Bab 418: Chapter 418: Let’s Go with the Direct Approach
Lee Sang-geun arrived shortly after Yoo Sung-jin left.
As he entered the study, Lee Sang-geun bowed deeply in greeting.
"Boss, it's been a while."
"Come in, Chairman Lee. Please, have a seat over here."
I welcomed Lee Sang-geun warmly.
Lee Sang-geun straightened up and took a seat.
Though he looked tired, Lee Sang-geun seemed brighter than before.
Pulling him out of the underworld was definitely the right choice.
He'd stepped into the shadows for money, but his abilities were genuine.
When Jungwoo Group collapsed, Jungwoo Construction fell from 2nd to 5th in contract rankings.
I merged Jungwoo Construction with Geukseong Construction and put Lee Sang-geun, whom I'd extracted from the underworld, in charge of Jungwoo Construction.
As a result, they reclaimed 2nd place in contract rankings last year, and this year they were projected to overtake Daehyeon Construction for 1st place.
"I knew Chairman Lee would do well."
"It's all thanks to your trust, Boss."
I shook my head slightly. All I'd done was believe in him.
"You're being too modest. Jungwoo Construction's growth is entirely due to your abilities, Chairman Lee."
"Thank you."
After becoming chairman of Jungwoo Construction, Lee Sang-geun had cautiously approached me with a request.
He wanted to take over sponsorship of the orphanage I'd been supporting.
Since I no longer needed to hold anything over him, I readily agreed.
Though Lee Sang-geun's intentions seemed a bit different. Between a gang boss and a major construction company chairman, it was clear which one looked better to others.
I suppose Lee Sang-geun needed the prestige to proudly sponsor the orphanage children.
I couldn't help but laugh when I heard that Lee Sang-geun had handed out his business cards to the orphanage children on the day he visited.
Just then, Manager Ma entered with a teapot and cups.
"Manager, please set those down and have a seat."
I poured tea, sliding one cup to Lee Sang-geun and another to Manager Ma.
"Let's start with a cup of tea."
At my words, Lee Sang-geun and Manager Ma lifted their cups to their lips.
The warm tea helped ease the tense atmosphere. As the cups were emptying, I spoke first.
"By the way, Chairman Lee, when can we expect to hear some good news from you?"
My sudden question caught Lee Sang-geun visibly off guard.
He even started coughing, as if he'd choked on his tea.
"Boss, how did you…"
"Haha, is there anything I don't know? So, who is she? I'm curious."
After coughing for a while, Lee Sang-geun finally set down his cup and answered.
"…She's a good person. A woman who's always been by my side when things were tough, and who loves me very much. Of course, she knows what kind of person I am too."
A warm smile spread across Lee Sang-geun's usually cold face. He must truly be in love.
It always felt good to see my people happy.
"If you're planning to get married, let me know in advance. I'll need time to prepare if I'm going to properly honor the chairman's reputation."
"I'm grateful for just the thought."
That's enough small talk. I set down my teacup and got to the main point.
"How's the acquisition of Eunmi Apartments coming along? We should be nearing completion by now."
Buying out the entire Eunmi Apartment complex was a massive undertaking, requiring substantial time and money.
But with more money, even that time could be reduced.
"We've acquired most of it now. We're buying at 150% of market value. We're not just taking what's on the market, we're actively seeking out owners to buy from. The remaining properties should be wrapped up soon. Heavenly Group is also doing their utmost to help."
I nodded with satisfaction. It won't be long before it's all in my hands.
But his next words made me frown.
"However, we have a problem."
The Eunma Apartment site redevelopment was a project I'd started after thorough preparation. There shouldn't have been any issues.
"A problem? What kind of problem are you talking about?"
"I'm sorry."
Sensing my discomfort, Lee Sang-geun quickly bowed his head.
"It's alright. I'm sure you didn't create this problem intentionally. What's the issue? There's no room for flies to get in, is there?"
The IMF crisis hit, and the real estate market collapsed.
If that hadn't happened, this outrageous plan to buy out and redevelop the entire Eunmi Apartment complex wouldn't have even been possible.
When the real estate market took a big hit, owners who were just holding onto Eunmi Apartments started putting them up for sale.
I began buying up those properties through several real estate companies that Eva had split off for me.
We were able to secure over 50% of the units at that time.
On top of that, we'd already completed the purchase of the Eunmi Apartment site transferred from Hyeonbo Group and the land held by Seoul City.
Even now, there'd be no legal issues in proceeding with the redevelopment, but I wanted to be absolutely certain.
I planned to create the best residential complex in Korea – no, in Asia – without any interference from anyone.
"The National Federation of Evictees has gotten involved."
"…What could those bastards possibly hope to gain? We haven't even started demolition yet, and it's unclear when redevelopment will begin."
"Rumors are already circulating that we're planning to redevelop Eunmi Apartments. Plus, it's known that we've acquired most of the properties."
No matter how long we took with the acquisitions, it was impossible to completely prevent rumors from spreading.
Moreover, it had been over a year since Jungwoo Construction started buying properties.
There's no way a construction company would try to buy Eunmi Apartments without some kind of certainty.
But most of the people who owned Eunmi Apartments were wealthy.
The few middle-class owners who had just one unit had already sold during the financial crisis. Most of those still holding onto properties owned multiple units.
How could such people be joining hands with an organization like that?
"So who exactly are they working with? Eunmi Apartment owners shouldn't have any reason to team up with them."
"It seems they're agitating the merchants who rent the commercial spaces. The Merchants' Association has recently started organizing systematic protests."
The National Federation of Evictees. A typical group of professional protesters who show up wherever redevelopment is planned or in progress.
Since it was formed by radical elements expelled from the National Evictees Association, they often made unreasonable demands.
They had no qualms about using violence and illegal protests, even going so far as to throw Molotov cocktails.
"This is becoming a headache."
"While the Eunmi Apartment owners are wealthy and unlikely to give in to their demands, it's different for the merchants running businesses in the commercial spaces. It's a matter of survival for them, so they probably had no choice but to accept the Federation's demands."
"I thought we'd finished buying out the commercial spaces. We acquired all the spaces Hyeonbo Group held when they went bankrupt, and bought out all the individually owned units too. So what demands are they making?"
Lee Sang-geun answered with a troubled expression.
"They're demanding key money when they vacate, rights to move into the new commercial spaces after redevelopment, compensation for lost business during the reconstruction period, and on top of that, they want severance pay. And the amount they're asking for is ridiculous. It turns out one of the Federation's members owns an Eunmi Apartment unit, which seems to have given them confidence about the redevelopment."
Sounds like they're trying to dig in and extort us.
I didn't like the idea of these nobodies trying to piggyback on my work.
"What does Chairman Lee think we should do?"
"Once the Eunmi Apartment redevelopment is announced, all eyes will be on it. We need to resolve everything before then. I'm planning to negotiate by offering sufficient compensation."
"Hmm… So you're saying we should give in to their demands."
To be fair, the Chairman's choice wasn't bad. It was the most moderate solution.
Resolving it with money wasn't the issue, but I disliked the feeling of yielding to them.
I gathered my thoughts and spoke.
"If we appear weak to them, they'll try to interfere with every redevelopment project Jungwoo Construction undertakes. There will be no negotiations with the National Federation of Evictees."
Once they sense weakness, they'll try to strip you down to your underwear.
We shouldn't even start negotiations with such shameless individuals.
"Let's take the direct approach. Buy out the remaining apartments at two to three times the current market value. I'll have Heavenly Group handle the unit owned by the Federation. Apart from that, finish acquiring everything else by the end of this year."
Lee Sang-geun's face darkened at the mention of leaving it to Heavenly Group.
"Chairman, sometimes violence takes precedence over money. This is one of those times."
"…I understand."
"And regarding the treatment of the merchants, I'll look into it separately. Under no circumstances are you to engage in any dialogue with the Federation."
"Yes, I'll issue those instructions."
"Being poor doesn't automatically make someone righteous. Don't let emotions cloud your business judgment."
Perhaps because he grew up in an orphanage, Lee Sang-geun had always shown a weakness for the less fortunate.
"Yes, I'll keep that in mind."
The tea in our cups had gone cold. As I poured fresh tea, I asked,
"By the way, have you received the manpower to send to Afghanistan? You'll need quite a few experts. While unskilled labor might be manageable, construction can't proceed without technicians."
I'd already sent the promised food supplies and medicines through Jungwoo Industries.
Now it was time to send the workforce to build schools and hospitals.
Jungwoo Industries had connections in Pakistan too. Even though relations between the Taliban-fallen Afghan interim government and Pakistan were at their worst, we managed to send supplies through Pakistan somehow.
It was possible thanks to the influence of Jungwoo Group, which had once championed global management.
"Since it's still a region where civil war hasn't fully ended, we don't have many volunteers. So we offered double the usual salary and promised substantial bonuses. With those conditions, we've managed to recruit the essential personnel."
"Well done. Money isn't the important thing here. The future profits from Afghanistan will be much greater. Even if we take a loss now."
Lee Sang-geun nodded quietly, seemingly having already calculated the potential benefits.
"So when do they depart?"
"Kabul Airport is set to open for civilian use soon. We plan to send them to coincide with that."
"Oh, is that so? That'll make it easier to send supplies too."
As I checked the calendar, Lee Sang-geun cautiously brought up a concern.
"Boss, the safety of our employees is a concern."
I could guess which aspect Lee Sang-geun was worried about.
As he said, the civil war wasn't completely over yet.
"The civil war will end soon. The remaining Taliban forces have all been pushed towards Pakistan. And Kabul is safe for now."
Unlike in my previous life, the Taliban forces weren't able to mount a proper counterattack.
Afghanistan, which should have been in chaos, was finding peace under Masood's leadership.
Masood's influence was even greater than I had known.
Even forces that had sided with the Taliban were surrendering one by one, and he was accepting them.
Public sentiment in regions once controlled by the Taliban was starting to turn, and eventually, the Taliban forces had no choice but to flee to Pakistan.
It was an outcome even the U.S. hadn't anticipated.
However, they still hadn't found a trace of Osama bin Laden, whose presence had been the pretext for the invasion of Afghanistan.
"In Afghanistan, mercenaries will be in charge of protecting our employees. So there's no need to worry."
Additionally, Igor's mercenaries would be handling security.
There probably won't be anyone safer in Afghanistan than Jungwoo Construction employees.
"Is there anything else to report?"
"No, sir."
"Jungwoo Construction will soon be one of the world's top general contractors, not just in Korea. Until then, Chairman, I'll need you to work hard. The workload is about to become insane."
We were already swamped with domestic projects like the Eunmi Apartment site redevelopment, Pangyo New Town development, and the Pangyo Techno Valley construction project.
But that wasn't the end of it. The reconstruction projects in Afghanistan and Iraq were about to begin.
There were signs that the Middle East construction boom of the 1970s was about to start again.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone