Capitalism and the Chaebol (2)
Gorbachev, not quite grasping the full picture, immediately looked puzzled. "I feel as though there is more you haven't said...?"
Yoon-gi nodded. "Of course. General Secretary, do you know why collusion between politics and business occurs in a capitalist society?"
Gorbachev recalled the word 'zero-tolerance' that Yoon-gi had just used. "Ah... you mean that business leaders and politicians cling to each other to evade taxes."
Yoon-gi nodded. "Exactly. In fact, capitalist societies have inheritance taxes in place to prevent the 'severe hereditary transfer of wealth.' But the chaebols who actually abide by them are few and far between."
"Ah, I have heard as much."
Tax evasion by chaebols was so common that even Gorbachev received reports on it. Such evasion is fundamentally carried out by exploiting loopholes in the law. If one considers a certain theme park that vied for first or second place in the country as of the 2010s, it becomes simple to understand. How was tax evasion possible at a theme park worth nearly 10 trillion won? The answer was convertible bonds.
When a company issues convertible bonds, the rights to the corresponding shares belong to the existing shareholders. However, the shareholders of the company that owned that theme park waived their rights to purchase them. The result? The company allocated the rights to those shares to the head's son, and the son was able to purchase a massive amount of the company's stock at a bargain price. Consequently, the son suddenly became the primary shareholder. Once this happened, there was no need to worry about the shares the head previously held. For all intents and purposes, the inheritance was complete.
In reality, this incident caused an uproar in South Korea, and the public criticized it as tax evasion, but the Supreme Court ruled it innocent in a 6-to-5 decision. It wasn't that there was no suspicion; it was simply that the judgment was quite ambiguous when it came to 'punishment.' Like this, tax evasion by chaebols in capitalist countries is carried out subtly, and yet, there is no punishment for it. Even if there is, it is a level far too insufficient compared to the profits gained from the evasion.
But what if it were the Soviet Union?
"If the other party tells you, 'This isn't illegal, it's a loophole,' regarding tax evasion, you should just smash their ttukbaegi right then and there."
At the word ttukbaegi, Gorbachev tilted his head. "Ttukbaegi?"
Yoon-gi wore a look of realization, followed by a bitter smile. "Ah, that is a Korean word. My mistake. I meant you should smash their skulls. Physically, of course."
Gorbachev nodded as if he understood. "Ah, I understand perfectly. Indeed, those who dare to play word games before the people should all have their heads smashed."
"Of course, that alone is not enough."
"Not enough?"
Gorbachev, who had thought smashing skulls would solve everything, felt a renewed sense of interest upon hearing that it wasn't.
"You will likely need to overhaul quite a few systems. Starting with the unauthorized export of precious metals, you will need to refine legislation to block attempts to hide assets overseas."
"Ah, that is certainly true."
Yoon-gi continued toward the nodding Gorbachev. "Of course, that is not the end of it. You need one more mechanism to suppress the chaebols."
"And what is that?"
Yoon-gi smiled at the increasingly intrigued Gorbachev and said, "You need a 'chaebol who is extremely cooperative with the state, has little greed for money, but is highly capable,' one who blocks the emergence of other chaebols entirely."
Gorbachev realized Yoon-gi's intent. "General Secretary. Public enterprises have good ideals but lack ability, while private enterprises have ability but lack ideals."
"I have no choice but to acknowledge that."
"That is why I want to operate a private enterprise in the Soviet Union that acts like a public one. With positive synergy, of course."
"What benefit does Chairman Choi Yoon-gi gain from doing that? To be frank, if it were for money, shouldn't you not do it that way? Others would likely induce the opening of the Soviet Union and then sweep up the money through the first-mover advantage..."
"In your view, does my ultimate goal look like money?"
Yoon-gi smiled softly, and seeing that smile, Gorbachev fell into a difficult dilemma. "Hmm..."
"I have no intention of taking a loss, but I also have no intention of dreaming of maximizing profits. My goal is, above all else, to be the best manager. It is not money."
At Yoon-gi's honest explanation, Gorbachev pondered it sincerely. The path Yoon-gi had shown in the Soviet Union so far was the very pinnacle of pro-Sovietism. Furthermore, he had never once shown himself to be obsessed with money. However, honestly, that alone was not enough to trust Yoon-gi. All of it could have been a disguise.
"You don't need to worry. It is much easier to monitor one chaebol than to monitor a thousand. If my actions go against the Soviet Union's sensibilities, smash my skull."
At the sight of Yoon-gi saying something so brutal while smiling, Gorbachev burst into a laugh before he knew it. "Hahaha... It is certainly an efficient method. And it is a proposal that is just as attractive. However, it is difficult to make a decision right now. Could you give me a few days?"
"Of course."
The conversation that would determine Yoon-gi's future path had ended.
Yoon-gi nodded at Choi Deok-bae's question. "Of course."
At the stronger-than-expected tone, Choi Deok-bae tilted his head. "Because there is no choice."
Choi Deok-bae nodded as if he understood. Indeed, the Soviet Union's situation left no room for choice. Currently, the Soviet Union had three major options. One was to continue pushing communism as it was and perish. Another was to fully open the market and helplessly stand by as chaebols emerged. And the last one was the partnership Yoon-gi had proposed. Of course, if Gorbachev had confidence in himself, he would implement the second method. However, the Soviet Union's current administrative capacity was paralyzed due to the meteorite. Therefore, they lacked the ability to prevent the side effects of capitalism that would inevitably arise after opening the market. Even if the administrative power were running at 100 percent, it would be impossible to stop. From the start, the collusion between politics and business that arises in capitalism can never be stopped by anyone whose goal is 'money.'
However, Yoon-gi's ultimate goal was 'management,' not 'money.' Since it was absolutely impossible to bribe Yoon-gi with money, he had absolute confidence. Furthermore, Gorbachev was also a very rare figure who could not be bribed with money. If Gorbachev dominated the Soviet Union in politics and Yoon-gi in economics, the Soviet 'modified capitalism' would clearly have a chance at victory.
"Of course I know."
"You're talking about when my generation and Gorbachev's generation end, right?"
Choi Deok-bae was surprised and widened his eyes. Yoon-gi nodded.
"Of course. Operations that rely on the ability of the ruler show tremendous efficiency while that ruler is alive. But the problem is that when that ruler becomes corrupt or dies, the efficiency plummets."
Take King Sejong the Great of Joseon, for instance; he brought tremendous prosperity to Joseon while he was alive. The problem was after Sejong's passing. No, even up to his son, Munjong, it was fine. Because from the mid-to-late reign of Sejong, Munjong had effectively been the Crown Prince and handled all of politics. However, as Munjong passed away earlier than expected, his son ascended the throne at a young age as Danjong, and Danjong's uncle, Grand Prince Suyang, killed Danjong and took the throne. Suyang, who would come to be called Sejo. What did Sejo do? Surprisingly, he just smashed all the foundations that Sejong the Great and Munjong had built. During Sejong the Great's time, he used logic to crush the aristocrats whenever they threw tantrums, but Sejo, being wary of the meritorious officials, allowed the birth of what would be modern-day chaebols. And they were using all sorts of tricks, yet Sejo looked on idly. As past cases clearly show, Yoon-gi's method would undoubtedly collapse if even one of them, Yoon-gi or Gorbachev, were to die.
"Are you afraid of the maggots and won't make the soy sauce?"
At Yoon-gi's nonchalant reaction, shrugging his shoulders, Choi Deok-bae made a confused sound. "Isn't it that you have to be able to take risks to move forward?"
Yoon-gi gave a bitter smile. "First of all, I'm not going to die early."
"I lived until I was 43 even while drinking like a fish. Even then, it was just that my skin or something was a bit bad, but whenever I went to the hospital, there were no problems in blood tests or anything like that."
"And looking at the family history, it's basically a family of long-lived people. You know that just by looking at my grandfather, right? The reason my grandfather and parents died early in the original history was... sigh..."
Yoon-gi sighed, thinking that the 'thief' must have done something, but he immediately changed the subject. "First of all, there is no risk regarding me. Then the only thing left is Gorbachev, and Gorbachev, to my memory, lives quite a long time."
Yoon-gi was right. Gorbachev was still alive and well even in 2020.
"We just need to nurture those who will succeed me and Gorbachev. Abandoning the most efficient path currently available for a problem that may or may not exist decades from now? That's what idiots do."
Yoon-gi said in a voice barely audible to Choi Deok-bae, who was wearing a bitter smile. "Well, if it really doesn't work out..."
The rest of the sentence wasn't even heard by Choi Deok-bae, so Choi Deok-bae wore a puzzled expression. However, Yoon-gi continued to avoid answering with a faint smile.
"Comrade."
The word Gorbachev brought up first. This was the greatest sign of trust Gorbachev could show Yoon-gi.
"Yes, Comrade."
Yoon-gi also spoke toward Gorbachev. And the two smiled at each other, shook hands, and finished with a hug.
"I, Gorbachev, will run together with Chairman Choi Yoon-gi for the prosperity of the Soviet Union."
The rest of the sentence was omitted, and Yoon-gi knew what it meant without having to hear it. [I will run with you. However, if you betray my expectations, I will smash your skull as you said.]
In reality, even if Yoon-gi becomes the only chaebol in the Soviet Union, he could never stand alone without Gorbachev's backing. From Gorbachev's perspective, if Yoon-gi were to flee overseas, he could simply nationalize all of YK's industrial facilities. Furthermore, he could simply stop Yoon-gi from leaking the Soviet Union's national wealth externally. Of course, since Yoon-gi had no intention of doing that in the first place, there was no reason for problems to arise with Gorbachev.
"I, too, will run with you, Comrade, for the prosperity and coexistence of the Soviet Union and the Republic of Korea."
"Ah, I made a mistake. You are right, Comrade. We will run for the prosperity of the two nations, the Soviet Union and the Republic of Korea."
Afterward, Yoon-gi and Gorbachev talked about many things regarding the Soviet Union's 'limited opening.' Things like 'limited inheritance' or 'capital-related laws.' When the conversation had continued for quite a while, Gorbachev said with a look of realization and a bitter smile, "Ah, Chairman Choi. This is jujube tea I had airlifted from Korea. I heard you carry jujubes around often, so I prepared it specially."
In the end, Choi Deok-bae left the office and took a seat outside the window.
'I didn't do it.' Yoon-gi chuckled to himself, finding it very amusing despite saying that. To think Gorbachev would prepare jujube tea. Thanks to that, Yoon-gi and Gorbachev were able to have a more certain conversation.
"Thank you. It suits my taste perfectly."
"I'm glad."
The two enjoyed the tea for a moment, and a while later, Gorbachev opened his mouth again. "Chairman Choi. I, Gorbachev, originally planned to dissolve the Soviet Union and leave the political world. But I have changed my mind. I will cooperate by following the will of Chairman Choi, no, my Comrade, until the day my life ends."
"I, too, promise that my current resolve will never change and I will run until the end."
The main current of history had not changed. The Soviet Union would surely walk the path of capitalism. However, the inside would change drastically. Because a capitalism completely different from the original would be pursued.
"Come to think of it, you said you wanted to establish a PMC, right? I will make sure to get permission from the Politburo."
Yoon-gi did not go against the main current of history. Instead, he began to deceive the observer of history who existed somewhere, or rather, whose existence was unknown to begin with.