The Chairman Who Wants to Play and Eat

Episode 14. Because it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.

Chairman Park Beom-sik of Jeongsang Group also received the news.

“What? Dr. Cho to Seonghyeon?”

It was unexpected news.

He looked at his son, Vice Chairman Park Do-won, who delivered the news with a furious look.

“Nothing has been decided yet.”

Park Do-won hurriedly said.

He then explained that it was just a positive discussion at the TF stage, and Seonghyeon had not received the chairman’s approval yet, so it was not 100% certain.

Those words only fueled Park Beom-sik’s anger.

“Does that mean we can still change Dr. Cho’s mind and bring him to Jeongsang?”

“…That’s not it.”

“Then what? Nothing has been decided? So what difference does it make?”

It is not uncertain, that was his father’s management philosophy.

In the end, Park Dowon kept his mouth shut.

It’s better to admit it quickly.

He was lucky to secure the successor position because all three of his older brothers had fallen out of favor with their father. He didn’t want to lose his position by opposing his father over trivial matters.

Park Beomsik asked again.

“What did ENC say?”

They had opened several communication channels regarding technology transfer. One of them was the Japanese semiconductor company ENC.

“They are lukewarm.”

Park Dowon replied.

“Why?”

“It seems they don’t want to transfer technology to our company, which could become a future competitor. It’s a form of restraint.”

“I expected that. What about Bykron?”

“They are not very proactive. However, they haven’t closed the table either. If we meet their requirements, we can send a training team within this year, Chairman.”

At those words, Park Beomsik clicked his tongue.

‘The more I think about it, the more regretful it is.’

He wanted to draw a new picture with a Korean semiconductor scholar rather than bowing down and surrendering to American or Japanese semiconductor mass production companies. Dr. Cho was worth it.

But the board of directors held him back.

They prioritized immediate cost savings over the distant future of the company.

So, they judged that it was difficult to work with Cho Youngdae, who demanded a large sum for unnecessary research.

‘We have no choice but to work with Bykron as a compromise.’

In the meantime, a question arose.

How on earth did Seonghyun manage it?

Did he promise Dr. Cho that he would provide that much research funding?

It’s possible.

But even if sales increase, there would be no profit.

It’s like the belly button is bigger than the belly.

Of course, if they could become number one in the global market in 10 or 20 years, it would be a different story.

But can Korea, a latecomer, dominate the global semiconductor market?

It should be considered nearly impossible.

Park Beomsik’s goal was realistic. He thought that achieving third place after the United States and Japan was a sufficiently high goal.

“But, Chairman.”

Park Dowon lowered his voice.

“It was none other than Vice Chairman Hyun Deokjae’s youngest son, Sangyun, who led the operation to recruit Dr. Cho.”

“Sangyun? Who is that?”

“You know, the one who got into Korea University’s law school.”

“Oh! That guy?”

A question mark suddenly appeared on Chairman Park Beomsik’s face.

“Wasn’t it last year or the year before that he went to school?”

“It was earlier this year.”

“And he’s already working for the company? And on important tasks?”

He was puzzled.

“Yes, Chairman. According to the Strategic Office’s investigation, he is highly regarded both at school and within the company. They say he even studied semiconductors while attending school and coming to the company. It’s quite a famous story within Seonghyun.”

‘Does that make sense?’ Chairman Park Beomsik held back the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

Whether it makes sense or not is not important.

The important thing is that it is already happening.

“Hey, Vice Chairman.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

Chairman Park also had a grandson.

“That kid, Jaeyil. Didn’t they say he had some potential?”

“You’re too kind.”

Vice Chairman Park Dowon’s son, Park Jaeyil, was a senior to Hyun Sangyun, having entered Korea University’s sociology department a year earlier.

Is the junior working for the company while the senior is playing around? Chairman Park Beomsik’s eyes flared up.

He had to assign work to his grandson immediately.

If he were to be compared again at the Federation of Korean Industries, he might die of embarrassment.

“Can you perhaps call that kid to the company?”

Park Dowon immediately understood his father’s intention.

“He’ll do well. He’s not the type to fall behind anywhere.”

“Good. Proceed with it.”

“Understood. I’ll proceed right away.”

As he bowed his head and left, a sense of competition was already lurking in Park Dowon’s eyes.

As he left the chairman’s office, he muttered to himself.

Hyun Sang-yoon, Hyun Sang-yoon.

He was someone his son, Park Jae-il, absolutely had to defeat.

“Chief Gu.”

“Yes, Vice Chairman.”

He called the strategy chief.

“Place a chair in the strategy office. Teach our Jae-il some work. Can you do it?”

Despite the unexpected words, Chief Gu was not surprised at all.

“Of course, Vice Chairman.”

“Make sure he can achieve results within this year. In the semiconductor field, he must surpass that friend, Seong Hyun Sang-yoon, no matter what. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“I will definitely fulfill your orders, Vice Chairman.”

As always, he was reliable.

“Good.”

He had to get things done before his father, Chairman Park, changed his mind. That was how the Jeongsang Group operated.

*

Time passed like that.

Things were going well.

‘Dr. Cho said he could come to Korea immediately if we guaranteed research funding. He asked us to prepare.’

‘All adjustments have been smoothly completed. We just need the chairman’s approval.’

‘I trust only you, Employee Sang-yoon.’

So, from my perspective, things were not going well.

Everyone was busy.

President Im Doo-won was spending his days shuttling between the headquarters in Gangbuk and the second headquarters in Gangnam, with no time to catch his breath.

Our task force was the same.

Even I was filling the regular working hours from nine in the morning to six in the evening as much as possible, excluding school class time and travel time.

The office was a silent battlefield.

Everyone’s faces were shadowed with dark circles from continuous overtime.

“Hey, hey!”

Manager So suddenly shouted.

“Work is good, but you should eat while you work. It’s already twelve noon.”

“Who has time to eat, Manager?”

“Exactly.”

Everyone said a word. Their voices were half-dead.

“Don’t be like that. Come on, everyone, let’s get up. They say even a ghost that died after eating looks better. Let’s eat even if we die.”

One by one, like ghosts, they stood up.

“Well, I don’t want to die, though.”

“Assistant Cho seems like the one who would die first among us, right?”

While they were chatting,

“Employee Sang-yoon?”

Manager So called me. I answered.

“I can’t make it. I have a prior engagement today. Enjoy your meal, everyone. I’ll be leaving first.”

When I came out of the building, Assistant Lee Beom-seok was waiting with the car ready.

“Young master, everything is prepared.”

“Let’s go quickly.”

“Yes, sir!”

The car sped out of Gangnam and onto the main road.

“The chairman’s arrival time is 12:32, so I’ll make sure we arrive ten minutes early. Leave it to me.”

Today, I had a lunch appointment with my grandfather, Chairman Hyun.

D-day had come.

The very day I had been waiting and waiting for.

The day I would hear my grandfather’s scolding and have to step away from the company work.

‘I’m sorry, but I have no choice.’

For the sake of a comfortable future, I have to endure the scolding now.

The older I get and the bigger the responsibilities I take on, the harder it will become. I have to do it now.

I steeled myself.

“These days, the chairman calls for you often, young master.”

Lee Beom-seok said. He seemed to be in a good mood.

‘Yes, I’m on my way to get scolded.’ Instead of saying that,

“Indeed.”

I feigned ignorance.

“It seems that the Chairman is very fond of you, sir.”

“Does it look that way?”

“This is the first time he has invited his grandson to a meal so frequently. I don’t think he even meets with the Vice Chairman this often.”

“Maybe so.”

I answered like this.

I had no intention of correcting Manager Lee’s misunderstanding. He would find out soon enough anyway.

A little later, at the Japanese restaurant Zen in Samcheong-dong,

“Welcome.”

Upon arrival, the employees recognized me and guided me to the reserved place.

This is where the current Chairman uses for important meetings.

I went ahead and sat in the cozy and luxurious private room, and soon after, my grandfather, Chairman Hyun, arrived.

“Welcome. Chief Joo, please come in as well.”

I quickly stood up to greet my grandfather. Chief Joo followed and sat behind him.

“You’re here.”

He had a pleasant expression.

“Sit down. Let’s eat first and then talk.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

“Don’t call me Chairman. Just be comfortable. I don’t want to be formal when having a meal with my grandson.”

Soon, the meal began to be served.

“Hey, bring out the sea bream dish that our Sang-yoon likes. I saw him enjoy it last time.”

The employee nodded and immediately went out.

“Here, eat.”

“Yes.”

“The reason I called you here is not just for the meal, but because I have something to ask.”

As expected.

My grandfather is not the type to hold back his curiosity. He has to ask right away to be satisfied.

Finally, the moment had come.

“Please, go ahead.”

“It’s about Dr. Cho from the semiconductor department. I heard the discussions have progressed quite far. Why did you proceed with such an important matter without reporting it?”

In other words, act first, report later.

I haven’t made a definite decision yet.

Still, the weight of these words is clear.

From the chairman’s perspective, it was an unbelievable situation. It was tantamount to ignoring him.

However, there was no feeling of anger at all.

Grandfather’s tone was low.

‘That’s even more dangerous.’

Even though I knew this would happen, my heart pounded for no reason.

“That’s because forgiveness is easier than permission.”

I answered this way.

There was only one reason for saying this.

I wanted to appear impudent.

Spending a large amount of the company’s money was a bonus.

Did I cross the line too much?

That’s true.

However, in the end, I recruited Dr. Cho to the company. As a result, I defeated Jeongsang and Geosan.

Achievements and mistakes can be balanced.

It was certain that I had offended Grandfather, so he might not entrust me with any major tasks in the future.

If my calculations are correct, it’s a masterstroke.

But Grandfather’s reaction was quite different from what I expected.

“Hahaha. I knew it.”

Huh?

Suddenly?

“That’s right. That is the essence of management. It’s the way the world works.”

Grandfather’s unwanted explanation continued.

“You’ve realized it. To become a manager, you must realize this. People usually don’t know what they want until a leader presents it to them. Whether it’s shareholders, the board, employees, or consumers, it’s all the same.”

“……”

“In this case, I’m no different. Until you recruited Dr. Cho, I didn’t know I wanted it so much.”

I could only respond with silence.

“Chief Joo.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

“How about this guy? At the age of twenty, he has already realized that.”

Chief Joo chimed in.

“With all due respect, I thought he looked just like you when you were young, Chairman.”

“Hahaha. With all due respect, thank you for the kind words.”

At those words, Chairman Hyun began to look at me with a disturbingly pleasant smile.

“Sangyoon.”

“Yes, Grandfather.”

I answered meekly, having lost the words to respond.

“While it is important to report and proceed with work through proper processes, in sharp issues like recruiting Dr. Cho, which can be missed by a hair’s breadth, you must proceed in a way that benefits the company, and sometimes you need to have the courage to push through strongly.”

This isn’t right.

“Well done. Very well done.”

“······.”

“Since the result was correct, it’s fine. Our company has surpassed Jeongsang and Geosan in recruiting Dr. Cho, hahaha.”

Things were getting strangely twisted. I couldn’t stay silent any longer.

“But, but······.”

It was when I was about to argue.

“The first course will be served. Chairman, is that alright?”

A clear voice rang from outside. Thanks to that, Grandfather’s attention, which should have been on me, was diverted elsewhere.

“Good. Good. Have you prepared the sake?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Good. Good. We must have a drink on a day like this. Sangyoon, would you like a drink too?”

“······If you offer it, Grandfather, I won’t refuse.”

He seemed to be in a very good mood.

‘There will be another opportunity next time.’

I swallowed my words. I thought it would be better to stay silent this time.

Once again, I earned unwanted points.

“Let’s get up now. Are you going back to the company?”

Thus, the meal ended in vain.

“I have classes at school today, so I’m not going back to the company. I’m heading to Gwanak.”

“I see. It’s good to see you not neglecting either work or study. A man should be able to handle multiple tasks without neglecting any.”

No way, can you score points like this? Does that make sense?

“I’m leaving first.”

“Take care.”

At this rate, you could score points just by breathing. It was driving me crazy.