WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Arsène
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◈ The Conglomerate Heir Just Wants to Fail ◈
Chapter 14
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“Those goddamn sons of bitches!”
The moment President Jeong returned to his office, he grabbed whatever was within reach and hurled it in a rage.
A putter leaning against one wall flew in an arc and slammed into the wall paneled in premium hardwood.
Bang!
A deep gash appeared in the wall, and the expensive putter head dropped limply to the floor.
“Huff... huff...”
They were no better than bandits. No, it would have been better to run into actual bandits.
How much could robbers like that have taken from him, anyway?
The people President Jeong had faced today were plunderers far more vicious and cunning than bandits.
“A Co-Prosperity Fund... Hah. Co-prosperity? Who's supposed to prosper alongside whom?”
President Jeong roughly loosened his tie and threw himself onto the sofa.
The oily voice of that so-called minister still echoed vividly in his ears.
‘Daeseung achieved tremendous results this time, didn’t it? At a time when the national economy is struggling, it would not sit well with public sentiment if Daeseung alone were seen monopolizing the profits. Wouldn't it make for a better picture if Daeseung stepped forward and showed its commitment to social responsibility? To start, we're thinking of around 1 trillion won for the Co-Prosperity Fund.’
One trillion won.
The minister had said it as casually as if buying a pack of gum at a neighborhood store.
The hard-won results that President Jeong and countless employees had earned through day-and-night battles were about to be swallowed whole, wrapped in the fancy packaging of social responsibility.
President Jeong ground his teeth at the officials’ shamelessness and hypocrisy.
Daeseung had saved the drowning construction market, and now they were demanding an arm in payment.
But a feeling greater than anger weighed on his chest.
Fear.
‘How am I supposed to report this to the vice chairman?’
A few days ago, the vice chairman had wisely instructed President Jeong to ease up.
Surely, it had meant he should guard against expanding recklessly in the thrill of victory, strengthen his foundation, and prepare for what came next.
But now, was he supposed to report that he had been forced by outside pressure to hand over the astronomical sum of 1 trillion won in cash?
This was clearly his failure.
A corporate executive needed not only management ability, but also the political skill to deal with the government and public opinion.
Yet President Jeong had only been busy setting his spoon at the table the vice chairman had laid out, completely failing to manage the political risks lurking behind his victory.
“Hey! Did you catch the bastard who leaked the bonus information online?”
The secretary, who had been tense after seeing President Jeong's expression and hearing the shouting from inside the office, answered quickly through the intercom.
[Yes, President. We found them the very day you gave the order.]
“Bring them in.”
[Yes, President.]
A short while later, an extremely young employee came in, pale-faced and trembling, led by the secretary.
Seeing that pitiful sight, President Jeong felt the anger that had been swelling to the point of bursting drain away.
“...Was it you?”
“I-I have committed an unforgivable offense, President!”
It was not as though today's events had happened solely because of this employee.
Even if they had not posted it online, everyone who needed to know would have found out anyway.
The real problem was not this immature employee's bravado. It was President Jeong's own incompetence in failing to stop the political hyenas drawn by the spoils of victory.
“Ugh... Forget it. Go back to work.”
President Jeong let out a long sigh and waved a hand.
The young employee did not know what to do, but the quick-witted secretary promptly pushed them out of the president's office.
Alone again, President Jeong stared blankly at the damaged wall and the putter head lying on the floor.
‘He'll certainly be disappointed. He'll think I'm pathetic for getting drunk on the results in front of me and failing to see the bigger picture.’
President Jeong squeezed his eyes shut.
President Jeong did not have the courage to face the vice chairman's cold gaze.
But reporting this was an unavoidable duty.
With trembling hands, President Jeong pressed the intercom button on the desk again.
His voice would not come out properly.
After swallowing once, he spoke again.
“Secretary's Office... Connect me to Chief Lee Jinju.”
He had left a blemish on the war the vice chairman had perfectly designed.
President Jeong lit a cigarette as he recalled the conversation at the government complex.
“Still... it wasn't as though I came away empty-handed.”
.
The minister had merely informed President Jeong of the size of the Co-Prosperity Fund that the government and Daeseung would supposedly create together, then left.
‘Cooperation, my ass. Daeseung will be footing the whole bill.’
Only the vice minister remained in the emptied room, wearing an awkward expression.
In exchange, the vice minister began listing the benefits the government could offer Daeseung.
“An upgrade to the zoning classification and an increase in the floor-area ratio can be handled quickly. We will also process permit approvals through the fast track as quickly as possible.”
The vice minister also mentioned exemptions from acquisition and registration taxes on several troubled assets, a low-interest matching fund from the Korea Development Bank, early construction on nearby social infrastructure projects, and the designation of the resort site as a tourism special zone.
Every one of them was an enormous favor.
Under normal circumstances, they were benefits Daeseung would have wanted badly enough to pay not just 1 trillion won, but more.
Yet President Jeong's expression did not improve.
Most of them were things the vice minister had already verbally promised when Daeseung acquired the troubled assets.
‘So this time, you're putting it clearly in writing. A signature worth 1 trillion won.’
“That fountain pen looks quite expensive.”
At President Jeong's offhand remark, the vice minister put down the pen they had been holding and smiled awkwardly.
At least this old bureaucrat appeared to have some shame.
“Vice Minister, the scale of what we've taken on is so large that our finances are tight as well... If we contribute to the Co-Prosperity Fund, we may have no choice but to give up several projects.”
President Jeong subtly applied pressure, suggesting that since the acquisitions had not yet been finalized, Daeseung could overturn the whole arrangement if necessary.
The vice minister's expression shifted subtly.
They began trying to gauge President Jeong's true intentions.
‘The PF crisis was only a temporary liquidity problem. The urgent fire has been put out, so even if Daeseung backs out now, there will be other companies willing to take over.’
The vice minister judged President Jeong's words to be a mere bluff, but did not want even a little more disorder added to the construction market they had barely stabilized just before the local elections.
The minister only needed political justification. The responsibility for market stability and practical work fell to the vice minister.
“Ah, that won't do. Is there perhaps anything more we can help you with...?”
It was not as though the vice minister would be spending their own money by generously adding something more.
Their words were a signal that the real negotiation was beginning now.
President Jeong, too, quickly considered how much this bureaucrat could accept.
Judging from the minister's attitude, this Co-Prosperity Fund issue was political rather than a matter of practical judgment.
In that case, there would be no harm in making a demand so large that an ordinary vice minister could not handle it alone.
“Vice Minister.”
President Jeong spoke in a completely different tone.
The anger and sarcasm from before were gone. This was the voice of a cold businessperson.
“We are a corporation as well. If 1 trillion won in cash suddenly leaves our accounts, we naturally have to review our entire business portfolio. The acquisitions currently underway were something we took on because the market was unstable. In the short term, they are all hippos that only consume cash. Several projects that fall down our list of priorities will inevitably be delayed, if not abandoned.”
A flicker of bewilderment crossed the vice minister's face.
They sensed that President Jeong was not making an empty threat.
“As I said, we intend to provide additional support without hesitation. What exactly is it that you want, President Jeong? If you tell me specifically, I will do everything I can.”
The vice minister took a step back and gave President Jeong an opening.
The leverage was now in President Jeong's hands.
President Jeong closed his eyes for a moment.
‘What would the vice chairman have done?’
He would not have clung to a few coins of pocket change in front of him.
He would have demanded something much larger, using a justification the other side could not dare refuse.
‘The whole thing...’
President Jeong opened his eyes.
“As you know, every site we acquired was a place where construction had stopped due to a liquidity crisis or where the project itself had nearly collapsed. Raising buildings alone will not restore their viability. Only when the surrounding infrastructure is developed alongside them will that land find its true value.”
‘As if anyone doesn't know you snapped up prime sites on the cheap by exploiting the liquidity crisis.’
The vice minister kept their thoughts hidden and nodded silently.
President Jeong's words were textbook correct, after all, so the vice minister waited tensely to hear what President Jeong would demand.
“All planned public social infrastructure projects around every site we acquired. Award them all to Daeseung Construction.”
“...Excuse me?”
The vice minister's face hardened like stone.
“President Jeong, that is impossible. You know that. All public procurement projects must select contractors through transparent competitive bidding. Giving them all to one specific company would... bring enormous accusations of preferential treatment. The Board of Audit and Inspection and the media will not sit idly by.”
“Vice Minister, this is not preferential treatment. If we integrate the development of the sites we acquired with their surrounding infrastructure, we can prevent duplicate investment and dramatically shorten the construction period. That is a way to save a tremendous amount of taxpayers' money. If different companies each come in and carry out separate construction, who will take responsibility for the time and costs wasted coordinating them?”
“Even so, that is a little excessive...”
But President Jeong pressed again.
“In this PF crisis, was there any company other than Daeseung that could step up so aggressively? Considering the current financial condition of the other construction companies, would it not be a disaster if we entrusted the work to them and construction stopped midway because of their own financial troubles?”
The vice minister bit their lip.
President Jeong's argument was close to sophistry, but it was not wrong.
Most major construction companies other than Daeseung were too busy dealing with the aftermath of this crisis to even have the capacity to take on large new projects.
If a company that won a public project suffered a liquidity crisis midway through construction, the responsibility would fall entirely on the vice minister's ministry.
‘This old fox...!’
The vice minister clicked their tongue inwardly.
President Jeong was cleverly shifting the risk onto them.
If the projects were not awarded to Daeseung and problems arose, it would become the responsibility of an incompetent bureaucrat.
But if everything were awarded to Daeseung and allegations of preferential treatment arose, there would at least be room to call it an unavoidable choice for the national economy.
More than anything, the vice minister desperately wanted to settle this troublesome issue quickly.
“As you say, President Jeong, I acknowledge that Daeseung Construction is currently the most stable contractor. But there are laws and procedures, are there not?”
“Of course, laws and procedures must be followed.”
President Jeong nodded as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.
That calm manner made the vice minister even more uneasy.
“There are ways to strengthen eligibility requirements for competitive bids, are there not? For example, cash reserves over the past three years, or a record of acquiring project-financing sites above a certain scale. There are plenty of ways.”
The vice minister finally let out a hollow laugh.
They had realized there was no longer any way to send President Jeong away with vague words.
After thinking for a moment, the vice minister cautiously brought out a new card.
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