The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 231



Only Krnovel

231. First shovel (5)

Chairman Jang Kyung-jun drank a bottle of water.

When Taewoo Group finally succeeded in winning the bid for the KEPCO site, I felt sick to my stomach.

The only consolation was that Taewu Group had to spend a huge amount of 6 trillion won to purchase the land.

“Since we spent 6 trillion won on real estate purchases, Taewoo Group’s stock price will likely fall a little.”

“We won the bid for 4 trillion won, not 6 trillion won.”

“I can’t believe I won the bid for 4 trillion won. Didn’t I mishear 6 trillion as 4 trillion?”

“No. There are several articles saying that the bid has already been won for 4 trillion won.”

Chairman Kyung-Jun Jang couldn’t believe it.

I quickly turned on my computer and searched the article, and it was indeed Taewo Group, which won the bid for the KEPCO site for 4 trillion won.

“…Director Park, what do you think? Why is there a difference of 2 trillion won from the bid amount you gave us?”

“If we hadn’t given up on the bid, we would have been planning to use 6.17 trillion won as the bid amount.”

“You lowered the bid amount because we gave up? There is also Samjin Group, so do you think it is possible to lower it by 2 trillion won?”

“I think he probably understands Samjin Group’s tendencies well. No matter what business Samjin does, it doesn’t do anything that goes beyond common sense. So I think I’m confident that it won’t bet more than twice the market price.”

Chairman Jang Kyung-jun stroked his forearm.

It was to calm the sudden goosebumps.

“It means that they were fully prepared to win the bidding with the minimum margin. Do you think it was possible simply through skill or luck? Unless they planted spies in every group, there is no explanation.”

“Our Hyunjae Automotive Group prioritized security when calculating the bid amount. For security reasons, employees stayed in hotels 24 hours a day without even leaving work.”

“Vice President Kim Min-jae… What a scary person.”

“I’ll check again to see if there was a security problem.”

Chairman Kyung-Jun Jang holding Taewoo Group’s bidding documents in his hand.

This time, I was able to make some gains because I made a compromise.

“There will be no problem with security. It seems like Vice Chairman Kim Min-jae has done some kind of magic. We should make sure to avoid creating an angle with the Taewo Group as much as possible.”

“Although we are competing in the finished car market, there have been no major problems so far.”

“Don’t provoke Vice Chairman Kim Min-jae until you have the power to overwhelm Taewoo Group at once.”

“I will.”

Chairman Jang Kyung-jun thought he knew Vice Chairman Kim Min-jae better than anyone else.

The current group has been in a relationship since the Prince’s Rebellion, and they have grown by helping each other.

Therefore, even though they were competitors, they felt something similar to camaraderie.

However, this KEPCO site bidding made me change my mind.

Vice Chairman Kim Min-jae is by no means an easy person.

If you try to take advantage of him, you end up getting eaten yourself.

* * *

Bidding for KEPCO land was successful!

I wanted to tell my grandfather this good news as soon as possible, so I ran into the president’s office.

“Grandfather! The KEPCO site has been taken over by Taewoo Group!”

“I’ve already heard the news. You’re great. You’re very great.”

Grandpa opened his arms wide and hugged me.

For the first time in a long time, I was able to feel the warm embrace of my grandfather.

“We were able to win the bid for the land for only 4 trillion won.”

“Hehe, I thought I would spend 6 trillion won. How did you make Hyeonjae Automobile Group give up?”

“I didn’t do anything on my own. Chairman Jang Kyung-jun proposed first. He said he would give up the bid as a condition of entering into a partnership.”

“It’s like giving away capital and getting the KEPCO site.”

“A partnership contract is a one-time thing, but isn’t the land forever?”

The partnership contract was for three years.

It was by no means a loss-making business as we were able to acquire the land of Geumssaragi just by joining hands with Hyunjae Capital for three years.

“Yes, the land lasts forever. But were you sure that Samjin Group would not spend more than 4 trillion won?”

“Because Samjin is a place like that. Isn’t it a place where you have to beat on the stone bridge hundreds of times to cross it?”

“Hehe, I remember what Chairman Jang Young-joo said a long time ago. He said that if there is a project that Samjin wants to try, you should follow suit and pursue it unconditionally. Samjin will have reviewed it thoroughly, so all you have to do is follow along.”

It was true that Samjin Group also participated in the bidding sincerely.

However, due to the company’s policy of minimizing risk, it was believed that more than twice the amount would not be used.

“Thanks to Samjin’s hard work on the stone bridge, we were able to bring it to the KEPCO site.”

“Hehe, you got two pieces of land with a minimal investment!”

“Now all we have to do is decide where to build the new headquarters. Grandfather, what land do you think we should build the new headquarters on?”

“Both places are fine. I hope they decide to resolve the licensing issue quickly.”

“Then, we will decide on both locations as new headquarters sites and proceed.”

“This year is almost over, so I hope we can break ground within next year.”

“I will definitely try to do that!”

“You’ve never lied before, so don’t believe me. Who do you look like to be this pretty?”

Grandpa hugged me again.

No matter how much I became an adult, I was still just a grandson to my grandfather.

Only after being held like that for a long time did I say my next words.

“If we want to get permission for the Charlotte Group site or the KEPCO site, we have to persuade the Air Force.”

“We have to persuade the Ministry of National Defense to be able to negotiate with the Seoul Metropolitan Government. How can we allocate this money?”

“First, I will meet with you and try to persuade you, and if we can’t decide, I will ask for your grandfather’s help.”

“Never ignore the soldiers. In particular, many of them have the same temperament as others, so if you provoke them for no reason, it will only increase their resistance.”

It was my grandfather who protected the Taewo Group even during the military regime.

Maybe that’s why he was a little afraid of the military organization.

But to me, the military was just an object of negotiation like any other company.

* * *

Representative Choi Jae-seok did not forget my request.

About a week after winning the bid for the KEPCO site, a meeting was arranged with the Chief of Staff of the Air Force.

This time, as we had to meet in secret, we invited General Lee Ho to a quiet mountain cabin that Captain Kang had prepared in advance.

“Thank you for your hard work in coming a long way. While looking for a suitable place, I ended up hosting such a precious person in such a shabby place.”

“What is there to say about suffering? Soldiers sleep in the mountains and eat on the streets. A mountain cabin of this size is no different from a luxurious mansion.”

My first impression of General Lee Ho was that he was a typical soldier.

A strong square jaw, large eyes, and a thick nose bridge.

And even the disciplined body movements typical of soldiers.

It wasn’t just his face and gestures that were scanned.

I checked the detailed information and looked for a corner to dig into.

He was a man who had nothing to do with corruption, and was simply a man who devoted his life to the development of the Air Force.

This type is rather difficult to deal with.

If you’re a person with enough money, you can just give them money.

When dealing with people like this, I had to use my sincerity to persuade them.

“I can’t keep you busy for a long time, so I’ll tell you right away without going around in circles.”

“I know roughly. It’s because of the high-rise building permit issue, right?”

“Yes, I understand that the Air Force and the Department of Defense are opposed to skyscrapers because of air force base runway issues.”

“The Republic of Korea is a divided country where the war has not yet ended. Security must be the top priority, so we have no choice but to oppose it.”

How can a person be this hard?

The artificial intelligence developed by Cheon Min-jeong felt even smoother.

“Security is important, but isn’t the economy also important? If the economy is strong, wouldn’t taxes for defense expenses increase more?”

“I agree with that, but I absolutely cannot agree with the plan presented by the Charlotte Group.”

“Of course, I have a new proposal.”

Before returning, Charlotte Group had built high-rise buildings.

Their method should be seen as using the government to subdue them rather than negotiating with the Air Force.

“I understand that the cost of relocating the air force base runway is more than 1 trillion won.”

“The minimum is 1 trillion won.”

“The Taewo Group will cover the entire relocation cost. Even if it costs more than 2 trillion won instead of 1 trillion won, we will provide full support.”

“Changing the runway could create a security gap, so it’s something that can’t be solved with money alone.”

As expected, he was someone whom money could not do anything about.

In order to deal with soldiers who focused on security more than anything else, they had to offer something other than money.

“There is something I can do for the Air Force.”

“Even if you donate hundreds of millions of dollars, you can’t do anything.”

“What do you mean if we give you fighter jets instead of donations?”

“……Did you just say it was a fighter plane!”

Our country’s military was all crazy about one thing.

The Army was crazy about artillery, the Navy was crazy about ships, and the Air Force was crazy about fighter planes.

As General Lee Ho said, our country was a divided country where the war had not yet ended, so we constantly worked to acquire more powerful firepower.

In particular, in the case of the Air Force, all methods were explored to introduce new fighter jets.

This is why General Lee Ho’s eyes changed when I brought up the story of fighter jets.

“I understand that the F-15K will be introduced as the first FX project.”

“Due to the IMF, we ended up introducing only 40 units, which is much less than the original plan.”

“I understand that the FX business itself has been reduced compared to the original plan.”

“He also had no choice due to the aftermath of the IMF.”

The FX project was a fighter aircraft introduction project.

The fighter jets currently owned by the Air Force were very outdated, so a new fighter jet was desperately needed.

Therefore, it was decided to introduce the F-15K through the FX project, but the number was reduced due to the IMF.

It wasn’t just the number of fighter planes that was reduced.

From Korean fighter jet development projects to equipment development projects.

Many parts of the budget were cut, and we had to be satisfied with only introducing 40 fighter jets.

“I can step forward and get a fighter jet to the Air Force.”

“……Are you aware of how dangerous the statement you just made is?”

“That does not mean that we will use illegal methods. What we are saying is that we will officially retrieve it with permission from both countries.”

“That’s hard to believe. How many fighter jets are you saying you’ll save?”

It was General Lee Ho, who said it was hard to believe, but listened.

It was a markedly different reaction from when trillions of dollars were presented.

“Since we have introduced the American F-15K, shouldn’t we also have the Russian Sukhoi?”

“Can you officially save the Russian Sukhoi?”

“It’s not much, but I can get it for you. How would you be interested?”

“Of course I’m interested. There are many benefits if we can introduce Sukhoi into the Air Force!”

General Lee Ho gave me a bright look.

They said they would get a real fighter plane, not a toy fighter plane, so of course this was the reaction.