary, I had to feel appalled.

Because I felt like I had joined hands with the devil again.

It was dangerous to join hands with him, considering the war that Russia would cause in 10 and 20 years, but that was for later.

“Thank you for attending today. It looks like you have become very close with Roman. “I hope that the two of you will meet often and talk about various things in the future.”

“We already made plans to watch the soccer game together.”

“I’ll ask you to take care of me.”

Putin talked next to me for a while and then moved on to someone else.

The envious looks at me made the back of my head tingle.

It was a look from officials from the embassy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

I didn’t necessarily pretend to know them, but they were officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who came running to me as soon as the opportunity arose.

“I didn’t know I was invited by Taewoo Group. “If you were invited to such a large event, you should have consulted with the government!”

“We proceeded with the schedule in consultation with the Russian government.”

“Is Taewoo Group a Russian group? Of course, we should have consulted with the Korean government.”

what?

Are you hitting on me now?

There is no way he doesn’t know that I am the successor to Taewoo Group.

So you’re just leaving because you’re young?

“Next time something like that happens, I’ll discuss it with you.”

“Of course you should. Take the lead. “I saw earlier that you seem to be close with an important person in Russia. Please introduce me to him.”

He was so confident that I almost answered that I understood.

Is it something like a minister? I checked his details.

Vice Minister Choi Jong-min.

He was an elite graduate from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was the youngest person to become Vice Minister.

He was so loved by the government that he was even nicknamed the crown prince of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Well, the picture was roughly drawn.

This is because he is a person who lives for his own pride.

He was also someone who didn’t need me to match the rhythm.

“I have a tight schedule, so I have to go back to Korea right away. sorry.”

“Well, let’s not be expensive and just hang out together.”

“Are you always like this? I am a businessman and not your subordinate. “Please be polite.”

“I’m trying to help! Do you know how loud it is in the media these days? “Wouldn’t it be helpful to improve your image if you took a few pictures of yourself with government officials?”

Looks like the media is still biting me.

But if you take a picture with the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, your image will improve?

He was the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs who overestimated himself even when he overestimated himself.

“I will go first.”

I bowed lightly and left.

I didn’t want to waste my precious time on someone like that.

***

The day of Putin’s appointment ceremony.

In the Taewoo Group Chairman’s office, Taewoo Engineering & Construction President Jang Soo-young was having a private meeting with Chairman Kim Tae-jung.

“It has already been over 25 years since we served as Chairman. Are you really planning to abandon me like that?”

“Why would I abandon you?”

“Doesn’t the personnel order that Vice Chairman Kim Min-jae sent to Taewoo Construction mean that I should resign?”

“Hmm, I don’t know. “It appears that Vice Chairman Kim Min-jae acted arbitrarily.”

Chairman Kim Tae-joong already knew everything.

It is also said that his grandson violated his authority by ordering personnel changes at Taewo Construction.

And why CEO Jang Soo-young came to see him.

But I pretended not to know.

Because up until now, nothing my grandson has done has ever gone wrong.

Although President Jang Soo-young was his right-hand man, he couldn’t protect him if he had to rely on his grandson, who would lead Taewoo Group in the future.

“Please stop exceeding your authority. If the vice president orders personnel changes at will, what happens to me as the president? “The way Taewoo Construction employees look at me has already changed.”

“It’s not a problem I can do anything about. “You will personally settle the matter with Vice Chairman Kim Min-jae.”

“How could you do this to me? “Don’t you know very well what I have done for you, Chairman?”

Construction companies were bound to have a lot of money flowing in.

It was also optimized for making funds of unknown origin.

Therefore, whenever political funds were needed, Chairman Kim Tae-joong asked President Jang Soo-young for a favor.

“Are you threatening me now?”

“How dare I threaten the Chairman? “I just wanted you to recognize my hard work.”

“Man, how much longer will I live? “Minjae will soon become the head of Taewoo Group, so how can I stand in his way?”

“Are you saying you will kill me to save your grandson?”

“Why aren’t you thinking of a way to live together? “If we just bow our heads a little, wouldn’t we all be able to live together?”

Chairman Kim Tae-joong spoke with as much personality as possible.

I wanted to yell loudly, but I couldn’t do that to CEO Jang Soo-young, who was already deeply hurt.

“… … I understand what the Chairman means. “I will submit my resignation soon.”

“Uh huh, shouldn’t we talk to the vice president and get it over with? “If we communicate what each other is thinking, we will find the answer.”

“This is a problem that already has an answer. Vice Chairman Kim Min-jae wants me to leave Taewoo Construction.”

President Jang Soo-young gritted his teeth.

He was suppressing his anger to the point where I was worried that his molars might break.

“Don’t be too extreme.”

“I have already made up my mind. “Please don’t blame me too much.”

Suddenly, CEO Jang Soo-young bowed deeply.

Then he left the chairman’s office without saying anything.

“It looks like you’re really upset. “I’m worried that they might call it some kind of accident.”

Chairman Kim felt the pain of having his right arm cut off.

However, since the arm had already been cut off, they did not hold on to it any longer.

Even if the arm were reattached, it would not be able to function properly.

***

After completing my schedule in Russia, I returned to Korea.

Because the schedule was so grueling, I headed home instead of to work today.

Of course, going home didn’t mean I could rest. Because her grandfather was waiting for me.

“I had a hard time getting to Russia.”

“I brought you a lot of good news after all your hardships.”

“Unpack the gift. “The news also showed you and President Putin shaking hands for quite some time.”

Among Korean entrepreneurs, he was the only one to be invited to the appointment ceremony.

However, this did not help much in improving the image.

Because today’s Russia is a more difficult country than Korea.

“I got a very good offer. “They asked me to participate in the development of Russia’s natural resources.”

“This is news that Taewoo Construction will be very happy about.”

“It looks like major construction will begin soon. And we received a promise that we would provide various benefits if Taewoo Motors and electronics factories were built in Russia.”

“From natural resource development to large-scale factories. “It seems like we gave a gift instead of receiving it.”

These were businesses so large that my grandfather was worried.

It certainly seemed like he was keenly aware of the risks of aggressive investment after the foreign exchange crisis.

“The Russian economy is difficult, so we need to invest now to bring more benefits.”

“That’s true, but it seems like it will be difficult with Taewoo Group’s current financial strength alone. However, it is not attractive enough to do business with debt.”

“So, I plan to receive investment from Wall Street. “If Taewo Group, Wall Street, and the Russian government work together, wouldn’t the risks be diversified?”

“Hmm, then it would be a business worth trying.”

Grandpa nodded.

Then he suddenly looked serious and sighed.

“Phew, but you did something unseemly to President Jang Soo-young.”

“Are you talking about a personnel transfer order? “It was a personnel transfer order for Taewoo Construction.”

“Still, we should have had sufficient consultation with President Jang Soo-young. “Just because you’re vice president doesn’t mean you can control affiliates at will.”

“We will proceed with personnel changes in other affiliates in the same way.”

“… … It seems like this is a personnel change aimed at President Jang Soo-young. Was it really necessary to kick them out and disgrace them like that?”

The grandfather seemed quite uncomfortable.

I kicked out the person who was my right-hand man, so of course it was something I had to take on.

“What would have happened if Taewoo Construction had been left as is? It is clear that the huge debt must have been a huge burden on the group. President Jang Soo-young should have taken responsibility for it himself and stepped down.”

“I won’t deny that Taewoo Construction survived thanks to you. But President Jang Soo-young was a person who deserved to be treated well.”

“If I had not become vice chairman, President Jang Soo-young would have remained as president of Taewoo Engineering & Construction. “It was my grandfather’s decision to elevate me to vice president.”

Grandpa looked at the ceiling.

Was I being too aggressive?

I need to take a break here.

“I will take good care of President Jang Soo-young. “Not only will we provide severance pay, but if you wish, we will even provide you with the position of CEO of a subcontractor.”

“no. I feel like if I scratch it for no reason, I’ll just end up with a rash. Leave it alone. “I don’t take responsibility for President Jang Soo-young’s problems.”

Grandpa went straight into the room.

I feel sorry, but a change was necessary to create a new Taewoo Group.