How a Chaebol Becomes an Insider (2)
"Excuse me?" Jo Yoon-tae couldn't process the words for a moment. 'That’s strange. Amusement parks don't have days off, do they?'
Typically, amusement parks don't designate a specific day off for regular maintenance. The standard operating procedure is to inspect rides sequentially, rotating them on a daily basis. Naturally, Jo Yoon-tae was bewildered when Yoon-gi ordered him to designate Wednesday as a closed day.
"Why?"
Faced with Yoon-gi, who seemed surprised by his hesitation, Jo Yoon-tae spoke up with a flustered expression. "Well... as far as I know, amusement parks don't usually have a day off..."
"Oh, I just want to use it for myself that day."
"Pardon?"
Jo Yoon-tae was horrified. Designating a day off for an amusement park just so he could use it himself? Did that even make sense? It was such an unimaginable statement that Jo Yoon-tae felt his common sense shattering.
"I built this amusement park because I hate waiting in line, so I have to introduce a day off. Since people go to church on Wednesdays, wouldn't that be the day with the fewest visitors anyway?"
"Uh... well... I, I understand."
When the Chairman orders something, what can an employee do? For the first time in his life, Jo Yoon-tae realized how terrifying 'private ownership' could be.
'My goodness. The losses incurred every time they close the park for a day must be astronomical, yet he’s just going to close it every Wednesday? The wealth and audacity to handle that... Wow...'
If Merrill Land had been built with investor capital, this would have been absolutely impossible. There wasn't an investor in the world who would sit by and watch the losses from a day of closure. But Merrill Land had no investors. It was entirely Yoon-gi's personal property. Because of that, introducing one day off a week was no problem at all.
"The staff will probably like it. At least on Wednesdays, they'll be able to work in a quiet atmosphere."
It was a reasonable point, but since Yoon-gi said he would be 'using it personally' on Wednesdays, it was a day off for Merrill Land, not necessarily a holiday for the employees. Of course, staff in charge of things like parades would get the day off. However, the staff responsible for facility management, information, and operations would still have to show up. Still, being able to focus on their work in a quiet atmosphere for one day a week would be something the operations staff would be quite grateful for.
"If they think of it that way, I'm grateful. Let's decide to start official operations from Thursday, and make sure to announce that Wednesday is a regular holiday."
"Understood."
The opening date for Merrill Land, which now possessed the peculiar system of a regular holiday, was decided.
The grand mansion in Yongin where Yoon-gi lived. For the first time, the executives of YK gathered in the conference room here. Of course, executives staying abroad couldn't make it, but it was a mandatory meeting for anyone currently in Korea. As the mansion was incredibly large, the library was equally vast, and the executives were busy looking around as they sat in the spacious conference hall.
"Wow, I feel like a medieval aristocrat," Choi Cheol-kyu remarked, and Fernandez nodded in agreement.
"Indeed. I recall the library at the university I attended being smaller than this. It’s truly magnificent."
Until the 80s, many people still lived in the provinces and rural areas, so it was entirely possible to build such a grand mansion in the capital region. However, just because it was possible didn't mean it was common; a mansion of this scale had never existed in Korea before, so all the executives clicked their tongues in admiration.
"I won't be able to match the Chairman, but I think I'll build a large house of my own," Ryu Geun-tae said, and the other executives looked at him.
"Oh, where are you planning to build it?" asked Kim Jeong-seon, Ryu Geun-tae's uncle. Nearing his 60s, Kim Jeong-seon seemed to be thinking about his retirement, and Ryu Geun-tae's words had piqued his interest.
"In Yongin, of course. Since the Chairman built his mansion in Yongin, shouldn't I build mine there too?"
Ryu Geun-tae’s remark that it was only natural for the thread to follow the needle acted as a catalyst among the executives.
Basically, the more contact you had with Yoon-gi, the higher the chances of getting an opportunity. Therefore, all the YK executives nodded to themselves, thinking they should move to Yongin.
"By the way, President Ma, why have you been so nervous since earlier?" At Jung Dong-yoon's question, President Ma was startled.
"Pardon? Ah, no... well... that is..."
Even Ma Seok-il, the master of his own way, couldn't help but be nervous about attending a YK executive meeting for the first time. If he had been given an order to 'attend the YK executive meeting naturally,' he would have acted it out perfectly. But since this was a situation where he had to reveal his true self, he couldn't help but be tense in many ways.
'What kind of content will we be discussing?'
He had been to the conference room with Ryu Geun-tae a few times, but this was his first time participating as a member. That was why Ma Seok-il was genuinely excited but also worried that he might make a mistake.
'No one has ever been ousted from an executive meeting so far, but I might become the first.'
Contrary to Ma Seok-il's worries, the other executives burst into soft laughter at him.
"Haha, President Ma. No need to worry at all. This isn't that kind of place." Starting with Choi Cheol-kyu, Ryu Geun-tae also nodded.
"That's right, President Ma. Just relax and enjoy it."
Choi Cheol-kyu and Ryu Geun-tae were the ones who had been Ma Seok-il's direct superiors. Therefore, their previous relationship was naturally maintained in this setting as well.
"A, alright!"
Ma Seok-il didn't feel offended at all. Even though they were now equal executives, Ma Seok-il wasn't the type of person to be petty in human relationships. If Ryu Geun-tae and Choi Cheol-kyu had treated him poorly in the past, Ma Seok-il would have likely thought, 'Why are you acting like this? Why are you speaking down to me?' and lined up with someone else, but since he personally liked them both, there was no problem.
Creak-
Suddenly, the door to the library-turned-conference room opened, and Yoon-gi entered.
Sniff-
As soon as he entered, Yoon-gi began to smell the air in the library. With his arms spread wide and his chest puffed out, Yoon-gi looked absolutely satisfied as he inhaled.
"Ah, this is truly the best. A library that doubles as a conference room. This is what I live for."
Ma Seok-il's eyes widened. In his experience, meetings at large corporations were usually conducted in a solemn atmosphere. But Yoon-gi wasn't standing on ceremony at all in the conference room. 'How fascinating...'
While Ma Seok-il was thinking this, Yoon-gi sat down and smiled broadly.
"I didn't call you all here today for work."
Ma Seok-il was surprised once more that they had been summoned for a reason other than work.
"Here, take these."
Yoon-gi took envelopes out of a bag that had been placed there in advance and handed them to the executives. Brown envelopes that made a rattling sound. It was clear there was something inside.
"Go ahead, open them."
At Yoon-gi's words, the executives opened the brown envelopes. Then, 20 gold cards and 80 silver cards spilled out onto the table in front of each of them. In total, it was roughly 1,000 cards. The executives looked at Yoon-gi, wondering what these were.
"You all know that Merrill Land opens the day after tomorrow, right?" At Yoon-gi's words, everyone nodded.
"Oh, my masterpiece of design is finally!"
Naturally, Fernandez had participated extensively in the design of Merrill Land. Fernandez, the hidden contributor who quietly supported YK. Thanks to him, Merrill Land was built as a very cool, classic, and flashy theme park.
"Thanks to Fernandez, Jung-ah and her friends love it. If you go to an amusement park and the design is like a neighborhood playground, frankly, it’s quite disappointing, isn't it?"
Playgrounds built in the 2010s are decent at capturing design and concepts. But what about playgrounds in the 80s? There was no such thing as design. It was just iron seesaws, swings, and slides placed on the ground. The playground equipment in schoolyards from the 80s to the 90s was closer to obstacle course equipment than play equipment. The playgrounds of elementary schools at the time were reminiscent of guerrilla training grounds. In that regard, Fernandez's design sense was more than enough to capture the hearts of children.
"I am truly satisfied that I could be of help."
At Fernandez's words, Yoon-gi looked at him with a wide, knowing grin.
Fernandez, reading Yoon-gi's intent, also grinned and nodded slightly. Then, Yoon-gi turned back to everyone and began to explain the cards.
"These cards are your eligibility to enter Merrill Land every Wednesday."
"Ah, come to think of it, I heard it was a regular holiday on Wednesdays... Ah! Could it be?" Choi Cheol-kyu grasped Yoon-gi's intent immediately.
"Yes. The gold cards are for use every Wednesday. And the silver cards are for use only on the last Wednesday of every month."
The other executives also realized Yoon-gi's intent.
"Actually, you've all experienced it, right? Going to an amusement park on a weekend or holiday and being exhausted because there were too many people. So I built Merrill Land. But it's no fun if I play alone, so I'm giving you that right as well."
It was a light remark from Yoon-gi, but the right was by no means light. He was giving his close associates tremendous benefits while sacrificing more than four days of revenue per month.
[[[[[[Thank you!!]]]]]]
Something that was absolutely impossible for YK executives, no matter how much money they had. That was 'letting their families play in an amusement park in a secluded environment.' But now, YK executives could do that.
As of 2017, the number of daily visitors to one of South Korea's top 3 theme parks was 22,000. But with this gold card, they could play to their heart's content on rides visited by only about 200 to 300 people. Even if the number of people who would eventually have gold cards increased tenfold, that number would be 2,000 to 3,000. Even if the number of gold card holders exploded in the future, it was certain that they would be able to enjoy the amusement park in an absolutely pleasant environment.
"For your information, a hole will be punched in the card every time you enter. We need to leave a trace of your visit." As Yoon-gi began to speak, the executives looked at the cards with excited expressions before focusing on Yoon-gi with serious faces again.
"Ultimately, the gold card can be used up to 10 times, and the silver card up to 5 times."
Through this 'number of uses,' the executives intuited what kind of picture Yoon-gi was painting.