CH118 | VOC

The gold collection campaign, having been taken over from the trading companies, was struggling.

Chunha Trading might have built a positive image through its charitable activities, but it was still a relatively unknown company.

Most people were hesitant to participate, fearing another scandal like the one involving the trading companies.

But Chunha Trading didn’t give up.

Unlike the trading companies, which had bought gold at ridiculously low prices without any transparency, Chunha Trading updated the international gold price daily and made the entire process transparent.

Of course, they were still making a profit by slightly inflating the distribution costs, but compared to the trading companies, they were angels.

As word of Chunha Trading’s past good deeds spread, more and more people started participating. And the final push came from the dynamic duo:

Lee An-jin, the corruption buster, and Oh Jin-mo, the Taegeukgi patriot.

“Chunha Trading is trustworthy. They prioritize hiring the underprivileged and disabled, showing their commitment to social responsibility.”

“Park Sol, CEO of Chunha Trading, hasn’t forgotten his difficult past and has donated billions of won through his foundation.”

People loved a good story.

A self-made entrepreneur who started as a day laborer and built a successful business, now giving back to society through charitable activities.

Park Sol’s life was a perfect example of such a story.

His carefully crafted image, highlighting only the positive aspects of his life, resonated with the public.

“It pays to be a good person. My consistent good deeds are finally paying off.”

Park Jong-bum chuckled at my words. “Yes, good things happen to good people.”

The gold collection campaign, which had been on the verge of collapse, was enjoying a revival, uniting the nation once again.

The average daily collection was 3 tons, and it was increasing steadily.

As Park Jong-bum and I exchanged smiles, Ahn Jung-ho, the gold refiner standing before us, said with a subservient smile,

“Of course, who in Korea doesn’t know about CEO Park Sol’s generosity? Absolutely.”

He rubbed his hands nervously and said cautiously,

“So, CEO Park, would it be possible to increase the refining fee…?”

I said with a stern expression,

“Mr. Ahn, you’re talking about the price while refining the gold donated by the Korean people?”

He said with a sullen expression, “I really… I really didn’t want to ask, but at the current price, I can’t even cover the fuel cost for the furnace.”

If we couldn’t exploit the public directly, we could exploit the subcontractors.

Ahn Jung-ho and others like him were the perfect targets.

“Mr. Ahn, I’m Park Sol, CEO of Chunha Trading. Park Sol.”

“Yes, yes…”

“I know everything about gold. Do you think I set the price without considering the fuel cost? It takes a lot of energy to heat up the furnace initially, but the maintenance cost is low, isn’t it?”

Furnaces and boilers were similar.

If it took 100 units of energy to reach the desired temperature, it only took 10 units to maintain it.

That’s why refineries were always desperate for work. They had to keep the furnaces running.

If the furnace cooled down due to lack of work, it would cost a fortune to reheat it.

It was a refiner’s fate to keep the furnace running, even at a loss, and I was exploiting that.

“We’re providing you with enough volume, so your furnace won’t cool down. You’re not losing money just by keeping your factory running, are you?”

“That’s…”

“Or should I find another refinery?”

He shook his head vigorously. “No! No! I’ll do it!”

I said, admonishing him, “That’s the right attitude. This is all for our country. I’m operating with minimal profit margin too. Don’t be so greedy, Mr. Ahn. Think about our fellow Koreans.”

He left with a dejected expression, and Park Jong-bum said,

“They’re all the same. Complaining even though the price isn’t that bad.”

“They’re all blinded by greed. Tsk tsk, what has this world come to? Of course…”

I smirked. “…the price is barely above break-even.”

Chunha Trading also had its own furnace and refinery, although its annual processing capacity was only 5 tons.

It meant I knew the exact cost of refining gold, down to the last drop of fuel.

I used that knowledge to set the price for the subcontractors, just barely above their break-even point.

“They should be grateful. No one else can provide them with this much work and keep their factories running.”

Park Jong-bum nodded. “Of course.”

The money we saved by squeezing the subcontractors would become our profit in the end.

“Squeeze them dry. Until there’s not a single drop left. We won’t be seeing them again after the gold collection campaign ends.”

Three months had passed since we took over the gold collection campaign.

We had collected 400 tons of gold, worth over 8 trillion won.

And Chunha Trading’s profit margin was 1.5 trillion won.

“Hehehehehe.”

Money was good.

“Sir, I think the gold collection campaign is winding down. The donations have decreased.”

I nodded. “Of course. We’ve collected 400 tons, and the trading companies collected 100 tons. That’s over ten times the amount of gold held by the Bank of Korea. It’s a remarkable achievement.”

It was indeed remarkable for such a small country to collect 400 tons of gold through a public campaign.

It far exceeded my initial expectation of 100 tons.

“But… we’ve made too much money.”

Park Jong-bum said with a worried expression,

“We made the entire process transparent to rebuild trust. But everyone will know we made a huge profit, even if we don’t reveal the exact amount. Won’t that be a problem?”

We hadn’t engaged in any illegal activities, but we had made a substantial profit as a distributor.

It was a legitimate business, but if the public found out how much we had profited from a national campaign, there could be ethical concerns.

I stroked my chin. “It doesn’t look good, does it?”

“I think we should make a donation to mitigate the potential backlash.”

“A donation?”

“You must have noticed that the success of the gold collection campaign was largely due to our positive image as a socially responsible company. I’ve witnessed the power of image firsthand. We have to maintain that image. Who knows when another opportunity like this will come along?”

“A donation, hmm.”

“I know you don’t like donating, but it’s worth considering…”

“It’s a good idea. Let’s do it. A donation.”

Park Jong-bum, who had suggested the donation, seemed surprised by my ready agreement.

“I’ve also realized the power of image. A good company, a good person. When I first created Baek In-hwi, my main goal was to protect Chunha Trading. But now, it’s different.”

I smiled slyly. “If being a good person makes money, I can pretend to be a good person. A donation? It’s not spending money, it’s an investment.”

The difference between a good company and a bad company was clear, just by comparing Chunha Trading with the trading companies.

The trading companies would forever be tainted by the scandal, while Chunha Trading had built a reputation for transparency and trustworthiness.

People would naturally favor Chunha Trading in the future.

A good image was profitable.

And if it was profitable, we had to do it.

“Let’s calculate how much we’re going to ‘invest’ out of the 1.5 trillion won.”

The tumultuous gold collection campaign had finally ended.

Despite the scandal involving the trading companies, it had been successfully concluded thanks to Chunha Trading.

The closing ceremony was a lively event, as it was a campaign where the people had united for the country.

“And finally…”

After the chairman of the NACF finished his speech, Assemblyman Lee An-jin took the stage.

I said, watching him, “He talks too much. When is it my turn?”

Maru checked the program. “There are two more speakers before you.”

“Those old geezers, they never shut up. It’s just a closing ceremony, who even cares? They’re just trying to get more airtime.”

Maru nudged me. “Keep your voice down. The reporters are everywhere.”

“I know. I’m whispering.”

Chunha Trading had played a key role in the gold collection campaign, so I should have been one of the first speakers. But I had given up my spot.

For one reason:

To detonate the final bomb.

“But hyung, isn’t the amount too high? You don’t have to donate that much…”

“No, it’s the perfect amount. A small donation won’t have much of an impact. We have to go big or go home.”

“But still…”

“We have to be bold when investing. That’s my motto. And this isn’t just about creating a good image. It’s also a form of protection.”

I smiled. “Who would believe that someone who donated so much money would engage in such activities for personal gain? We have to make them say, ‘He donated so much, he must be trustworthy.’ We have to go big to achieve that.”

Maru smiled wryly. “That’s true. With that kind of donation, people will practically worship you. If I didn’t know you, I would think you were a saint.”

I nodded. “Of course. This will be the climax of the Park Sol story, the model entrepreneur.”

My turn finally came, and I walked towards the podium with a smile.

The audience, tired from the long speeches and the cold December weather, looked eager for the ceremony to end.

“Hello, I’m Park Sol from Chunha Trading, the last speaker. You must be tired. I’ll keep it short.”

A few people chuckled, but the atmosphere was still subdued.

“The previous speakers have already said everything, so I don’t have much to add. So I’ll talk about something else. Before participating in the gold collection campaign, I made a promise to the Korean people. I promised not to seek personal gain and to prioritize the nation’s interests.”

I thumped my chest twice. “I still stand by that promise. This campaign wasn’t about me, it was about the people. I was just a facilitator. So the profits should go back to the people.”

The audience’s expressions remained unchanged.

They weren’t expecting much. They probably thought the amount would be insignificant.

Their lack of reaction only made me more excited.

“So I calculated the amount, excluding the operating costs and our employees’ hard-earned wages. It’s about 500 billion won.”

500 billion won.

The audience was stunned by the astronomical figure.

No CEO would reveal their net profit at a public event like this. It was unprecedented.

Even after reducing the actual profit of 1.5 trillion won to 500 billion won, it was still a shocking amount.

“It would be a lie if I said I wasn’t tempted. I am human, and I was tempted by that amount. I could have used it to expand my business. But I wanted to be true to myself. So!”

I smiled. “I’m donating the entire 500 billion won, earned through the support of the Korean people, back to the people.”

It was the largest donation in Korean history, surpassing even the combined donations of the top corporations.

“It was an honor to serve the Korean people. That’s enough for me.”

It was a smokescreen to hide the true profit and a way to solidify my image as a selfless hero.

It was an investment.