Story of a Big Player from Gangnam

Seukang Li said as he handed his cell phone to Gun-Ho, “It’s Jien Wang. He wants to talk to you.”

“Jien Wang? It’s me, Gun-Ho Goo.”

“Hey, it’s really good to hear your voice, friend. I want to be there with you guys; I really do. I would have been on my way to the place if I was close by, but I’m in Hangzhou.”

“I know you do, friend. I’m very delighted to hear your voice.”

“I was told that you have already invested 4 million dollars in China. That’s huge. I don’t think that Seukang Li would ask you about investing more money in China.”

“We talked about a movie production business, but I don’t know if I can do it because it requires me to invest another significant amount of money.”

“I totally understand that. A movie production business does involve a tremendous amount of money, and it is a highly risky business as well even though it could bring you a fortune if it succeeds. I can’t strongly recommend it for you either. Stop talking about business, and enjoy the moment with Seukang Li by drinking and talking with him. I want you to relax and have fun.”

“Yeah. I’m leaving for Antang City tomorrow. I need to attend the board meeting. I won’t be able to stop by Hangzhou City though.”

“No problem. You must feel tired. Have a safe trip.”

When Gun-Ho got off the phone with Jien Wang, he noticed that Seukang Li was lost in thought while keeping his head low. Gun-Ho said as he returned his cell phone to Seukang Li, “Don’t take things too seriously in life. Just do what you can do. Let’s enjoy our drink now.”

After finishing his glass of Baiju, Gun-Ho said, “This is so good. I love these fish dishes, and I love the taste of this liquor. That’s why Zuoci in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms made fun of Cao Cao’s party for not having this perch fish dish. Seukang Li, drink one more glass! And cheer up.”

“Yeah, I will drink at my pace.”

Gun-Ho made a serious look on his face and told Seukang Li, “Seukang Li! I’m not a government worker like you or a scholar like Jien Wang, but I’m a businessman. I make my investment where I see a good possibility to make money, and I don’t make my investment if I think I won’t make money by putting my money in. If the movie—Menghuan Yinghua—would bring me profits, I will make my investment in it. If I don’t have enough cash to do so in my hand right now, I will borrow it from a bank. Let me review the film scenario before I make my decision.”

Seukang Li lifted his head and looked at Gun-Ho. A silver lining of hope appeared on his face.

“Seukang Li, if I decide to make my investment in this movie, can you indirectly provide support?”

“I can support it within my scope.”

“Okay. Let’s now enjoy our evening.”

The following day, Gun-Ho headed to Weihai Airport to get to Antang City. Director Sim was waiting for Gun-Ho in front of his hotel with a car to drop him off at the airport.

“I should have rented a nice car to pick you up, sir. I heard that people always pick you up with an Audi when you travel to your company in Suzhou City or Guizhou Province as well. I’m sorry about that, sir.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“I was told that you met with Director Li last night. Didn’t he mention about the movie production business?”

“He seemed to want to ask me to make my investment in it, but he couldn’t.”

“I’m not sure what you mean, sir.”

“The current amount of money that I’ve invested in China so far is 4 million dollars. If I invest 50% of their estimated movie production cost, it would be another 5 million dollars. If that happens, I will have my 9 million dollars in China.”

“Wow, 9 million dollars! That’s huge.”

“I want you to read the film scenario carefully once you receive the translated version, and make your thorough analysis and give me the result.”

“We can quickly process the pre-production stage in filmmaking if we have a movie scenario and a production crew ready. The stage usually takes four to six months to complete, but we can reduce the time assuming that we have a very good movie scenario.”

“Hmm.”

“The problem is the pay for the main actor and actress. If we want to work with the Korean actress—Lia—again with this movie, she will possibly ask for a lot higher pay than the amount that we are paying her now for the drama. She gained popularity in China as the TV drama—Shiguang Ru Meng—is now one of the most viewed TV dramas.”

“Hmm.”

“I read the pertinent policy in the official letter from Guangdian Zongju (National Radio and Television Administration) the other day. It says that a movie production company can’t pay more than 30% of their movie production cost to their actor or actress.”

“The government restricts even that sort of thing in China, huh?”

“China is a country that is led by one party—the Chinese Communist Party. They will have to comply with what they say. It’s not worth disobeying their rules. Oh, we have already arrived at the airport.”

Gun-Ho arrived at the airport in Guiyang City. Jae-Sik Moon was waiting for him there.

“President Goo, how was your trip? Aren’t you feeling tired?”

“I’m good. The business here is doing fine, right?”

“The intercity bus service business is doing good. As long as we are careful with a car accident, we should be good.”

“You said that they are working with the foundation right now for the terminal construction, right?”

“They poured the foundation walls on cement footers, and they are waiting for them to dry out.”

“Hmm, really?”

While on the way to Antang City in the car, Gun-Ho received a call from Dyeon Korea’s internal auditor. It was not usual for Gun-Ho to receive a call from his companies in Korea while he was on a trip abroad.

“Sir? Is it a good time to talk?”

“Yes, it’s good. What’s going on?”

“We need to make a modification with Dyeon Korea’s audit report.”

“Why?”

“Our research and development expenses for our research center seem to be too low to be recognized as a startup company with technology. We will have to adjust the amount.”

“Hmm, I see.”

“I talked to the Anchang Accountant Office about the adjustment already.”

“We haven’t submitted our external audit report to anybody, especially to the government, have we?”

“No, we haven’t yet. I already retrieved all copies of the external audit report that was distributed to the executive officers. We just need to retrieve two copies that were sent to Manager Hong in GH Development.”

“Are we going to destroy those retrieved audit reports?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Well, we need to do what we have to do if that is necessary to be recognized as a startup company with technology.”

“The thing is that before making the adjustment, Anchang Accountant Office will need to talk to you directly about it since they already made their report to you. If you could give a call to Accountant Nak-Jong Lee of Anchang Accountant Office, that would be great.”

“Okay, I will do that.”

The internal auditor added, “Also, we probably won’t apply for the Inno-Biz certificate this time. The Inno-Biz certificate is not necessary to get the certificate for a startup with technology anyway. Moreover, in order to apply for the Inno-Biz certificate, a company has to be more than three years old. So Dyeon Korea is not qualified to apply for it at this time anyway.”

“Hmm, really?”

“The modification will affect all GH companies including the companies abroad. Our accounting manager—Myeong-Soo Jo—will take care of all those documents as soon as possible. She said she would work overnight if necessary.”

“Hmm, it sounds complicated.”

“There are four types of startup companies that could be recognized with the certificate: capital-financed firms, R&D-intensive firms, technology finance or loan firms, and preparatory venture firms. We haven’t received any funds from an investor or some sorts of technology finance or loans.”

“That’s right.”

“So, we will have to be categorized as R&D-intensive firms. So, we need some adjustments to our R&D expenses accordingly.”

“I see. I will make a call to the accountant’s office right away.”

“Thank you, sir.”