The Dignity of the Chaebol

It seems like he’s going to slowly savor and chew on that Jeong-hoon guy.

“Ability… you just have to create it.”

“If you really think that way, then go ahead and make that ability.” I don’t know why you can be so confident in front of me right now, but wouldn’t it be a problem if the chairman found out that you and Jungtae keep going in and out of Aunt’s gallery?

Is Hong-jun unaware of it?

“Your aunt, after all, thinks that since there are no more of us left, you and Jungtae are the only nephews, and that it’s a share that she can pass on anytime, so she doesn’t seem to care much. But I’m different.”

“…….”

“I’m not a member of the Son family.” I’m just the president of Jaegyeong Textile, and my role is to protect Jaegyeong Textile from any threats, whether they are internal issues or external shocks. You and Jungtae are currently obstructing that. Your aunt might not be able to do it because she’s weak-hearted, but I can definitely tell the chairman.

“…….”

“Keep this in mind, Manager Son.” Having the necessary skills comes first. You can put your ambition behind it. Desires that aren’t backed by ability are just desires in the literal sense, but desires that are held when the ability is in place can become goals. Right now, it seems to me that both you and Jeongtae are just full of greed without any goals. To add one more thing, I’ve lived in Jaegyeong for as long as you’ve been alive. Jaegyeong, and here at Jaegyeong Textile. It’s not an exaggeration to say it’s my life. Don’t shake my life, which I have diligently cared for, with aimless greed. When the time comes, the chairman will distribute it appropriately. “But that time is not now.”

It seems that Hong Myung-yi would have given his sister, Yeojung, to this guy he was so infatuated with.

“Understood.” From this time today, I won’t be meeting with my aunt separately without your knowledge.

At my words, Mr. Nam squinted his already small eyes even more and stared at me.

“I can’t promise that I will do the same to you, because I can’t do anything to you, but I will do it.” But I will do it.

“What’s going on with you?” We’re on the same page. Okay. That aside… yesterday, I received a call from the head of the Saigon branch. The head of HR called and said we need to create a position for an expatriate, and that it was your request. Is that true?

“Yes.”

“Convince me.” The reason the branch manager has to create a position as you requested.

It’s really useful, isn’t it?

“If you can’t convince me here, it won’t be you who has a problem, but the head of the HR department who made that request call to the branch manager without thinking, saying it was your request.”

“Still, I am the head of the HR department, so can’t I even make such a request?”

“I just told you.” What did you hear? If you made that request call to the branch manager without thinking, saying it was your request, then that’s a problem with the HR manager’s qualifications, not yours. Even if another employee made such a request, would they have called the branch manager directly? No, you wouldn’t. Where is the position of the Sangtuang branch office representative, if not a regular production contract position? Moreover, it’s not like there’s a vacancy in the T.O.; it’s a request to create a position when the quota is already full.

Done.

At this point, I have a pretty good idea of what my son-in-law’s capabilities are.

Before closing my eyes, it was so regrettable that I couldn’t find him a partner before I closed my eyes.

As a parent of a daughter, could it be an unavoidable fantasy that comes with being a father?

From the time Yeojung was a child, I had high hopes of sitting with the person he would marry when he grew up and sharing drinks together.

It felt like it would taste different from the drinks I have with my sons.

I don’t know when it will be, but I soon wanted to have a drink with Mr. Nam.

“If the boss does that, what will happen to my reputation in the HR department?”

I deliberately imagined the carefree demeanor of a reckless person and mimicked their way of speaking exactly.

“What?”

“Even without that, people are saying that the chairman’s son, who has no skills at all, immediately took the position of the HR department manager and just sits there doing nothing, wasting time at the company… Such comments keep coming up.”

As I sat cross-legged, Mr. Nam started staring intently into my eyes.

“But if the boss scolds the head of the HR department instead of me for something like that, what will my position be within the HR department?”

“If you convince me, there won’t be any problem.” Why? “Don’t you have the confidence to convince me?”

“I asked them to save my face a bit.”

“What?”

“I asked the head of HR to help me save face.” I also wanted to show something to the people in my department.

***

It doesn’t seem like something to laugh about, does it?

I am Son Joong-gil.

He had met with the president of a country several times and was on friendly terms with the heads of various companies that laid the foundation for the current South Korean economy.

No matter how much Mr. Nam is a talented individual who rose to the position of manager in the group’s headquarters strategic planning department in just four years, I am the one who created that talent. Surely, I can handle this one friend.

I heard that one of our good employees applied for resignation due to family issues. I looked into it, and I thought it would be a shame to let them go like this.

“So, you sent that request, completely disregarding the HR principles, just because you didn’t want to lose one employee?”

“Well, it’s not like I completely ignored the HR principles… I just noticed that he received the Employee of the Month award. He even received it twice. I’m still just the head of the sales department. I asked the other employees. I asked if that was difficult. The Employee of the Month award is something you can get just by working diligently once, but they say it’s difficult to get it twice.

“So?”

“It’s such a waste, having talent like that and letting go of an employee like that.”

“So you requested such an absurd favor through the HR manager?”

“Everyone was talking to me like the boss.” It’s an absurd greeting, and not only does it go against the principles, but later on, other employees might raise issues about the fairness of the greeting… like that. But hearing that just makes me more determined. Still, I am the chairman’s son, after all.

“Have you ever seen a friend so thoughtless?”

Suddenly yelling?

Hey, you! If I were the kind of person who calls his friends thoughtless, I would be your father-in-law!

“The fact that other employees are so concerned means there must be a good reason for it.”

“Hey… I know.” I know… but my position in the HR department is like this right now. Everyone pretends to be nice on the outside, but inside, they ignore me and just wait for me to be transferred somewhere else… I’m just waiting for that. But you can’t just stay like that forever. We have to prove something, don’t we? Proof.

“…….”

“I want to do well, right now.” My grandfather, my great-uncle, and the current chairman. They’re all capable and still respected, but it wouldn’t be right for them to get criticized because of me.

“…….”

“Alright, I get it. I was wrong. I must have acted thoughtlessly. But still, criticizing the HR manager, who I begged to save a bit of my pride, isn’t right, don’t you think? Just blame me instead. Was what I did really that bad?”

“If you had convinced me, maybe not. But failing to do so means it was wrong.”

“I won’t do it again. I apologize.”

“Are you sincere?”

“Of course I am. Do you really think I’d say I won’t do it and then go back on my word in front of you? I won’t do it again, I promise. So please, don’t blame the HR manager.”

“You did it for the sake of your pride?”

“Probably wouldn’t have done it if no one tried to stop me. But everyone was trying to hold me back, so it made me stubborn. I started wondering if they were looking down on me or something….”

“I still don’t agree, but I understand your perspective. So I’ll let it slide this time. But if I hear even one more absurd request like this, I’ll seriously take action.”

“Are you going to report it to the chairman?”

At my question, President Nam scoffed and replied like this:

“Are you underestimating me, or are you overestimating yourself, a mere six-month employee?”

“What do you mean?”

“Do I seem like someone so idle that I’d report an over-the-top request made by a mere HR manager to the chairman of the group?”

It was clear that President Nam wasn’t the one monitoring and reporting on every move that Jung-hoon made within the company.

From the start, no one would assign such a task to the president. I chose to trust Hong-joon, albeit reluctantly.

“But was it really such a big mistake? From my perspective, they seemed like a truly competent person.”

“The real mistake, perhaps, is that over the past six months, you haven’t carried yourself in a way that allows others to trust your judgment.”

A straightforward answer to a foolish question.

I like this guy more and more.

“So, if I manage to make others trust my judgment in the future, does that mean it’s no longer a mistake?”

“If that were the case, I wouldn’t have gotten that call from the branch manager yesterday.”

“You’re right. What you’re saying makes sense, sir. Ultimately, it’s because I’ve been lacking, and I failed to earn the trust of the people in the company. That’s why something like this reached your ears in the first place. I understand. From now on, I’ll make sure you won’t have to hear about things like this again by conducting myself properly.”

“Got it. You can go now.”

“So, about the expatriate position… Is it not happening?”

“You said you did it for the sake of your pride, right?”

“Sorry?”

“You’re the chairman’s son, after all. Do you think I’d tarnish that pride of yours? Don’t get excited, though. I’m only doing this because I’m curious about your eye for talent.”

“…Understood. I’ll take my leave then.”

“Don’t forget to take the painting with you.”

“Oh, right. Yes.”

When I went down to the HR department, both the department head and assistant manager were already at work.

The HR manager spotted me and quickly stood up from his seat, approaching me. From behind a partition, Park Jong-geun, the HRD assistant manager, was peeking at the scene.

“Assistant Manager Jung mentioned you were called up to see the president?”

A sycophant, huh.

Something about it felt lacking.

Still, for a department head, especially one leading HR—the heart of the organization—this man seemed far too frivolous.

“Yes, he called me first thing in the morning and summoned me back and forth. It’s exhausting….”

I deliberately spoke lightly to gauge the HR manager’s reaction.

“Haha, well, since it ended quickly, it must not have been anything serious.”

“That’s why I’m annoyed. I came in early for once to get some work done….”

“Do you mind if I ask what it was about…?”

“Nothing much. Apparently, he got a call from the branch manager because I asked yesterday for a new expatriate position to be created at the Saint-Ouen branch.”

At my words, the HR manager scratched his forehead awkwardly, looking flustered.

“Is… is that so?”

“Well, I thought everything was sorted since you agreed so easily yesterday, but I guess it wasn’t?”

“Not really… I wonder why the branch manager reacted that way. Yesterday, they clearly said they’d handle it… Haha….”

“From what I heard, it doesn’t seem like that. I heard you even dropped my name in the process?”

“That was just to make sure it was handled properly…”

“Anyway, I understand. It seems like everything was resolved, so thank you for your attention.”

“What did they say?”

“What did they say? They said I should take responsibility for the HR matter, so I agreed and said I would take care of it. But, Manager.”

“Yes.”

I leaned closer to the HR manager and whispered.

“Next time, if I ask you for something like I did yesterday, please promise me you’ll only handle what’s within your power to handle.”

“….”

“What’s this? If I was going to be called to the president’s office first thing in the morning, I should have just gone straight to the president yesterday instead of talking to you. Don’t you think?”

“Ah, yes. Haha, haha, yeah, yeah. I understand. I’ll make sure to do that from now on.”

“Thanks again for supporting me yesterday.”

“Supporting you?”

“You sided with me over the issue with Manager Park yesterday.”

“Ah, come on, there’s no such thing as sides between us HR people. We’re all on the same side.”

“Right? We’re all on the same side, right?”

I made my point clear.

“Of course.”

“Like this, all together. We are on the same side, right?”

“Definitely.”

I raised my voice enough for the whole department to hear as I spoke to the HR manager.

“Since we’re on the same side, there won’t be anyone spilling our department’s matters outside, right? The HR department should be a place where people are tight-lipped. There shouldn’t be anyone leaking or reporting our internal matters.”

“Of course. That goes without saying. Whatever happens inside, we should handle it ourselves. Why would we let it out?”

“Right, understood.”

I then glanced at Park Jong-geun, the HRD assistant manager, who had been peeking from behind the partition, before heading back to my seat.

The HRM team was empty.

It seemed like Assistant Manager Jung was having a meeting with the staff.

About 30 minutes later, when it was 10 o’clock, the HRM team came back into the office, and I told Assistant Manager Jung to include me in the morning meetings starting tomorrow.

“Starting tomorrow?”

“Yes, it seems like I’ve got the general understanding of the assistant manager’s duties, so I’ll join from tomorrow.”

“You’ve already finished understanding the duties? I haven’t even had a chance to explain the duties to the assistant manager yet.”

Do I really need to hear this?

You can see it at a glance.

“The tasks that Assistant Manager Jung is handling are essentially my responsibilities, right?”

“….”

“Since the assistant manager isn’t handling the work, it seems like Assistant Manager Jung is covering for it. So, don’t I just need to learn the tasks that Assistant Manager Jung is doing?”

“Well, that’s somewhat correct, but…”

“So that means I’ve understood the duties, right? I just need to learn the work from here on out. I’ll pick it up quickly. What worries me more than the work is dealing with the computer stuff.”

“….?”

“By the way, about the file with Cha Jun-young’s resignation letter that you put away yesterday…”

“Yes.”

“Were all the documents in that file resignation letters?”

Assistant Manager Jung nodded and pulled out the file I was referring to.