Story of a Big Player from Gangnam

The president of Yangji Construction—Gwang-Ho Yoo—came to Gun-Ho’s office again.

“President Goo, have you thought about it?”

“I don’t think I can build a building now because I don’t have enough money to do it.”

“That’s a shame. What about selling the land to us?”

“Do you mean selling the vacant lot to you?”

“Yes, we will develop the land.”

“How much would you pay for it?”

“How much did you pay for the other 50% of property interest?”

“If I give the price we paid, would you believe it?”

“I understand that you paid a bit more than the price you paid at the auction.”

Gun-Ho liked the conversation he was having with the president of Yangji Construction; it was fun.

“The old man who had 50% of the property interest was very stubborn.”

“I know him very well. He used to sell products that were made in the USA at Namdaemun Market. His son is a well-known theatre actor.”

“You know about them a lot.”

“I know a lot more about them. His son and daughter have a different mother.”

“Really?”

“By the way, I will pay you 6.5 billion won for the land.”

The offer price was about the same as the price Gun-Ho paid for the land. Gun-Ho spent 2.98 billion won at the auction and paid another 3.5 billion won to the old man. So he paid a total of 6.48 billion for the entire land.

Gun-Ho looked at the president of Yangji Construction. His face was shiny.

‘This guy is crafty.’

“Haha. You are asking me to sell the land for a price that is less than what I paid. You are kidding me, right?”

“How much did you pay?”

“I paid a total of 8 billion won.”

“That’s nonsense! I will cut my wrist if you paid more than 7 billion won for that land.”

“It seems like you will lose your wrist.”

“Let’s not continue this silly conversation. I know you have spent your time and energy in acquiring the land. Also, you probably had a hard time persuading that old man. I will give you 7 billion won.”

“I have no intention to sell the land.”

“Did you receive an appraisal on the land?”

“I didn’t have to because I didn’t need it since I don’t need to borrow money using the land as collateral.”

As Gun-Ho said it, the president of Yangji Construction smiled slightly.

The next day, the president of Yangji Construction—Gwang-Ho Yoo—came to Gun-Ho’s office again.

“You are coming to my office very often.”

“I know. I feel like I am working in this office.”

Gwang-Ho Yoo laughed.

“Sell the land to me for 7 billion won.”

“President Yoo, let’s stop this. We are both getting tired. Give it up.”

“You want to become like that old man? Listen to yourself. You are saying that you don’t want to sell the land, and you are not developing the land either.”

Gun-Ho recoiled from the idea of being like the old man. He actually sounded just like him.

‘That’s right. I should either develop the land or sell the land. I shouldn’t just hold on it without doing anything just like what the old man did.’

“President Goo, come with me!”

“Where to?”

“It’s lunchtime. I will buy you lunch.”

“I’m not sure if I can have a meal comfortably with you.”

“Just stay at the main entrance. I will bring my car; it’s parked in the underground parking lot.”

Gun-Ho was waiting for President Gwang-Ho Yoo in front of the main entrance of his office-tel building. After a moment, President Yoo showed up. Surprisingly, President Yoo was sitting in a shiny Mercedes-Benz 600. His chauffeur was driving the car.

“Get in, let’s go to Yeoksam Town. It’s not far from here.”

“Okay.”

“I know a good sushi restaurant. It’s a small restaurant but always crowded with customers. It shouldn’t be busy this hour though.”

Gun-Ho and President Yoo of Yangji Construction went to an alley in Yeoksam Town. The restaurant’s name was Minado.

“Would you like to have liquor?”

“Suit yourself!”

“Chef! We’d like to have sushi for three persons with three glasses of Hiro Sake.”

A grilled fin of blowfish was floating on the hot sake. The chef was preparing sushi for Gun-Ho’s party, and he then looked at Gun-Ho.

“Umm… Are you Mr. Gun-Ho Goo?”

“Huh?”

Gun-Ho looked at the chef closely. It was the restaurant owner with a shaved head in Noryangjin.

“Oh my. How are you?”

Gun-Ho stood up and extended his hand to him for a handshake.

The chef yelled at someone at the counter.

“Uncle! Uncle!”

A man who was sitting at the counter turned around. The man was President Hee-Yeol Byeon who had sold his restaurant in China to Gun-Ho.

“President Gun-Ho Goo from China is here.”

“Oh, President Goo!”

“Oh my gosh, how are you? You opened a restaurant here.”

President Yoo of Yangji Construction was laughing.

“It seems you know each other. I guess I picked the right place. Haha.”

Gun-Ho asked President Hee-Yeol Byeon,

“How’s the business? You seem to be doing fine.”

“Yes, it’s okay. My nephew is a good cook.”

“I heard your nephew studied cooking in Japan.”

“That’s right. What about you, President Goo? Did you sell the restaurant in China?”

“Yes. I’m back in Korea and I’m working in the real estate development field now.”

Gun-Ho gave his business card to President Hee-Yeol Byeon.

“Your office is just around here. Come visit us often.”

“Haha. Sure, I will do that.”

President Hee-Yeol Byeon had to go to another table when a group of customers came into the restaurant.

President Gwang-Ho Yoo said while sipping his Hiro Sake.

“So, you used to run a restaurant in China. You made money by selling the restaurant rather than serving the food, didn’t you?”

“I actually made money by investing in real estate there. How did you start your construction company, President Yoo?”

“I used to work in a big construction company. I was a construction field manager, and I once went abroad to oversee the construction field there as well. Then, I inherited my father’s small construction business and made it big.”

“I see.”

After lunch, Gun-Ho and President Yoo walked out of the sushi restaurant; their faces were all red because of the liquor they drank with their lunch. Gun-Ho didn’t forget to tell the chef with a shaved head and President Hee-Yeol Byeon that he would come again.

President Yoo held Gun-Ho’s arm.

“Let’s go to my office and have one more drink.”

“Where is your office?”

“It’s around Yeongdong Traditional Market.”

Gun-Ho wanted to know more about this President Yoo person because he couldn’t trust the man yet. So he was more than willing to see his office.

President Yoo’s office was located on the 6th floor in a seven-floor building. There were more employees than Gun-Ho expected; there were probably about 30 workers there. They were all wearing a white shirt.

The staff stood up and greeted when they saw President Yoo coming into the office. President Yoo took Gun-Ho to his office. There was a desk in front of the office door, and a female staff was sitting there. She stood up and greeted when she saw President Yoo.

“Did anyone call me?”

“President Oh from Southern Tile and President Park from Dongwon Construction called.”

“Really? Please bring us some tea.”

“Yes, sir.”

Gun-Ho sat on a large sofa in the president’s office.

“The office is bigger than I expected. Are you getting a lot of work?”

“Not in Seoul though. We have some work in the provincial areas.”

“Comparing to your company, GH Construction is a tiny tiny office.”

“Don’t say that. You are truly a rich person.”

“Nah!”

“I’m serious. You seem to be about ten years younger than me, and you already acquired a 7 billion won land. You are a true businessman in this field where a lot of con-artists are found.”

Gun-Ho knew President Yoo was buttering him up, but he liked it. However, Gun-Ho had to focus on the business here with him.

“I have to tell you again. First, I can’t sell the land for less than 8 billion won. If you insist on a price lower than that, I won’t see you again. Second, the sales price on the sales contract should state 6.5 billion won.”

“You want to make the contract with a price lower than the actual sales price.”

“I want to avoid paying a high tax.”

“A contract with a lower price…”

President Yoo sat on the sofa and thought about it for a while.

Silence filled the air.

President Yoo who was thinking with his eyes closed suddenly shouted loudly.

“Okay! I will take it for 8 billion won!”

Gun-Ho clapped while laughing.

“You are the true businessman, President Yoo. You should be firmly decisive when you see the certainty in either real estate or stock. The construction business is not my area of expertise. You are the expert in that field. If you could get an appraised value of 10 billion won, you can borrow 8 billion won from a bank. I know you are the type of person who could sell with the aerial view of your construction site. I can tell by looking at the photos hanging on the wall.”

Gun-Ho finally sold the land that he had purchased at around 6.5 billion won for 8 billion won. Also, he could avoid paying a capital gains tax by making the sales contract with the same price he paid for rather than the actual price he sold it for.