Story of a Big Player from Gangnam

Gun-Ho asked for the internal auditor.

“I’ve heard that the trial with Seongil Polymer will start soon. How are we going to defend our case?”

“We will convince the court about our current financial situation and the installment payment plan. Since the court is well aware of the fact that we were once under court receivership, it will approve our installment payment plan.”

“You really think so?”

“The judge is a human being. He will be reasonable.”

Gun-Ho received a call from Director Yoon, who was at the airport.

“The architects arrived at 4 pm from the U.S. If we head to Asan City now, we will arrive at around 6 pm.”

“He must be exhausted from the long flight from the U.S. Why don’t you take him to the hotel in Asan City and let him take a good rest for today, and he can come to our office in Jiksan Town tomorrow before he heads to Asan City.”

“Yes, sir.”

The next morning, Director Yoon came to Gun-Ho’s office with one American and one Korean man. They both were architects from the U.S.

Gun-Ho greeted them.

“Welcome to Korea and to our company. Director Yoon will show you the place where our new factory will be built on.”

“Director Yoon invited us to a Korean restaurant for dinner yesterday. It was really nice, and we appreciate it. We also had the hot spring bath as well.”

“You have been to Lymondell Dyeon, right?”

“Yes, we have, and we took a good look at their production line. The cooling line after the extrusion is longer than we initially thought, so I think we will have to build the production space long enough to accommodate those.”

“Can you make the exterior of the factory similar to the one of Lymondell Dyeon?”

“Sure. We can do that.”

“By the way, Director Yoon. The design drawing will be made in English. Do you think our government people in the city hall will be able to read it?”

“Haha. That’s why they require having a Korean architect to sign on the design drawing if the drawing is made by a foreign architect, so we will have two signatures on the paper from the foreign architect and Korean architect. I mean the approval document for constructing a building.”

“Is it legally required?”

“Of course, sir. It is clearly written in the Building Act.”

“I see.”

“I will take care of it. Well, we will be then heading to Asan City now if you don’t have anything else, sir.”

Director Yoon showed the land in Asan City where a new factory would be built on, to the architects from the U.S. The architects collected some necessary information from there by taking some pictures and reviewing the land survey. Once they completed their examination of the land, they headed back to Seoul.

Gun-Ho received a call from Chairman Lee in Cheongdam Town.

“President Goo, do you want to have lunch with me today since you are close to my office now? I know a good place for cold noodles.”

“Umm, sir. I am not in Seoul right now. I am in Jiksan Town.”

“Oh, really? I thought you were staying in Seoul.”

“Have you heard anything from President Park who sold his building to me? I’m wondering if there are any complaints from him.”

“You know what? He is a very scary person.”

“Huh? Why do you say so?”

“He told his children that he had 9 billion won left after selling the building and paying off the loan and security deposit.”

“As far as I know, that sounds correct.”

“He gave 2 billion won to each of his two daughters from his first wife.”

“That made him spend 4 billion won out of 9 billion won of sales proceeds.”

“And then, he gave another 2 billion won to each of his sons from his second wife.”

“Okay, then he is left with 1 billion won. Did he give it to his second wife?”

“That’s right. The condo which he is living in with his second wife is worth 2 billion won, and he gave that condo with the cash of 1 billion won to his second wife.”

“So, President Park didn’t take any for himself. He hasn’t even passed away yet.”

“You have to hear the full story to say anything further. President Park actually had paid off some of the loans even before he sold the building. He had paid off a 5 billion won loan to Kukmin Bank. So he took 5 billion won from the building’s sales proceeds without letting anyone know about it. Moreover, he had reduced some of the tenants’ security deposit by raising their monthly rent, but when he told his children about the security deposits, he gave them the original amount of security deposits before the change took place. Consequently, he took some money from there too without letting his children know about it. Therefore, he took a total of 7 billion won to his pocket from the building sale, and no one including his children knows about this.”

“Really?”

“Do you know what he told his children after distributing the building’s sales proceeds?”

“What did he say?”

“He said, ‘I gave you all I have and I have nothing left in my hand. So you will have to give me an allowance money like on a monthly basis.’ He is cunning like a snake.”

“He is incredible.”

“I think we lost this game, President Goo.”

“No, don’t say that. Even though I paid a little bit high for the price of this building, I don’t think I can easily find a building like this. I can see the entire Sinsa Town in Gangnam District from my office on the 19th floor. I am satisfied with the building.”

“Someone who knows how to feel satisfied is a truly rich man. So you are indeed a rich man.”

“Haha. Thank you, sir.”

Suwon District Court sent a notification to GH Mobile about the trial with the date of the trial. The internal auditor brought the notice to Gun-Ho.

“We have the date of trial now. We will have to be at the court next Thursday at 11 am. They asked us to come to Suwon District Court no. 205.”

“Can someone else attend the court on behalf of me?”

“Yes, but it would look better if you, as the president of GH Mobile show up to the court. It would make you look reasonable, and they would think you’re taking this seriously.”

“Hmm…”

“I will send our response to the court within the date given to us. The judge will take a look at it and take it into consideration.”

“What does our response say?”

“We will include the fact about our court receivership during Mulpasaneop and about the new owner’s takeover of the company and also the fact that we paid off the unpaid wages and some loans. Also, we will talk about us consistently making payments towards our debt according to our installment payment plan, which was agreed with our creditors.”

“Then, the court will dismiss the plaintiff’s request?”

“Yes, sir.”

“What outcome are you expecting from the trial?”

“I don’t know, sir. It’s up to the judge, right?”

“What if we don’t like the court’s decision?”

“We will have to appeal to the higher court.”

Gun-Ho thought about it for a second.

‘If we appeal to the higher court, then Seongil Polymer wouldn’t be able to do anything to our company until we get the decision from that higher court.’

Gun-Ho had enough cash in his bank account to pay off the 300 million won debt to Seongil Polymer, but he didn’t want to do that.

‘Well, this can be a very useful experience for me. I can learn some legal stuff.’

It was the day of trial. Gun-Ho went to Suwon District Court himself. It was located in Woncheon Town, Youngtong District in Suwon City.

On the door of the no. 205 courtroom, there was a list of case numbers along with the names of the plaintiff and defendant by the order of time scheduled.

Gun-Ho went into the courtroom when it was his scheduled time. While he was sitting at the courtroom, the judge called his name and Seongil Polymer’s president’s name.

“Plaintiff, Seongil Polymer’s president Sang-Gi Kim.”

The judge called his name twice, but he didn’t appear at the courtroom. The judge then called Gun-Ho’s name.

“Defendant, GH Mobile’s president Gun-Ho Goo.”

“Yes.”

The court staff verified Gun-Ho’s ID to see if Gun-Ho was the person who he claimed to be.

The judge said, “The plaintiff didn’t show up, so we will postpone the trial.”

That was it.

“Why did Seongil Polymer’s president didn’t show up? Did he forget the trial date?”

Gun-Ho walked around the Gwanggyo area and thought about where he wanted to head to.

“Do I want to go to my GH Building in Sinsa Town, Seoul? Or to GH Mobile in Jiksan Town, Cheonan City?”

After thinking for a while, Gun-Ho decided to drive to Jiksan Town in Cheonan City.