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CH49 | VOC
🕑 Added 2025-02-16 05:00:05 +0000 UTCWhile I was half-heartedly waiting, I received a call from Kim Chan-gil.
[What should I do?]
His voice was a mixture of anger and desperation. I replied,
"What do you mean, 'what should I do'? Have you made up your mind?"
[I realized I would be a fool to stay silent any longer. I have no loyalty left for this company. I don't want to have any expectations anymore.]
I didn't know what had caused this change of heart, but I was delighted.
"Good decision. I think we can be good partners."
[Cut the crap and tell me the plan.]
I explained the details to Kim Chan-gil.
We would swap the high-grade scrap metal at the steel mill with the low-grade scrap metal I had prepared, taking advantage of the noisy protests at night.
Kim Chan-gil would handle the CCTV and the gate, while I would provide the trucks, manpower, and the low-grade scrap metal.
"And the most important thing is the cleanup. Once a new management company takes over, the steel mill will resume operations, right? We need to prioritize using the swapped scrap metal in the furnace. That way, the evidence will be destroyed."
[Wouldn't the company notice the low efficiency of the scrap metal?]
"It doesn't matter. It takes time to fully understand the internal workings of a large company like Hanbo Steel. And the new management will be outsiders parachuted in. Do you think they'll be able to grasp everything that quickly? We'll melt down all the scrap metal before they can figure it out, and if they question us, we'll just blame it on the previous management. What can they do once it's already been melted down? And…"
I smiled sinisterly.
"The new management won't be working that hard anyway. They're just doing this because the government told them to. They'll just be biding their time."
A management company was a temporary solution to keep a bankrupt company running until it could be sold off.
POSCO was the most likely candidate, but they were already publicly denying any involvement, engaging in a war of words with the government.
The government and creditors were pushing for POSCO, believing it was the most qualified company, but would POSCO really manage the company as if it were their own?
Absolutely not.
"Don't worry and let's proceed. By the time Hanbo Steel is sold, all the evidence will be gone."
After a long silence, Kim Chan-gil said,
[…It would be impossible to get caught. But the company will suffer.]
"I'm relieved to hear you say that."
[But what are you going to do with the scrap metal you take? It could be a problem if you process it domestically.]
"Of course, we have to export it. I'm considering China."
China's rapid economic growth had led to an exponential increase in its consumption of scrap metal.
Existing steel mills couldn't meet the demand, so they were importing scrap metal while the government was building new steel mills. There would be no problem disposing of it.
[Alright, let's do that. So how much will I get? It should be worth at least billions of won.]
"How much are you expecting?"
[The more, the better. I want to share it with the union members.]
I suddenly turned serious.
"What did you say? Share it with the union members?"
[I'm saying I want to give a little something to the union members who are struggling and fighting with me. What's wrong with that?]
I clicked my tongue.
"If that's the case, I'm out."
Kim Chan-gil was flustered.
[What do you mean?]
"The union members know your situation. Don't you think they'll be suspicious if you suddenly start handing out money? The fewer people who know the secret, the better. If you're planning to be that careless, I'm not interested."
Silence followed my words.
"Chairman, I understand your desire to help your fellow union members. But if it poses a risk to us, we shouldn't do it, right? What will happen to your family if you get sued? Money is a secondary issue. The most important thing is security and confidentiality. It's fine to help out struggling union members discreetly later, but if you're planning to distribute the money widely, I'll have to decline."
[…Alright, I'll only share it with a few people who helped me.]
I said in a firm voice to the now-compliant Kim Chan-gil,
"You need to be absolutely sure. If I find out that you're distributing the money to the union members, I'll report you for embezzlement."
Kim Chan-gil protested angrily,
[What? Why would you go that far!]
"I'm serious. This is a risky and confidential operation. If that happens, I'll report you without hesitation. I can claim that I was just buying what you offered and didn't know it was stolen, and I'll get away with a fine for handling stolen goods. But you'll be going to jail."
[Are you threatening me?]
As Kim Chan-gil got angry, I softened my tone and said,
"I'm just emphasizing how important this is. Don't you think our employees are workers too? I have hundreds of employees who are relying on me. If I make a mistake and the company goes under, what will happen to them? They were just following orders. That's why I have to be careful."
[Ugh.]
"Please promise me that you'll keep this a secret and not flaunt the money."
Kim Chan-gil sighed and said,
[I admit it, I was being naive. I understand your point, CEO Park. I promise. I was just speaking out of frustration. Forget what I said.]
I sighed in relief.
"I'm glad you understand. Now, shall we continue discussing the distribution?"
***
It was impossible to steal the entire 200,000 tons of scrap metal at once.
We mobilized dozens of 5-ton trucks from our branches and started swapping the scrap metal every night. The first time was the hardest, but it went smoothly after that.
We brought in the low-grade scrap metal, mixed it with other materials to match the weight, and then swapped it with the high-grade scrap metal the next day.
Kim Chan-gil led the protests in a location where the scrap metal yard wasn't visible and even used the megaphone I provided to play music, masking any potential noise.
We promised the employees involved a bonus of 5 million won each upon completion.
"Ugh, my back. What is this, working every night?"
We minimized the number of employees involved to maintain secrecy and mobilized only those we could trust.
Maru massaged his back and complained,
"Is this ever going to end? It's been ten days of working every night, I'm going to die."
Park Jong-bum, who was sitting next to him, also groaned.
"It's been a while since I did manual labor. I'm dying."
I patted their shoulders and said,
"Let's just push through it. We're running out of time."
The distance between Chunha Trading and Hanbo Steel was a little less than two hours by truck.
We worked from around 8 p.m., when the sun set, to 4 a.m. Each truck could make two round trips per night.
In ten days, we had swapped 130,000 tons of scrap metal.
But then, a news article reported that POSCO had agreed to take over the management of Hanbo Steel and was searching for personnel to dispatch.
"We need to finish this before they arrive."
We could still continue the operation even after POSCO's arrival, as it would take time for them to normalize operations. But we wanted to minimize the risk and were pushing ourselves to the limit.
"Hyung, you're amazing. How did you even come up with this plan? I wouldn't even dream of doing something like this."
"That's why I'm the CEO, and you're just an employee. Hehehe."
Maru looked at me suspiciously.
"But how can we get away with this? Are there only idiots working at this company?"
"They're not idiots, they're just desperate. It's a miracle they're still sane. Anyway, let's keep working!"
The scrap metal operation was completed smoothly.
We exported it all to China, and although it would take some time to receive the payment, we paid Kim Chan-gil and his accomplices 3 billion won upfront, using company funds.
I had initially planned to exclude those who had tried to scam me, but Kim Chan-gil insisted that they would know about the swap, so I had no choice but to include them.
"10 billion won for two weeks of hard work. It's a steal."
I told Kim Chan-gil that we would split the profit 50/50, but my actual estimate was at least 15 billion won.
Even after giving him 3 billion won, I would still make over 10 billion won in profit.
"This is how you do business. Who has time to earn a measly 10% profit margin?"
After experiencing the insane profit margins of the junkyard industry, other businesses seemed insignificant.
"Now that we're done, should we take a break? I'm exhausted from working every night."
***
An executive dispatched from POSCO had taken over the management of Hanbo Steel, and the employees had returned to work, resuming operations at a reduced capacity.
And Kim Chan-gil and his accomplices were busy feeding the low-grade scrap metal into the furnace, completing the perfect crime.
As I was massaging my stiff shoulders from working at night, the phone rang.
"Hello, this is Park Sol from Chunha Trading."
[Oppa, are you busy?]
"Hwa-young?"
I smiled brightly, hearing my sister's voice after a long time.
"What's up? You need allowance?"
[I wouldn't say no to allowance. But are you not coming for New Year's again?]
"Oh, right, it's almost New Year's."
I remembered the employees groaning about the upcoming holiday.
"It's just a few days away. But I haven't been to our extended family's house for New Year's in years. Why? Did something happen?"
I hadn't visited my extended family for New Year's since I moved out before starting my business.
I couldn't stand their constant insults about me being a high school graduate working construction, so I stopped going.
My parents understood my situation and never pressured me about it.
[Sigh.]
Hwa-young sighed deeply.
[Oppa, do you know how much Mom and Dad are being humiliated at our extended family's house because of you?]
My face hardened.
"Humiliated? What do you mean? Explain properly."
[After you caused a scene at my older brother's wedding, they've been relentless. At first, they were saying that you should be doing something for the extended family since you're so successful. But now they're saying you were just putting on a show and pretending to be rich.]
"Is that true? Mom and Dad never said anything."
[Do you think Mom and Dad would tell you that? Anyway, I'm about to explode, so you need to do something.]
"Alright, I'll look into it."
I ended the call with Hwa-young and said with a grimace,
"They dare insult my parents? Those freeloaders who never helped us with a single penny?"
I gritted my teeth.
"How should I deal with them?"
