Avatar:Keum Enterprises

<infobox theme-source="nation"> <image source="image" /> <title source="name"><default>Keum Enterprises</default></title> <group> <header>General information</header> <label>Leader(s)</label> <label>Notable members</label> <label>Founder(s)</label> <label>Headquarters</label> <label>Affiliation</label> <label>Purpose</label> <label>Engagements</label> <label>Status</label> </group> <group> <header>Chronological information</header> <label>First appearance</label> <label>Last appearance</label> </group> <header></header> </infobox> Keum Enterprises is a large business conglomerate headquartered in Republic City. It is one of the five largest corporations found in the city's downtown district, competing with Varrick Global Industries, Future Industries, Cabbage Corp, and the San Ho Consortium.

The company's portfolio is largely based in real estate. It owned the land that the Republic City spirit portal was created upon, on which the company's CEO, Wonyong Keum, hoped to capitalize. After Keum's life was saved by Avatar Korra and her allies, he donated the land to the city. President Zhu Li Moon thus chose to bestow the land to the Air Nation.

Keum Enterprises still owns many other properties and also manufactures consumer goods. The company occupies a middle ground between the affordable, but lower-quality reputation of Cabbage Corp, and the high-end, cutting-edge, and luxury products produced by Future Industries.

History

Wonyong Keum was in charge of the company by 166 AG, when he met with Hiroshi Sato to discuss manufacturing gas dispersion pumps for mecha tanks. Keum was unwilling to help Sato, a secret Equalist, in his pursuit to manufacture weapons. He therefore backed out of a large deal with Future Industries. Hiroshi's daughter, Asami Sato, did not understand the reason for the deal being called off, and so held back from doing business with Keum Enterprises when she became CEO of Future Industries upon her father's arrest.

As the Spirit Wilds sprang up in Republic City's downtown area, much of the land affected was part of Keum Enterprises' real estate portfolio. This included the land surrounding the new spirit portal, created by a discharge of spiritual energy from the Colossus's spirit energy cannon during General Kuvira's failed invasion of the United Republic. In spite of the unprecedented spiritual implications, Wonyong Keum maintained his claim to the land around the portal, and intended to turn the area into an amusement park.

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Following the battle at the Republic City spirit portal, Tokuga attacked Wonyong Keum and seized control of the company's assets.

The Air Nation began to push back against Keum's plans, organizing a sit-in protest on the land. Keum came to visit the area himself, and a dragon eel spirit told him that no deed could give him the right to ravage and plunder the Spirit World. Avatar Korra proceeded to intimidate the businessman and his workers away from the area surrounding the portal. Wonyong hired the Triple Threat Triad to secure his claims to the property. However, Tokuga double-crossed the businessman, as he was furious about being deformed by a spirit attack. As Tokuga started to strangle Keum, the mobster asserted that he was taking control of Keum Enterprises and all its assets. Tokuga planned to immediately use this to directly finance the Triple Threat Triad and solve its money problems.

Mako began to suspect the link between Keum and the Tokuga. He and Bolin asked Lin Beifong to bring in the businessman for questioning, but Beifong emphatically denied them permission unless they found hard evidence that Keum was connected to the triads, as she was aware of the difficulties of going after the city's most powerful and well-connected land developer. Mako and Bolin tried to speak with Keum at his downtown office, but were denied access by the receptionist. The security guards there also informed the police officers that Keum had not been seen in two days, but that they had done nothing as far as the company's CEO was a private man who did not like to involve the authorities. Korra, Mako, and Bolin caught up to Tokuga, and found that he was keeping the businessman hostage aboard an Earth Empire airship that he had seized control of.

President Raiko defended Keum's ownership of the land around the portal when he asked the Air Nation to call off another protest. Meanwhile, Keum was moved to the Earthen Fire Refinery, where he was kept hostage alongside Asami Sato. Tokuga forced Asami to attach a gas dispersion pump to an airship in his plot to hold Republic City hostage with poison gas. He threatened to kill Keum if Asami did not help him, and the CEO of Future Industries chose to comply. Keum earnestly apologized to Asami as she proceeded to carry out the mobster's demands. Korra arrived at the scene and tried to hold off Tokuga, but the triad leader had his underlings bring the two businesspeople aboard the airship as hostages. Tokuga proceeded to make demands for the president to give him ultimate control over Republic City, noting that any attempt to bring down the airship carrying the gas dispersion pump would result in the deaths of Keum and Asami. However, Asami had sabotaged the pump, having modified it to spread gas inside the airship itself. She and Keum donned gas masks to protect themselves, though Tokuga attacked Asami and wrestled the mask off her, though Keum fought back to protect her. Korra came on board and saved Asami just as the gas started spreading outside the ship, and Asami was forced to pilot the ship into the Spirit World to save the people below.

Wonyong Keum offered to abandon his claim on the land, and hoped to do business with Asami Sato in the future.

After the airship crash-landed in the Spirit World, Mako handcuffed Keum for his involvement with the Triple Threat Triad. The incident had also turned several spirits dark, and the dragon eel spirit pointed to Keum and his exploitative plans as evidence that humans and spirits could never live in peace. Korra thus considered closing the portal, but Keum offered to abandon his claim on the land around the portal. He told the spirit that he owed his life to the Avatar and her girlfriend, and the last thing he now wanted to do was bring more hostility to Republic City. He said he was now committed to supporting the Avatar in bringing peace. The spirit said that Keum's offer was enough to let the matter lie for the time being. With their personal issues now behind them, Keum also expressed his hope to do business with Future Industries. Keum turned over all his company's properties in the Spirit Wilds over to the city, just as Zhu Li Moon was elected as the new president. The president-elect stated that her first act would be to bestow the spirit portal and the wilds to the Air Nation.

After Tokuga's insurrection, Keum Enterprises attempted to make use of the spirit vines that they had ownership of. They began to build a research and development facility to discover civilian use for spirit vine energy, but pushback from the Avatar and the president led Wonyong Keum to halt those plans. Keum began to participate in negotiations with the government, promising them the greatest of controls and restrictions on the research to ensure that nothing and no one was harmed. Many other major corporate interests of Republic City tried to gain insight into what Keum Enterprises had done or was still doing. Keum is still looking to hire technologists and workers wise about the use of spirit vines, and is looking to hire more security in order to protect his company against industrial espionage or sabotage.

Even after ceding their properties, Keum Enterprises is now considered the most secure and least embattled company in Republic City, as it has more cash on hand than Future Industries, more functional facilities than Cabbage Corp, fewer criminal entanglements than the San Ho Consortium, and its leadership is far more predictable than that of Varrick Global Industries. The company is also one of several large corporations to hold Republic City's debts in light of the various conflicts of the early 170s AG. Being some of the government's key creditors has been part of a larger trend of growing corporate influence over politics. Keum Enterprises has also poached several Future Industries workers, as the rival company started to struggle with low cash reserves due to the city's unpaid debts.

Headquarters

Keum Tower

Keum Tower initially hosted the downtown offices of Keum Enterprises. However, the location became part of Republic City's Spirit Wilds, and the high-rise building became coated in vines.

The offices were turned over to the Air Nation when Wonyong Keum relinquished his deed to all properties in the Spirit Wilds. Since the airbenders already had dormitories on Air Temple Island, none of them saw much use for the building until people started moving into the first three floors, with many of them being evacuees who lost their homes in Kuvira's invasion. Keum Tower soon got a bad reputation, and has become known as a place of delinquency, as well as creativity and freedom. Keum's equipment is now regularly picked over for parts or reinvented into new machines and sculptures. Meanwhile, Keum Enterprises became permanently headquartered in their office in downtown proper.

Downtown office

The company's downtown office is a tall tower that has many large plate glass windows. A large, golden inscription of the character for "Keum" is situated near the top of the tower. The building has green roofing, and there is also roofing between the top story and the rest of the tower. A golden dragon statue is located at the very top.

The inside of the building has a large reception, and is usually full of various businesspeople. Even before the headquarters in Keum Tower were closed, this was bustling with activity, and the receptionist would even turn away the police if they did not have an appointment. There are also many private security guards stationed in the office.

Notable members

• Wonyong Keum - Chief Executive Officer
• Tokuga - Temporarily seized control of the company's assets through intimidation
• Downtown office receptionist
• Downtown office security