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"Wow . Even though this is a restaurant in a province, its decoration is very impressive . "
Gun-Ho asked the office manager who came with Min-Hyeok to order dishes that were appropriate for the elders, like seafood, for example, considering the president's age .
"Hey, President Goo!"
The president of Jinxi Construction Company— Chinkkweo Seon and the vice president of the joint venture— Kkangsin Kkao arrived at the restaurant . Gun-Ho introduced the Mulpasaneop president to them .
The Mulpasaneop president seemed to drink a lot that day in distress .
"Are you okay, sir? You seem to drink too much . "
"I'm okay . I used to drink way more than this when I was young . "
When they all drank enough liquor, Deputy Mayor Seukang Li came to the restaurant . He seemed to have drunk already somewhere else before he joined Gun-Ho .
"Hey, President Goo . Good to see you . I just came back from a meeting in Suzhou City; otherwise, I could have joined you earlier . "
"Seukang Li, this is President Se-Young Oh . He is the president of a parts manufacturing company in Korea . "
"Really?"
"Sir, this is Deputy Mayor of Kunshan City . He ran to the restaurant when he heard I was here . He is a good friend of mine . "
"Deputy Mayor!?"
Once Deputy Mayor Li joined Gun-Ho's party, they ordered more liquor and the restaurant was again filled with the sound of their talking . Gun-Ho was laughing and talking with Deputy Mayor without help from an interpreter, and the Mulpasaneop president was looking at Gun-Ho enviously . Min-Hyeok was also talking with the president of Jinxi Construction Company on his own; his Chinese had improved a lot to the level that he no longer needed an interpreter to talk with a Chinese native speaker .
Gun-Ho interpreted for the Mulpasaneop president from time to time while talking with Deputy Mayor, out of concern that he might feel isolated because of the language barrier .
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"I guess in order to have a business in China, speaking the Chinese language like you is a must . I was reckless in expanding my business to China without knowing the local language . I shouldn't blame my son for the failure I experienced here . I was the one who had suggested my son in the first place to go to China and do business . "
The president drank more in regret .
"I guess it's time to let the next generation pick up things that my generation was doing . My generation is already old-fashioned in the business field . We need young people who could move with the times . "
The next morning, Gun-Ho and the Mulpasaneop president got up late because of the heavy drinking they did last night . When Gun-Ho went down to the hotel lobby, Min-Hyeok was already there waiting for him .
"I guess I drank too much last night . Geez, it's already 8 o'clock . When did you arrive?"
"I arrived here an hour ago . "
"An hour ago? Why didn't you wake me up?"
"I didn't want to . You overslept because your body needed it . Sleep is the best way to get your energy back . "
"Oh, the president is coming . He seemed to just get up as well . "
"Let's go to the hotel restaurant for breakfast . "
"Are they still serving breakfast at this hour?"
"Breakfast is served until 9 am . I asked them about it already . "
"Okay, then . You haven't had your breakfast yet right, Min-Hyeok?"
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"No, I haven't yet . "
The hotel restaurant still had some food left for breakfast . The food there was okay . All three men chose to eat porridge over rice .
When they arrived at Pudong Airport, Gun-Ho let Min-Hyeok go back to work . There was still plenty of time before boarding . Gun-Ho took the president to a lounge at the airport .
"Can we have the Chinese tea that we had yesterday? I really liked that tea . "
Gun-Ho ordered Dragon Well tea .
The two men enjoyed the hot tea without saying a word . When Gun-Ho finished half a cup of his tea, he said,
"Umm, sir . I heard that the court examiners don't trust the sales director for the payment plan he submitted to them with the anticipated revenue of the company . "
"I am actually with them . "
"If so, the court receivership would be revoked, and those 16 creditors with the court payment order would start the sales process . "
"Hmm . "
"Moreover, the company currently has an outstanding balance of over 300 million won with Korea Electric Power Corporation ("KEPCO") . Once the court receivership is revoked, they would cut off the electricity supply to the company . "
"Hmm . "
"According to the factory caretaker, he had seen several companies' court receivership revocation, and once the revocation is decided, the workers would usually quit the job right away . "
"Whew . "
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"Why don't you sell your company? Enjoy the rest of your life with your family, away from all these worries . Spend more time with your grandchildren and go on a trip with them . "
"Who would want this company? Nothing much left here . "
"Sir, you also need to think about the gravity of the unpaid wage claim . Too many workers haven't been paid for a long time . If you can't resolve it any time soon, you could be prosecuted . "
"Do you think my employees would file a criminal complaint against me?"
"The department of labor would . "
"Hmm . "
"The workers actually would too . They wouldn't stay unpaid just for you, sir . They would turn their backs on you . "
"Hmm . "
"I will be frank with you, sir . I would give you 2 billion won for your retired life . "
"2 billion won…"
The president looked up at the ceiling .
"2 billion is way too low . Even though the company's current assets appears to be minimal, it has steady business and customers . I thought I could receive at least 5 billion won . The price gap between you and me seems to be too big . "
"If you insist on your price, there is nothing I can do but giving up on Mulpasaneop . The reported debt to the court is over 70 billion won . In addition to 2 billion won I would give to you, I would have to spend a substantial amount of money on the company . "
"This company is equipped with a quality management system; it has TS16949 and SQ (quality management system approved by Hyundai Automobile) . Hyundai Automobile doesn't easily approve the system unless a company has a perfect quality management system . "
"That's why I offered 2 billion won . "
"That's way too low . "
Silence filled the air for a moment .
"To be honest with you, sir, the investors who would invest in my business don't agree on acquiring Mulpasaneop . They all said there is nothing much left with this company . "
"Hmm . "
"Sir, sell your company when there is a buyer . Even though you post an advertisement for an M&A, investors wouldn't buy a company that has so many unpaid wage claims . If the company is KOSDAQ registered, then they might think about acquiring it because they could increase capital stock without consideration or issue convertible bonds; however, Mulpasaneop is not a KOSDAQ registered company, isn't it?"
"Hmm . "
"If you can't do M&A, you would be criminally charged . Moreover, both of you and your son would become a person with a bad credit score . "
"What do you mean by getting a bad credit score? The company is a separate entity from me as an individual, and the debt is the company's debt . "
"It doesn't work that way in your case, sir . According to the record filed with the court, you and your son are the joint surety for Mulpasaneop for the amount of 3 billion won with Korea Credit Guarantee Fund . Do you think you can pay off 3 billion won?"
"That son of a b*tch Korea Credit Guarantee Fund!"
"Korea Credit Guarantee Fund is a sort of quasi-public entity, but they had to claim their money with the court to cover their as* . Your son is still young . You want to give your son another opportunity to stand on his feet again, don't you?"
"Hmm . "
"When I was younger, I once couldn't pay off 12 million won . I didn't go through the individual rehabilitation process, but I went through the process to recover my credit score . I know what it's like to live with a bad credit score and live without money . The most valuable asset I have is such an experience, and the lesson I learned from it . Please set aside your emotions, and think about the future and the reality . "
"I am so exhausted today . Let's talk more about it later . "
The president stood up and walked toward the gate to board the plane; he was staggering .