Gangnam road and Tehran Street were bustling with building construction. Old buildings were being demolished, and new ones were rising, changing the city skyline.
With a surge in supply, the vacancy rate for offices in Gangnam was continuously on the rise.
It wouldn’t be too difficult to find empty offices, except perhaps for those looking for retail space on the first or second floors.
The main issue, as always, was cost.
Commercial rental prices in downtown Seoul were quite high. Despite increasing vacancies, rents remained on a steady rise.
A simple way to solve the vacancy problem would be to lower the rent. The reason landlords avoid this is that rent is directly tied to the building’s value.
Instead of lowering rents, landlords often prefer to offer rent-free periods or support with interior costs.
Before talking to a real estate agent, I decided to meet Hyun-joo first and intentionally invited Henry along.
As we rode the elevator up, Henry checked his hairstyle and outfit.
Seeing him wanting to look good in front of a girl he likes struck me as cute. Henry noticed my gaze and smiled awkwardly.
Upon entering the branch manager’s office, Hyun-joo paused her work to greet us.
“What’s going on?”
“Henry will explain.”
Henry cleared his throat and spoke in English. After listening to his explanation, Hyun-joo turned to me and asked,
“Are you saying you’re going to incubate startups?”
“Yes. In America, young people start businesses from their garages, but we don’t have garages here. So, I want to create something like that. What do you think?”
Hyun-joo nodded.
“That’s a good idea. The government should really take the lead on this.”
“But the government is too busy supporting large corporations.”
So, I decided I had to step up. If the country won’t do it, someone has to.
“For starters, I’m thinking of doing this in Gangnam. Is there a good building among those owned by Golden Gate that we could rent?”
During the foreign exchange crisis, the price of commercial real estate in Korea plummeted. At that time, Chase Southwell, the head of the Golden Gate Asia branch, actively sought to acquire Korean real estate, and as a result, Golden Gate currently owns three buildings on Tehran-street.
One of these is used as the Korean branch, one was sold to us, and the remaining one is being leased out.
“There should be something available. Wait a moment, I’ll check.”
Hyun-joo quickly confirmed via the internal phone.
“That’s great. Six floors are completely vacant.”
I was taken aback.
“Why are there so many vacancies?”
“A gaming company that had been there moved to Pangyo Techno Valley about four months ago. No one has moved in since.”
The government has actively developed a large-scale IT industrial complex in Pangyo, prompting gaming and internet companies scattered throughout the metropolitan area to relocate there all at once.
Pangyo, connected to Gangnam by the Bundang and Shinbundang lines, significantly affected the demand for Gangnam office space, increasing vacancies.
“Will six floors be enough?”
“That’s plenty. What’s the rent like?”
Hyun-joo said coolly.
“You’re not unaware, so I’ll offer it at half the market rate.”
I was slightly taken aback.
“Isn’t that problematic?”
Discounts for important clients might be acceptable, but extending privileges beyond that would qualify as embezzlement. It could lead to issues if brought up.
Hyun-joo smiled while holding a cigarette in her mouth.
“It’s not free, and you’ll put the Golden Gate name on it too. We were looking into social contribution activities, and it’s a good opportunity to refresh our image. Isn’t it better than donating to an organization whose purpose we don’t even know?”
I nodded.
“We would welcome that.”
“Good things are even better when shared.”
Golden Gate has various professionals and a global network, allowing us to support consulting services. This will be a great help in finding investors or obtaining loans.
“Since we’re here, let’s write the contract.”
“Shall we?”
Hyun-joo picked up the intercom and contacted the legal team. Soon after, a lawyer came upstairs with the contract.
Ellie saw my face and was pleased.
“Oh! Jin-ho is here too. When did you arrive?”
“Just now.”
Even though I often see her, my heart raced for a moment.
These days, Ellie was truly stunning. Until now, she had a boyish vibe, but at some point, she exuded feminine charm.
“Is Jin-ho signing a contract? What’s it about?”
I briefly explained everything that had happened, and Ellie smiled brightly.
“How did you come up with that idea? Jin-ho is truly amazing.”
Her smile was dazzling.
As the representative of OTK Company, I signed the lease agreement.
***
The Golden Gate building was a five-minute walk from Gangnam Station.
Six of the 28 floors of the building were completely empty. One floor was planned to be a lounge, with a café, meeting rooms, studios, and showers, while the other floors would be entirely office spaces.
With Hyun-joo’s help, I immediately summoned an expert to design the layout according to the space.
Typically, individual offices are designed to minimize overlap in movement. However, for startups, interaction and collaboration are essential, so I intentionally designed the layout to allow for some overlap.
The offices were varied, accommodating from one to ten people, with some being modular, allowing for adjustments in size as needed.
We all toured the interior of the building. It was much larger than I had anticipated. Since most of the shared space would be in the lounge, I thought we could probably create at least 20 offices on one floor.
Hyun-joo asked, “Are you sure we can fill this place up?”
“Well… I suppose we can take our time to fill it,” I replied.
Even as I said that, anxiety surfaced. It felt like I had taken on too much from the get-go. Perhaps I should have only leased three floors initially?
Ellie smiled and said, “It will work out, so don’t worry. But what will you name it?”
“Hmm, I’m not sure.”
Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t considered a name.
Taek-gyu suggested, “Since OTK Company and Golden Gate are together, how about OTK Gate?”
“Oh! That sounds good.”
Ellie kept muttering “OTK Gate,” seemingly pleased with it.
“……”
Wouldn’t people start calling it Otaku Gate?
However, since I couldn’t think of a better name, we decided to stick with it.
As the construction began, we released promotional materials and sent official letters to various universities to recruit startups interested in leasing space.
First of all, I plan to decide on admission after a strict review… I hope there will be many applicants.
What if no one wants to join after we’ve built this?
…It didn’t take long for me to realize that this concern was unnecessary.
[OTK Company Engages in Social Contribution Activities]
[OTK Company Partners with Golden Gate to Support Startups]
[OTK Company & Golden Gate Launch Co-Working Space for Startups!]
[Is a New Opportunity Opening for South Korean Startups at OTK Gate?]
– OTK Gate sounds like entering a world of otaku.
– Aren’t they only accepting gaming and anime companies?
– They say the price for a two-person office is 200,000 won.
– Wow! That’s almost one-fifth compared to other places.
– It’s even cheaper. Plus, OTK Company and Golden Gate are providing consulting services.
– I’m quitting job hunting to start a business.
– I love OTK Company. Loyalty, loyalty, loyalty!
– The review process seems tough.
– I sent my application today. Please let me pass!
Applications flooded in from various universities, including Korea University, top universities in Seoul, KAIST, and Pohang University of Science and Technology.
Startups already in existing co-working spaces showed keen interest due to the affordable rent and prime location.
The competition quickly rose to over 10:1.
It seemed that the review and interviews would take more than a month. We couldn’t manage it alone, so the Golden Gate staff stepped in.
The first selected startup was Full Riding.
***
As I went down to the underground parking lot with Taek-gyu, I saw Senior Sang-yeop driving out in a McLaren.
“Where are you going?”
“Going on a date.”
I was taken aback by that remark.
“Did you get a girlfriend, Senior?”
Senior Sang-yeop awkwardly laughed.
“Not yet, just met a few times after being introduced.”
No wonder he’s been leaving work on time lately.
Even if he’s busy, he manages to do everything. Well, as Taek-gyu said, just because others are busy doesn’t mean they can’t date. It makes sense to date when the time is right.
“Have a good date.”
“Yeah. If it goes well, I’ll introduce her later.”
I thought about Senior Sang-yeop as he drove away.
Ah, spring really is here.
We drove home. Every time I enter the house, I feel how spacious it is. I never expected to live in such a big house.
For reference, the previous owner of this house is currently in a detention center. They seem to be holding on to a slim hope for probation while waiting for their appeal trial.
“What should we do for dinner?”
“Let’s just order something. I’m too lazy to move.”
“I’m ordering pizza.”
“Sounds good.”
I didn’t even change my clothes and lay down on the sofa to turn on the TV.
The recent topic was the massive tax cut in the U.S., which is closely related to us.
Coincidentally, CNN was in the midst of a heated debate about the tax cuts. Proponents and opponents were exchanging sharp remarks.
The act of raising one’s voice during a discussion is similar in both the U.S. and our country.
The economics professor on the pro side brought up the Laffer Curve, arguing that tax cuts would grow the U.S. economy.
“What’s the Laffer Curve? Does it have anything to do with Eminem?”
“…No, not at all.”
Why is Eminem mentioned here?
It’s not ‘rapper’ but ‘Laffer.’
“It’s a theory created by American economist Arthur Laffer. Simply put, as tax rates increase, tax revenue grows, but beyond an optimal point, the incentive to work declines, causing tax revenues to drop.”
It’s called the ‘Laffer Curve’ because the graph forms a parabola.
“It’s often used to advocate tax cuts. The idea is that lowering taxes will boost work and investment enthusiasm, which will ultimately increase tax revenues.”
However, the Laffer Curve is highly controversial. While it’s hard to deny the concept, opinions vary widely on the optimal tax rate.
Surprisingly, high tax rates don’t necessarily reduce work motivation, and cutting taxes doesn’t always lead to significant increases in investment.
In other words, tax cuts don’t automatically result in economic stimulation.
The Democratic Party has consistently opposed Ronald’s policies, but this time they didn’t strongly resist.
“Why aren’t they opposing it?”
“Because the Democrats receive political funding from large corporations as well. And generally, regardless of being progressive or conservative, everyone likes tax cuts.”
Who would dislike a tax reduction?
The reason why tax cuts that everyone loves aren’t implemented recklessly is due to the budget deficit. Once taxes are lowered, it’s easy, but raising them back is quite difficult.
The core of Ronald’s tax cut plan aims to reduce the corporate tax from its current 35 percent to 20 percent. If it passes Congress, it will be the largest tax cut since the Reagan administration.
When Ronald was initially elected, the U.S. stock market was expected to face difficulties. During the vote-counting, when Diane was leading, the stock market rose, but as soon as Ronald took the lead, it plummeted. (Thanks to this, we made billions of dollars.)
However, the reality was the exact opposite. Fueled by expectations of tax cuts, the three major U.S. indices (Dow, Nasdaq, S&P) continually set new all-time highs and thrived.
As taxes decrease, corporate profits increase. OTK Company, which has many businesses in the U.S., will likely benefit from this.
Come to think of it…
“Ronald will be coming to Korea soon.”
***
President Ronald and President Park Si-hyeong’s summit has been confirmed.
In the past, Ronald has visited Korea several times for business purposes. However, this will be his first visit since becoming the President of the United States.
Originally, he was expected to visit around the end of the year, but the schedule has been moved up due to urgent issues that need to be addressed, such as the North Korean nuclear issue, defense cost sharing for U.S. troops in South Korea, and the revision of the Korea-U.S. FTA.
…which is merely the surface reason.
Ronald aims to boost his declining approval ratings by projecting the image of a strong president, while Park Si-hyeong sees this summit as an opportunity to move beyond the savings bank issue.
I am the businessman who has the worst relationship with the South Korean president. On the other hand, I am also the businessman who has the best relationship with the U.S. president.
This visit by Ronald will include a business delegation, and meetings with South Korean business leaders are scheduled.
Naturally, my name and Taek-gyu’s name are included in the list.
Thanks for the chapter!
Thank u for reading ❤️
Nc