Story of a Big Player from Gangnam

Gun-Ho’s request to establish a company had been approved.

As instructed by the certified legal consultant’s office, Gun-Ho brought all the documents necessary in order to register his company to the tax office such as the certificate of business formation, the articles of incorporation, the share certificates, and the lease agreement for the office.

“Is the office-tel owner the same person as the company CEO?”

“Correct. The company will lease the office-tel from an individual, which is owned by myself.”

“I see.”

The tax office staff quickly registered Gun-Ho’s new company.

“It was very quick.”

Before coming back to his home, Gun-Ho placed an order for his business card with his job title—CEO after verifying the design of the card displayed on the computer screen, and also had the company stamp made, that would be registered later.

“Even a small tiny deli that is newly opened gets congratulatory flowers and stuff. Should I tell everyone that I opened a company? Nah, let’s not. I don’t do that kind of stuff.”

Everything was ready for Gun-Ho to run the company.

“I received my business card and business registration. The Internet and fax are working now. So, everything is all set. I just need a business item.”

Gun-Ho took a nap in his comfy executive office chair. Gun-Ho’s office looked really nice; Gun-Ho spent some money on decorating his office.

Gun-Ho finally purchased a OneRoomTel in Seocho Town under the company’s name. It was 320 million won.

“This OneRoomTel has 50 rooms with a shower facility, fire-fighting system, and HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning). And it’s clean.”

The rent for a room here was 400,000 won per month. Most residents were office workers working in the vicinity of the OneRoomTel. Gun-Ho was told there was no person like a derelict living in the building, who was often found in a cheap OneRoom.

The current owner was a retired government worker.

“Most of the rooms here are already occupied. The current occupancy rate is 90%. This OneRoomTel is popular among office workers who have to stay in the area because of their work and if their home is in a province. It is preferable compared to other OneRoomTels in the area because of good amenities.”

Gun-Ho started calculating.

‘The monthly rent per room is 400,000 won. There are 50 rooms, so the monthly income would be 20 million won if fully rented out. Currently, 90% of the rooms are occupied, so that would be 90% of 20 million won which is 18 million won. If I subtract my rent and the pay to the residential manager and other expenses, I would make about 13 million won. Assuming the owner exaggerated a bit about the occupancy rate then I would probably make at least 10 million won per month.’

Guessing that Gun-Ho was calculating the expected monthly income from this OneRoomTel, the owner tried to be chatty.

“I used to have 100% occupancy rate here before when there were many female workers living in this area who worked at a bar during night time.”

“Female workers working in a bar?”

“Yes. There used to be a lot of those people in this area, but not anymore though because of the crackdown on those types of business. But still, this OneRoomTel has very high occupancy rate. You can ask the residential manager.”

Gun-Ho talked with the residential manager.

He was a second-year law school student; he looked about five years younger than Gun-Ho. Gun-Ho was actually considering asking Min-Hyeok to work with him at the OneRoomTel, but he now thought that maybe he should keep the same residential manager who had already been working here.

“Where did you go to college?”

“A national university in a province.”

“Hmm, I can’t come here often so please take good care of the business.”

Gun-Ho gave his business card to the residential manager. The residential manager humbly took his card with his two hands.

Gun-Ho kept searching on the Internet to buy another OneRoomTel.

“Once I acquire three OneRoomTels, I’d better hire a worker who can manage the OneRoomTel business. I shouldn’t waste my time visiting the OneRoomTels regularly and taking care of tedious matter there. I’d better spend my time looking for another good business opportunity. I can bear the cost of hiring one or two workers.”

Gun-Ho posted a job advertisement for two positions on WorkNet: one for a position related to real estate, and the other one was for someone who could handle bookkeeping and the Four Major Public Insurance. He didn’t add any requirement on age, academic degree, gender or work experience.

After the due date for submitting the applications, Gun-Ho checked the resumes he received through his email, and he was surprised by the number of applications he received.

“Wow, all these people want to work here.”

The economy was truly not doing well. There were over 50 resumes that arrived at Gun-Ho’s email inbox.

Gun-Ho at first reviewed the applications for the real estate related position. Most of the applicants had a real estate license with work experience in real estate planning and development, or real estate sales.

“I prefer to work with someone who’s earnest and has no ethical issue, rather than someone who has extensive work experience in the field.”

Gun-Ho selected one applicant for an interview. That applicant used to work in a bank as a deputy general manager, and he then opened his own realtor’s office after obtaining the realtor license.

“He retired at the age of 48 which seemed to be a bit early. It has been a year since he opened his realtor’s office. That means he is not doing anything now. He looks nice in the picture.”

Gun-Ho sent a text message to him inviting him for an interview.

As to the bookkeeping position, one candidate, who had one-year of work experience in bookkeeping and handling the Four Major Public Insurance at an exam preparatory private institution, drew Gun-Ho’s attention.

“I might think differently if I see this candidate in person, but she looks nice and stable in the picture. She is living in Bongcheon Town which is a good distance to commute to my office. She can take the subway line 2 and get off at Gangnam Station; it’s a convenient ride. She is 27 years old, but she wouldn’t probably marry soon since these days people tend to marry at a later age. She has a certificate of computerized accounting with several computer-related certificates. Oh, she listed an award she received from high school.” Gun-Ho chuckled.

It was the interview day. Gun-Ho planned to have an interview with the candidate for the real estate position first, and on the following day, he would meet with the bookkeeper position candidate for her interview.

The candidate who used to work in a bank arrived for an interview.

“I see that you used to work in a bank as a deputy general manager. Did you retire from banking work or quit the job because of your business?”

“I retired.”

“Did you open the realtor’s office right after you retired?”

“Correct.”

“And, it didn’t work out?”

“I actually obtained my realtor license when I was still working in the bank. I thought I wouldn’t have any problem making money after my retirement since I had the realtor’s license. But that was not the case. I eventually closed my realtor’s office after paying the office rent for two years without making any money.”

“So, after you closed the realtor’s office, you didn’t get another job?”

“I tried to get a job, but I couldn’t find any office work. If you give me an opportunity to work here, I would work hard and do my best.”

“How many family members do you have if you don’t mind me asking?”

“I am married, and I have a daughter who is a senior in high school.”

“As you already know, this is a startup company; I just opened it. So, I can’t pay you much now. How much do you require working here?”

“I will be fine with about 2 million won per month.”

“Hmm, you seem to be a very nice person, and you have many computer related certificates as well. I will have to think about it and will let you know about my decision through a text message.”

“Thank you, sir, for your time.”

The candidate gave a 90-degree bow to Gun-Ho before he left the office.

The next day, a female candidate came to Gun-Ho’s office for an interview for the bookkeeper position.

“Is this GH Development?”

“Yes, it is.”

“I am here for an interview.”

The lady handed papers to Gun-Ho after pulling them out form a large envelope she carried.

“What is this?”

“These are copies of my various certificates.”

“They are a lot. Please have a seat.”

“What kind of software application did you use when you worked in accounting at the exam preparatory institution?”

“I didn’t use any accounting program there. It was a small private institution.”

Her response reminded Gun-Ho of his old days working at Bangil Gas. He worked in accounting at that time, but all the work was done manually. That company was small as well.

“Hmm, have you handled the Four Major Public Insurance?”

“Yes, I am actually very good at that work.”

“How much did you get paid at your previous work?”

“My monthly pay was 1.8 million won. I worked five days a week and also worked every Saturdays.”

“From your home in Bongcheon Town, you only need to take the subway once, right?”

“Right. It’s very convenient to commute for me.”

The lady smiled broadly. Gun-Ho liked her smile.

“By the way, what kind of business does this company do?”

“We do various things such as OneRoomTel leasing service and real estate auction.”

“Oh, I see. Are there… many people applying for the job?”

“Yes, there are quite a lot.”

The female applicant looked worried when Gun-Ho told her there were many applicants for the same position.

“Okay, thank you for coming. I will let you know through a text message.”

The applicant gave a 90-degree bow to Gun-Ho and walked out of the office quietly.

Gun-Ho decided to hire both candidates: the one who used to work in a bank and this female candidate.