Episode 86: Visit to DuPont
The restaurant Lee Chang-jin visited was quite empty.
More surprising than that was seeing Park Seung-hoon frying chicken in front of the restaurant.
He asked Park Seung-hoon, “Hyung, what on earth are you doing here?”
“Oh, Chang-jin…”
Park Seung-hoon subtly hid his oil-stained gloves behind him, seemingly embarrassed by his appearance.
He had lost so much weight that he was almost unrecognizable, likely due to the stress he had been under.
“Hyung, do you have some time right now? We need to talk.”
Lee Chang-jin and Park Seung-hoon went inside and sat at a table.
The restaurant was quite deserted, likely because not many customers had visited.
As Lee Chang-jin sat silently, looking around, Park Seung-hoon brought out some freshly fried chicken along with some soju.
Pouring soju into a glass, Lee Chang-jin asked, “When did you leave the company?”
“Around a year ago, some things happened. Anyway, let’s eat first and then talk.”
Lee Chang-jin didn’t push for details.
However, when he saw Park Seung-hoon continuously downing soju, he couldn’t hold back any longer and grabbed the bottle.
“Hyung, drinking that fast will ruin your stomach. Drink slowly.”
“Man, I’m just worked up. It’s embarrassing to see you after so long, and I need to soothe my nerves, so cut me some slack.”
“What’s there to be embarrassed about? What happened? Why did you leave a good company and end up here?”
Half-drunk, Park Seung-hoon started to explain his situation with a bitter look.
“I guess it’s because I couldn’t live life flexibly.”
“Stop beating around the bush and explain properly.”
“It happened when I was the logistics manager at the Incheon oil warehouse. When I compared the inventory records with the actual stock, they didn’t match. It turned out that the subcontractors had conspired with the manager to make undocumented transactions. I reported it to the higher-ups, and this is what happened.”
“Undocumented transactions?”
“Yes. They created ghost dealerships to siphon off oil. They’d set up paper companies, sell some oil through them legitimately, then intentionally go out of business. This way, they didn’t have to pay fuel taxes and could sell the leftover oil to gas stations for profit. Setting up dealerships is easy, so they could open and close them anytime.”
“So, you reported this to the higher-ups? Then why are you in this situation? Shouldn’t you have been promoted?”
Park Seung-hoon laughed bitterly at that.
“Turns out the higher-ups were in on it too. When I first filed the report, the president called me in, gave me a cash bonus, and told me to take a vacation. He said there was an upcoming routine personnel shuffle and that they didn’t want any issues leaking out, which could lead to tax audits and legal problems. He assured me the company would handle the rest and suggested I take some time off.”
“So? You just believed him?”
“Well, my wife was about to give birth, so I took the week-long vacation they offered. But when I came back, I was demoted to a desk job, and the manager was just transferred to another branch.”
“They must have removed the documents and tampered with the records while you were on vacation.”
“Exactly. When I came back, all the documents and records on my desk were gone, and the new manager accused me of poor inventory management. They told me to take responsibility and leave. I was dumbfounded. I’ve never experienced anything like it before.”
“So you just got kicked out? The great Park Seung-hoon?”
“What else could I do? They had already colluded with the higher-ups. They threatened to report me to the tax authorities and sue me for embezzlement if I didn’t leave. So I had no choice but to leave.”
“Did you at least get your severance pay?”
“Yes. They gave me three months’ worth of severance pay and some hush money, but it quickly ran out due to living expenses and my children’s education costs.”
“How could they be such jerks? Wasn’t there any way to get back at them?”
“I had no evidence. There was no way to fight them. They had planned it all out for tax evasion. By the time I realized, it was too late.”
“Then why didn’t you find another job? Why a chicken shop of all things? Were you planning to start KFC in Korea?”
“Don’t tease me. Of course, I looked for another job first. But every place I applied to said they couldn’t hire me above a deputy manager position. Finding reemployment wasn’t as easy as I thought. I couldn’t work under people who were five or six years younger than me, calling me ‘sir’ all the time. I have five kids; living on a deputy manager’s salary was out of the question. So I decided to go independent.”
“And your choice was a chicken shop?”
Lee Chang-jin was stunned. The chicken was bland, the batter didn’t match the chicken, and the smell of raw chicken was still present, ruining the taste.
It was a total disaster.
Park Seung-hoon, aware of this, smiled awkwardly.
“Don’t look at me like that. It’s harder than I thought. I tried to recreate the taste of American fried chicken, but my skills weren’t up to the task. My dreams were too big.”
“At least you realize that.”
Park Seung-hoon bowed his head in embarrassment.
Seeing him like that, Lee Chang-jin felt a pang in his heart as it reminded him of his past life.
“Hyung, I don’t think fried chicken is your calling. Why don’t you quit and come work with me?”
“Chang-jin, I appreciate it, but I don’t want to be a burden to you. Honestly, what could I do for you? I appreciate the thought, though.”
“Please, hyung, help me out. We’re really short-staffed in the trading department. You have experience in import/export and logistics management, right? Hosung is overwhelmed with work… I’ll make sure you’re well compensated.”
“Are you sure about this? I can’t resort to underhanded tactics.”
At Park Seung-hoon’s hesitant response, Lee Chang-jin chuckled.
“I never expected that from you in the first place. Don’t worry, just do what you do best. That’s all I want.”
“Thank you. All my other classmates cut ties with me when I hit rock bottom, but not you. You’ll be blessed for this.”
Park Seung-hoon, moved, held Lee Chang-jin’s hand. Though he didn’t show it, he was struggling so much that he couldn’t even afford milk for his kids. Lee Chang-jin’s offer was a lifesaver.
A few days later, Lee Chang-jin introduced Park Seung-hoon to his staff at the Seodaemun office.
“Everyone, this is Manager Park Seung-hoon. He will be joining our team from today. Please take good care of him.”
Though he failed in the restaurant business, Park Seung-hoon was recognized for his career as a businessman.
Teaming up with Jung Hosung, the workload was halved.
With the staffing issues at Daese Trading eased, Lee Chang-jin also found some breathing room.
‘It’s better to straighten out the haphazard organization while I’m at it.’
Considering the difficulty of assigning responsibility due to unclear job descriptions, Lee Chang-jin implemented a major organizational restructuring.
CEO and General Manager: Lee Chang-jin
Planning and Finance Department: Director Lee Chang-sik and 5 others
Secretary and Accounting Department: Manager Yeo Jin-joo and 3 others
Daese Industries Seodaemun Sales Manager (Factory Manager Level): Goo Chang-dong
Precision Machinery Production Management Section 1 Manager: Seo Yohan and 15 staff members
Precision Machinery Production Management Section 2 Manager: Kim Chul-woo and 15 staff members
Construction Heavy Equipment Quality Control Manager: Lee Yong-sik and 10 staff members
Construction Heavy Equipment Development Manager: Yoon Jung-pil and 10 staff members
Daese Trading Dye Business Manager: Jung Ho-sung and 13 staff members
- Logistics Business Manager: Park Seung-hoon and 12 staff members
Daese Textiles Textile Business Manager: Hwang Chul-kwan and 100 staff members
Daese Construction Civil Engineering Business Manager: Hong In-young and 46 skilled workers
Construction Site Manager: Seo Joo-myung and 150 contract workers
Technical Development Manager: Kim Hak-do and 20 staff members
Daese Agricultural Cooperative: Lee Dong-geun and 3 members
The total staff was 50, but including subcontractors, it was 100. They also hired 10 more office staff. The mining team, led by Park Hee-seung, would operate as a separate organization under the president for the time being.
After the restructuring was completed, Goo Chang-dong made a suggestion.
“President, what about creating a separate logo for Daese Industries? The current one looks a bit plain.”
The current logo of Daese Industries was just a blue oval with the words ‘DSHI (DaeSe Heavy Industrial CO.)’ in English, which wasn’t visually appealing.
“Good idea. Send a notice to art colleges and design firms to hold a logo contest.”
The contest was held over a month.
The final selection was a globe-shaped logo. The vector image, representing a burning Earth, symbolized a global company expanding worldwide.
Surprisingly, the winner of the contest was the daughter of the landlady at the boarding house where Lee Chang-jin once stayed. She received a TV and a scholarship worth 1 million won as her prize, and she murmured in a dreamy tone, “I’m glad. My mother will be very happy.”
Who would have known? The logo she designed would later become a brand surpassing Coca-Cola.
Thanks to this, she would become a judge for one of the world’s top three design contests, the IDEA (International Design Excellence Awards), and a professor of design at Parsons School of Design.
But that was a story for the distant future.
Namsan Tower Hotel, the venue for the business meeting.
Lee Chang-jin was there to meet a representative from DuPont.
The person sent by DuPont was Brandon Walker, a young lawyer who graduated from Yale Law School.
Brandon, initiating a handshake, spoke in a cheerful tone.
“Hello, Mr. Lee. Nice to meet you. I’m Brandon Walker, the main director of the pigment division. Please call me Brandon.”
Lee Chang-jin also firmly grasped his hand.
“Nice to meet you, Brandon. It must have been a long flight to Korea.”
“Haha, thank you. I’m used to traveling for work, so it’s fine.”
“That’s good to hear. Is this your first time in Korea?”
“I’ve been here a few times on business trips. The pace of development is so fast that it feels different every time I visit.”
Brandon, with his flamboyant mustache resembling the Pringles logo, twitched his mustache as he spoke. Lee Chang-jin smiled slightly at his friendly words.
“Since you must be busy, should we get straight to the point? Let’s move to the conference room. We have some materials prepared, so we can start with a brief presentation.”
“Sounds good. I’ll give you some time to make your case.”
Once in the conference room, Brandon attentively listened to Lee Chang-jin’s briefing while reviewing the proposal. After examining the proposal for a while, Brandon sincerely exclaimed.
“Wow, the proposal is excellent. It’s been a while since I’ve seen such a professional proposal.”
Despite his cheerful and gentle appearance, Brandon was notorious for being very strict in business. Being recognized by him meant that the proposal met the required standards.
Encouraged by Brandon’s positive response, Lee Chang-jin asked, “Thank you. So, does this mean that, as a partner in Asia, we can look forward to continued transactions beyond this one-time deal?”
However, Brandon shook his head at Lee Chang-jin’s hopeful question.
“I’m sorry, but that’s a bit difficult.”
“Was there something you didn’t like during the briefing?”
“Not at all. It was beyond my expectations. Honestly, I didn’t expect you to be this prepared.”
“Then why are you rejecting it?”
“Haha. I’m sorry to say this, but forming a partnership in Asia is beyond my authority. The existing intermediaries are involved in various other businesses besides pigments, so changing buyers is not something I can easily decide.”
DuPont’s policy was not to change existing trade partners unless there were issues with quality or delivery.
Brandon couldn’t take the risk either. If he changed the buyer and problems arose, he would take the blame, so he had to be cautious.
“Oh, that’s unfortunate.”
Although all the effort put into the preparation seemed to go down the drain, Lee Chang-jin remained calm.
This wasn’t the first time he had experienced such things, and unexpected events were common in business.
Seeing Lee Chang-jin’s composed demeanor, Brandon seemed moved and made another proposal.
“However, after reviewing this proposal, I have re-confirmed Daese Trading’s capabilities. So I have a new proposal for your company. What do you think?”
“What is it?”
“While direct transactions with DuPont are difficult, I can introduce you to a suitable supplier in South America. What do you think? Are you interested?”
“South America?”
“Yes, Mexico.”
Surprised by the unexpected proposal, Lee Chang-jin’s eyes lit up.
- To be continued in Episode 87 -
