Once a business system is established, there isn't much left to tinker with.
On the other hand, during the process of building that system, you have to adjust things here and there.
After acquiring major corporations like AIG and GM, Taewoo Group was now buried under an avalanche of work.
And most of all, I was the one drowning in it.
First, I had to start by weeding out GM's executives and employees.
I spent entire days staring at photographs of GM staff, checking their detailed information.
Unlike Korean companies, it was difficult to even obtain photos of foreign employees.
That meant I had to rely on CCTV footage to confirm faces, and the strain on my eyes was two to three times worse than usual.
And that still wasn't the end of it.
To reduce the size of the losses, I had to completely overhaul the production system.
To cut labor costs as much as possible, I needed to install brand-new automated facilities, which forced me to review hundreds of reports every single day.
"Chairman! Did you not even go home yesterday? You may still be young, but at this rate, your health will fail. With the honorary chairman back in Korea, if you collapse too, Taewoo Group could be shaken."
"Just a few more days of hard work, that's all. I was the one who started this, so it's my responsibility to handle the fallout. It's not something anyone else can do for me."
The planning director looked at me with worried eyes.
Do I really look that bad?
I turned my head toward the window, and the reflection staring back at me was no different from a zombie.
"…I suppose I should at least go to the sauna."
"Please, get some rest and sleep well there, Chairman."
The moment I stood up from my seat, my entire body screamed in protest.
I desperately wanted to soak myself in hot water, but before I could even leave, one of the secretariat staff members burst into the chairman's office in a hurry.
"The National Assembly has sent a summons, requesting your appearance as a witness for a hearing!"
"So, it's come to that after all."
The controversy over the excessive construction on Subway Line 9 had indeed grown noisy.
At the start of this year, no one cared, but now the political sphere was deliberately inflating the issue.
Naturally, once the problem was highlighted, the media jumped on it.
After a few cycles of this, Taewoo Construction had been painted as a greedy corporation that had pocketed huge profits from Line 9.
"Since you ordered us not to respond, we've left the media alone until now. But shouldn't we start countering the narrative aggressively?"
"Leave it be. Everything can be clarified at the hearing."
"Are you really planning to attend the hearing yourself, Chairman? Just being photographed at the photo line could cause serious damage to your public image."
"Why would my image suffer when I've committed no wrongdoing? If we prepare thoroughly, my reputation will rise instead."
"The Planning Department will give our utmost effort in preparing the materials!"
"No. This time, there's a specific expert for the job. I'll leave the preparations to him."
After all, what was there to prepare for a hearing?
All one had to do was answer the lawmakers' questions honestly.
The real preparation lay elsewhere.
***
A few days before the hearing,
I sought out an expert to help me prepare.
"This should work. But I never expected you to come all this way and make such a request."
"I apologize. I've been in the U.S. and haven't been attentive enough. From now on, I'll visit more often."
"I've met many people, but this is the first time anyone has asked me to prepare an outfit for a hearing."
The expert I approached was Delphine Arnault.
Delphine, the eldest daughter of the Arnault family, who built a kingdom out of luxury brands.
And to her, I entrusted the task of preparing my attire for the hearing.
"You were the only person I could think of to make this request, Branch Manager Delphine."
"Well, I'm glad I came to mind. Let's meet more often from now on. I know you're busy, but surely you can spare time for at least one meal?"
"I'll arrange a meal after the hearing is over."
"I'll be watching for you through the news."
Once the outfit was prepared, I left Branch Manager Delphine's office and headed to Captain Kang's office.
More precisely, I went to the underground parking lot at Captain Kang's office.
"Chairman, you're here! I've prepared the vehicles you requested, sorted by type."
"Good work. Some of these vehicles must not have been easy to get—well done."
"But are you really planning to drive one of these vehicles to the National Assembly? People might say you're flaunting your wealth as a conglomerate head."
All the vehicles lined up in the underground parking lot were high-end cars.
Some were worth billions of won and extremely difficult to acquire in Korea, and there were even sports cars that didn't quite match a conglomerate chairman's image.
"If I go in a wheelchair, people will call me a victim. So to show that I'm confident, I need this kind of showmanship."
"Given the public sentiment, wouldn't such showmanship be hard for people to accept right now?"
"Those who are going to criticize me will do so regardless. In other circumstances, I'd maintain a humble stance, but for this hearing, it's unnecessary."
"I'm not entirely sure, but didn't American car company owners get into trouble for arriving at hearings on private jets? Aren't you worried something like that might happen?"
The situation now was different.
The American car company owners attended hearings to request money from the government.
This hearing, however, wasn't about requesting government support. It was purely about politicians trying to humiliate me to raise their own profile, so this approach was acceptable.
"That kind of problem won't occur. Hmm… let's see. The sports car looks best. I'll take that one."
"You mean the convertible?"
"Has anyone ever appeared at a hearing in a convertible?"
"No. No one has ever appeared in a sports car either. I'm not sure what your exact intention is, Chairman, but this will certainly create a huge stir."
"That's all I need to know."
Now, everything was ready.
It would be my first time attending a hearing.
Normally, the stars of hearings are the politicians, but this time, that wouldn't be the case.
The day of the hearing had arrived.
I drove an open-top sports car from Taewoo Group headquarters to the National Assembly.
In front of the assembly building, an enormous crowd of journalists was waiting, cameras at the ready.
Vroom!
I rolled up in a bright red convertible, stopping just in front of the press.
The journalists were momentarily taken aback, but quickly recovered and started snapping photos at lightning speed.
I smiled and waved at them.
At the photo line, I even posed exactly as the reporters wanted, and responded to interviews with full diligence.
[Do you acknowledge the over-construction of Subway Line 9?]
"Not at all."
[Is there a reason you arrived in a convertible?]
"Isn't this better than a wheelchair?"
[Did you come in a sports car and designer clothes to assert dominance over the lawmakers?]
"I did take special care for today. How does it look? I've never worn this kind of outfit before, so I feel a bit awkward."
[Hahaha!]
It was an interview full of jokes and light banter.
Who would have thought this was an interview at the photo line in front of a hearing?
I spent more time with the press than originally scheduled before finally entering the hearing room.
Inside, the scene was surprisingly chaotic.
Normally, hearings begin with a solemn atmosphere.
But the aides were constantly whispering into the ears of lawmakers or passing them notes.
They were probably informing the members of parliament about what I had done at the photo line.
"The hearing will now begin. The agenda concerns the over-construction of Seoul Subway Line 9. The witness, Taewoo Group Chairman Kim Minjae, is present."
This hearing was overseen by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport.
As such, the Ministry's chairman presided over the session, and the moment the agenda was announced, lawmakers scrambled to raise their hands, each trying to secure the floor.
"I'm Choi Haejin, a secretary from the Ministry. I want to ask Taewoo Construction: Why did you expand the construction scale despite not following the government's feasibility study?"
"Although we didn't strictly follow the feasibility study, I do not consider this over-construction in the slightest. It was simply a measure for the passengers using Line 9."
"Not for the passengers, but for Taewoo Construction, isn't it? Please take a look at the materials I've prepared."
Representative Choi pulled out a B4-sized panel.
It clearly illustrated how Taewoo Construction had expanded the project beyond its original plan and spent significantly more money.
"After seeing this, can you still claim it was for the passengers? Isn't this an excessive expansion just to increase Taewoo Construction's revenue?"
"Why would expanding the construction increase revenue? Did the government fund the construction? Did the Seoul Metropolitan Government fund it? The entire construction cost was covered by Taewoo Construction's retained earnings and the consortium we formed."
During the IMF era, where would the government have had the money?
But Taewoo Group was overflowing with funds, allowing us to cover the entire construction cost ourselves.
That's why Taewoo Group could take full charge of Line 9 and had the discretion to expand the project scale as we saw fit.
"Even if Taewoo Construction covered the construction costs, after twenty years of collecting subway fares, the amount will be more than sufficient!"
"You've just voiced what I intended to say. After all, all subway fares over twenty years belong to Taewoo Construction. In fact, scaling back the construction would generate more profit. Expanding the project actually reduces the revenue coming to us."
From the start, this hearing wasn't even a legitimate issue.
Which company would ever expand a construction project at the expense of profits?
Even with an expanded project, Taewoo Construction would gain no additional profit.
"You didn't follow the government's directive, did you? Why would the government spend so much on a feasibility study otherwise! The fact that Taewoo Construction expanded the project against the government's policy is entirely Chairman Kim Minjae's responsibility! Resign!"
"Are you interfering in corporate management on behalf of the political sector? Or is this the government's will?"
"Are you ignoring the lawmakers elected by the people? Resign immediately!"
The "resign tactic."
A method of shouting demands for resignation as a form of public humiliation.
I never thought this tactic, usually reserved for ministerial hearings, would be used against a conglomerate chairman.
"Calm down, Representative Choi. Now, Representative Kim, you may speak."
"Thank you. Honorable Chairman. I also have a question for Chairman Kim. Setting aside the over-construction controversy, Taewoo Construction seems to have monopolized major projects like Subway Line 9 and the Geoja Bridge. Do you acknowledge this?"
"We were awarded these projects through proper procedures. At no point did we engage in any illegal activity."
"I'm not saying you did anything illegal. I'm merely pointing out that fares for subways and bridges are set excessively high. Isn't the people's hard-earned money being used to fatten Taewoo Construction's coffers?"
It was a question akin to asking about corporate social responsibility.
Subways and bridges are national projects, and citizens have no choice but to use them.
Unlike consumer goods or cars, where choice exists, these public infrastructures leave no alternative, and Representative Kim was targeting that.
So that's the approach they're taking?
Well, I can't just sit back and take it.