Chapter 60
Chapter 60
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: Wheels in Motion
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“Why are you so late?”
A few days after my meeting with Chairman Lee Yong-moon, I requested a meeting with Chairman Han Myung-ho.
The purpose was to lay the groundwork for the acquisition of Wooyoung Heavy Industries.
Normally, a corporate acquisition would first involve dealing with relevant government departments and banking officials. However, Wooyoung was in a rather unique situation.
The largest creditor for Wooyoung's key assets was none other than Chairman Han.
Ultimately, without persuading him, the acquisition itself would be impossible.
“My apologies. It seems the traffic in Gangnam gets worse by the day.”
“Tsk, you should have expected that. A few years from now, today will seem like nothing. By the way, what happened with that building I mentioned last time?”
“I secured it right away.”
“Good. I was worried you might have let it pass. Just let it sit for about five years. It’s in a location that will see its value at least double.”
His foresight in predicting future real estate trends was sharp.
Then again, a man of his stature must have possessed such abilities to reach his current position.
I offered a faint smile and subtly broached the subject.
“Actually, there is something I’d like to propose.”
“To me?”
He looked at me with a peculiar expression.
“I want to merge with Wooyoung Heavy Industries. Would you be willing to help me?”
“…”
Chairman Han wore a blank expression for a moment.
Then, he abruptly waved his hand at Hee-jin, his daughter, who was watching us from a distance.
“Go get the ledgers for Wooyoung Heavy Industries.”
“Yes, Father.”
His willingness to look at the ledgers was as good as signaling his intent to hand it over.
After all, it must have been a persistent headache for him.
To be honest, I had thought that resolving this particular issue wouldn't be too difficult.
“Should I bring all of them?”
When Hee-jin reappeared a moment later, she was holding no fewer than ten notebooks.
“Are all of those the ledgers recording the debt relationship with Wooyoung?”
“Don’t be too intimidated. The volume is just because I’ve meticulously recorded every transaction over the years.”
Chairman Han said with a smile as he took the ledgers.
He spent a long time carefully examining them before placing the notebooks down with a thud and looking at me.
“Wooyoung’s total debt to me is a little over 250 billion won. That includes the accumulated interest, of course.”
“You don’t actually intend to collect all of that, do you?”
“Of course not. For you, I’ll give you a special discount and waive about half the interest. Let’s see, that means you’d just need to give me about 200 billion won.”
I didn’t offer much of a reply.
My silence, despite being the one who initiated the deal, seemed to puzzle him, and his brow furrowed slightly.
“You think that’s too much?”
“No, not for a private loan. And considering there have been no repayments, it’s not a high amount. It’s just that I have one more proposal for you, Chairman.”
“What kind of proposal?”
Instantly, his already narrow eyes grew even thinner.
He had sensed that something unexpected was about to come out of my mouth.
Since both of us were seasoned veterans in these matters, beating around the bush was pointless.
“How about I repay about half, and you simply hold on to the rest?”
“…”
“Simply put, I’m asking you to become a shareholder of Wooyoung.”
"You're asking me to invest in Wooyoung?”
He said with a look of curiosity.
“That’s right. I’m planning to do something with Wooyoung in the future, and if you have no intention of exercising your creditor rights, I believe you could see a substantial profit.”
“But how do you plan to revive a company that’s on the verge of collapse?”
“For a heavy industries company, the only way to revive it is to showcase its technology. So, that’s what I’ll do. Fortunately, I have the technology to save Wooyoung.”
Chairman Han looked at me with skeptical eyes.
Yet, the reason he didn't dismiss it as nonsense was likely because he knew the potential of my research institute.
“It seems you have something up your sleeve.”
“Since this is something you should know anyway, I’ll be frank. I plan to use Wooyoung to produce various gas turbines in the future. The first will be a top-tier gas turbine for power generation.”
“…”
Fortunately, Chairman Han seemed to grasp the significance of my words.
It was likely due to his long experience with the heavy industries sector through Wooyoung.
As expected, a series of sharp questions left his lips.
“You’re saying Wooyoung will produce something that only the US, Germany, Japan, and Italy can make?”
“That’s correct. It’s precisely because of that technological barrier that they monopolize a market worth tens of trillions of won.”
“But how?”
If he were to ask for the reason, it would be thanks to superalloy technology.
The core of a gas turbine is the temperature its blades can withstand.
I had the 1600-degree superalloy technology obtained from negotiations with the US, and I already possessed the turbine manufacturing technology Wooyoung developed in 2020. If I could create a synergy between the two, it would be possible to produce gas turbines on par with those from the countries currently dominating the market.
“Hah… You still have a knack for surprising people. Fine, let’s say that’s settled. Is that your only reason for wanting to acquire Wooyoung?”
“Of course not. This part depends on how things unfold, but I also plan to use Wooyoung to develop our own engines for tanks and self-propelled howitzers.”
“Develop them to use where…”
Chairman Han, in the middle of his sentence, suddenly fell silent.
When I looked at him curiously, he gave a hollow smile.
“Lee Yong-moon told me he’s handing Techwin over to you. So you’re planning to build the engines for the self-propelled howitzers they produce there.”
It seemed he and Chairman Lee Yong-moon had already spoken.
If he already knew the facts, the conversation would be much easier.
I immediately emphasized the synergy the two companies could create by cooperating, and his eyes began to shine brighter.
“Alright, that’s all well and good, but let me ask you one thing. Are you doing this because you’re short on money?”
“It’s not that I’m short, but I’m trying to minimize my expenditures as much as possible. I have enough money to buy Wooyoung outright, but doing so would cause some setbacks for my future plans.”
“That sounds like you have something else you plan to get your hands on.”
As expected, Chairman Han was a sharp man.
There was no reason to deny it, so I nodded, and he let out a long sigh with a troubled expression.
“Even if I agree, how are you going to persuade the relevant government departments?”
“I plan to resolve that through my father, so you don’t need to worry. In fact, since dealing with Wooyoung is a headache for the government, the chances of refusal are slim.”
“What about the banks? The issues involving them are likely more complicated than you think.”
“That is a problem, but I believe it can be easily resolved if you were to step in, Chairman.”
Chairman Han looked dumbfounded.
But the smirk that soon followed suggested it wasn't a refusal.
“So, roughly what percentage of the shares would I be getting?”
“It would be a little over ten percent. You’d securely hold the position of the third-largest shareholder.”
“The third-largest shareholder…”
“For your reference, if you wish, I can buy back those shares from you in about three years. You’d get back double your principal then, so it wouldn’t be an unfavorable deal.”
“Tsk, that kind of investment isn’t really my style…”
He still wore a contemplative expression.
After a long moment of glancing back and forth between the ledgers and me, he called out to Hee-jin in the kitchen.
“Call Son-in-law Lee and tell him to set up a meeting with the bank presidents involved with Wooyoung for tomorrow.”
A grin spread across my face.
With this, the foundation for the first phase of my expansion plan was more or less laid.
All that remained was the performance upgrade for the K9 and the matter of how much I could shorten the development time for the power generation turbine.
“My, how time flies. There are only about two weeks left of 1999.”
At Chairman Han’s passing remark, I glanced at a calendar.
When had so much time passed?
The millennium was already just around the corner.
********
The acquisition processes for Techwin and Wooyoung began in earnest.
The detailed acquisition process, including due diligence, would likely take several months.
In the meantime, with the year-end approaching, I started to sort through the stagnant military projects Jaewoo had been awarded.
“What’s this?”
The first thing that caught my eye was the army’s project for the additional procurement of squad support weapons.
A new support weapon to boost the firepower of squads, which was deemed insufficient with just the M60s and grenade launchers.
What was strange was that I had no memory of such a project existing at this time.
“Jaewoo Defense won the contract for the new squad support weapon development four years ago. However, development has been at a standstill due to the military’s extremely demanding requirements.”
At her words, I reviewed the project details again.
A function to effectively strike enemies hidden behind cover.
Additionally, it must be able to halt advancing enemy mobile forces using vehicles.
‘What on earth do these people want me to build?’
I let out a hollow laugh in disbelief.
Then it hit me. I remembered a similar requirement being raised before my regression.
The result was the ADD’s development of a 40mm portable missile.
I shot up from my seat.
Leaving a puzzled Secretary Kim behind, I headed to the restroom.
After logging into the data chip, I quickly sifted through the folders and, sure enough, found data on the 40mm portable missile.
A lightweight laser guidance system.
A product developed so that a launcher could be mounted even on a rifle.
According to the supplementary notes, it was once piloted by soldiers from the Special Warfare Command, and the conclusion was that it resulted in a tremendous increase in firepower.
“Mr. Chairman of the JCS?”
Returning to my seat, I immediately called the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to gauge his interest.
It seemed he had never imagined such a concept, as his voice over the phone was filled with skepticism.
-Is it possible to make such a small missile?
“Of course. The miniaturization of sensors and seekers has already been realized through smart artillery shells. Moreover, this one only uses a laser guidance system, so its structure isn’t very complex. The only issue might be the unit cost; even if we bring the price down, you should expect it to be several million won per round.”
-That amount isn’t really a problem. But when can we see a prototype? As you know, that project has been dragging on for a very long time…
“If we start right away, we can supply a batch for operational suitability testing within six months.”
-Then let’s start immediately. I’ll convene a JCS meeting soon.
The Chairman of the JCS sounded thoroughly excited.
Well, it must have been welcome news for him, seeing a problem that had dragged on for years finally on the verge of being solved.
By the way, if the 40mm portable missile is officially adopted as a squad support weapon, it will bring about a massive change in infantry tactics. I wonder if I should start a series of developments in that field soon.
‘Honestly, that area is ripe with things to improve.’
I just hadn’t gotten involved until now.
For example, the night vision goggles that barely function, and the problematic squad support weapons.
And that wasn't all. The field command vehicles and the transport vehicles that have been patched up and used for decades were also targets for reform.
Considering that the foundation of the military is ultimately its people, these were issues that needed to be addressed someday, if not right away.
‘The problem, as always, is money.’
I wasn’t too worried about that part.
The massive influx of foreign currency from Samjung and Jaewoo would be the driving force to escape the IMF crisis sooner.
If the economy stabilized quickly afterward, our military’s budget would gradually increase again.
‘Well, if it comes to it, I can just develop things myself first. I have more than enough funds, and if the performance is outstanding, there will be plenty of places to sell them… Huh?’
As my thoughts deepened, I saw snow falling outside the window.
The second winter since I regressed to this world.
And soon, the millennium.
Perhaps after this winter passes, a new stage will unfold where I can change many more things.