"Hello, it's a pleasure to meet the lucky winner."
Having decided to go public, I contacted a well-known weekly magazine, revealing that I was the jackpot winner and requesting an interview.
The magazine was ecstatic and immediately dispatched a reporter after verifying the certificate from the casino.
I met the reporter, a woman in a beige suit, at a trendy cafe. She looked at me with sparkling eyes, making me slightly uncomfortable.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Park Sol."
She shook my hand and smiled.
"As you requested, we'll only publish photos of your body, not your face. Just relax and talk to me like we're having a conversation. And…"
She flipped through her notepad.
"I might ask some sensitive questions, such as the rumors about illegal overseas gambling. Is that okay?"
I smiled.
"Ask me anything. I have nothing to hide. I agreed to this interview because I didn't want my family and employees to be affected by those baseless rumors."
She nodded.
"Your employees… Alright, shall we begin the interview?"
"Let's do that."
We sat down, and the cameraman started taking photos as the interview began.
"Let me ask again, what's your name?"
"Park Sol."
"Are you the one who won the 50 billion won mega jackpot in Macau?"
"Yes, that's me."
Her eyes sparkled.
"You must be thrilled to be the winner of such a huge jackpot, the first in almost five years. I'm so envious."
I shook my head.
"I was just lucky."
"Can you tell us what you do for a living?"
This was it.
"I'm in the eco-friendly recycling business."
She tilted her head.
"Eco-friendly recycling business? What's that?"
"Simply put, I run a junkyard and a secondhand goods business."
Her expression faltered slightly.
"I see. A junkyard. So you won't be doing that anymore now that you've won 50 billion won."
This was the usual perception of junkyards.
A dirty and lowly job for uneducated, unemployed people.
"It's a bit disheartening to hear you call it 'that kind of work.'"
She said, flustered,
"I apologize if I offended you. I…"
"As long as this world exists, there will be an endless supply of trash. And someone has to clean it up. The beautiful streets and scenery we enjoy exist because of people like us, working hard behind the scenes. It's a necessary job. And I'm proud of what I do."
As she fumbled for words, I smiled and said,
"I'm not blaming you. That's the general perception. And it's true that I handle trash. Shall we continue the interview?"
"I apologize."
She regained her composure and continued, consulting her notepad.
"How did you end up at the casino?"
"I was in China on business, and I visited the casino for sightseeing after finishing my work."
"Business?"
She looked at me as if she couldn't believe a junkyard owner would have business in China. I smiled and said,
"Our company has a factory in Shenzhen, China. It's less than an hour away from Macau by boat, so I decided to visit, and I never imagined I would win the jackpot."
"I see…"
She seemed skeptical, but she continued the interview.
"You're aware that gambling in casinos is illegal under Korean law, right? Many people suspect you of illegal overseas gambling. Can you explain?"
I nodded.
"I learned about that after winning the jackpot. I had never gambled or visited a casino before, so I wasn't aware."
"So you only realized the seriousness of the situation afterward. Don't you think you were careless? And in cases like this, there are often violations of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act. Can you tell us how much money you used for gambling and where it came from?"
She was clearly trying to portray me as a villain.
She kept mentioning gambling, the source of funds, and legal violations, trying to connect the dots and confirm the existing rumors.
But I smiled and said,
"I won the jackpot on a slot machine I had never played before, with a single $5 chip. I think I spent less than $1,000 on other games. And the source of funds? It's a bit awkward to ask about the source of less than $1,000. Haha."
She didn't seem satisfied with my answer and asked in a more aggressive tone,
"People are being asked to refrain from traveling overseas due to the foreign currency shortage. $1,000 is not a small amount to be spending at a casino. Don't you think you were being careless?"
I put on a slightly offended expression.
"I and my company are diligently earning foreign currency through exports. It's a bit unfair to accuse me like this."
"What?"
"Our company's overseas export sales exceeded $50 million last year. We're aiming for $200 million this year. It's a bit much to criticize me for spending $1,000 when we're bringing in over $200 million in foreign currency."
Her eyes widened at the unexpected amount.
"$200 million? 200 billion won?"
I nodded.
"Yes, we mainly export to China and Japan."
She looked dazed and confused.
"But you said you run a junkyard and a secondhand goods business?"
"That's right. There's no rule that junkyards have to be small businesses. You can think of us as a corporate junkyard."
"What do you export?"
I pretended to think for a moment and then said,
"We buy discarded clothes and secondhand goods and export them."
Her eyes gleamed as if she had found something.
"By discarded clothes, do you mean the ones people throw away? There was a controversy about illegal secondhand traders imitating the donation boxes installed by the Disabled People's Association. Are you…"
Sensational and controversial stories sold well.
Her dedication to finding a scandal was admirable.
I had been trying to figure out how to bring up the donation box story, and she had just handed it to me on a silver platter.
"Hahaha."
"Is it true?"
I smiled at her eager expression.
"The donation boxes installed by the Disabled People's Association? That's our business."
"What?"
"We're operating the donation boxes on behalf of the Disabled People's Association. Some of the collected clothes are donated to the needy, and the rest are exported. And the profits are donated to the association."
As she struggled to process my unexpected counterattack, I smiled gently and said,
"My business is not exactly glamorous. But that's why I understand the struggles of those who are marginalized in our society. The elderly collecting and selling trash, the disabled who are discriminated against… I and my company have grown alongside them. We provide them with income by recycling what others consider trash, we pay our employees' salaries, and we protect the environment. That's why I called it the 'eco-friendly recycling business.'"
I raised my hands, looking at the dazed reporter.
"A society where everyone coexists and prospers. I believe my business is contributing to that. That's why I never fire my employees. They're the ones who have fallen to the bottom of society. It would be too cruel to push them over the edge. How much can you earn from selling trash anyway? Even with 200 billion won in sales, the actual profit margin isn't that high. But I won't give up, for the sake of my employees and the marginalized in our society. I want to be their umbrella."
The reporter said with a slightly excited voice,
"That's… that's wonderful."
The cameraman cleared his throat, seeing her getting carried away.
The original purpose of the interview was to expose the jackpot winner as a criminal who had earned his fortune through illegal gambling.
But the reporter seemed to be sympathizing with me, so the cameraman was trying to warn her.
She shook her head, regained her composure, and said with a serious expression, consulting her notepad,
"Anyway… you won a 50 billion won jackpot. What are your plans? There are so many things you can do with that kind of money."
I smiled benevolently.
"I don't consider it my money."
"What do you…"
I looked at the confused reporter and said,
"I think it's a gift from heaven, meant to be shared with the less fortunate. Otherwise, how could a $5 chip turn into $50 million? It's a miracle."
Seeing her still confused, I continued,
"I have to pay 30% in local taxes, so after the exchange, it'll be about 35 billion won. I'll add 5 billion won from my personal assets and donate the entire 40 billion won."
The reporter and cameraman were shocked by my announcement.
"Times are tough. Many people are suffering. I believe this money can help them. I'm still deciding how to use it, whether it's for low-income families or scholarships, but I'll donate it all."
She stammered,
"That much money… wouldn't your family object?"
"I'm the CEO of a company with hundreds of billions of won in sales, even with a low profit margin. I have a significant amount of personal wealth. It's not as much as 35 billion won, but it's more than enough for me."
I wasn't lying.
The company had over 1 trillion won in assets, and 93.5% of the shares belonged to me, but that was company money.
My personal assets were less than 35 billion won.
"I can live without that money. But those who are suffering might die without it. I'll use it to help them."
After the interview, the reporter, her face flushed, approached me while the cameraman was packing up.
"That was a very inspiring interview."
"Thank you. You also worked hard."
She glanced at the cameraman and then handed me a note.
"I'd like to talk to you personally if you have time. Oh, I didn't introduce myself. I'm Kim Bo-ram."
"Bo-ram, it was a pleasure meeting you."
I wasn't sure if she was interested in my wealth, my company, or the donation, but she was clearly interested in me.
She was pretty, in a beige suit.
"Alright, I'll contact you soon."
Looks weren't important.
If she wrote a good article, I wouldn't mind taking her out on a few dates.
I smiled brightly.
"I look forward to our next meeting."
And when the weekly magazine was released, Korea was captivated by the story of Park Sol, a young man who had started from nothing, working in a despised industry, built a mid-sized company with over 200 billion won in export sales in just three years, and decided to donate his entire jackpot winnings to help the less fortunate.