"Team Leader Song, we are very sorry to inform you that due to the financial crisis and the decline in the company's performance, we, Xinhan, will have to terminate our contract with you ahead of schedule. Please wait for the company's email notification for specific compensation matters." Song Yi heard the bad news as soon as he arrived at the company.
Song Yi still wanted to fight for himself, after all, the economic situation has been bad in the past two years. If he couldn't find a suitable job in a short period of time, when he couldn't pay off his mortgage and car loan, the riverside apartment and Mercedes-Benz he bought in Seoul would be forcibly auctioned by Hana Bank, and he would have to start from scratch again.
Song Yi is a Chinese who came to Korea to study in the mid-1990s and stayed in Korea to work after graduation. He is considered a genuine Korea expert.
Song Yi currently works for Shinhan Media, a small to medium-sized advertising company in Seoul. Song Yi is currently the head of the planning team and is considered a middle-level manager.
"Excuse me, is President Chen in the company? I would like to talk to the president in person. After all, he still attaches great importance to the advertising plan I am working on. If this advertising case can be approved, it can also create good income for the company, right?" Song Yi emphasized.
The person who had a one-on-one conversation with Song Yi was the company's executive director Jin Nanyong, who was the second-in-command of the company.
Jin Nanyong looked at Song Yi with pity. He also knew that Song Yi was a rare talent. It was a pity that he was not one of their own. Just based on this point, Song Yi was destined not to stay.
"The company is now insolvent and is preparing to sell itself as a whole. President Chen is also very busy and does not have the time to care about your business plan. If you have the time, you might as well submit a few more resumes online, or returning to China for development is also a good choice." Jin Nanyong "kindly" suggested.
Song Yi was very confused when he heard Jin Nanyong say this. He originally thought that the company was just cutting costs by laying off employees, but he didn't expect that the company was on the verge of bankruptcy?
Although Song Yi is not in charge of financial work, according to his observation, Shinhan Media has not yet fallen into bankruptcy and liquidation.
Shinhan Media is a subsidiary of Samsung Group, the largest conglomerate in South Korea. Its president Chen Jae-chan is also the grandson of Chen Byung-chul, the founder of Samsung Group.
As long as Samsung Group entrusts part of their group's advertising business to Shinhan Media, or the bank behind Samsung Group provides Shinhan Media with an operating loan, Shinhan Media can successfully overcome the crisis.
However, Song Yi had an illusion that Jin Nanyong did not seem to care about the life or death of New Korea Media, and he seemed to have already planned his destination.
Not only that, during the conversation, Jin Nanyong kept hinting that Song Yi should leave the company as soon as possible.
Jin Nanyong told Song Yi that if Song Yi went to interview at other companies, he could help write a recommendation letter. If Song Yi took leave to go to the interview, he would still be considered fully present at Shinhan this month.
Song Yi's expression froze. He had been working at Shinhan Media for more than two years and was relatively familiar with the habits of his colleagues.
Although Jin Nanyong was a senior director before, he was cautious in work and life, and was respectful to Chen Zaican and did not easily express his opinions. Now Jin Nanyong gave Song Yi the feeling that he was sharp and had the final say in the company. He had the aura of a superior. Those who didn't know would think that the company's president changed his last name to Jin. Song Yi thanked Jin Nanyong for his kindness and returned to the office after the conversation. The colleagues in the planning group seemed to have heard the news of the company's impending bankruptcy from other channels. They looked panicked. The colleagues in the adjacent workstations were whispering to each other, and they should have been discussing for a while.
When Song Yi sat back in his seat, the planning team immediately became quiet, and even the air temperature seemed to drop by a few degrees. It was obvious that Song Yi, as the leader of the planning team, was still very prestigious in the department.
Song Yi looked at all his colleagues in the planning group, and finally set his sights on Jiang Xiu Na, who had the strongest working ability in the group.
Song Yi invited Jiang Xiu Na to go to the terrace outside the office building. Usually, colleagues in the planning group like to go to the terrace together to chat for a while, which is considered a break from their busy schedule. When Song Yi and Jiang Xiu Na left the office one after another, the quiet planning group instantly became lively again.
Shinhan Media's office is located on the 15th floor of Seoul Plaza, an office building located in the central district of the city. It is very close to the subway entrance and has extremely convenient transportation.
Song Yi looked down at the pedestrians hurrying along the road. These pedestrians looked extremely anxious, like ants rushing to move on a rainy day.
After a while, Jiang Xiuna's voice came from behind Song Yi, "Team Leader, I'm here."
Song Yi turned his head and saw Jiang Xiu Na wearing a white shirt with a knitted jacket and a formal skirt of the same color. Her long hair was tied into a dignified ponytail, showing the temperament of a white-collar beauty.
Jiang Xiu Na thought for a moment and said, "I joined the company in July last year, and now it has been exactly one year."
"When I first joined the company, I knew nothing, and it was you, the team leader, who patiently taught me. If you plan to switch to another company, please take me with you." Jiang Xiu Na said in a firm tone.
Song Yi didn't respond, but changed the subject, "It's been a year, so you can be considered an old employee of Shinhan. I remember that Executive Director Jin Nanyong gave you a public service advertisement project about the renovation of Cheonggyecheon. Do you have any impression?"
Jiang Xiu Na recalled for a moment, "Senior Director Kim asked me to collect information about Cheonggyecheon Stream, and we also went to the river to take photos. Senior Director Kim said that the city government was going to commission our company to shoot a public service advertisement to persuade the citizens along the river to agree to the city government's plan to renovate Cheonggyecheon Stream, but later the public service advertisement project was never heard of."
Cheonggyecheon is a river in the center of Seoul, with a total length of 11 kilometers. The river water flows directly into the Han River. Wastewater from the Cheonggyecheon is directly discharged into this river. In the 1970s, a two-way four-lane viaduct was built over Cheonggyecheon. The stench from this underground canal makes the surrounding citizens miserable and has become a scar in Seoul.
Song Yi's heart moved, "Is the information that Director Jin asked you to organize still there?"
Jiang Xiu Na didn't think much about it. "Mr. Kim later sent all the information to me. I thought he would follow up personally, so I didn't pay attention to it later."
"Do you still remember the specific activity planning content of this public service advertisement?" Song Yi felt that he was about to grasp the key points.
Jiang Xiu Na thought about it carefully, "I don't know the specific content, but I remember that the budget for this advertising case is not small. Our company wants to produce a promotional short film to briefly introduce the current situation of Cheonggyecheon and its appearance after the upgrade and renovation. This promotional film is planned to be broadcast on BS, SBS and MBC TV stations."
"In addition to the promotional video, our company will also build billboards around Cheonggyecheon to publicize the necessity of managing Cheonggyecheon. Because there are tens of thousands of stores and thousands of stalls around Cheonggyecheon, there is also great resistance to the transformation of Cheonggyecheon," said Jiang Xiu Na.
Song Yi smiled. "The government pays for the public service advertisements, so the higher the budget, the better. If you save them money, they might even think that our company is not strong enough."
Song Yi seemed to be thinking about something. "When I first joined the company, a senior warned me that Executive Director Jin Nanyong knew many friends in the political and business circles. It's better to offend the president than to offend him."
"Mr. Jin has strong connections, so it's no surprise that he got the commission from the municipal government. Everyone knows that for advertising projects like this that work with government departments, as long as the work is done well, the client makes few demands and gets paid quickly."
"Now our Shinhan is facing internal and external troubles. What we lack most is working capital. We urgently need such high-quality projects to save the company. I have not seen other advertising companies take over the Cheonggyecheon public service advertisement, which means that someone deliberately shelved this advertising case." Song Yi guessed.
Jiang Xiu Na was young after all, so she blurted out, "You mean that Executive Director Jin deliberately shelved this advertising project and watched the company go bankrupt, but what good would this do him?"
Jiang Xiu Na regretted what she said and covered her mouth. How could she doubt the company's senior leaders in front of her colleagues? This was also a taboo in the workplace.
Song Yi looked relaxed and comforted Jiang Xiu Na, "Don't worry, this is not an office, no one else can hear our conversation."
"Let's put it this way. If Shinhan restarts the public service advertising program now, the profits it generates for the company will only be enough to offset Shinhan's debts, allowing Shinhan to barely survive."
"But if Shinhan goes bankrupt and liquidates, Jin Nanyong will take over the company and then change its name and use a new advertising company to undertake the city government's public service advertising plan. Then all the profits will fall into his personal pocket. If it were you, what would you choose?" Song Yi asked Jiang Xiu Na.
I’m going to publish a new book on April Fool’s Day, which is a business + entertainment article that I’m good at. Thank you all for your support. Thank you!
(End of this chapter)