Chapter 794
Vice Chairman Yeo Tae-sik spoke.
“This time, we are going to acquire Easy Market Korea. Easy Market Korea is an MRO company that handles the purchase of consumables for Hansung Group…”
Easy Market Korea was led by Shin Kyung-hwan, the son of former Vice Chairman Shin Myung-ho.
This new company had grown its scale by supplying exclusively to Hansung Group.
There was no competitor for a company run by the owner family.
In other words, Easy Market Korea was a company that grew by getting all the work.
And they were going to acquire such a company for 500 billion won?
It was a ridiculous proposal, but everyone seemed to agree with it.
“We have to acquire it. We have 5 trillion won in internal reserves. We need to invest to keep the company running.”
“I agree with you. This acquisition will also increase our controlling stake.”
A former tax office official mentioned the internal reserves, and a former fair trade commission official recommended the acquisition to raise the controlling stake.
Vice Chairman Hyun Ki-joong, who was in the same line as former Chairman Shin Myung-ho, nodded as if it was obvious.
The remaining two business heads had no reason to object.
‘This is absurd.’
Yoo-hyun snorted.
It was not helpful for the company to acquire a company with no competitive edge by paying a huge amount of money.
He thought at least someone would raise an opposing opinion, but there was no such attempt.
He frowned and met Park Young-hoon’s eyes.
He shook his head slightly.
It meant not to intervene.
What if he opposed it here?
He would clash with Chairman Shin Kyung-wook, who trusted and appointed him.
Since it was related to former Vice Chairman Shin Myung-ho, he could also be in a difficult situation.
It was easier for both sides to think of it as a custom and let it go.
Yoo-hyun also thought so at first.
But his mind changed after meeting President Lee Seung-hyuk, learning about Kang Jun-ki’s situation, and seeing the one-man protest.
-Korea is originally a structure where large companies squeeze out subcontractors. The political circles are all connected to large companies, who would care about new companies.
Hansung Electronics was just as Hyun Jin-gun had said.
It was a typical large company that killed new companies by giving them all the work and only took their own benefits.
Was this right?
Yoo-hyun decided to correct the wrong thing this time.
Swoosh.
“I object.”
As Yoo-hyun raised his hand, all eyes were on him.
He did not hesitate and spoke right away.
“I oppose this proposal. Hansung Electronics should not acquire Easy Market Korea.”
“Huh?”
It was a surprising thing.
It was a proposal directly linked to the owner family.
It was obvious that Chairman Shin Kyung-wook’s intention was behind the proposal, but he openly opposed it, and everyone looked uncomfortable.
Moreover, he did not quietly submit an opposing vote at the time of voting, but he tackled it beforehand, so it could not be ignored.
Anyway, the officially proposed opposing opinion had to be discussed and settled according to the board’s rules.
Vice Chairman Yeo Tae-sik, who had changed his complexion slightly, proceeded calmly.
“Director Yoo, can you tell us why?”
“Yes. I will tell you.”
Yoo-hyun took a breath.
It was more effective to persuade them by making them understand step by step than to push them hard and miss the opportunity.
He recalled his past board experience and opened his mouth.
“I saw an article related to Easy Market Korea a while ago. The representative said he was the owner family and suspected that he was getting all the work.”
“Director Yoo, you seem to have misunderstood something. That article was a false report. A correction article was also issued.”
The first one to speak was Vice President Yeo Hyun-deok, the head of the mobile phone business.
He was from the design center, and he had met Yoo-hyun when they announced the color phone in the past.
He looked confident, so he seemed to be the one who took care of the article.
‘He must have lobbied.’
It was a common thing for large companies, including Hansung, to silence the media.
Yoo-hyun pretended not to know and asked.
“Is that so? But everyone knows that Representative Shin Kyung-hwan is the son of former Vice Chairman Shin Myung-ho, right?”
“That’s true, but that doesn’t mean he got all the work. What happened was…”
“Hold on.”
When Vice President Yeo Hyun-deok was about to explain, the light came on the microphone of Professor Kwon Han-gu.
He was a professor at Korea University and a former chief of the fair trade commission. He was an expert on internal transactions of large companies.
He stopped Vice President Yeo Hyun-deok’s speech and smiled.
“Director Yoo, do you think it’s getting all the work because the representative of Easy Market Korea is the owner family and that company works with Hansung?”
“That’s how the public would see Hansung.”
“They could misunderstand if they don’t know the situation. I understand. But you were wrong from the start.”
“What part was wrong?”
It was a subtle tone of ignoring him, but Yoo-hyun asked calmly.
There was no reason to get angry here.
“Easy Market Korea was a company selected through fair competition. The internal evaluation was the highest and the selection process was transparent, but it doesn’t make sense to say that they got all the work.”
“I see. But isn’t the internal evaluation of subcontractors done by Hansung executives?”
“Executives do it.”
He finally bit the bait.
Yoo-hyun smiled inwardly and raised his voice.
“Now I get it. How can any executive rate a company run by the owner family low? It’s natural that the score is high.”
“No…”
“Of course, the selection process was transparent. But the outside view would not be good.”
Yoo-hyun cut off Professor Kwon Han-gu’s timing.
He also took the lead in saying what he was going to say, making it awkward to say anything.
“Hmm.”
“What kind of reaction would it be if they spent a lot of money to acquire Easy Market Korea in this situation? Maybe they would suspect that they are fattening the owner family’s belly with the company’s money.”
If they acquired Easy Market Korea, it would be added as a subsidiary under Hansung Electronics.
The acquisition fund would flow into the owner family, and the owner family’s controlling stake would increase by securing the subsidiary’s stake.
This was not much different from the trick that Shin Kyung-soo used to increase his stake in the past.
Vice Chairman Hyun Ki-joong, who had been silent, frowned.
“Fattening the owner family’s belly. Director Yoo, you should be careful with your words.”
He was the most uncomfortable person in this situation, as he was in the same line as former Vice Chairman Shin Myung-ho.
As the atmosphere was getting heavy, one of the outside directors laughed lightly.
“Ha ha! Vice Chairman, Director Yoo is just being honest. Please understand.”
“Isn’t this a bit too much?”
“It’s his first time attending. He’s a young and passionate man. He could do anything. Let’s hear him out.”
“Yes, Mr. Ryu.”
Swish.
As Vice President Hyun Ki-joong obediently stepped back, the man turned his gaze to Yoo-hyun.
“But you seem to be very worried, Mr. Han. But there’s nothing to worry about.”
Ryu Je-song, the advisor of the Economic Research Institute.
He was the director of the institute until recently, and he was more knowledgeable than anyone else about the economic issues.
He had also submitted a report on the holding company system to the former president Shin Hyun-ho.
Yoo-hyun recalled his career and asked.
“Can you tell me why?”
“First of all, Easy Market Korea is not a simple MRO company. Purchasing agent is just a part of it.”
“It sounds like you have other plans.”
“Of course. Easy Market Korea will be in charge of Hansung Electronics’ smart logistics in the future. Thanks to their massive investment, the infrastructure is already in place. Through this…”
Smart logistics was a national project entrusted to Hansung Electronics.
Easy Market Korea had solved the infrastructure setup problem and secured the core items, so Hansung Electronics needed them.
It was a reason for acquisition.
Yoo-hyun sneered inwardly.
‘These cunning bastards.’
It was not for nothing that the outside directors received a huge amount of money for showing their faces at the board meeting once in a while.
They were all experts in their fields, and they had solid protective logic for their claims.
But did they know?
The young man they were facing was the one who had risen to the president of Hansung Electronics in the shortest time.
At least as far as the company was concerned, he was above their heads.
He, no, Yoo-hyun slowly turned his head and moved.
“Hmm, if it weren’t for Easy Market Korea, the smart logistics project would still be in its infancy.”
“Haha. You’re quick to understand because you’re in business.”
“It’s because you explained it well. But I have a question.”
“What is it?”
He tilted his head as he looked at the man smiling brightly.
“As far as I know, there was no bidding process. How did Easy Market Korea get to handle Hansung’s smart logistics project?”
“Huh?”
“Isn’t this a case of favoritism?”
“That’s…”
It was when Ryu Je-song, the advisor who was caught off guard, opened his mouth wide.
Professor Lee Myung-choon, who had been silent, clapped his hands. Clap clap!
“Come on, the explanation is too long. Let’s hear what you’re going to do about the opposition. You’re not going to say that you have to select another MRO company now, are you?”
He was the oldest here and had the longest board experience, as he was a former head of the National Tax Service.
He changed the atmosphere with a clap of his hands and turned the arrow to Yoo-hyun.
He was definitely cunning.
‘Interesting.’
The other outside directors chimed in with a slight smile on Yoo-hyun’s face.
“We’ve finally got in sync, but what if another company takes it? What are you going to do?”
“Easy Market Korea is the only company that can do it. There’s no decent company in Korea.”
“You won’t be able to buy this money when the smart logistics starts operating.”
They didn’t make up any nonsense.
Easy Market Korea was one of the top-rated and skilled companies in the industry, and they were in charge of Hansung’s future business.
It was the result of favoritism, but it was true that there was no alternative company.
Now, to select and nurture another company?
That seemed like a very inefficient choice.
It would be more efficient to acquire Easy Market Korea in many ways.
But was this really the way for Hansung?
Yoo-hyun remembered the news from when he was the vice president of Hansung Electronics.
It was about nine years from now.
At that time, Hansung Electronics under the Shin Kyung-soo regime was a company that pursued extreme efficiency.
They increased their competitiveness by favoring new companies and stomping on their buds, and grew only the necessary companies. They slashed the prices of their suppliers and increased their price competitiveness.
They didn’t hesitate to take away the technology and manpower of the companies if necessary.
They thought they would achieve better results by doing so.
But the result was different.
The gap between them and the global companies that had invested a lot of money in new companies widened day by day.
It wasn’t long before they were also caught by the global newcomers who had grown rapidly.
They were solid in Korea, but their value continued to decline in the global market.
It was something that Yoo-hyun had experienced himself.
If they left it alone now?
They might be doing well for now, but they would end up with the same result.
It was a conviction that came from going through this board meeting.
‘I have to change it now.’
It was when Yoo-hyun made up his mind.
Professor Lee Myung-choon, who met his eyes, reached out his hand leisurely.
“Well, Mr. Han, let’s hear your alternative.”
The outside directors looked at Yoo-hyun with their chins up.
They seemed to be urging him to say something.
Yoo-hyun, who smiled, pointed to the wall.
“Do you know what the phrase on the wall means?”
“Isn’t it Hansung’s management philosophy?”
“Yes, that’s right. ‘A company that is respected by the people and society’, ‘A company that innovates for a righteous future’. It’s the management philosophy that Hansung people engrave in their hearts from the time they join the company.”
“What are you trying to say?”
Was it because Yoo-hyun’s expression was serious?
Professor Lee Myung-choon was puzzled, but he waited for his next words.