New Employees With an Annual Salary of 1 Trillion Won - Chapter 191

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 191. Project Launch (1)

A meeting was held at the Seoul Government Complex.

[Public Medical Infrastructure Expansion and National Urban Planning Integration Meeting]

The meeting name was so long that the banner was packed densely with text.

I arrived 30 minutes early and was the first to take a seat.

And naturally checked the nameplates around me.

Ministry of Health and Welfare, Korea Railroad Corporation, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Ministry of Economy and Finance, Seoul Metropolitan Government, and Blue House Senior Secretary for Social Policy.

Nameplates from each ministry were all placed, and just looking at those seats, I could feel the weight of today’s meeting.

And just by examining the nameplates, I could immediately understand one important fact.

Only the Ministry of Health and Welfare had the Minister’s name written on it, while the Ministry of Economy and Finance and Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport were all set for vice-ministerial level attendance.

It was clear who held the initiative in this meeting.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare would take center stage, while other ministries would step back and only handle necessary coordination.

Naturally, the meeting would likely be led by the Minister of Health and Welfare, with other ministries just going through formal approval procedures.

“The Minister has arrived.”

As attendees from each ministry arrived one after another, the conference room quickly began to fill up.

Since it was a meeting with multiple ministries participating simultaneously, the space felt more cramped than usual.

Most ministries brought one vice-ministerial level official along with one more director general or bureau chief level executive, followed by administrative officers and working staff filing in behind them.

Only after everyone had taken their seats did the meeting begin.

As expected, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, as the hosting ministry, led the meeting.

“First, I thank all ministries for attending. The SARS crisis clearly exposed the vulnerabilities in our national medical infrastructure. This meeting is not simply about response, but will be a national decision preparing for the next 10 years.”

The Minister of Health and Welfare began with a clear voice.

At that moment, the air in the conference room solidified.

“First, let’s begin discussion on establishing the infectious disease center. Would Korea University Hospital speak first?”

“Ahem, this is Yoo Sang-cheol, Hospital Director of Korea University Hospital. First, thanks to the efforts of all government ministries, we were able to successfully conclude SARS prevention. I deeply thank you through this opportunity.”

Hospital Director Yoo Sang-cheol sincerely bowed his head in gratitude.

Then all meeting attendees quietly applauded, praising Hospital Director Yoo’s hard work.

“Hospital Director Yoo really worked hard. Thanks to Korea University Hospital serving well as the SARS response headquarters, we succeeded in prevention without any deaths. But there were too many vulnerabilities to just end with praise, weren’t there?”

“While it was fortunate that we blocked the SARS crisis early with no fatalities, if confirmed cases had increased just a little more, the situation would have been completely different. It became clear that our current medical infrastructure cannot handle large-scale infectious diseases.”

Everyone quietly listened to his words.

The SARS crisis wasn’t completely over yet, and Hospital Director Yoo’s voice, having directly commanded medical personnel on the front lines, contained desperation and sincerity.

“Please tell us exactly which parts were vulnerable.”

“Through this crisis, we confirmed three vulnerabilities. Shortage of negative pressure beds. Thanks to Tiger Fund’s support, we could secure negative pressure rooms in advance, but if confirmed cases had occurred on a large scale, our current facilities would have reached their limits.”

Hospital Director Yoo briefly mentioned Tiger Fund’s help.

And why an infectious disease center should be built together with Tiger Fund.

He began calmly explaining how the vulnerabilities revealed in this crisis could be overcome.

“The remaining vulnerabilities include data shortage and lack of specialized personnel. To fundamentally solve these problems, an infectious disease specialized center is absolutely necessary.”

“The Ministry of Health and Welfare completely agrees with Korea University Hospital’s opinion. Everyone here must think the same, right?”

“I want to know the exact cost and scale. Only then can we allocate the budget.”

The Vice Minister of Economy and Finance spoke quietly.

Given the Ministry of Economy and Finance’s nature of checking cost, funding, and accounting feasibility first for any project, it was a natural question that felt more like procedure than opposition.

“About 30 billion won for site acquisition, 30 billion won for center building construction, and at least 40 billion won for equipment, facilities, and securing specialized personnel.”

“Hmm… quite a substantial scale. It’s not easy to urgently organize nearly 100 billion won with this year’s budget alone.”

“You don’t need to worry. Tiger Fund has agreed to bear the entire cost.”

Hospital Director Yoo looked at me as he spoke.

I quietly stood up from my seat to give weight to Hospital Director Yoo’s words.

“That’s correct. Tiger Fund will provide full support of 100 billion won for infectious disease center construction costs to expand Korea’s public medical infrastructure.”

“You mean the full amount? I knew about the support, but… I didn’t realize you’d bear all 100 billion won.”

The conference room stirred for a moment.

Everyone already knew through public service announcements that Tiger Fund would support the infectious disease center.

But no one knew the scale reached 100 billion won, and that it was full coverage.

Naturally, government ministry officials couldn’t hide their surprise.

Hands flipping through materials stopped, and those holding pens looked up at me.

“Of course, Tiger Fund will have ownership of the site and building. But we plan to sign a contract allowing Korea University Hospital to use the infectious disease center without time restrictions.”

“With an investment of 100 billion won, we should naturally guarantee that much. But when a foreign fund makes such efforts for Korea’s public healthcare, shouldn’t we do something too?”

At those words, the Vice Minister of Economy and Finance’s eyes widened slightly as he flinched.

After briefly exchanging glances with the working staff beside him, he carefully opened his mouth.

“We’ll consider designating the infectious disease center as an infectious disease research special zone. We’ll apply tax reductions for research facilities and equipment introduction, and the government will support part of the costs needed for hiring specialized personnel.”

“Would that be satisfactory?”

The Minister of Health and Welfare looked alternately at me and Hospital Director Yoo Sang-cheol.

Hospital Director Yoo nodded greatly with a satisfied expression, and I also showed a light smile.

Actually, whether the government supported the infectious disease center wasn’t a very important issue to me.

The real purpose of this meeting was the Yongsan District, and I planned to secure maximum profit there.

So I didn’t need to demand stronger support, and shouldn’t, in order to maintain initiative in the Yongsan District discussion.

“The infectious disease center discussion seems sufficient. Then let’s move to the next agenda. Would the Railroad Bureau Chief speak?”

“For the successful conversion of Korea Railroad Corporation to a public enterprise, underground construction of Yongsan Station, redevelopment, and sale of the Yongsan District must be pursued. And this isn’t just for Korea Railroad Corporation. It’s essential work for the entire nation’s transportation network and urban competitiveness.”

With the Railroad Bureau Chief’s statement, the conference room atmosphere noticeably changed.

The infectious disease center was an agenda with no grounds for opposition.

But the Yongsan District issue was different. It was large-scale with complex interests entangled among ministries.

Then ultimately.

The key was presenting a solution satisfactory to all ministries.

“Tiger Fund Korea Branch is ready to immediately execute a total investment of 10 trillion won for the Yongsan Station underground project. We’ve already carried out various national projects through BTO methods, and judge that Yongsan Station underground construction is absolutely necessary for strengthening Korea’s long-term infrastructure competitiveness.”

“What does Seoul Metropolitan Government think? To underground Yongsan Station and build high-rise buildings after selling the Yongsan District, Seoul’s opinion would be most important, wouldn’t it?”

The Seoul Deputy Mayor slowly stood up from his seat.

He flipped through prepared documents, adjusted his glasses once, then presented in a calm voice.

“When Yongsan Station goes underground, regulations on surrounding sites will be gradually eased or abolished. Seoul has already reviewed this project centered on the Urban Planning Bureau, and will fully cooperate with underground construction and redevelopment. The transportation network improvement effects are also significant, so it’s a project the city actively welcomes.”

“We should hear from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport too. Are there any potential problems?”

Next was the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s turn.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Vice Minister also gave a positive opinion.

“To conclude, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport actively supports pursuing this project. From what we’ve confirmed so far, there are no potential problems at all.”

“Then, finally we just need to hear the Ministry of Economy and Finance’s opinion.”

Now came the most important Ministry of Economy and Finance’s turn.

I paid attention to what opinion the Ministry of Economy and Finance, which had always been an obstacle to our work, would present.

“We basically view the mentioned agenda positively. However, we need to confirm two matters.”

As expected, they wouldn’t just let it pass.

The Vice Minister of Economy and Finance listed two matters while flipping through documents.

“First is the cost issue. Since it’s such a large-scale project, we need a clear structure for how to minimize initial fiscal input. Second is the operating rights issue. We must understand how operating rights and profit structure are set up, and this is also the most sensitive issue from the National Assembly’s perspective.”

Cost minimization and operating rights profit structure.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance was drilling into the most core parts.

Everyone’s attention now turned to me, and I also took out prepared materials and began my response.

“First, there will be no financial burden on the government at all. Tiger Fund will bear the entire cost of underground construction and redevelopment. We’ll proceed with BTO method and recover investment through operating rights revenue.”

“I want to understand the profit structure more clearly. Is it BTO method? Or BTO-A method?”

The difference between BTO and BTO-A methods was just one thing.

Revenue guarantee.

BTO-A method was a structure where the government guaranteed part of the revenue for stable investment recovery.

What the Ministry of Economy and Finance considered most important was ultimately fiscal burden.

If proceeded with BTO-A method, the government might have to bear costs depending on circumstances.

That’s why the Ministry of Economy and Finance was most sensitive about this issue.

“It’s pure BTO method with no revenue guarantee at all. We plan to set the operating rights period to 50 years, same as typical cases.”

“The first few years will have almost no revenue or very limited revenue… do you mean you’ll accept that?”

It meant whether I was confident about not extending my hand to the government.

This was because there had often been cases where private operators suffered losses through the BTO method, then demanded profit compensation from the government through lawsuits.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance was concerned about exactly that point.

I had prepared the answer they wanted in advance.

“We will accept losses for the initial few years. Tiger Fund does not engage in projects simply to recover construction costs. We are participating to ensure the success of this redevelopment. We are confident we can directly create long-term value increases by leading the design of commercial districts and transportation network changes that will form after the underground construction from the planning stage.”

The Finance Ministry Vice Minister smiled mysteriously at my answer.

“You seem very confident. Then would it be acceptable to include a lawsuit prohibition clause in the contract?”

“Of course. And there’s one more thing I’d like to request. Just in case, please also include a clause prohibiting the reduction or revocation of operating rights. If profits turn out larger than the government departments expect, we might end up having our operating rights taken away, wouldn’t we?”

The corners of the Finance Ministry Vice Minister’s mouth lifted slightly.

The commercial district around Yongsan Station Area wasn’t as solid as Gangnam yet.

His expression suggested he judged the profitability to be low for such a massive 10 trillion won project.

“With the conditions you’ve just proposed, the Ministry of Economy and Finance has no objections. However, let me clarify one thing. If we include in the contract that Tiger Fund will bear the full burden of any additional construction costs that may arise in the future, the Ministry of Economy and Finance will support the sale of the Yongsan District and the underground construction project.”

“Tiger Fund will bear the full burden of additional construction costs as well.”

The Ministry of Economy and Finance also gave their approval.

The Minister of Health and Welfare now turned to the last remaining Blue House representatives.

“It seems all departments have reached agreement. Finally, what is your view, Senior Secretary for Social Policy?”

“From the perspective of balanced regional development, the reorganization of Yongsan is absolutely necessary. Securing growth momentum for Yongsan is also an important national task for reducing the gap between Gangnam and Gangbuk.”

He paused briefly and slowly looked around at the department officials gathered in the Meeting Hall.

Then he raised his voice slightly to make his point definitively.

“Since all departments have agreed without objection, the Blue House is also reviewing this project very positively. If possible, please expedite practical consultations so that construction can begin as quickly as possible.”

Even the Blue House’s de facto approval had been granted.

The key national policy direction this administration was most focused on promoting was ‘balanced development,’ and resolving the gap between Gangnam and Gangbuk was also one of its core tasks.

Therefore, it was natural in a way for the Blue House to view this project positively.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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