Chapter 288
Chapter 288
I had a meeting after a long time.
Professor Homin Kim has made up his mind to support basic science in Korea with the money he earned from the development of OTK batteries.
I can’t leave you alone to do this good thing. So he decided to work together at the company level.
Professor Homin Kim came to the headquarters to attend the meeting. He usually looks like a white man, but today he got a neat haircut and shaved.
“A real company to establish a foundation?”
“Don’t worry. The name of the foundation will be the Homin Kim Foundation.”
“Oh, no. It’s okay.”
“It is a foundation for supporting basic science, so it should be named after the Nobel Laureate in Chemistry.”
“I’m a little embarrassed.”
Professor Homin Kim smiled brightly.
Golden Gate legal team members and team leaders also attended the meeting to seek advice on legal procedures, including foundation establishment.
I thought as I looked at the head of the Legal Affairs Team 1, who wore a suit and tied his hair neatly.
Today, beauty is working hard.
As I put my foot under the desk, Ellie raised her eyes with a slightly angry expression on her face. She’s here for work, so don’t gossip and do her job.
I said quickly.
“… … So I’m thinking of setting up a foundation. Operating expenses are covered by deducting a portion of the OTK R&D center’s revenue.
As the battery production increases, the patent fees to the research center will also increase, so there will be no shortage of operating costs.
Taegyu said.
“Isn’t this what the government should do in the first place?”
“Looks like you don’t have a budget.”
Taek-gyu shook his head at my words.
“Someone said It’s not that the country doesn’t have a budget, it’s that there are too many thieves.”
“… … .”
Who said this?
In fact, Korea has a very high ratio of R&D investment to GDP. However, investment in basic science was almost non-existent.
The reason is that high-ranking people like to see results within a year or two. Therefore, basic science that requires long-term research is inevitably pushed out of priority.
“I want to build a university dormitory apart from that, what do you think?”
This time, after I went to Korea University, I investigated the actual conditions of dormitories in universities. The dormitory occupancy rate was only 20 percent.
Nevertheless, the acceptance rate of universities in the metropolitan area is much lower than that of regional universities.
In other words, it was more difficult for students who went from the metropolitan area to the metropolitan area to enter the dormitory than the students who went from the metropolitan area to the rural area.
College students usually receive financial support from their parents.
Then, is it difficult to find a room for a child who has moved from the metropolitan area to a rural area, or is it difficult to find a room for a child who has moved from the metropolitan area to the metropolitan area?
Of course, the latter is overwhelmingly difficult.
This is for two reasons. First, the income of households living in the metropolitan area is higher than in the provinces, and second, the rent in the metropolitan area is much higher than in the provinces.
In Seoul alone, the situation is even worse.
House prices in Seoul were originally expensive, but in recent years they have skyrocketed. The rent is already not at a level that college students can afford as part-time jobs. Therefore, the housing requirements for students attending universities in Seoul were very poor.
Team Leader Jeong Ki-hong nodded his head.
“Yes. Even though Korea University is in a better position because tuition is cheap, there are not only a couple of kids who live in gosiwons or one-roomtels. One of my classmates, Hyeonu, who came from Gimcheon, lived in a gosiwon for four years.”
I was surprised.
“Did you live in that senior gosiwon?”
“I found out later. I’m not good at talking like that.”
“It is.”
I also didn’t talk to the kids well after the family situation got difficult.
Well, Hyun-woo is now working at Mirae Investment & Securities, and he and Ki-hong sometimes meet and drink.
Sangyeop senior said.
“What about the land? Don’t you need land to build a building?”
“I contact a local construction company and tell them to sell if they have land near the university. They said they would give me the right to build.”
“Then it will be okay. But wouldn’t it be the opposite?
Everyone nodded as if in agreement.
It was an expression on the face that Ellie alone did not understand English.
“What do you mean? Companies are building dormitories for students, who is against it?”
“Nearby studio owners.”
“Why?”
“I rent to students, and when a dormitory is built, rents drop and vacancies increase, putting my livelihood at risk.”
“… … Yes?”
I explained it for Ellie, who is not familiar with the Korean situation.
Students’ requests to increase the dormitory have continued, and universities have started building dormitories, but many of them have been canceled because studio owners oppose them on the grounds of their right to live.
Ellie still had a look on her face that she didn’t understand.
“But if the university is building on the site owned by the university, there is no problem, right?”
“The local government does not give permission. It’s like an environmental impact assessment or a traffic impact assessment, and it procrastinates.”
Local residents have the right to vote to elect the mayor, mayor, city council, ward councilor, and local legislator.
On the other hand, most of the students have addresses in other areas, and they are not very active in voting.
In this way, local politicians take the side of the residents who can get more votes unconditionally, regardless of whether they are right or wrong.
“Politicians tend to prioritize the interests of the few who can exercise their votes over the interests of the majority.”
This is the reason why the dormitory problem has not been properly resolved so far.
When you think about it, that’s amazing. If the university isn’t a charitable place, what money would you spend on building a dormitory? Of course, it is the tuition collected from students.
In other words, college students cannot even build their own living space with the money they pay. Because the rental income of studio owners cannot decrease.
Eli said angrily.
“This is nonsense. How is this different from saying you shouldn’t release hostages to make a living?”
I nodded.
“So I’m going to give it a try.”
* * *
OTK Company bought a detached house or land near the university and contacted a construction company.
Currently, the biggest concern of construction companies around the world is the San Francisco restoration project. Kang Jin-hoo not only saved the United States from the crisis, but also handed over huge amounts of relief supplies and raw materials to the United States government. He will also bid on urban design through his subsidiary Akit.
In any case, it was clear that OTK Company would occupy a place in the restoration business. Therefore, domestic construction companies have been working hard to wait in line with Gangjin-hoo.
However, OTK Company’s business is focused on IT and automobiles, so it has little to do with construction.
However, this was the first request for cooperation.
If you want to open up even a face on this opportunity, you have to make even a land that doesn’t exist. Builders were outraged.
“Check all the sites near the university.”
“Which of the executives owns the land around?”
“We got the information, and Daehoo Construction said that they would sell the site at the back gate of Hankuk University!”
“What? Damn it! Isn’t there a bigger and more beautiful site?”
“In order to get a proper snow painting, you have to get a better site than other construction companies!”
The construction company presidents personally visited OTK Company with their documents. They proudly showed off the land they brought.
When Kang Jin-hoo offered to purchase the site at a price higher than her market price, she all waved.
“What are you talking about? I will give it to you at a lower price than market price.”
“You say you are doing a good job, but we, Eunsung Construction, should also add strength.”
“If you sell it at a lower price than the purchase price, it’s a breach of contract, so I’m only sorry that I can’t give you a lower price.”
“We will also do the construction at the lowest price.”
“Just leave it to me.”
* * *
Jung Ki-hong, head of the PR team, said that he plans to build dormitories in 42 locations across the country and rent them out to students at low rent.
When the dormitory candidates were announced, the students welcomed them with open arms.
-Really? OTK Company will build a dormitory?
-Oh yea! Including our school!
– Yes, yes. I made money from oil speculation this time, but I have to do something good.
– But if you build it now, when will it be completed?
-Are you going to build it all while I’m at school?
-I’m going to the army in a little while, but I hope it will be built when I return to school after being discharged from the military.
-I want to escape from the semi-underground because it is built quickly.
-It’s nice to have a ring, I’m Wanjihaㅜㅜ The three of us live together to save money.
– That’s good enough. My brother has been living in a windowless gosiwon for 8 months. I also overcame my claustrophobia due to lack of money.
However, the support for it was soon overshadowed by the opposition.
Afraid to issue a press release, studio owners stood up. Not only that, but even residents who were not related to the rental business expressed opposition.
-If big college students hang out at night drinking, what will the neighborhood be like?”
– How scary are college students these days?
-Yes. Don’t listen to adults.
-There is also an elementary school in front of this place, but if college students smoke cigarettes or engage in romantic acts, it’s not good for the children’s health, and it looks a little different.
– There is no playground in my neighborhood. Please build a playground.
-In order to build it, you need to build facilities that are helpful to the residents, such as a park or a dojo building.
-Anyway, no dormitory!
-It’s not like this, let’s join forces with the residents and file a complaint with the ward office and city hall!
* * *
Seoul is a megacity with a population of over 10 million.
And the mayor of Seoul is the head of the city in charge of administration. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is the second highest position after the president in terms of his authority and political influence.
Is there even such a thing as a communication command?
The mayor of Seoul may be reappointed up to three times. Mayor Won Sang-hoon, who succeeded in getting a third term this time, was the last of his tenure.
The mayor of Seoul is no less than a shortcut to the presidential election, and he has been selected as a powerful next-generation presidential candidate for the New Politics Party.
His correction was not bad either. He didn’t have any great achievements, but he wasn’t at fault either.
The approval rating of the ruling party is steadfast, and the opposition party is disjointed. If this atmosphere continues until the next presidential election, wouldn’t it be enough to see even the presidency?
Mayor Won Sang-hoon spent the rest of his tenure not causing problems and focused only on management. But suddenly, the OTK Company decided to build a dormitory, which caused a huge uproar.
Compared to the domestic chaebols, Kang Jin-hoo has a small business base in Korea and has no political circles and personal connections. But he has a greater influence than anyone else.
He is the richest man in the world and the hero who saved America from crisis. It is no exaggeration to say that the Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded and the future of the automobile industry is in his hands. Besides, he is also close with the President of the United States. Can any business man or politician in Korea have a stand-alone meeting with the US president?
If he had said that he would build a dormitory in one or two places, he would not have reacted very differently even if some residents objected.(Read more @ wuxiax.com)
However, only 19 candidates were announced in Seoul!
This means that all of Seoul is included. The city hall was flooded with complaints that paralyzed business. Local residents all opposed it, and studio workers flocked to the city hall to protest.
“Does it make sense for OTK Company to enter the rental business?”
“How do ordinary people like us, who rent one room and earn a living every day, live?”
“Isn’t this just telling us to just die?”
“Stop violating the property rights of the common people!”
“The city of Seoul should take measures!”
Mayor Won Sang-hoon had no intention of bumping into Kang Jin-hoo. However, it was difficult to stand still in a situation where the opposition was in the air.
Some mayors came along with councilors.
“No, even if you build a dormitory, you have to do it slowly one or two places while watching public opinion. What is this?”
“There are three locations in our ward alone! No matter how many universities there are in our district, isn’t this too much?”
“Local opinion is very bad.”
“All the locals are against entering the dormitory.”
“The ward office is now paralyzed due to protests from residents.”
“How about the next election?”
“Shouldn’t the mayor also think about the next election?”
If you stand still like this, you never know how many votes will be blown away. At least I had to pretend to react.
Mayor Won Sang-hoon announced his official position after meeting with the representatives of one-room companies.
“The city of Seoul will ask the OTK Company for cooperation so that it can proceed by collecting the opinions of residents on the construction of the dormitory.
* * *
In front of the headquarters, studio workers also gathered and protested. They even put up a banner in red that read, “Chaebol Kang Jin-hoo, stop killing ordinary people!”
They seem to emphasize that I am a chaebol and that they are ordinary people.
In X-Cop, which is in charge of building management and security, the main gate was closed and more manpower was deployed in case of a possible collision. Staff entered through the back door.
When I saw the announcement of the Seoul Metropolitan Government through the news, I snorted.
“You like to collect the opinions of the people.”
“How is this different from saying don’t do it?”
“It’s the same thing.”
What would you do if you had to gather everyone’s opposing opinions?
I expected that the studio owners would object, but even the city of Seoul will fight it.
I came forward and announced my position.
“I am not asking for an increase in floor area ratio, nor is it asking for local government reporting support. What’s wrong with saying I’m going to build on my own land with my own money? I will just proceed.”
