Anyang, Gyeonggi Province, Republic of Korea — Headquarters of the Korea National Oil Corporation.
Choi Kyung-taek, the president of the Korea National Oil Corporation, who had a gentle and kindly appearance, sat on the sofa fidgeting nervously at the sudden visit from an unexpected guest.
He repeatedly rolled up his sleeves to check the watch on his wrist, then turned to Hwang Dae-hyun, the executive director seated to his left, and asked,
"Chairman Park said he would arrive at one, right?"
"Yes. Director Chu is waiting in the lobby to receive him, so we'll be notified as soon as he arrives."
President Choi Kyung-taek, unable to sit still, tapped his fingers against the armrest of the sofa and muttered to himself.
"I don't understand why a heavyweight like Chairman Park Seok-won would suddenly want to see me."
When he had received the call yesterday saying that Seok-won personally wanted to meet him in the chairman's office of Bluehole Group, he had been utterly shocked.
Among the many state-run public enterprises, the Korea National Oil Corporation was by far the largest.
And President Choi Kyung-taek himself was a former National Assembly member from the ruling Minpyeong Party, a seasoned figure in politics with enough stature that he wouldn't feel intimidated wherever he went.
It was precisely because of that background that he had been able to secure the coveted position of president of the Korea National Oil Corporation.
But no matter how influential he was, in front of Seok-won, he had no choice but to lower his tail and feel tense.
Seok-won was someone whom even the most powerful figures within the administration—those capable of removing President Choi with a single phone call—treated with deference, and even the Blue House could not touch him carelessly.
In fact, ahead of the presidential election, both the ruling and opposition parties had collected massive campaign funds from corporations.
Yet it was widely known in Yeouido that only Bluehole and Daehung Group had drawn a firm line: they contributed only the legally mandated amount and refused to give more.
Had it been any other conglomerate, they would have been targeted by both sides and made an example of, suffering severe consequences immediately, but Bluehole and Daehung Group emerged completely unscathed.
It wasn't that politicians from both parties had suddenly become generous; they had simply turned a blind eye because of Seok-won standing behind the two groups.
Because of this incident, both political and business circles came to fully realise just how immense Seok-won's power was.
So when such a man suddenly announced that he would be coming to visit, President Choi Kyung-taek had no choice but to fidget restlessly like a dog desperate to relieve itself.
"Do you have any idea what he might be coming for?"
Hwang Dae-hyun, the executive director wearing gold-rimmed glasses, pondered for a moment before cautiously offering his opinion.
"In my view, it may have something to do with SA Oil, which Chairman Park recently acquired."
President Choi Kyung-taek frowned slightly and leaned forward as he asked,
"As far as I know, there's nothing particularly linking us with SA Oil."
"I looked into various possibilities just in case, but aside from routine business dealings, there wasn't anything unusual. Still, other than SA Oil, there wouldn't really be any reason for him to come to us, would there?"
"Could it be that he wants something related to the Sakhalin oil fields?"
Executive Director Hwang Dae-hyun shook his head as he replied.
"That's possible, but the crude oil and natural gas from the Sakhalin fields are in such high demand that domestic refiners are practically scrambling to secure supply—even without our involvement."
"That's true."
President Choi Kyung-taek smacked his lips.
Unlike Middle Eastern crude, which had to be transported a gruelling 25,000 kilometers by tanker—passing through the Strait of Hormuz and around the Indochina Peninsula to reach Korea—the crude oil and natural gas from Siberian fields only needed to travel about 1,700 kilometers.
In other words, the transport distance was reduced to nearly one-fifteenth compared to Middle Eastern crude.
Naturally, this resulted in significant savings in both time and cost, which was why domestic refiners were fiercely competing with one another to secure those supplies.
"Once Chairman Park Seok-won arrives, we'll find out what he wants, so let's wait a little longer."
"Hmm."
President Choi Kyung-taek nodded.
Knock, knock.
At that moment, with a light knock, a staff member from the secretary's office opened the door and spoke.
"Chairman Park Seok-won of Bluehole Group has arrived and is on his way up."
"Alright."
President Choi Kyung-taek, his face tense, adjusted his tie.
Before long, Seok-won—dressed in a navy suit—entered the president's office together with SA Oil President Hyun Dong-jin, accompanied by aides and guided by Director Chu Jin-young, who had gone out to receive them.
Although they had no personal acquaintance, President Choi Kyung-taek recognised Seok-won well from photos in broadcasts and newspapers. Forcing a friendly smile, he stepped forward first and offered his greeting.
"Welcome. I'm Choi Kyung-taek, president of the Korea National Oil Corporation."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Park Seok-won. And this is Hyun Dong-jin, president of SA Oil."
Seok-won shook hands as he introduced Hyun Dong-jin, who had come with him.
"Haha, I know. I've met President Hyun a few times at industry gatherings."
"I see."
At that, President Choi Kyung-taek gestured to the man beside him and said,
"This is Hwang Dae-hyun, one of our executive directors."
"It's a pleasure to meet you."
Executive Director Hwang Dae-hyun bowed politely in greeting.
"Come, please have a seat."
After briefly exchanging introductions, President Choi Kyung-taek let out a hearty laugh and invited them to sit.
They took seats facing each other on the leather sofas in the office, chatting about various topics. A female secretary entered, set down coffee for each person, and quietly left.
Feeling that the atmosphere had relaxed to some extent, President Choi Kyung-taek cautiously glanced at Seok-won sitting across from him before speaking.
"I was truly surprised to hear so suddenly that you wanted to meet me, Chairman."
At that, Seok-won lifted his coffee cup with a relaxed demeanour and smiled faintly.
"I'm sorry if I startled you unnecessarily."
"Haha, not at all. It's an honour, rather, to meet someone as renowned as Chairman Park in person."
President Choi Kyung-taek cleared his throat with a small cough.
"I heard you had something to discuss with me—what might that be?"
With a faint smile, Seok-won brought up the matter at hand.
"In truth, I came because I have a proposal to make to you, President."
"A proposal, you say?"
"That's right."
President Choi Kyung-taek tilted his head with a puzzled expression.
"Please, go ahead and tell me what it is."
Seok-won set down his coffee cup after taking a sip and looked straight at President Choi.
"We would like to lease, on a long-term basis, the idle storage capacity within the domestic crude oil reserve facilities."
"...!"
At the unexpected proposal, not only President Choi Kyung-taek but also Executive Director Hwang Dae-hyun and Director Chu Jin-young—who were seated beside him—blinked in surprise.
Seeing their reaction, SA Oil President Hyun Dong-jin picked up the conversation and spoke.
"As far as we know, the storage facilities are filled to about 74% capacity."
When President Choi Kyung-taek turned his head to look, Executive Director Hwang Dae-hyun let out a small cough and answered in his stead.
"The reserve level of the storage facilities is classified as top-level state secret, so I can't give an exact figure, but it's roughly around that level."
"That's why we'd like to lease the unused, vacant space and pay for its use."
After listening, President Choi Kyung-taek asked with a bewildered expression,
"So you're saying you want to store crude oil in the facilities we own?"
"That's correct."
Seok-won nodded.
At that, Executive Director Hwang Dae-hyun pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses and hurriedly cut in.
"No matter how you look at it, that would be over 16 million barrels of crude. Are you really planning to fill all of that?"
"That's the plan."
At Seok-won's answer, given without even a hint of hesitation, Executive Director Hwang couldn't hide his bewilderment, his mouth left slightly open.
Even though oil prices had recently plunged, 16 million barrels still amounted to well over 300 million dollars—an enormous volume by any measure.
President Choi Kyung-taek, now wearing a serious expression, clasped his hands together as he asked,
"What do you intend to do with that much crude oil that you need to store it?"
Since he couldn't exactly say that he planned to buy it cheap now and sell it later at a higher price, Seok-won put on a nonchalant expression and offered the excuse he had prepared in advance.
"You're aware that I recently acquired SA Oil."
"Ah, yes. Of course."
The gazes of President Choi Kyung-taek and the others naturally shifted toward SA Oil President Hyun Dong-jin, who was seated across from them, before returning.
"With international oil prices fluctuating like they are these days, we intend to store surplus reserves to ensure a stable supply of crude."
It sounded plausible, but paying a considerable lease fee to store such a large volume of oil still didn't quite add up.
Moreover, unlike other refining companies, SA Oil—under Seok-won's ownership—had access to the Sakhalin oil fields, which could provide a stable supply of crude at relatively low cost, making it even more questionable.
"I understand that SA Oil also has its own crude storage facilities..."
When Executive Director Hwang Dae-hyun asked cautiously, President Hyun Dong-jin nodded.
"That's correct. However, the storage capacity only covers about a week's supply, so our inventory isn't sufficient. And as you know, constructing new storage tanks would take a considerable amount of time, so we're trying to increase our reserves by leasing facilities from the Korea National Oil Corporation."
He wanted to ask why they were making such a fuss when most other refining companies operated with similar inventory levels, but with Seok-won sitting right in front of him, he had no choice but to keep his mouth shut.
President Choi Kyung-taek spoke with a slightly troubled expression.
"I understand what you're saying. However, the storage tanks we possess are, quite literally, facilities meant to secure crude oil for national emergencies. Because of that, we cannot simply lease out the storage space."
Even as he lowered himself to refuse as politely as possible, President Choi Kyung-taek felt increasingly uneasy inside.
If Seok-won—someone even the Blue House could not treat lightly—were to get angry, he could already feel cold sweat forming at the thought of the consequences.
However, Seok-won showed no sign of displeasure. Instead, as if he had expected this response, he maintained a calm expression.
"Of course, that would be the case. However, while new reserve facilities are being significantly expanded in Yeosu, Seosan, and Geoje, isn't it true that the budget for purchasing reserve oil is insufficient, making it difficult to fully utilise the available storage capacity?"
At Seok-won's mention of an issue that had already been pointed out during a recent parliamentary audit, President Choi's expression stiffened.
"They don't provide the budget to fill the storage tanks, yet they criticise you for having insufficient reserves—it must be quite frustrating."
As President Choi kept his lips tightly sealed, Seok-won spoke again in a subtle, measured tone.
"If we fill all the empty storage tanks with crude oil we bring in and establish an agreement granting the government priority purchase rights in case of an emergency, you won't have to struggle to secure additional budget for reserve oil purchases or face questioning again during the parliamentary audit."
At that, President Choi Kyung-taek's fingertips twitched involuntarily, and the other two also showed clear interest.
"If you lease us the idle space, we are willing to invest in expanding storage capacity at the Geoje and Ulsan reserve bases."
"...!"
President Choi Kyung-taek's eyes gleamed as he asked,
"Are you serious?"
At the candid reaction, Seok-won bared his teeth in a grin.
"I think around 200 billion won would be appropriate—what do you think?"
As it happened, they had already been struggling to meet the government's plan to expand crude oil reserves to 141 million barrels by 2008.
But if Seok-won were to invest 200 billion won, it would resolve a significant portion of their funding problems.
Moreover, since he would be bringing in the crude oil to fill the storage tanks himself, they could redirect the budget originally allocated for purchasing reserves toward facility construction, allowing them to accelerate the achievement of their target.
Sure enough, President Choi Kyung-taek took the bait Seok-won had thrown without hesitation.
"Will you really invest 200 billion won?"
"If you'd like, I can have the contract drawn up right away."
At the decisive reply, President Choi Kyung-taek quickly nodded.
"Very well. It's space that has been sitting unused anyway, so it would be far better for someone to make use of it. Let's proceed as you suggested."
"You've made a wise decision."
Seok-won smiled broadly as he shook his hand.