Story of a Big Player from Gangnam

Jae-Sik hesitated in front of Gun-Ho’s office before he entered the office.

“Hey, Jae-Sik, please come in. The guests already left.”

Jae-Sik entered the office and sat carefully at the conference table in Gun-Ho’s office.

“I talked with the lady president who used to work for KimBooks.”

“That’s good. So you found her phone number.”

“My college friend who was my junior at that time happened to work for KimBooks at their editorial department. He also majored in creative writing like me. He made me promise to him that I wouldn’t tell anyone that I got her number from him.”

“Really? So what does that lady president say?”

“She said she wanted to have some time off from her work at first. And then, once she found out that the person who wanted to talk with her is the president of a big auto parts company, she seems to be interested suddenly.”

“So is she willing to meet with me?”

“She said she would visit the company. It seems that she has already been contacted by so many swindlers who said they would want to start a publishing company with her. So, she wants to make sure that you are really the person who is running a big company.”

“Haha, really? So when is she coming here?”

“She said she will be here by 2 pm tomorrow.”

“That’s good. You should be here by 2 pm tomorrow too, okay?”

“Okay, I will.”

“Do you have any information on her? Like how old she is?”

“I don’t know much about her, but as far as I know, she graduated from Ewha Woman’s University; she should be in her late 40s. She has an extensive sales network in the publishing industry, and she has incisive eyes in selecting good books to publish.”

“Haha. I see. Okay, I will see you tomorrow at my office.”

Gun-Ho was dozing off in his office after lunch when Jae-Sik came with a lady. She was that lady president who was known to have the hand of Midas in the publishing field; her name was Jeong-Sook Shin. She looked proud and intelligent. She walked into the office with a long white scarf around her neck. Jae-Sik introduced her to Gun-Ho.

“She is the previous president of KimBooks. This is President Gun-Ho Goo of GH Mobile here.”

She offered first her hands to Gun-Ho for a handshake.

“I’m Jeong-Sook Shin. Very nice to meet you.”

“I’m Gun-Ho Goo. Please have a seat.”

Jeong-Sook sat on a chair.

“I was surprised twice since I came to this company. At first, I was surprised by the size of the company. I was actually expecting to see a factory with several tens of workers, but there are 250 workers in this company. Second, I was surprised because the president of this big company is so young. When I heard that the president of a manufacturing company is interested in starting a publishing company, I expected to see an old man.”

Gun-Ho picked up the book written by Professor Jien Wang—Economy Trend in China for the 21st Century and showed it to Jeong-Sook.

“A friend of mine in China wrote this book. I want to publish this book in Korea.”

The lady was wondering.

“Are you saying that you just want to publish this book, rather than starting a publishing company?”

“Of course not. I want to publish books that are best-selling books on Amazon.com, starting from this book here. I heard you have discerning eyes for recognizing good books.”

“Since you are running a big company, I suppose you have enough funds to invest. How much do you intend to invest in a publishing company?”

“How much do you think would be enough?”

“It will take a few months to publish a book, and you need to pay for the expenses including labor until then. You can assume that it will take at least 300 million won until a publishing company starts generating enough income to be self-sufficient.”

“300 million won. Okay. With how much salary would you be happy to work with me in running a publishing company?”

“I don’t remember telling you that I would work with you in running a publishing business. I just came here out of curiosity since I am taking my time off from work, and I heard someone in the manufacturing industry was interested in the publishing industry.”

“I don’t know anything about publishing business, but you have been in the publishing field for a long time, and you have extensive experience and discernment in selecting books. I will take care of the necessary funds. Would you work with me and start a publishing company?”

“I have a few conditions.”

“What are they?”

“First, I don’t want to be interfered in running the publishing company.”

“That I can do. I can’t interfere with something I don’t know about. Moreover, I don’t have time or energy to do so since I have another company that I need to run.”

“Hahaha. That’s the thing I like about. That’s why I have declined many offers to work together in running a publishing company. I knew you wouldn’t interfere in the publishing business since you have your manufacturing company to run.”

“Is there a second condition?”

“I’d like to have a stock option in addition to a salary. The major reason why I quit KimBooks was that I couldn’t reach an agreement with its president on a stock option. I want 10%.”

Gun-Ho shook his head.

“I have a company in China, and I give a stock option of 5%. I can’t give you more than that. I need to keep balance and fairness within my companies. Moreover, a publishing business requires me to take a high risk of failure, and the business is not a type of business that would generate substantial revenue.”

“Okay, then I will take a salary plus 5% stock option.”

“Okay, I will give you that. However, I have a few conditions as well.”

“I am listening.”

“I want you to let Mr. Jae-Sik Moon manage the editorial department.”

“Mr. Jae-Sik Moon? Of course, I would love to work with him. He used to work in the publishing industry, and he is an award-winning author of a full-length novel as well. He has extensive work experience in editing as well.”

“Secondarily, I know three people in a design company in Seoul. I want you to hire them.”

“I can give them an opportunity to have an interview with me. I need to see them first before I can tell you whether I would hire them or not. However, since you recommend them, I will see their qualification favorably.”

“I will provide you an office-tel that is located close to the Gangnam station in Seoul.”

“Sure. An office-tel would be enough until the company becomes stable.”

“Okay then. We will contact you as soon as we complete any administration work on our side. The capital of the company is 300 million won, and the company’s name will be GH Media. We will register Gun-Ho Goo and Jeong-Sook Shin as the directors of the company. For any paperwork we need from you in order to register your name as the director of the company, you will be contacted by Manger Seong-Il Kang from GH Development in Seoul.”

“Sounds good.”

When Jeong-Sook and Jae-Sik walked out of Gun-Ho’s office, Jeong-Sook asked,

“What does President Goo’s father do?”

“President Goo is a self-made successful man.”

“Wow! He is so young though.”

“He has another factory being built right now; they will soon move to that location. The new factory is in Jiksan Town; he is building a highly advanced factory in a 5,000 pyung large land there.”

“5,000 pyung? Wow, he is an amazing person. I don’t understand why he wants to have a small publishing company though.”

“Why not? He probably likes it a lot.”

Gun-Ho made a call to his office in Seoul—GH Development. Ji-Young Jeong picked up the phone.

“How is the design company next door doing?”

“Nothing has changed yet, sir. The office is still closed temporarily.”

“You said that you know well the person who worked for that company, right?”

“Yes, the person I am close to is the team leader of their design team.”

“Can you tell her to come to the office? Tell her that I will acquire that design company.”

“Sir? Are you going to buy that design company?”

“Yes. I will be there by noon today. Tell her that I want to meet with her at noon if she doesn’t have any prior engagement.”

“Sure, I will let her know.”