Real Man

Chapter 492:

His plan also included the advice he had received.

“I’ll do that. I’ll give it a try.”

-Haha. I’m curious about the result.

“I’ll let you know when it’s over. But how did you come up with this idea?”

When Yoo-hyun asked the question that suddenly came to his mind, he got an unexpected answer from Park Doo-sik, the deputy manager.

-I saw it in a movie.

“Really? A movie?”

-Why? Does it look implausible?

He thought he had a serious secret, but it was just a movie.

Yoo-hyun chuckled and shook his head.

“Of course not. It’s very desirable. I’ll ask for more advice in the future.”

-Anytime. Just let me know if you need it. I’ll do it twice, three times.

With the gentle words of his senior, who used to be as high as the sky, as the background sound, Yoo-hyun stepped on the accelerator.

Vroom.

The car carrying Yoo-hyun slid along the open road.

He slowed down as he reached his destination, a large wall with the Hansung Precision logo on it.

There was a car-only entrance with a barrier on the side.

He could have entered by just mentioning the name of the Group Strategy Office, but Yoo-hyun just passed by.

Instead, he parked his car in an outdoor parking lot a little further away.

Clank.

He got out of the car and put on a jumper with the Hansung Precision logo instead of his suit jacket.

There was no reason to stand out, as not only the office workers but also the key executives wore this light gray jumper.

Yoo-hyun finished his preparations and entered the gate for the Wonju factory workers.

Beep.

He had already changed the ID card settings with the master authority, so there was no problem with entering.

Thanks to that, Yoo-hyun was able to enter the factory quietly without leaving any traces.

This was all thanks to the master card that Bae Jae-chan, the team leader, had given him.

‘Very good.’

Yoo-hyun lightened his steps.

As he passed through the entrance, the sight of the Wonju factory, which was blocked by the outer wall, came into his view.

It was about twice the size of the Ulsan 4th factory, where he had stayed during his dispatch period, and six relatively small buildings were gathered on the spacious site.

Out of the total of 3,000 employees, including engineers, there were 300 office workers, and the rest were mostly production workers.

Most of them were shift workers, and the high proportion of older production workers was a distinctive feature.

Thud thud.

As he walked, reciting the information he had researched beforehand, he saw a crowd of people on the vacant lot in front of the B factory.

He could guess the general atmosphere by just looking at the outdoor stage that was out of place with the factory and the banner that was hung on it.

-Strike resolution if the 5th wage negotiation fails. Struggle is the only way to survive!

A man with a loudspeaker shouted from the stage with the words ‘union resolution meeting’ on it.

“We, the Wonju factory workers, have been exploited. We have to stand up now and get our fair wages from the management.”

“That’s right. Raise our wages by 20 percent.”

Behind him, the men in work clothes who were standing in line shouted in unison, and a man in the corner filmed the scene with a camera.

He was wearing a Hansung Precision work uniform, but the camera he was holding did not look like a management camera.

The shoes he wore under his suit pants showed that he was an outsider.

Yoo-hyun approached him and overlaid the impression he had confirmed with a photo beforehand on the man’s face.

‘Hanseil News Nam Min-sik reporter.’

He was the reporter who first reported the news of this strike and kept raising interest.

How did an outside reporter get into the factory?

Yoo-hyun thought of the expected cause and quietly passed by the sitting employees.

They all looked like they had been working at the factory for a long time, judging by the faded color of their work clothes.

They didn’t seem to care about Yoo-hyun, who was wearing an office jumper.

The union leaders who were standing in the middle also glanced at Yoo-hyun but did not interfere.

Unlike what he had seen in the news, there was no fierce confrontation between the office and production workers.

There was another strange point.

“We have been working under oppression without proper rest areas. This is all because of the incompetent management.”

“That’s right. The factory manager should step down.”

The voice continued to echo through the loudspeaker, and the union team workers agitated on the stage, but the audience did not show much reaction.

It was too quiet for a place with so many attendees.

It was as if they were not considering a strike.

Yoo-hyun, who was puzzled, heard the conversation of two employees sitting at the end.

“When will this end? It’s almost time to go to the shift work.”

“Just leave when the time comes. What are you worried about?”

“But I feel sorry. They’re working hard to raise our wages every time.”

“Then just bear with it a little longer. They say attendance rate helps the negotiation.”

“Okay. I’ll tell the foreman that I’ll be right on time.”

It wasn’t just these two employees.

The other employees also showed concern for the field, checking the shift work time.

Did this look like a factory with a 87% strike approval rate?

Yoo-hyun moved his seat to confirm the part he guessed.

A moment later, he was sitting on a bench in front of the smoking area of the C factory, listening to the conversation next to him.

This was a convenient place to get information.

Relatively young people who had been sitting at the resolution meeting earlier smoked and raised their voices.

“Ah. They really switched to two shifts.”

“Two shifts are not the problem. Why are there so many parts per person?”

“How did the Wonju factory workers endure this?”

“They didn’t know anything. They’ve been doing this for 10 years, 20 years. How would they know anything strange?”

“The situation is like this, but the factory manager is only pushing us to die. Tsk tsk.”

“Did you not hear that? The factory manager…”

“Wow. He’s trash.”

As he listened to the conversation, Yoo-hyun matched the situation he had guessed and the current situation in his head.

There was a slight difference in some parts, so Yoo-hyun walked more.

Smoking area, rest area, cafe, snack bar, cafeteria, etc.

He visited places where people gathered and found a common point.

Most of the complaints came from the production workers who had moved from the Seosan factory.

The number of people who had moved from the Seosan factory during the large-scale personnel reshuffle earlier this year was considerable, so if their complaints were combined, it could make a big noise.

-The cause of this strike situation is the agitation of the Seosan factory workers who moved. The Wonju factory workers, who have never been on strike, participated in the strike vote because they were influenced by them.

This was a problem that Bae Jae-chan, the team leader, had pointed out once in his report to Song Hyun-seung, the executive director.

In Yoo-hyun’s view, it was the management that first gave the Seosan factory workers a pretext.

The management had forced a large number of people to move, so naturally, there was a housing problem.

The job placement that did not suit their aptitude was also an issue.

It was not easy to learn and follow the work of the Wonju factory, which had the characteristic of producing various products in small quantities.

It was impossible for the newly transferred employees to match the performance of the veteran employees who had been working for 10 or 20 years.

They should have been considerate of these aspects, but the new factory manager pushed them harder.

With various problems piled up, and having to work overtime every day, it was inevitable that the complaints would explode.

Was this the fuse that made the people rise up?

It was consistent with the inference of Bae Jae-chan, the team leader, but there was a mismatch in the cause and effect.

No matter how hard the situation of the Seosan factory workers was, it was someone else’s business.

There was no reason for the Wonju factory workers to participate in the strike for the first time.

In other words, there was a link between them somewhere.

Yoo-hyun stopped by the union office on the first floor of the B factory to check this part.

Buzzing.

Despite the working hours, the union office was noisy.

Yoo-hyun entered through the open door and quickly scanned the spacious space.

There were desks lined up in a row on a long surface, and behind them were the employees who looked like an apartment entrance consultation office.

The employees sitting across from each other asked questions without hesitation, as if they were used to this situation.

A middle-aged female employee sitting near the entrance was no exception.

“Is it true that they give you money if you don’t eat dinner at the Seosan factory?”

“Yes. They pay for the dinner separately. Look here…”

When a young union team employee handed out a document, the middle-aged female employee was surprised.

“Oh my. It’s not just the dinner. You can skip the morning shift the next day if you work extra?”

“This is not only for the Seosan factory, but also for the Changwon factory.”

“Why didn’t we know that?”

“That’s why we have to change the Wonju factory too.”

Yoo-hyun looked at the poster on the wall, listening to the young union team employee’s explanation.

It contained the current problems of the Wonju factory with comparative pictures.

They were not in the information that the Strategic Team had investigated, but they were not trivial issues.

From simple attendance issues to personnel issues, poor working environment, and wrong compensation system.

The various problems listed were the parts that needed improvement regardless of the strike.

He slowly checked the contents and a union team employee approached him and asked.

“Can I help you with anything? I can give you a consultation if you’re okay.”

“Do you also tell me about the strike conditions? I want to know properly.”

“Of course. Of course. The office workers should also know the reality.”

The union team employee treated Yoo-hyun with a friendly smile.

This was very different from the union team that Yoo-hyun knew.

They were not wearing red bands with the words ‘solidarity’ and ‘struggle’ on their heads and shouting loudly, but they approached him naturally like any other employee.

The content of their speech was also quite detailed and specific.

“First of all, the reason why we want to raise the wages is because of the characteristics of the Wonju factory…”

It was not a profound content, and there were many errors from the management’s point of view.

But it was impressive that they explained it in a way that anyone could sympathize with.

It was the result of the union team’s efforts.

‘I see why the Wonju factory workers also voted for the strike.’

Apart from the bastards who stirred things up behind the scenes, the intentions of the union team employees below were pure.

They just didn’t know that their efforts would be used for the wrong people.

Yoo-hyun, who had confirmed the doubtful part, asked the employee a question.

“Thank you for your explanation. Are you from the Wonju factory?”

“Yes. Of course. I was a bit obscure before, but I’ve been in the union team all along.”

“I see. But how do you know so well about the other factories?”

The union team employee shrugged his shoulders at Yoo-hyun’s complimenting question.

“I studied. I learned a lot from the seniors who came from the Seosan factory. Our factory had a lot of problems.”

“Is the union chairman also from there?”

“Yes. The chairman taught us a lot. Thanks to him, the employees are working hard together.”

It was a somewhat formal speech, but it seemed sincere as far as his passion was concerned.

Yoo-hyun thanked the employee who gave him a fresh stimulus.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“Haha. What did I do? Please be careful.”

The employee greeted him brightly and Yoo-hyun left the union office.

For some reason, a bitter smile appeared on Yoo-hyun’s lips.

At the same time, the factory manager, Ahn Hong-gu, who was sitting on the sofa in his office, frowned.

“Why isn’t that group strategy guy coming? It’s been over a week.”

“He’ll be here soon. Don’t worry and stay put.”

When Ahn Hong-gu, the factory manager, kept trying to back off, Chu Jung-hwan, the executive director in charge of management support, pressed him.

“Manager Ahn, just stay still. I’ve already arranged everything with the union chairman. I’ll take care of it.”

“Huh. Okay. I hope it ends soon.”

Ahn Hong-gu, the factory manager, leaned back on the sofa, hiding his anxiety.

Zing.

Chu Jung-hwan, the executive director’s phone rang, and his lips curled up as he checked the message.

“The group strategy guy will be here tomorrow. He’s asking how to apply for a visitor. He must be a rookie.”

“Really? Huh, well. I guess I was worried for nothing.”

“That’s right. What did I tell you? Let’s finish this and go to a room. Let’s call Nam Ki, the reporter, too.”

“Haha. Of course. Let’s have some fun.”

The factory manager, Ahn Hong-gu, finally smiled, relieved.