Chapter 128: The Super-Large Underground Bunker

Near Sancheok Lake.

The construction site of Dongtan Plant 2.

I stood with Park Cheol-jin, looking at the newly prepared site.

“This is the final design and construction plan for Plant 2.”

The documents Park Cheol-jin handed me included a detailed schedule and structure.

As well as a summary of the construction details.

First, I skimmed the schedule.

• Groundbreaking: Last month, Day 3 (in progress)

• Completion of structural framework: 6 months after groundbreaking

• Installation of major equipment: 9 months after groundbreaking

• Testing and commissioning: 14 months after groundbreaking

• Completion and occupancy: 18 months after groundbreaking

“Wow.”

It was definitely fast, as expected from Park Cheol-jin.

The 18-month period might seem long, but compared to other construction companies that take over 24 months, it was certainly a short construction period.

“…What method will you use for the foundation piling?”

“We plan to use the high-speed vibration press piling method. It reduces noise and vibration by 40% compared to conventional methods and shortens the time by more than 30%.”

Since the construction was taking place right next to the existing Dongtan Plant 1,

if there was too much vibration and noise, it could affect production.

It wasn’t a bad choice.

Park Cheol-jin continued his explanation in his usual calm voice.

“We’ve also left room for design changes, so some areas can be converted into ‘semiconductor cleanrooms’ in the future.”

I nodded.

“As Director Hong probably mentioned, half of the total space should be allocated for semiconductors.”

Currently, we were focusing on smartphone production,

but once things stabilized and we had more financial flexibility, we needed to start producing memory and SoC semiconductors.

I turned to the next page.

It was labeled ‘Building Design Concept.’

• Single large building: 1 unit

• Number of floors: 8 above ground, 1 below ground

• Floor area per floor: 10,500㎡ or more

• Internal structure: Full Flat floor + Modular Bay structure

• Special features: Floor-to-ceiling height of 5.5m or more, expanded column-free design sections

Compared to Plant 1, the effective workspace per floor was nearly 1.7 times larger.

What stood out was the ‘Modular Bay’ structure.

“…Modular Bay?”

When I asked, Park Cheol-jin replied.

“It’s a structure designed to operate each floor as an independent module. The advantage is that almost no structural changes are needed when expanding the semiconductor lines or creating a separate R&D zone in the future.”

In other words, while we were currently setting up smartphone production lines,

if needed, they could be converted into semiconductor production lines, cleanrooms, or test rooms at any time.

“What about energy efficiency?”

Since operating costs were significant, the higher the energy efficiency, the better.

“We expect it to be more than 22% higher than Plant 1.”

The structure integrated ultra-efficient insulation systems, geothermal heating and cooling, and solar power generation.

When he mentioned aiming for both LEED Gold and Platinum certifications, I smiled.

I was confident it would be a state-of-the-art factory.

The next page outlined the production line layout plan.

“Did you work on this part with Team Leader Lee Hye-ryeong?”

Park Cheol-jin nodded.

“I’m not familiar with production processes, so I received a lot of help from Team Leader Lee.”

Since Lee Hye-ryeong, our company’s top production expert, had reviewed it, there was no need to double-check, really.

But I was still curious about how they had arranged it.

• Floors 2–5: 80 SMT (surface-mount technology) lines.

• Floors 6–7: Module assembly and inspection

• Floor 8: R&D test floor (potential conversion to semiconductor line)

• Basement Floor 1: Fully automated logistics center + component storage

The logistics flow was fully automated using an AGV (Automatic Guided Vehicle) system.

“Did you consider scalability as well?”

“The structure allows for adding lines or constructing separate cleanrooms if needed.”

Park Cheol-jin turned the last page and looked up.

“With this factory alone, we can produce 35 million smartphones annually and secure semiconductor production capacity comparable to a medium-sized foundry line.”

It fell slightly short of my goal,

but it was enough to address our immediate needs.

As the wind blew in from Sancheok Lake, I quietly replied.

“The plan is good, but please make sure the actual construction goes smoothly. I’d appreciate your special attention to it.”

“Don’t worry. With the experience from the Qatar project over the past four years, you won’t be disappointed.”

Having just completed the large-scale Qatar Financial District project,

Park Cheol-jin seemed more seasoned than the somewhat awkward person I had first met, resembling the experienced professional I knew from before the regression.

…

…

Since the conversation turned to the Qatar project, I decided to take Park Cheol-jin out for a meal as a gesture of appreciation for his hard work.

Sizzle-sizzle!

Premium ribeye steak was grilling on the barbecue,

and Seong-hwan and Park Cheol-jin swallowed hard, watching it cook.

“You’re busy, but how did you even make it here?”

“Brother! No matter how busy I am, I still have to eat. And you didn’t expect me to miss out on Korean beef, did you?”

I shook my head at Seong-hwan’s cheekiness,

but I wasn’t annoyed.

In fact, I was glad to see him.

“When was the last time the three of us ate together like this?”

“…If my memory serves me right, it was after we secured the Qatar Financial District project.”

It had been almost four years since the three of us last shared a meal.

“We’ve all been really busy. Let’s have a drink.”

I picked up the soju bottle and poured for Park Cheol-jin and Seong-hwan.

“Let’s make a toast.”

“Sure, let’s toast. It’s been a while, so say something, brother.”

“It’s just the three of us. What’s there to say?”

“Come on, you have to say something.”

Even Park Cheol-jin joined in,

so I reluctantly shouted a toast.

“Let’s eat and die!”

“Haha, let’s eat and die!”

“Die!”

Despite our company positions,

the three of us, being around the same age,

had a pretty good atmosphere.

After a few rounds of drinks,

the conversation naturally turned to the Qatar project.

“So, the Qatar Financial District project is in its final stages now?”

Park Cheol-jin nodded in response to my question.

“The overall progress is at 98.5%, essentially just before completion.”

The contract with the Qatari government was for five years,

but true to the Korean preference for speed, we had shortened the construction period by a full year.

Seong-hwan chimed in from the side.

“I heard the Qatari government is very impressed with this project.”

“Yeah, I think I saw that in a report. Didn’t they score a perfect 100 in the A-1 and A-2 block construction quality evaluation?”

Both blocks were handled by Dojin Construction.

Park Cheol-jin nodded, looking slightly embarrassed.

“Then, which areas did Cheongwoon Construction and HaoYi Construction handle?”

Park Cheol-jin answered Seong-hwan’s question.

“Cheongwoon Construction, which was part of our consortium, handled the B-1 and B-2 zones, mainly office buildings, and HaoYi Construction handled the C-1 and C-2 residential complexes.”

Listening to Park Cheol-jin, I was reminded of the situation during the bidding process.

• Dojin Construction: A Block (Central Financial Center + Convention Center Zone)

• Cheongwoon Construction: B Block (International Business District)

• HaoYi Construction: C Block (Residential Complex and Commercial Facilities)

While all blocks were important,

the A Block was the heart of the Qatar Financial District,

and receiving a perfect score there

was an extraordinary achievement, to say the least.

“Brother, looking at Park Cheol-jin now, who would think he was once the representative of a crumbling company?”

Seong-hwan seemed to recall the day we went to recruit Park Cheol-jin.

Park Cheol-jin, who was running Brightstone, a company on the brink of bankruptcy.

“He had the skills even back then. It was just a matter of circumstances.”

I had already experienced Park Cheol-jin’s abilities before the regression,

and although he seemed younger now,

I had briefly worried if he lacked experience.

But it was all unnecessary concern.

“Please stop praising me so much. I’m too embarrassed to know what to do with myself.”

“Haha, then let’s get back to talking about the Qatar project.”

Park Cheol-jin nodded at my words, put down his glass, and continued with additional details.

“Anyway… here’s a summary of the Qatar project results.”

• Total site area: approximately 1.24 million ㎡

• Total number of buildings: 67 units

• Total construction cost: approximately $17.3 billion

• Workforce: average of 23,000 people per day

• Total man-hours: approximately 34 million

“…”

Even with the alcohol buzzing in my head, I was momentarily speechless.

I knew the scale was large,

but I didn’t realize the workforce averaged 23,000 people per day.

Well, it must have been mentioned somewhere in the report,

but with so many things to keep track of, I hadn’t had a chance to confirm that detail.

“If the total construction cost was $17.3 billion, does that mean we made $2.7 billion in profit?”

“It was a $20 billion project, so your calculation is correct.”

Even after deducting labor, materials, and heavy equipment costs,

the project netted nearly $3 billion in profit.

“We made $2.7 billion, but since three companies formed a consortium, we actually earned about $1 billion.”

Seong-hwan sounded a bit disappointed,

but earning $1 billion from a single construction project was still an enormous achievement.

‘Did Mirae Construction earn about $5 billion in profit last year?’

Of course, our profit was accumulated over four years,

but considering it was from a single project, it was certainly praiseworthy.

Moreover, since Mirae Construction was on par with Ahseong Construction,

it was still premature to compare Dojin Construction directly with them.

“What’s the reaction from the Qatari government?”

When I asked, Park Cheol-jin unconsciously curled the corners of his mouth upward.

He seemed to have a lot to say about that.

“We received a letter of appreciation from the Qatar Development and Construction Commission (QDDC), which reports directly to the King.”

Park Cheol-jin mentioned that the area we handled was designated as a ‘landmark’ of the financial district.

Perhaps he brought it to show me,

hand he took out a copy of the letter from his pocket and handed it over.

Dojin Construction has been instrumental in elevating Qatar’s financial industry infrastructure to world-class standards.

His Majesty the King was deeply impressed by Representative Kang Tae-joon’s leadership.“

• Official Letter of Appreciation from the Qatar Development and Construction Commission (QDDC)

“Why did they intentionally write my name instead of yours?”

While Park Cheol-jin was the representative of Dojin Construction,

the letter mentioned my name instead of his.

“Without you, Representative, securing the bid would have been impossible. And it’s also true that the real representative of Dojin Construction isn’t me, but you.”

As Park Cheol-jin said,

I was indeed the true owner of Dojin Construction,

but since he had done most of the work,

I felt a bit guilty about receiving the praise.

“If you really feel guilty, compensate me with a raise.”

If I were sober, I wouldn’t have said something so bold,

but with the alcohol kicking in, I shamelessly brought up the topic of a raise.

So, I also replied, fueled by the alcohol, that I would do so.

Since he had done something praiseworthy, it was only right to reward him.

“So, what’s next?”

“Yes?”

“After completing the financial district, what’s the next step?”

Finally understanding my question, Park Cheol-jin smiled and replied.

“Actually, I have a plan in mind.”

True to his nature as a capable worker, Park Cheol-jin seemed to have already thought about what to do after the financial district.

“I’m curious. Tell me quickly.”

Urged by me, Park Cheol-jin spoke up.

“For the next project… how about participating in the protective facility construction project led by the Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of Korea?”

“Protective facility?”

As I tilted my head in confusion,

Park Cheol-jin added with a meaningful smile.

“It’s a project to build a super-large underground bunker for wartime command and control and the protection of national critical infrastructure, with a total budget of 2 trillion won.”