Chapter 125
Chapter 125
I woke up by shaking Taek-gyu, who was sleeping.
“Ugh, I’m sleeping well, so why wake me up?”
“It looks like a promise. Let’s go.”
“where?”
“Baseball Stadium. We have a test match today.”
Taek-gyu looked for his glasses and put them on.
“Since when did you start watching baseball?”
“Don’t talk, put on your clothes.”
We’re going to the baseball field, so we don’t have to be formal, right?
I wore jeans, padded pants and a hat. Taek-gyu also wore a gray sweatshirt and padding as usual.
* * *
The VIP seats were located behind the home base.
Upon entering, the stadium caught my eye. The wide stadium was packed with spectators waiting for the start of professional baseball.
As we approached, as if we had been warned in advance, the bodyguards moved away. Chairman Im Jin-yong welcomed us warmly.
“Thank you for coming.”
“I was resting anyway.”
This is the second time we’ve seen each other because we’ve been busy with each other.
Chairman Im Jin-yong wore jeans, a T-shirt, and a Seoseong Dragons baseball jumper over it. And next to them were children who looked like siblings wearing Seoseong Dragons uniforms.
“They are our children.”
“Oh, I see.”
These children are the children of Chairman Im Jin-yong.
Although they both looked cute, they didn’t look terribly booty or anything like that. If I hadn’t been introduced, I would have thought of them as children who came to the baseball field with their parents.
“They are so cute.”
Chairman Im Jin-yong liked my words and laughed.
“Greetings. They are the people who work with my father.”
“Good morning.”
The boy nodded towards us, clasping her hands neatly, but the girl hid behind her brother, hiding her face.
The boy who looks like an upper grade elementary school student is Im Seong-ho, and the girl who looks like a lower grader is Lim Ji-young.
The girl pulled on Chairman Im Jin-yong’s clothes.
“Daddy daddy.”
“Why our princess?”
“I have chicken too.”
“Okay, princess. Daddy will do it for you.”
Seeing how he treats his children, he is no different from any other father. Come to think of it, are there any rumors that Chairman Im Jin-yong is the daughter of a fool?
He instructed the secretary.
“Order chicken, pizza, and drinks for the kids to eat.”
“Okay.”
Then he saw us.
“Have you not eaten yet? There’s also a lunch box here… … .”
Taehyung said proudly.
“I like chicken and pizza too.”
Chairman Im Jin-yong nodded his head.
“I will do the same.”
Taek-gyu spoke to me in a low voice.
“Calling a princess sounds like a real thing.”
“What… … .”
If she was the daughter of the chairman of the Seoseong Group, she would be more than any princess of Soguk.
“She was born, how would she feel if her father was the chairman of the Suseong Group?”
I also said in a low voice.
“Ask the kids directly.”
Actually, I’m a little curious too.
“Can’t we ask Chairman Im Jin-yong?”
“… … .”
I’ll be fine though. Chairman Im Jin-yong’s father was also the chairman of the Suseong Group.
Even a diamond spoon, not a gold spoon, is not enough. i saw a boy Is this kid going to inherit the Seoseong group when he grows up?
Before the match started, another person arrived.
She looks like a woman in her early 40s with a graceful appearance. There was a sense of dignity in his facial expressions and movements.
“Nice to meet you. We will meet again here.”
“Ah, nice to meet you.”
Her name is Sumi Im. She is the older sister of Chairman Im Jin-yong and the president of the Ceylon Hotel.
She is actually only forty-six years old, so she looks much younger than her age. She was wearing mourning clothes on her face without make-up, but unlike her then, she now wears light makeup, and her clothes are also stylish.
“Thank you for coming that day. She was going to set up a separate room once in a while to say thank you.”
“no.”
“aunt!”
The girl ran up to her and held her in the arms of President Im Soo-mi.
She stroked her child’s head.
“How have you been, Jiyoung?”
“Yes, aunt.”
Seeing that they are friendly with her children, Chairman Im Jin-yong and President Lim Su-mi seem to be quite close. You may think that it is natural for siblings to be close, but it is rather rare in a chaebol family.
Drinks and beer were served on the table, along with all kinds of food such as chicken, pizza, and squid. The children sat down to eat, and Chairman Im Jin-yong, President Lim Su-mi, and we held beer glasses and toasted.
“Didn’t Seoseong Dragons win last year?”
“Perhaps it will.”
The late Chairman Il-kwon Lim and Chairman Im Jin-yong are also famous for their baseball fanatics.
How to grow a sports team that is run with corporate funds by eating the love of the president. Thanks to the president’s unstinting support and interest, Seoseong Dragons succeeded in recruiting big players in the free agency market and won the World Series for two consecutive years.
While we were talking, a demonstration match between Seoseong Dragons and CL Gigant started.
* * *
He remembers going to the baseball field with his father a few times as a child, but not once since middle school.
Because I have no interest in sports.
I’m not the type to watch the game, but I’m still familiar with the rough rules and how to proceed.
Unlike soccer, which is enjoyed by most countries around the world, baseball is enjoyed by a limited number of countries. Only a dozen countries have professional leagues.
Nevertheless, baseball, along with soccer, reigns as two major axes of the global sports market. This is possible because of the United States.
Like the economy, sports are also driven by the strict logic of capital. What the US does is the same as saying that half the world does.
MLB is the largest professional league in the world, and American-influenced countries have also developed baseball into a popular sport.
Korea, Japan, Mexico, Taiwan, etc. are representative. (On the other hand, Eastern European countries that once stood on the other side of the United States are not good at baseball.)
Taek-gyu said while drinking beer.
“It’s fun to come here after a while. I’ll have to bring my sister as well.”
I nodded.
“That’s a good idea. Let’s all play together.”
There were many friends and couples, as well as family audiences, at the stadium.
By now, there must have been an article about me and Im Jin-yong meeting at the baseball field. When I see myself with Chairman Im Jin-yong, wouldn’t the president not like it very much?
Even though he knew that fact, Chairman Im Jin-yong didn’t seem to care much. After all, if you become the chairman of the Seoseong Group, you will not be able to tamper with living power.
By the time the fifth inning was over, CL Gigant was leading 4-2.
“Who do you think will win?”
Taek-gyu answered without thinking for a long time.
“I think Seoseong Dragons will win.”
“Now, CL Gigant is two points ahead.”
“After all, baseball is a pitching game. Looking at the pitching of the ball earlier, the starting pitching team was fine with the Seoseong Dragons. After all, whether it’s a game or a sport, I’m the best.”
I asked in amazement.
“You don’t watch baseball, do you?”
“Hey, I perfectly mastered the baseball trainer game back in the day.”
“… … .”
I learned sports as a game.
Whether it was effective or not, Taek-gyu was perfectly devising baseball rules and systems. He even saw through pitch analysis and coaching strategy.
The match ended in a 7-5 victory for Seoseong Dragons, as Taek-gyu expected.
* * *
After the match, we said goodbye and parted. Chairman Im Jin-yong said that he plans to play with the children today.
Looking at this, it seems that no matter how large a company is, the father is the father.
As I was getting back in the car, Taek-gyu suddenly spoke to me.
“Shall we set up a baseball team too?”
“Huh?”
What nonsense is this?
“It would be nice to have one.”
I said absurdly.
“Do you know how much it costs to run a baseball team a year?
“How much does it cost?”
“… … .”
I don’t know either.
Taek-gyu did a search on his phone.
“It costs 340 billion. Can we use that much for our situation?”
“I’m tired these days.”
I spent too much money on the purchase of Seosung SB stock and the establishment of a joint venture. Here, we continue to hire staff, and our fixed expenses are increasing day by day.
“You still have that much money.”
“no. What is the name of the 340 billion?”
It feels like tens of billions of dollars is nothing because you make a lot of money, but in reality, it is a lot of money even for large corporations.
Besides, this is an expense, not an investment.
When it comes to MLB or the Premier League, it is possible to make a profit by selling stadium tickets, broadcasting tickets, and various supplies, but it is not easy to make a profit in the Korean market.
In fact, most sports teams, regardless of baseball, soccer, or basketball, are running at a loss.
Nevertheless, the reason large corporations run sports teams is because of their large publicity effect. There is also a justification for social contribution activities.
“And that’s not something a baseball team can make with money.”
Currently, there are 10 teams in Korean professional baseball.
Considering the size of the population and economy, it is already large enough. It is realistically impossible to add one more club here.
The KBO won’t even give you permission.
“Then what about a soccer team or a basketball team?”
“It will cost less than baseball, but it won’t be easy.”
Taek-gyu had a sad expression on his face.
“I think it would be good for us to set up something. I can run it well.”
“What are you running? Just play games.”
“Ah!”
Taek-gyu said as if he suddenly remembered my words.
“Then how about a professional game team?”(Read more @ wuxiax.com)
“Huh?”
“E-sports is also a sport. If it’s a professional game team, it won’t cost a lot of money.
“… … .”
This is a bit realistic.
* * *
Just as there are multiple sports such as baseball, soccer, and basketball in sports, e-sports teams also have multiple sports for each game.
Among them, there are only a handful of games that have international competitions.
Anyway, no matter which sport you choose, the size of your squad will be between seven and ten, and you will need a manager and a coaching staff. This includes accommodation expenses, training expenses, welfare expenses, and other incidental expenses.
At least 1 billion or more, maybe 2 billion at most?
This is only one-tenth of a sports team. Because the cost burden is low, not only large corporations but also medium-sized companies such as Master Chicken and Paprika TV have operated e-sports teams.
??next day.
We went to work and called Sang-yeop and Ki-hong, who is in charge of the PR team, to discuss plans.
Ki-hong, who heard the story, nodded his head.
“good idea. If it’s an e-sports team, I think it would fit well with OTK Company, a new company.”
By the way, senior Ki Hong also enjoys playing games. After school, he would go to the PC room with his juniors and star for hours.
Sangyeop said with a questionable expression.
“Is there any real publicity effect? There must be a lot of people like me who don’t even know what esports is.”
“The lower the cost, the lower the publicity effect.”
Even if e-sports have become more active in recent years and perceptions have changed, they cannot be compared to national sports such as soccer or baseball.
“If the performance of the game is not good, or if our players buy and hit, we will spend the money as the money and eat the curse as the curse.”
Sangyeop senior said.
“By the way, is there no need for OTK Company to create an e-sports team to promote it?”
Sports team operation is mainly for promotion and corporate image stock, so B2C companies that sell products or services do it mostly, and B2B companies rarely do it.
This is the reason why banks and securities companies sponsor players or clubs, but not private equity funds or hedge funds.
“Why don’t you advertise with that money? Then we will have a better relationship with the media.”
The biggest reason that the media is hostile to us is that we don’t have a good relationship with the government, but another reason is that we don’t spend a penny on advertising.
The five major chaebol groups, including the Seoseong Group, spend huge amounts of money on advertisements in newspapers and broadcasts every year. If they stop advertising right now, there is not one or two places that will close their doors.
This is the reason why media companies do their best to swear at politicians, but don’t swear at the chaebols.
If I drive 5 billion won worth of advertisements in the Chojung Ilbo, would you write an article about me like that?
“Please understand that this is the vice president’s hobby.”
Senior Sangyeop immediately understood.
“Ah! Then it’s different.”
It is not an exaggeration to say that the budget allocation and performance of sports teams vary depending on the degree of interest of the president.
From the moment Taek-gyu made up his mind to do it anyway, the answer was no different. If the company doesn’t do it, just do it with your own money.
After a while, Taek-gyu was full of enthusiasm. It’s hard to dry anyway.
“I have already decided on a name. How about OTK Magicians?”
“… … Do whatever you feel like.”
In the end, OTK Company decided to establish an e-sports team under the leadership of the vice president.
