Story of a Big Player from Gangnam

Gun-Ho sipped his water before continuing to talk to Jae-Sik Moon.

"We haven't even made a letter of intent yet, and it's still under consideration on my side. However, the business was initially recommended by a friend of mine— Seukang Li, meaning that it's a government project. Usually, a business like this doesn't create a loss even though it might not hit a jackpot."

"What's in it for you?"

"It will generate more income than interest income from a bank or an income from a bond. Making more money is the most important factor in making an investment decision."

"Hmm."

"In China, a terminal is owned by the government, which is different from Korea. Our terminals are owned and operated by a private company. I believe their intercity bus business is also owned by the government. In fact, many businesses are owned by the government in China. Running a business as an individual in China inevitably accompanies high risks. If you open your own business in China without a proper preparation just like Suk-Ho Lee did, you are exposing yourself to a high risk of being rooked or being swayed by the Chinese people."

"So, you are saying that if you do a business with the government, you don't have to worry about those."

"Right. However, a government project requires a participant to invest a substantial amount of money, and also it takes a long time to see the fruits. That's why it's hard for an individual to be part of it. But you don't have to worry about being swindled. If the government swindles a foreign investor, it could well cause a diplomatic dispute between two countries, and it also would deter potential foreign investors from investing in China in the future. You can't expect to hit a jackpot though, but you can make more than interest income from a bank. China won't let you make a significant amount of money in their country."

"Hearing what you are thinking, it seems that you are leaning toward participating in their project."

"If I do a business with Antang City in China, for the terminal project and the bus service business, I have to decide who I should send there to oversee the business. And I want to hear your opinion. You are the president of GH's transportation company after all."

"I don't know. Should it be someone who can speak Chinese and who is highly knowledgeable in the transportation business?"

"I actually have someone in my mind."

"Who is it?"

"It's Jae-Sik Moon."

"Jae-Sik Moon? Me?"

"Yeah."

"That's nonsense. I can't even speak Chinese. Also, who's going to take care of GH Logistics then?"

"Do you think GH Logistics will generate an enormous income?"

"That… I don't think…"

"If you don't anticipate making enough profits with your current business, you can let someone else run it for you or just sell it to someone, especially if that someone is willing to pay a high price for the business."

"The ideal situation would be selling the business at a good price."

"You already made enough money with GH Logistics, and you did a great job there as its president."

"You think so? The company doesn't generate high sales revenue yet, and I haven't done much."

"You did an incredible job there."

"Enlighten me. What did I do?"

"The pieces of lands that we bought with your name are officially combined. Once their land use conversion is approved, and once it is converted to a non-agriculture land, then its price will go up dramatically. Of course, we need to pay fees and taxes for the conversion and the sales transaction in the process, but it will leave us a great profit. I will compensate for your part in this transaction since I used your name."

"Are you saying… that you want to sell GH Logistics?"

"I'm saying that I will sell the land, not necessarily the company. We can keep GH Logistics. We can easily move the company to another location. We just need enough space to let huge trucks sit, don't we?"

"If I go to China, who would run GH Logistics?"

"Once we get enough return from the investment in GH Logistics, the company can be run by whomever; I don't really care. If someone wants the company, we can sell the company as well."

"Hmm."

"Go to China. Look at Min-Hyeok Kim. When he went to China for the first time, he didn't even know a word in Chinese. Now, he has a condo in Incheon City, that is worth 200 million won, and he also has a 25 pyung large condo in China. He even drives an Audi."

"Since my wife is working at the book cafe, if I decide to go to China, I guess I will have to go there by myself."

"Do you think she wants to keep her job at the book cafe? Why don't you go to China with your wife? She can open a small business there like a small bar or something. That might create another opportunity for you."

"Hmm."

"Nothing hasn't been decided, so please let's keep our conversation between us. A joint business can easily fall apart even with a small incident before starting the business, especially a terminal business. They might refuse to let us increase the number of buses for the intercity bus business, but we can still operate it. We will probably want to sell the transportation business here."

"Hmm."

"When I visit China to make a letter of intent, come with me. You can make your decision after you visit China. Take your time to think about the opportunity. I believe you would do a better job of running a passenger transportation company rather than freight transportation."

"Okay."

"The top priority for us now is to successfully convert the farmland that we bought, to a non-agricultural use."

"Got it."

COMMENT

"Take this with you, and read it carefully when you have time."

"What is it? Is it their business plan?"

"Yeah. It's the business plan for two businesses: Antang City's terminal project and their bus service business. Basically, they are saying in the business plan that since they are short on cash to do their terminal project, if you bring in cash to build the terminal, they will issue a license to run the bus service business."

"Are they two different businesses? I mean, the terminal business and the bus service business?"

"Yes, they are different. In the terminal business, you make money by receiving fees when you sell bus tickets of various bus companies, and also by renting out the commercial stores inside the terminal. Think about Incheon International Airport. They sell flight tickets for various airlines, and they charge the handling fees. Also, they have a lot of stores in the airport, and they make rental income by leasing them. The airlines such as Korean Air, Asiana, and Jin Air are like the bus company."

"Hmm. That makes sense."

"Again, the conversation we just had is between you and me for now. You shouldn't tell anyone, okay? If the workers learn about this plan, they will be easily distracted from the work. And it could lead to a more complicated problem as well."

"Okay. Don't worry about it."