Chapter 463
Chapter 463
I finished my visit to the detention center and returned to my office.
Taek-gyu asked.
“Is your senior doing well?”
“You wouldn’t have to worry about it.”
Of course, this is not to worry about the chaebol. Even if they are found guilty, they will either be pardoned after the change of government, or they will be paroled after living for at least a year or two.
Should this be called judicial justice or chaebol preferential treatment?
It’s a problem that can be easily solved as long as you follow the law… … Then, it would have been difficult for Chairman Im Jin-yong to inherit the management rights.
In the end, everything is a problem because you try to pass down a successful company to your children without paying taxes.
Some people may think that there is a problem with my company passing it on to my children, but the premise of this statement is wrong from the beginning.
The owner of a corporation is the stockholder, not the chairman.
In foreign countries, it is not uncommon for a founder to be expelled from the board of directors or general shareholders’ meeting if he or she mismanages. Even if he’s not doing anything wrong, he sometimes fires someone who he thinks would do better in his place.
Strangely, however, in Korea, firing a CEO is considered a sin. Is it because it is too natural to pass on the management right to your children?
“Then, when you have children later, won’t you pass on management rights?”
“Of course. Ellie agreed.”
If you pass it on to your children, your children will pass it on to your children… … It’s not like we’re going to inherit the management right for millennia or ten thousand years.
“Well, until then, I don’t know if I will run the business or not.”
“Huh? to retire?”
“Someday I will. It’s not like we’re going to run until we get into the coffin like our presidents.”
The size of the OTK Company has already grown to an unbelievable size. Even though we are trying to let our subsidiaries do their own thing, without intervening in the management of our subsidiaries, we are increasingly forced to make complex decisions.
I am doing well because I can see the future, but I do not know what will happen in the future.
In some ways, it may be more difficult to select a successor and step down at the right time than to create and grow a company.
* * *
As the calendar turns to November, one problem is solved and one problem has arisen.
First, compensation for forced labor, the biggest issue in Korea-Japan relations, was confirmed. According to the proposal of the Korean government, Korean and Japanese companies contributed funds to pay compensation to the victims.
Although the exact ratio has not been disclosed, it is known that approximately 2 Korean companies that benefited from the Korea-Japan Claims Agreement and 8 Japanese companies for forced labor bear the burden.
The reason that the ratio has risen so much is the result of negotiations with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and diligently selling my name.
When the compensation was paid, the survivors who took part in the lawsuit at the time shed tears of joy and hurrahed.
Taegyu said.
“If I had given it earlier, it would have been over soon.”
“Actually, money wasn’t a big deal in the first place.”
However, Japan insisted that it could never pay in the name of ‘reparation’ as it was in the position that everything was over with the Korea-Japan Claims Agreement, but this time it had no choice but to bend its position.
Taek-gyu asked.
“Is it really all over with the Claims Agreement?”
“It’s a bit different in interpretation.”
It is difficult to contain all the contents of a document, and there are different interpretations even for a single word. So, Japan is interpreting it in their own way.
“If we had signed a good contract from the beginning, wouldn’t this not have happened?”
“At that time, things couldn’t be helped.”
At the time of the signing of the Claims Agreement, Korea was the poorest country whose entire territory was devastated by the Korean War, while Japan remained a powerful country even after the war. The post-war economic revival began due to the special circumstances of the Korean War.
In the end, South Korea, who needs money, and Japan, who want to finish reparations quickly, coincided with each other, and the agreement was concluded.
The funny thing is that even this is the largest amount of compensation an aggressor has paid to a victim.
Among the powers that had colonial rule, it is unprecedented for a controlled country to pay such compensation. This is, of course, because Japan was a defeated country.
However, if such compensation was unilateral damage to Japan, it is not. In order for a country to receive compensation for economic development, it must purchase various materials, parts, materials, and machinery. There is a country close by that makes such a thing very well, and that is Japan.
The reparations flowed back into Japan’s pockets, and as the country grew, so did its export markets.
Compared to the money that Japan has earned through trade with Korea, the amount paid by the Korea-Japan Claims Agreement is nothing.
In a way, it can be seen that they were a win-win for each other.
In any case, the long-standing problem was over, and both countries were in an atmosphere of sighing.
Although compensation was made, Japan still has not made an apology at the government level. Also, the comfort women issue has not yet been resolved.
The Japanese government, which had previously talked about all sorts of nonsense about past history, has now avoided mentioning it at all.
After criticism of the Japanese government’s kneeling in compensation for forced labor, Japanese ministers once again visited the Yasukuni Shrine, where Class A war criminals are enshrined.
Although Prime Minister Okazaki did not visit the shrine in person, he sent a tribute and announced that he would visit at the beginning of the year.
When the South Korean and Chinese governments protested against this, the Japanese government pretended not to hear anything at all.
* * *
Another problem arose in North Korea.
[(Breaking News) Chairman Kim orders the removal of facilities on the southern side of Mt. Geumgang!][North side to start independent development after demolition of Mt. Geumgang facility][Order to remove all sloppy southern facilities that make you feel bad just by looking at them][Critique that the development of Mt. Kumgang, which is dependent on South Korea, is based on the wrong policy establishment of predecessors][North Korea officially sent a demolition request to the South Korean government and companies]Geumgangsan tourism is nothing less than a symbol of inter-Korean economic cooperation. A tour of Mt. Kumgang was the only opportunity for South Koreans to set foot on North Korean soil. However, after the shooting of a tourist, tourism to Mt. Geumgang was suspended, and hotels and other facilities were frozen.
With the arrival of the Heo Chang-min government, inter-Korean relations have entered a thaw mode, and expectations for the resumption of tourism have recently risen significantly, the North suddenly unilaterally notified the demolition of the facility.
– Did you see it? This is the North Korean class.
– ㅋㅋ In architecture, he built Juche to thoroughly embody national firstism and the first in the masses. Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
– Whoa! Respected leader, the building of capitalist enterprises for the purpose of pursuit of profit has been torn down, and in that place, with the power of the people, he built a modern and socialist service facility that embodies the demands and aspirations of the working masses. You said that the difference should be comprehensively and intuitively shown… … what kind of bullshit is this?
– Do the people who insist on inter-Korean economic cooperation even after seeing this have brains or don’t they?
– This is the reality of North Korea. They’re not even a band of thieves!
– Railroads and gas pipelines? It’s funny and it’s boring
– Leave me alone. Huff wants to spread it.
-But why is North Korea suddenly doing this?
– Haha I know.
-The most respected guy was slapped in the face in Vladivostok, and went to Mt. Geumgang to vent his anger.
Taek-gyu looked at the article and said to me.
“No matter how you look at it, doesn’t it seem like it’s because of you?”
“Huh?”
“Didn’t you touch the heart of supreme dignity in Vladivostok and sparks splattered up to Mt. Geumgang? That’s why you can build railways and gas pipelines according to the wishes of Presidents Vysotsky and Heo Chang-min? What if I tell them to tear down the railways and gas pipelines later?”
“surely… … .”
“I wonder what? If it were them, they could tear off all the iron that went into it and put it in the Tobeop Blast Furnace to melt it.”
“… … .”
I can’t say no.
Mt. Kumgang tourism is North Korea’s important means of earning foreign currency and a successful model for economic cooperation. It is currently on hiatus, but depending on the situation, it may be resumed at any time.
Still, when you look at the people telling you to demolish it, it’s really a country where common sense doesn’t work.
What would you do with this country?
Is inter-Korean economic cooperation really impossible?
As I was thinking that, my vision suddenly faded and something popped up in front of my eyes. After a while, when he came to his senses, he saw Taek-gyu pushing his face up to his nose.
“Ugh! go away!”
“What this time?”
I got up.
“I think I came up with a good way.”
Taek-gyu rubbed his eyes and said.
“It wasn’t what you came up with, was it not that Yeji told me?”
“… … .”
That’s it.
* * *
The Ministry of Unification and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were again in an uproar at the North’s unilateral notification of the removal of the Kumgangsan facility.
The Ministry of Unification held an emergency meeting hosted by the Minister.
“It doesn’t look like we’re going to try to force demolition right now.”
“We have to look at not only Korea, but also the international community.”
“If demolition was forcibly removed, which foreign company would build a factory in North Korea in the future?”
Even if they are located in North Korea, buildings and other facilities are clearly South Korean assets. The North Koreans also knew about it, so they handed over the voluntary demolition to the South.
It’s your property, so it’s up to you to take it back.
‘Even if you want to forcibly demolish it, you probably don’t have the money.’
The North’s announcement of demolition would not be sincere. It was just an act to show that we were this angry.
It can be seen as a kind of brinkmanship tactic. The problem with this tactic is that you can really fall off a cliff if you do it wrong… … But anyway, North Korea doesn’t get any worse than the current situation. That’s why people who don’t have anything are the scariest in the world.
“What do you say about the request for a working-level meeting?”
“The North is refusing to hold talks. We have been informed in writing to exchange opinions.”
Unification Minister Yoon Je-hoon asked. He clicked his tongue inside him.
‘I think we will take the initiative by creating a shape that we cling to from the start of the meeting.’
It’s not surprising since I’ve done it several times already.
“What do you think is the reason why North Korea suddenly came out this way?”
At that question, there was a sudden silence in the conference hall.
Everyone had one person in their head, but no one came up with that name.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was in a similar situation.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Seong-cheol once again wrapped his arms around his head.
‘No, why are you angering us after being beaten by Kang Jin-hoo?’
Foreign affairs are the responsibility of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but if the diplomatic partner is North Korea, it is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Unification. Therefore, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs focused only on understanding the situation.
I was in contact with the National Intelligence Service and the Korean Embassy in China, and an aide came up to me and said,
“There is a call. I think you should take it.”
Foreign Minister Kim Seong-cheol shook his head.
“If you’re not above me, I’m busy right now, so I’ll call you later.”
“Uh, um… … .”
When the assistant couldn’t answer easily, he raised his head and asked.(Read more @ wuxiax.com)
“Are you above or below me?”
“That, that… … .”
Even including the legislative branch rather than the executive branch, there are few people above the minister. Still, the aide had an expression on his face saying, “I have never asked such a difficult question in my life.”
“Who is calling?”
“I am the CEO of Jinhoo Kang.”
“… … .”
This is worth worrying about.
Foreign Minister Kim Seong-cheol answered the phone right away.
“Hello, CEO Kang Jin-hoo. How did you keep in touch?”
* * *
I met with Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Seong-cheol.
“I can go to the office.”
“no. There are too many eyes to see. In the current situation, if the media is known for nothing, it can lead to speculation.”
So, did you come in a private car rather than an official car, and instead of getting off at the lobby, you took the elevator from the underground parking lot and went straight up?
“You must have been busy, but you worked hard to come.”
“no. Looking at what the representative asked to see, there must be a good reason, right?”
If you call him for no good reason, it sounds like he will not stand still.
“I read the article, what do you think the government is responsible for?”
“This is a very difficult situation for us. As you know, we were scheduled to conduct economic cooperation with North Korea through inter-Korean talks in Vladivostok, and the resumption of tourism to Mt. Geumgang was included in the discussion.”
“So it seems that Eunseong Geumgang CEO Han Byung-sun also came.”
“Yes. But because the talks broke down, the North seems to be very disappointed, so I think that I am just arguing about the Geumgangsan facility for nothing, and there are also some stories that Chairman Kim was greatly offended by various things….. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . … .”
Taek-gyu pointed at me.
“Just tell me it’s because of him. I think so too.”
Foreign Minister Kim Seong-cheol waved his hand.
“Oh, no, it’s not like that. However, the North Korean side is not directly mentioning it, but I think it is hoped that the representative would express an apology or regret.”
“Will it be okay if I apologize?”
Foreign Minister Kim Seong-cheol smiled bitterly.
“Actually, I don’t think so. If you make a mistake, you might end up dragging yourself around.”
“Does the government plan to conduct a railroad and gas pipeline connection project in conjunction with the Rajin-Hahn project?”
He sighed in response to my question, revealing his true feelings.
“I wonder if it is even possible under the current circumstances.”
I nodded.
“I wish I could meet a North Korean official and talk a bit, is it possible?”
