386 Single House in Yangpyeong County 1 – Part 1

The purchase transaction of the basecamp for GH Logistics had completed when Gun-Ho transferred the last payment of the remainder of the auto repair shop's sales price to the seller. Jae-Sik Moon moved his office to this new location while keeping the Paju City location in business. His SM5 was loaded with his office stuff. The business moved to this basecamp in Seonghwan Town while leaving two trucks, one truck driver, and a custodian behind in the Paju location. From now on, Jae-Sik would focus on expanding their clientele while maintaining the current workload for transporting books.

Gun-Ho stopped by GH Logistics in Seonghwan Town. There was no one but Jae-Sik Moon in the office. Jae-Sik was sitting in front of a computer by himself.

"Huh? President Goo, you are here."

"I think you need to hire someone as soon as possible."

"Speaking of which, I was actually checking the applications that we received for the office assistant position for bookkeeping work. We have received twelve applications so far."

"I came here to take you somewhere today."

"Where to?"

"We need to go to a bank in the area."

"A bank?"

"I want to take out a secured loan from a bank using GH Logistics' land as collateral."

"I see."

Gun-Ho and Jae-Sik went to a local bank and talked with a manager who was in charge of a business loan. Gun-Ho initiated the request while giving GH Logistics' business registration to the manager.

"We recently established a company by acquiring a factory in the area. We'd like to take out a secured loan using the property."

"Do you have an account with us?"

"We do have an account with this bank but with the branch in Paju City."

Jae-Sik Moon took out the company's bank book and showed it to him.

"Is it a registered business entity? Can I take a look at the financial statements?"

"As I mentioned earlier, the company was newly established. We don't have financial statements yet."

"Oh, that's right. You told me that the company was just formed."

"The current market value of that land is 2 billion won. There is no loan or lien attached to the land."

When Gun-Ho handed the land's real estate registration over to the bank manager, he looked at it for quite a while and then searched something with his computer. Gun-Ho thought that the manager was probably looking for the officially assessed land price. The manager took out a calculator and asked, "How much amount do you intend to borrow?"

"I'd like to take either 40% of the current market price or 60% of the officially assessed land price. Will it be possible?"

The manager calculated with his calculator.

"The maximum amount of the loan we could offer is 720 million won. It's about 40% of the officially assessed land value. If you had the company's financial statements and if you were a long term client of our branch, we might be able to give you more but for now, that's the best I could get for you. Even for the 720 million won loan, we will need the president's personal guarantee."

"Hmm."

"If you decide to take out a loan, I will need a few documents from you. Please bring us the company's certificate of formation, the company's certificate of a registered seal, the real estate registration, and the cadaster. I also need the president's certificate of a registered seal, his resident registration, and his property tax return."

"Property tax return?"

"That's right."

Gun-Ho didn't think Jae-Sik would be able to show his property tax return, and his credit score could be a problem too. Gun-Ho said to the bank manager, "I am the major shareholder of this company and this gentleman here is the president. Will it be okay that I produce all of those required documents? I am listed as the director in the certificate of formation."

"That's fine. I will then need your certificate of a registered seal and the list of the shareholders."

"No problem."

When they walked out of the bank, Gun-Ho noticed that Jae-Sik looked down.

"You don't have to feel bad."

"Huh? Okay…"

"Let's take out 720 million won loan. We can buy heavy equipment with money, maybe in installments. Also, let's buy a few additional trucks and containers."

"Oh, that's why you wanted to take out a loan."

"You have to be well equipped to succeed in the transportation business."

"It seems true."

"And, you said you have a loan—30 million won from the Korea Federation of Community Credit Cooperative, right?"

"Yes, I'm paying the monthly payment right now on time."

"Once we take out that loan, pay off your personal loan. Your credit score could become a problem."

"Can… I do that?"

"You can pay it back little by little from your monthly salary. Since there would be no interest, it would be easier for you to pay it off."

"Thank you so much."

While having a conversation with Jae-Sik Moon, Gun-Ho received a call from the seller who sold the auto repair shop to Gun-Ho.

"Do you, by any chance, need a person who would work for you? I have someone I can recommend to you."

"A worker?"

"While I had the auto repair shop there, he worked in my office. He is very good at administrative work. He also knows the basic maintenance service of a car. He lives in Seonghwan Town."

"I don't know."

"After I closed the business in Seonghwan Town, he came to Bundang District with me to work for me, but it's really hard for him to commute from Seonghwan Town and I just feel sorry for him. If not for him, I wouldn't let him go since I highly recognize that he is an asset to my business. But I can't keep him here. The setting is just not working for neither of us."

"Give me one second."

Gun-Ho looked at Jae-Sik Moon and said, "It's the seller who used to run an auto repair shop here. He is asking if we want to hire someone. That person is very good at administrative work and he knows how to do the maintenance service of a car."

"Really? Umm… It would actually be great to have someone like that. How old is he?"

"Hold on. Let me ask him."

"How old is that person?"

"He is thirty-three years old. He has a level-1 certificate in basic automobile maintenance. He also has a fire safety license."

"He said that person is thirty-three years old."

"He is three years younger than us. Assuming we are getting heavy equipment soon and so on, I think we need someone right away

Gun-Ho got back to the seller.

"Please send him to us and tell him to bring his resume."

"Great. He will be there by 2 pm today."

"President Moon, this is very good. He is younger than us so you will feel comfortable working with him. Moreover, he knows how to take care of cars in a professional way. That's a big plus. For now, let's have that guy and a female worker who can handle bookkeeping."

"I hope the company generates enough revenue."

"With the right tools and people, you will make money. Don't worry about it. Where is your resident registration enrolled?"

"Me? It's in Mangwon Town."

"I guess you and your wife are registered to Mangwon Town together, huh?"

"Not really. We are not officially married yet. We haven't applied for a marriage certificate. So she is actually registered to the town where her parents are living, which is Bucheon City."

"You said earlier that you want to stay temporarily on the second floor of the company building, right?"

"Yes. I'm going to the market this afternoon to buy some bedding."

"You know what? Why don't you move your residency to the company location?"