Recruiting the SNU Alumni Network
Plant Manager shot Kim Chirok a look of concern, yet he forced out a smile as he replied.
“It’s difficult to arrange a meeting with the Mitsutec President. The former Hyangnam Tech President we served also wasn’t easy to see.”
“But we have to coexist with our suppliers. Why not meet?”
“They’ll only complain after the meeting. And there are dozens of suppliers. It’s not like we’re talking about a couple of companies.”
“Still, I’d like to give it a try.”
“You don’t know the industry trends yet, Kim Chirok-ssi. High-level people like the Mitsutec President don’t meet with us, and we end up getting chased out.”
“I still want to go once.”
“Even if you meet the President, if it’s about supply, you’ll talk to Purchasing. They’ll tell you that.”
“I see…”
“So I’ll go in again tomorrow and grab the Chief or Section Chief by the collar and beg them to help us.”
Kim Chirok thought for a moment. Since he had not even exchanged business cards yet, there was no rush.
He had also said he would meet the President, but whether the President would actually see him was another matter. Even a Seoul National University junior could be turned away at the door.
Manager Cho spoke up.
“Plant Manager. Until we get our order, we won’t be sending foreigners, right?”
“I don’t know…”
“We probably can’t afford the labor costs. Four of them came to us from Hyangnam Tech. Even if we only pay basic salary, we’ll eat up most of our capital.”
“Ugh…”
Manager Cho’s words made sense.
Manager Cho was cheerful and confident, but he too was starting to feel uneasy.
Kim Chirok said, “We still have room to negotiate with Mitsutec. Let’s wait. Just wait until this week if possible.”
Kim Chirok calculated what he would gain if Hyangdong Tech was shut down.
The four injection machines brought from Hyangnam Tech could be resold, and the factory itself could be returned to the real estate market. After one month’s rent and all expenses, he estimated they could easily break even with ten million won.
But if they closed the business, everyone would laugh at them. Especially the people who had worked at Hyangnam Tech would mock them the hardest.
The former Plant Manager, Assistant Manager Choi of the Quality Team, the Sales Director, even Aunt Ayako would lose face.
They would see Kim Chirok as a useless young man who only knew how to throw his weight around without knowing anything.
Aunt Ayako probably wouldn’t even contact him. Then the meeting with Hirosue Yoshiko would come to nothing.
The next day arrived.
Plant Manager headed out again, determined to visit Mitsutec.
Kim Chirok sensed that the Plant Manager was genuinely working hard.
After all, he had been the one to suggest the business and this was a matter of survival.
Manager Cho said he was taking his newly purchased used truck to a rubber packing seller. He had once asked them to make packing for Hyangnam Tech, so he planned to produce and sell something at least.
Kim Chirok ate lunch with the Bangladeshi workers that day.
After lunch he personally made coffee for them. They all smiled with white teeth showing their appreciation.
In the afternoon, representatives from a water purifier company came to install the machines. Then a water supply company delivered ten twenty-liter bottles. A workwear manufacturer also brought the uniforms.
Kim Chirok handed the uniforms to the Bangladeshi workers and tried one on himself. The uniforms were made in three sizes and already had the company name printed on them.
A call came from the business card company. They said they had finished making all the cards. Kim Chirok went to collect them.
Late in the afternoon, Manager Cho returned. His face looked troubled.
Manager Cho scratched the back of his head and said, “The rubber packing seller said they have no plan to make packing for the time being.”
“Really?”
“They said they still have leftover stock from the samples we gave them before, so they just came to check. But the business cards came out?”
“The work clothes came out too, and the business cards.”
“Oh? The business cards are nice. You really have good design sense, Kim Chirok-ssi.”
Manager Cho was happy that the business card clearly read “Production Department Head.”
“In that case, I’ll take these cards to another company tomorrow. Oh, and tomorrow I have to wear the work clothes with the company logo.”
“Should I go out to sell too? I know the phone numbers of the few suppliers we dealt with at Hyangnam Tech.”
“No. The President has to stay in the office.”
“It doesn’t seem like there’s much to do here right now.”
“If the President goes out to sell, only the foreigners will be left in the factory. What if someone visits? And the President has trouble talking about technical matters, right?”
“Ugh… I know how you feel.”
While they were talking, the Plant Manager returned.
Both Kim Chirok and Manager Cho stood up at the same time. Manager Cho asked first.
“How did it go?”
“Ugh… It was tough.”
“Did you cry in front of the Section Chief?”
“I begged the Section Chief and Team Leader by the collar. On my knees, even.”
“What kind of thing is that?”
“Because I was making a scene, the Purchasing Director came out. He told me to call security and have them throw me out.”
“So you endured it because of your temper and only cursed?”
“I cursed, and the Team Leader, that Department Head guy, lifted me up and said we should discuss countermeasures at the company.”
“Countermeasures? That sounds like it could work out.”
“I don’t know. Maybe they were just trying to get rid of me quickly.”
The Plant Manager had knelt in front of a younger Section Chief and a Department Head. Kim Chirok felt genuine pity for him.
Then a call came to the Plant Manager.
The Plant Manager looked at the phone number on his smartphone and said, “It’s Mitsutec Purchasing. Stay quiet.”
Plant Manager answered the call and spoke loudly.
“Yes. This is Hyangdong Tech Plant Manager Na Yongseong.”
At Hyangnam Tech he had been called Director Ma, but his real name was Na Yongseong.
A voice from the Purchasing Section Chief came through.
“I’ll visit Hyangdong Tech tomorrow with the Team Leader.”
“What? You’re coming here?”
“Since Hyangdong Tech is not a registered supplier, we can’t issue a formal order. But we’d like to take a look at the facilities.”
“Understood. I’ll be waiting.”
Plant Manager hung up and said, “The Mitsutec Team Leader and Section Chief are coming tomorrow.”
Manager Cho looked worried and asked, “They’re not coming to steal the molds, are they? This time they’re bringing people and trying to take them by force?”
“Then I’ll stand in front with a hammer. I don’t think they’ll go that far.”
“Well, the Plant Manager cried and begged by the collar, so they probably won’t. But why can’t they issue a formal order just because they’re not a registered supplier?”
“I don’t know. They said they’re coming to look at the facilities, so maybe they plan to issue an order.”
Plant Manager looked thoughtful for a moment.
Kim Chirok could not figure out the logic. Why would they come to see the facilities if they could not issue an order because they were not a supplier?
Anyway, tomorrow they would have to clean thoroughly and wait for them.
Kim Chirok said to the Plant Manager, “No matter what, clean it up for tomorrow and wait while wearing the work clothes. Oh, the Plant Manager, the work clothes and business cards have come out.”
Plant Manager accepted the work clothes and business cards and smiled faintly.
“Tomorrow we’ll all be in work clothes at the factory entrance to welcome them. It’s annoying, but since they’re our main suppliers, we should do it that way.”
This time Manager Cho spoke up.
“If they bring their own people to physically steal the molds, I’ll have to bring a gas can too.”
“Gas?”
“I’ll have to threaten them to set the place on fire in front of the factory.”
Both the Plant Manager and Kim Chirok fell silent at that.
The next day, all the Hyangdong Tech staff cleaned the factory interior. They even used high-pressure water. They polished, tightened, and oiled the injection machines.
Everyone wore the new work clothes and lined up at the factory gate in formation. The Bangladeshi workers were also dressed in the uniforms.
At 11 a.m., people from Mitsutec arrived. Only a Section Chief and two regular employees came. There was no need for hammers or gasoline for threats.
They toured the facilities.
Then they clicked their tongues and said, “We don’t know what four injection machines are supposed to do.”
Plant Manager grinned and replied, “If you give us the order, we’ll work day and night to produce the products.”
The Mitsutec Section Chief and employees went inside the office.
Kim Chirok quickly poured green tea for them. The Plant Manager smiled and said, “This gentleman is our President of Hyangdong Tech.”
“Really?”
The Section Chief glanced at Kim Chirok, then drank his tea.
He seemed uninterested in the young President of a small factory like this.
The Mitsutec Section Chief said to the Plant Manager, “We’ll order ten thousand MC24-006 products. However, we cannot ship them under the name of Hyangdong Tech.”
“What does that mean?”
“Hyangdong Tech is not registered as a supplier, so we cannot ship under that name. We’ll have them ship to Ilryung Precision instead, and we’ll receive the tax invoice from Ilryung Precision.”
“We have our own business registration certificate.”
“You can use your company’s business registration certificate for transactions with Ilryung Precision. You cannot trade with us. You drink your tea well.”
The Section Chief got up and left without even greeting Kim Chirok, heading to his car.
Mitsutec had given an order, but they would not ship directly. They had to have Ilryung Precision handle it.
Still, since they received an order, the Plant Manager and Manager Cho seemed relieved to some extent.
But Kim Chirok sighed deeply.
The MC24-006 product was priced at four thousand won. After subtracting the cost of the Ilryung Precision rings, only half remained. Considering the raw rubber price and other expenses, even ten thousand pieces would not yield much profit.
It was an order that seven Hyangdong Tech staff could not even live on. The four injection machines would have to turn all day, yet only one would be able to run.
And it was not even direct shipping from Mitsutec; it was indirect through Ilryung Precision.
After the Mitsutec Section Chief and employees left, the Plant Manager told Kim Chirok, “President Kim, we have to stamp out the ten thousand MC24-006 products. We can’t leave the injection machines idle, right?”
“If there are no follow-up orders, it will be a problem.”
“Ugh…”
Both the Plant Manager and Manager Cho looked troubled.
Manager Cho said with a sunken face, “So we can never supply Mitsutec anymore?”
“If our company is large and we obtain various international quality standards, it will be possible.”
“When will that ever happen? We’re already falling apart inside.”
Kim Chirok said, “I’ll go meet the Mitsutec President tomorrow.”
The Plant Manager looked at Kim Chirok’s face and gave a bitter smile.
This kid really has come down with something.
The Plant Manager stood up and said, “First, since we received an order of ten thousand pieces, let’s check the injection machines. Let’s go, Manager Cho.”
Then the Plant Manager and Manager Cho left the office.
Kim Chirok felt that meeting the Mitsutec President would solve everything. Talking only to the Section Chief or Team Leader would not solve the problem.
So Kim Chirok called the President’s office phone number listed on the Mitsutec company website.
He could not know the President’s personal number, so he had no choice but to use the company line.
“Excuse me, is this the Mitsutec President’s office?”
“Yes. Speaking. Who is this?”
A gentle woman’s voice came through.
“I am a junior of the President. A Seoul National University Business School junior. I would like to visit to meet the President tomorrow.”
Kim Chirok did not mention Hyangdong Tech. If he said the name, the President probably would not see him.
“Seoul National University Business School, you say? Might I know the purpose of your visit?”
“We can discuss that when we meet.”
“Please wait a moment.”
After some time, the woman’s voice came through again.
“I’m sorry for the wait. The President has a meeting at the Chamber of Commerce tomorrow morning. Would it be possible to come at 2 p.m.?”
“Understood. Then I will visit at 2 p.m. tomorrow.”
Kim Chirok smiled faintly.