While I was briefly focused on other matters, various things were progressing smoothly.
AD1 and AD2 were still seeing a continuous stream of reservations, and Karos was operating its factories at full capacity, striving to meet the production demands.
Faceit completed the acquisition of Dancing Rabbit, becoming a massive company encompassing everything from pornography to adult products.
Seosung SB partially modified its production lines and began producing OTK batteries. TS Company also started partial operation.
As battery packs were produced, Chairman Im Jin-yong launched a special edition of the NT9, as previously mentioned.
Given that smartphone specifications had largely become standardized, the doubled battery capacity certainly acted as a significant advantage.
With this, users could play high-capacity games all day long, and there was no need to carry chargers or search for outlets when going out.
The initial run of 1,000 NT9 special editions sold out quickly due to a surge in reservations, and Seosung Electronics hastily rushed to increase production.
In addition to this, all companies using batteries, including drone, scooter, camera, and laptop manufacturers, inquired about purchasing battery packs. Even Nple directly contacted us.
Currently, the yield rate is low, making it challenging even for Seosung Electronics to produce the required quantity. As production volume increases, we plan to continue supplying Seosung Electronics for their smartphones and laptops.
I spoke with Chairman Im Jin-yong regarding this issue.
“Come to think of it, aren’t you going on a business trip to Vietnam tomorrow?”
Seosung Electronics is adding a display factory in Hanoi, Vietnam. The groundbreaking ceremony is expected to be attended by the Vietnamese Prime Minister, and Chairman Im Jin-yong is also scheduled to attend.
[The business trip has been canceled.]
“Why is that?”
[I have to appear as a witness at a National Assembly hearing tomorrow.]
***
New governments tend to possess strong momentum in their early stages.
The New Politics Party, which successfully achieved a change of power after 10 years, focused on uncovering various irregularities that occurred under the previous administration.
It was like an endless goldmine; no matter how much they dug, irregularities kept pouring out. During the investigation process, various previously raised suspicions were confirmed as fact, and public opinion supporting the holding of a parliamentary hearing gained traction.
Despite opposition from Liberty National Party lawmakers, the National Assembly held a hearing. Those involved were summoned as witnesses one after another.
The commander of the Defense Security Command, who led the online manipulation and surveillance of opposition lawmakers, quickly left for the United States before the investigation began and cut off contact. The former Prosecutor General and the former Director of the National Intelligence Service also refused to appear as witnesses, citing various excuses.
The Chief of Staff, Senior Presidential Secretary for Civil Affairs, Senior Presidential Secretary for Political Affairs, and ministers of each ministry, who were reluctantly dragged out, merely repeated that they were unaware.
In the process, the fallout spread to corporations as well.
The practice of openly giving bribes, as seen during the past military regimes, had disappeared, but the collusive relationship between the political circles and corporations remained.
Following the politicians, this time it was the business leaders who were summoned to the National Assembly one after another.
The chaebols representing South Korea sat side by side in the witness stand, and the lawmakers presented various materials and thundered accusations.
It would be difficult to find a business leader who wouldn’t have some dirt if investigated, but the ones who appeared at the hearing were individuals with significant improprieties if probed.
They had actively cooperated with the policies of the previous government, and there were several instances that could be viewed as bribes, depending on one’s perspective.
In fact, from the perspective of the business leaders, there were aspects that felt unfair. In recent times, collusion between politics and business is often initiated by those in power, not the corporations. If they refuse, they face disadvantages, so they have no choice but to comply. While being forced to give money, if they try to gain something in return, that becomes a favor or request.
In any case, since they weren’t entirely innocent, the chairmen, regardless of age, diligently bowed their heads and did their best to offer explanations.
Seosung Group was no exception. Given its large size, it had the most dealings with the government. It had maintained a close relationship with former President Park Si-hyeong until their falling out over the Seosung SB management control issue.
Fortunately, there was a way out.
To the barrage of questions from the lawmakers, Chairman Im Jin-yong repeated the same answer.
“I am not well aware of the matters that occurred when my late father was the chairman. However, I will ensure that such things do not happen again.”
The executives also placed all the responsibility on the late Chairman Im Il-kwon. Of course, it is impossible to hold a deceased person accountable.
The other chairmen also struggled to find their own ways out.
One of the most exemplary answers was promising to increase investment and employment. The lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition parties showed satisfaction at the promise of the large corporations taking the lead for economic development.
As the questioning of the business leaders drew to a close, a voice emerged from the Liberty National Party.
It was the proposal to summon Kang Jin-hoo to the hearing.
The Liberty National Party, particularly the pro-Park faction leaders, were grinding their teeth at the thought of Kang Jin-hoo.
If you think about it, the Liberty National Party’s plummeting approval ratings, former President Park Si-hyeong’s arrest, and the change of government… all of this is because of Kang Jin-hoo!
Therefore, the Liberty National Party was planning to somehow summon Kang Jin-hoo to the National Assembly as a witness and humiliate him.
***
Just as the Liberty National Party disliked Kang Jin-hoo, most conservatives viewed him as a leftist or pro-North Korean sympathizer.
However, a curious fact is that those on the progressive side also did not particularly favor Kang Jin-hoo.
The South Korean economy traditionally has a strong manufacturing sector but a weak financial sector. Perhaps because of this, financial regulations tend to be stringent, and the perception of speculative capital is negative.
Yet, Kang Jin-hoo is the most representative example of financial speculative capital.
During the L6 crisis, he made astronomical amounts of money by betting on derivatives, and during the Brexit crisis, he took extreme positions in the foreign exchange market.
Afterward, he invested tens of trillions in the Rust Belt, making Ronald Stamper, the Republican candidate, president, and even took a gamble, betting his entire fortune to prevent the Big One.
The most problematic aspect is the location of OTK Company’s corporate registration.
Although many people consider it a Korean company because the CEO is Korean and its headquarters building is in Korea, that is merely a facade. The substance lies in Delaware Island, a tax haven.
It has established a subsidiary called K Company in South Korea and invests in Korean startups, but that is a very small part of its operations. The majority of its investments are made in the United States.
Furthermore, its financial transactions are conducted exclusively through Golden Gate, a US-based investment bank, rather than domestic banks or securities firms.
Given this, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that he has excessively pro-American leanings.
Some civic groups and progressive politicians even voiced their dissatisfaction, questioning, “What has Kang Jin-hoo done for Korea?”
In short, apart from the fact that Kang Jin-hoo fought against Park Si-hyeong, he was far removed from the progressive side.
Kang Jin-hoo possessed the most wealth in Korean history. In terms of companies, Seosung Electronics is still larger, but the general consensus was that OTK Company would surpass it within a few years.
The rise in Seosung Electronics’ stock price was partly due to its collaboration with OTK Company.
However, the biggest difference between the two is their ownership structure.
The combined shareholding of Chairman Im Jin-yong’s family amounts to less than 5 percent of the total shares of Seosung Group. On the other hand, Kang Jin-hoo alone owns 80 percent of OTK Company’s shares.
Thanks to this, he has risen to become the world’s richest person, surpassing even those in other countries.
Massive wealth is useless once you die. Of course, children will inherit it, but inheritance tax will apply, and the wealth will be divided among the number of children.
However, Kang Jin-hoo is only in his twenties.
He will likely live for at least another 50 years, and it’s impossible to imagine how much more his assets will increase by then.
Perhaps he will continue to control the Korean economy for the foreseeable future?
At least with Seosung Group, its parent company is a Korean entity, and it is listed on the Korean stock exchange. And with the National Pension Service as its largest shareholder, there are many means to regulate or control it. But this is not the case with OTK Company.
For these reasons, Kang Jin-hoo’s existence was a hot potato for the progressive camp.
The New Politics Party held a closed-door meeting of its Supreme Council.
Floor Leader Jang Hyun-joon and other senior party members gathered. The biggest problem currently facing the government is the struggling economy.
The Korean economy has grown through export-led development.
The representative industries that drove exports in the past were semiconductors, automobiles, shipbuilding, steel, and oil refining. However, most items, with the exception of semiconductors, are currently on a downward trend. Industries like cosmetics and pharmaceuticals have taken their place, but their proportion is not significant.
If it weren’t for the semiconductor super boom, exports would have plummeted long ago.
As evidence of this, the stock prices of Seosung Electronics and SSK Nics, whose main focus is semiconductors, continue to rise, while the stock prices of automobile, shipbuilding, and steel companies are steadily declining.
The problem is that the employment creation effect of semiconductors is not significant. Regardless of the increase in exports and tax revenue, the number of quality jobs is decreasing.
The situation is most severe in shipbuilding.
Ulsan and Geoje, where many shipbuilding workers are concentrated, were once the regions with the highest average income in South Korea. However, as the shipbuilding slump prolonged, the situation changed.
Cities that used to be vibrant at night became reminiscent of ghost towns as workers who lost their jobs left. Shops closed down, and real estate prices plummeted.
Although not as severe as shipbuilding, the automotive industry is also facing difficulties.
Unlike the increasing number of overseas factories, not a single new factory has been built in Korea for over 20 years. Furthermore, recently, GM Daewoo closed one of its factories, resulting in the loss of tens of thousands of jobs.
The traditional industries that have driven the Korean economy are declining, while new industries are failing to grow due to vested interests and various regulations.
As jobs decrease, people are inevitably pushed into starting their own businesses to make a living.
Competition in the self-employment sector has intensified, leading to lower incomes and increased debt, while rent prices continue to rise in a vicious cycle.
While this is not the fault of the current government, which was inaugurated a few months ago, the reality is that they need to somehow increase jobs and income.
Lawmaker Hong Hyun-woo spoke first. He is a former activist with a history of being imprisoned several times for opposing the military regime, and he has been at the forefront of chaebol reform.
“We cannot continue to stand by and watch corporations evade taxes by registering their businesses in tax havens. We must summon Kang Jin-hoo to the hearing and hold him accountable.”
Floor Leader Jang Hyun-joon said, “Do you think Representative Kang Jin-hoo will comply?”
Lawmaker Hong Hyun-woo strongly asserted, “He wouldn’t want to maintain an uncomfortable relationship with the new government either. If he cannot immediately move his corporation to Korea, he will at least show actions such as investing in Korea and increasing jobs.”
“Hmm.”
“Karos is in a situation where it needs to continuously expand its factories due to a surge in sales. If it considers entering the Korean market in the future, there are sufficient reasons to build a factory in Korea. As the lawmakers know, even just one automobile factory creates tens of thousands of jobs domestically, doesn’t it?”
Lawmakers with constituencies in rural areas all had a glint in their eyes.
Unlike the metropolitan area, there are many stagnant cities in the countryside. Attracting an automobile factory would revitalize the local economy instantly.
Even if attracting a finished vehicle factory is difficult, attracting just a few partner companies would be welcomed with open arms by the residents of their constituencies.
Some lawmakers had visited OTK Company to plead for investment in their constituencies, but all their meeting requests were rejected. Therefore, the hearing was a good opportunity.
Lawmaker Park Chang-soo wore a worried expression.
“Will the United States just stand by?”
At this, Lawmaker Hong Hyun-woo confidently said, “South Korea is not a vassal state of the United States. If they say anything about it, that would constitute interference in our internal affairs.”
Thinking about it, the fact that they are having a Supreme Council meeting to decide whether or not to summon him as a witness shows what kind of presence Kang Jin-hoo has.
Perhaps now is the last chance to control Kang Jin-hoo?
Floor Leader Jang Hyun-joon tapped the table with his finger.
‘If we dig into it, there must be things that could become problematic….’
***
I received the subpoena to appear at the parliamentary hearing.
Once you receive this, you are subject to punishment if you do not attend without a valid reason.
Taek-gyu asked, “Noona was right. What are you going to do?”
I said with a sigh, “I have to go when they call. What choice do I have?”
After all, I’m a businessperson who fulfills his social responsibilities.
