IWSF – Ch 253

It was the tenth day of the full-scale strike.

As the strike dragged on, the union was also feeling significant pressure. According to the principle of ‘no work, no pay,’ wages are not paid during a strike.

Because of this, last year and the year before, the Eunsung Motors union had engaged in a new concept of rotational strikes to minimize wage losses. This method involved parts manufacturers going on strike in turns for two to three hours each. Due to the nature of the conveyor belt system, if even one process stops, subsequent processes become impossible. Even though only some workers were on partial strike in rotation, the rest of the workers automatically ended up idle.

This way, they could maximize the strike’s effectiveness with minimal wage loss.

Despite having such a good method, they deliberately chose a full-scale strike this time to put maximum pressure on the company. Since everyone knew Eunsung Motors was in a difficult situation anyway, they intended to quickly conclude negotiations.

If the issue of preferential hiring for children could be resolved, they were willing to concede on wage increases and performance bonuses.

Union leader Joo Seong-mu directed the strike from the front, confidently predicting that the company wouldn’t last more than three days before coming to the negotiation table.

But somehow, even now, the company hadn’t budged at all.

Suppliers were pleading extreme hardship. First and second-tier vendors of a certain size gritted their teeth and endured, but those further down the supply chain were screaming in agony.

As the plight of supplier workers became known, public opinion about the strike steadily worsened. Especially regarding preferential hiring for children, everyone was criticizing it as hereditary employment.

The Eunsung Motors union refrained from responding to avoid escalating the issue and secretly attempted to contact the company behind the scenes.

They were being so cautious, but suddenly Kang Jin-hoo stepped forward and deliberately criticized the union. This was like pouring oil on a fire.

Kang Jin-hoo’s remarks made the media and the internet buzz daily.

From the Eunsung Motors union’s perspective, it was absurd. Union members shouted in agitated voices.

“Why is that guy constantly sticking his nose in other people’s business?”

“What does he know to be acting up like that?”

“Whose side is this bastard on, anyway?”

The bad blood between Kang Jin-hoo and Eunsung Motors was well-known to the public. Could it be that he was criticizing the union because of that?

Now, they couldn’t afford not to respond. The Eunsung Motors union, together with the Metal Workers’ Union, decided to hold a rally in Seoul in front of OTK Company headquarters.

“Let’s go teach Kang Jin-hoo, who looks down on unions, a lesson!”

“Let’s show them our power!”

“Hear, hear!”

However, when the day of the protest arrived, Kang Jin-hoo simply closed down the entire company.

Union leader Joo Seong-mu couldn’t hide his bewilderment.

It’s common for a chairman not to come to work when a protest is held in front of the headquarters building. But emptying the entire company was unprecedented.

‘What is this? A new kind of scorched-earth tactic?’

In this situation, no matter how much they protested, it would only be like shouting in front of an empty house. However, they had finished all the preparations and announced it to the media, so they couldn’t just cancel it now.

On the day of the protest, thousands of Metal Workers’ Union members gathered in front of OTK Company headquarters and around Gangnam Station.

Union leader Joo Seong-mu shouted at the top of his lungs in front of the closed and darkened building.

“We condemn Kang Jin-hoo for trampling on workers’ rights and taking the lead in union-busting!”

“Condemn! Condemn!”

“Kang Jin-hoo, apologize to all workers nationwide!”

“Apologize! Apologize!”

***

We watched the protest scenes on TV in the living room.

Taek-gyu said with a surprised expression.

“Wow! A lot of people gathered.”

Flags with names of various unions and branches fluttered powerfully, and union leaders wearing red headbands shouted at the top of their lungs with clenched fists.

Riot police surrounded the area and controlled the streets.

“Hey! That guy just cursed at you. Judging by his lip movements, it looked like he was saying something about Kang Jin-hoo’s shik-bbang color.”

“……”

Good thing I didn’t go to work.

Since they came up because of me, most of the speeches were criticisms against me. It sounded like I could hear some curses here and there too.

I’ve been cursed at so much that I’m not really fazed anymore.

Taek-gyu looked around outside the window.

“They’re not going to swarm in front of the house, are they?”

“Don’t worry. Protests aren’t allowed in residential areas.”

Protests were happening not only in front of OTK Company but also in front of Eunsung Motors headquarters. A large-scale rally organized by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions was scheduled to be held in Gwanghwamun on the weekend.

I should just stay quietly at home without wandering outside unnecessarily.

Senior Sang-yeop, eating pizza next to me, said.

“As expected, M Pizza is the best. Once you eat it, you can’t eat other pizzas.”

Recently, an M Pizza branch opened in Ceylon State, Yeoksam-dong. Thanks to that, we could order it in Gangnam too.

The operation of M Pizza is entirely entrusted to the Ceylon Hotel side.

The domestic pizza market is less than half the size of the chicken market. However, conversely, this can also be seen as high growth potential.

CEO Im Su-mi focused on building a premium image rather than aggressively expanding branches. That’s why they put the main branch in the Ceylon Hotel in Namsan.

M Pizza requires a lot of initial investment, but after that, labor costs can be drastically reduced. And they invest the saved labor costs in ingredients to make healthy and delicious pizzas.

Thanks to this, the market response is excellent, and they are selling like hotcakes.

As soon as the Gangnam branch opened, long lines formed, and delivery reservations were completely booked within 30 minutes of opening, showing its popularity.

I picked up a piece of pizza and turned my head to the side.

“Why are you here from the middle of the day?”

“Our company CEO told us not to come to work, so I came to hang out.”

“I told you to work from home, not gave you vacation.”

“Really? I just asked Gi-hong to play a game of billiards, and he said he’s going to Nami Island with Hyun-jung.”

“……”

Is this why companies don’t allow telecommuting?

Taek-gyu said lying sprawled on the sofa.

“It’s boring not going to work.”

“You’re bored even when you go to work.”

The employees are probably all enjoying their leisure time, thanking the Eunsung Motors union. They’ve worked hard so far, so they should have days like this sometimes.

“But what were you thinking when you provoked the Eunsung Motors union? I know you know, but even Park Si-hyeong couldn’t touch them.”

“Politicians have no choice but to be conscious of votes.”

A union of an unknown small or medium-sized company might be one thing. But touching a large company union is a big risk. The Eunsung Motors union belongs to the Metal Workers’ Union, and the Metal Workers’ Union belongs to the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions.

If you misstep, it’s not just a protest issue; millions of votes could be lost. Because of this, both conservatives and liberals are very passive when it comes to union issues.

“Are you really planning to build an electric vehicle production complex in Asia?”

“It’s still in the planning stage, and I’m talking with Chairman Im Jin-yong.”

From the moment CarOS decided to produce cars directly, the most important consideration was production volume. That’s why they not only acquired existing factories but also poured huge amounts of money into building new factories in the Rust Belt.

However, when estimating future sales volume, even if all those factories are operating at full capacity, it will be difficult to meet the demand for the North American and European markets.

From a long-term perspective, production bases need to continue to be expanded.

If we were to build a factory in Asia, where would be good?

China is excluded due to concerns about joint venture establishment and technology leaks. Japan has strong players like Toyota and Honda, and labor costs there are also not cheap.

“There’s Thailand and Vietnam too.”

“The electric vehicle infrastructure there is even worse than in our country. We also need to consider the domestic market.”

I handed the data on the table to Senior Sang-yeop. It was created by the Seosung Economic Research Institute and compared and analyzed factories in Asian countries.

If we were to only consider labor costs, all factories around the world should normally be in China, Africa, Southeast Asia, etc. However, there are also numerous factories in the United States and Western Europe, where labor costs are high. This is because various conditions other than labor costs come into play.

Senior Sang-yeop looked through the data and said.

“Korea looks the best.”

“Considering administration, logistics, infrastructure, government support, FTAs with various countries, etc., yes.”

Senior Sang-yeop nodded at my words.

“Even if Ronald revises the Korea-US FTA and raises import tariffs on Korean cars, it won’t really affect CarOS.”

“Cars sold in the US are produced entirely in the US anyway.”

I continued while eating pizza.

“Workers have a high level of education, are diligent, and there are many suppliers with excellent technology. Above all, Seosung SB and OTK Research Institute are all in Korea.”

“Is the problem high wages and frequent strikes?”

“If we can solve that, there’s no reason why new car factories can’t be built in Korea.”

“It’s been about 20 years. Seosung will of course say yes. What about Eunsung Motors?”

“Thinking about it.”

Eunsung Motors is the one who’s in a pinch, not us. If we’re going to join hands, we should get as much as possible.

“Is there a way to solve the problem?”

“Take a look at this.”

I handed over another set of data, and Senior Sang-yeop looked through it.

“Did you make this yourself?”

“Of course not.”

I’m not some Nobel Prize-winning scholar in economics.

But there’s no need to worry. There are many people smarter than me in the world, and if necessary, we can borrow their brains.

Isn’t that what scholars and professors are for?

“As Senior knows, if things continue like this, Korean manufacturing is in danger.”

Korea has grown at an incredible pace, deserving the name ‘Miracle on the Han River.’ In particular, the economic growth from the late 80s to the mid-90s was astonishing.

High growth is usually followed by side effects like wealth disparity, but at this time, Korea also reduced wealth disparity and increased the middle class. It was truly the golden age of the Korean economy.

This was possible because Korea pursued manufacturing-oriented growth. Factories ran non-stop, and jobs were overflowing.

Manufacturing is still the mainstay supporting the Korean economy. If it weren’t, we might not have overcome the IMF crisis and the financial crisis.

“I think so too. America is talking about reshoring and bringing factories that went abroad back home, but Korean conglomerates are only building factories overseas. At this rate, it’s neither fish nor fowl.”

Senior Sang-yeop pointed to the protesters on TV.

“But just because you said one thing, they’re rising up like this. If you try to do something like this, do you think the two major labor federations will just stand by?”

I chuckled.

“If it doesn’t work out, tens of thousands of jobs will go to other countries.”

Senior Sang-yeop nodded.

“True, there are more than a few countries that would welcome building a factory.”

***

The Eunsung Motors strike had already passed the fifteen-day mark.

Considering Eunsung Motors’ domestic market share, it was practically as if the entire Korean automotive industry had come to a halt.

The reflected gains for other domestic companies weren’t that significant. Because there was a limit to production volume.

Suppliers were on the verge of collapse, and the local economy was faltering.

Both the ruling and opposition parties urged quick labor-management negotiations in unison. National Assembly members whose constituencies had factories went down to those regions to meet residents or visited Eunsung Motors to plead with them.

Union leader Joo Seong-mu maintained his position that there would be no dialogue without Chairman Han Chan-young’s apology, and the company did not express any particular stance.

Eunsung Motors Group’s stock price continued to fall. The market cap, which once exceeded 200 trillion won, had now shrunk to below 100 trillion won.

Its ranking in the business world fell to 4th place, after being overtaken by SSK Group and then CL Group.

Looking at Eunsung Motors alone, its current market cap is only 46 trillion won. On the other hand, CarOS, which Eunsung Motors sold off at a bargain price, is valued at over $200 billion even though it is a private company.

No wonder shareholders are furious.

OTK Company and Golden Gate quietly began buying up Eunsung Motors shares. Hyun-joo noona formed a negotiation team and secretly contacted Eunsung Motors to coordinate various conditions.

Meanwhile, I also met with Chairman Im Jin-yong and experts, gradually solidifying the investment plan. Among those experts were professors from Korea University.

I called Professor Kim Myoung-jun after a long time.

[The whole country is noisy again. Do you really intend to invest in Korea?]

“Only if it’s profitable.”

[Haha! Seeing you talk about money like that, you’ve really become a businessman.]

“It’s all thanks to what I learned from you, Professor.”

[So, what business do you have this time that you’re contacting me?]

“I’d like to meet with the head of the Department of Economics, along with you. There are things I want to ask about investment.”

[Professor Jang Se-myung?]

Professor Jang Se-myung had worked as a professor at Cambridge University in England in his younger days, and his economics book published at that time became a hit, gaining him worldwide fame. And after that, he returned to Korea University to teach.

“Yes. Would that be alright?”

Professor Kim Myoung-jun readily replied.

[Of course. Professor Jang was already looking like he wanted to meet you sometime anyway. Perfect timing.]

Note: (Shik-bbang is Korean slang, roughly equivalent to “son of a bitch” but less vulgar, more like “jerk” or “bastard”, and “color” adds a nonsensical emphasis for humorous effect here).