Story of a Big Player from Gangnam

Chapter 374: Joint Venture's Board Meeting (4) - Part 1

Everyone gathered at the Onyang Hot Spring Hotel for dinner. They felt relieved after the board meeting, and they enjoyed dinner with wine.

Gun-Ho said to Mr. Brandon Burke while clinking his glass of wine to Mr. Burke's, "Since Lymondell Dyeon completed its investment in-kind now, if the joint venture company needs additional machines, we will have to purchase them. Do you provide a lease for machines?"

"A lease? Sure. You can certainly lease machines from us."

"Then I will need two more machines—no. 9 and no. 10."

"Why don't you send us a formal request? You can ask Mr. Adam Castler to do it, or you can purchase them on credit and pay us when you send us our portion of the profit."

"I guess we will soon need additional machines to manufacture enough products to cover the China and Southeast Asia market."

"Of course, you will."

Gun-Ho and Mr. Burke continued to drink their wine.

Mr. Burke said to Gun-Ho in a low voice, "If everything goes well, the joint venture will be able to register with KOSDAQ within three years. When you need to expand the business and extend the factory or purchase more equipment, think about issuing overseas convertible bonds (CB)."

"Overseas convertible bonds?"

"Public offering is common in the Korean stock market, but for overseas convertible bonds, a private placement is common. I recommend you use a global investment banking company such as Morgan Stanley or Goldman Sachs for issuing convertible bonds."

"Hmm."

"When the economy is not doing well just like these days, issuing domestic convertible bonds often fails. The U.S. is penetrating the Korean stock market."

"Of course, it can fail. I know that from personal experience."

"Overseas convertible bonds are, on the other hand, relatively safe unless there is an obvious default risk such as sovereign default."

"Thank you for your advice, Mr. Burke."

"As a matter of fact, 50% of Dyeon Korea is owned by the shareholders of Lymondell Dyeon, not by me personally. However, the other 50% of it is solely owned by you, President Goo. With the procured foreign funds by issuing overseas convertible bonds, you can expand the business by establishing branch offices or subsidiary companies that generate income."

Other people at the table were wondering what Gun-Ho and Mr. Brandon Burke were talking about in a low voice. Director Kim asked Secretary Yeon-Soo Oh, "Can you hear what they are talking about?"

"I'm sorry, sir. I can't interpret things that I overheard. It would be considered as a violation of professional conduct for an interpreter."

The dinner was over around 9:30 pm.

When Gun-Ho said good-bye to Mr. Burke in front of the hotel, he added, "Take a deep rest until late tomorrow morning by enjoying a hot spring bath here. You can come to GH Mobile by 11 am."

"Okay, President Goo. I guess Mr. Castler will give me a ride."

"Thank you for today, Mr. Brandon Burke and Ms. Angelina Rein!"

"You too, President Goo."

Gun-Ho walked toward the parking lot with Secretary Yeon-Soo Oh, where Chan-Ho Eom was waiting for him in a Bentley.

"Chan-Ho, did you eat?"

"Yes, sir."

"Do you want to spend the night here and leave for Seoul tomorrow? Or do you want to drive to Seoul now?"

"It's up to you, sir."

Yeon-Soo looked worried. She said, "I have to go home today. My mom worries about me a lot. If you can give me a ride to KTX station, I can go home from there by myself."

"Well, let's just leave for Seoul now."

Gun-Ho and Yeon-Soo Oh fell asleep right away after getting into the car. They must have been very tired. The Bentley that Chan-Ho Eum was driving was heading to Seoul. It was night, and there were not many cars on the highway. Within less than an hour, the car arrived at the tollgate to Seoul.

"Huh? Where are we?"

When the car stopped at the tollgate, Gun-Ho woke up.

"It's the tollgate to Seoul, sir."

"Oh, we are already in Seoul, huh?"

"Yes, sir. Do you want me to drop you off first at your place?"

"No, let's drop Ms. Yeon-Soo Oh first. Her mother is worried about her. Let's go to Apgujeong Town first. That's where she lives."

"Okay."

Yeon-Soo Oh seemed to wake up as well. She started talking, "I was so scared when you argued with Mr. Brandon Burke during the meeting. I thought it would escalate into some serious altercation."

"That's why you cried? You are the interpreter. You were supposed to interpret even while I was arguing with Mr. Burke."

"I was scared, sir. Mr. Brandon Burke threw out some papers on the floor furiously and you, sir, threw a bottle of water. I thought I would see a big fight. Moreover, Mr. Burke is a big man with a bald head. He sometimes looks like the head of the Mafia."

"Mafia? Hahaha."

"I've never seen you so angry, sir."

"Okay, I won't do that again."

When the Bentley arrived in Seocho Town after passing Yangjae Town, Gun-Ho said, "Chan-Ho, you must be very tired. You drove all the way to Seoul at this hour."

"It's okay, sir. I took a nap while you were in the board meeting. Director Kim had told me before he went to the meeting room that the meeting would be a long one. So I took some sleep in the resting area."

"Really? That's good. Because of you, I could now enjoy some drinks with my dinner. I used to call a paid designated driver to get home after having a meeting with people."

"Haha. You did?"

"You know what? You will see Tae-Young tomorrow evening."

"Tae-Young bro?"

"We are going to Hannam Town with the Americans tomorrow."

After dropping off Yeon-Soo Oh, Gun-Ho and Chan-Ho headed to Dogok Town where Gun-Ho's TowerPalace condo was located. Chan-Ho asked, "Sir."

"Yeah?"

"I waited until we dropped off Ms. Yeon-Soo Oh. I have a suggestion to make to you. Would you consider working with Tae-Young bro?"

"For what?"

"You said that President Moon of GH Logistics handles heavy equipment as well, right?"

"That's right."

"We were sometimes called to the construction site for work."

"What kind of work?"

"When a large building is about to be demolished, sometimes a physical fight occurs, and we are called to the scene."

"So you guys go there and beat the other party up?"

"No, no. We shouldn't do that. We could end up being in prison if we do so. We just stand there and smile."

"Smile?"

"We just scare them off. Protesters against the building demolition usually become calm when they see a group of us with scary looks and tattoos."

"So you guys just stand there and the protesters give in because they feel scared by your appearance, huh?"

"Most likely, yes."

"What does it have to do with President Moon of GH Logistics?"

"What would be the next step after a building demolition? Heavy equipment would be called in, right?"

"Hmm."

"With some Ppojji, they will do a great job."

"Ppojji?"

"It's a small amount of money, like an allowance money."

"That doesn't sound very fair though. That means you bring some work for President Moon by pressing someone."

"That's not what it is. We just introduce GH Logistics to a building owner or construction contractor and get some referral fees. It is justifiable earning. It's like what realtors do; they charge fees for a client referred."

"Well, I got what you mean. I will discuss it with President Moon."