The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 252



Only Noblemtl

252. Unexpected reaction (1)

A quiet mountain lodge located in Gyeonggi-do.

I had a pleasant drink with Representative Choi Jae-seok at the mountain cabin, which is difficult to find from the outside as it is covered with trees on all sides.

“Congratulations, Governor of Gyeonggi Province.”

“Thanks to the vice-chairman. I was elected governor of Gyeonggi-do with only a 2% margin. Thanks to the vice-chairman who created the issue of attracting a factory, I was able to move the hearts of Gyeonggi-do residents.”

“I created the issue, but because it was Governor Choi, I was able to move the hearts of Gyeonggi Province residents.”

The local elections ended two days ago.

After a fierce battle for approval ratings until the last minute, Rep. Choi Jae-seok was elected governor of Gyeonggi Province, and an event was held today to celebrate his election.

“Through this issue, the National Economy Party was able to produce many local lawmakers.”

“More than 10 mayors were produced. In particular, all major regional markets in Gyeonggi-do were brought to the National Economy Party.”

“Isn’t that also thanks to the vice president? With this local election, the National Economy Party was able to take root in Gyeonggi-do.”

“Wouldn’t we need to win at least two more big elections to fully secure our position?”

“To do so, we are training many politicians from now on. And if many factories are attracted to Gyeonggi-do as promised, we can establish stronger roots.”

How many politicians keep all their promises?

However, the moment you break a major pledge, your supporters turn their heads.

The most important promise that Rep. Choi Jae-seok could make to be elected as governor was to attract factories, and the moment the attraction of factories becomes sluggish, he loses his future political driving force.

“The attraction of the factory will proceed as planned. If a global economic crisis bigger than the IMF crisis occurs, there may be a slight delay, but wouldn’t the public understand that?”

“If something like that happens, who will take issue even if there is a delay in attracting the factory? I hope that something like that will not happen during my term and that factory construction will begin smoothly.”

It was Governor Choi Jae-seok who simply took what I said as a joke.

However, during his term, a huge economic crisis called the subprime mortgage crisis occurred.

Depending on how he handles the economic crisis, the governor of Gyeonggi Province could be his last position, or he could become a big-time politician who can aim for a bigger position.

“What I just said is not a joke. There is a possibility that a major economic crisis will begin in the United States within a year or two. As a result, Korea may experience another IMF-like situation.”

“······An economic crisis is occurring in the United States? America is going through better times than ever before.”

“I agree that now is the heyday. But after the heyday, isn’t there bound to be a period of decline? This is what Taewoo Securities, the Economic Research Institute, and Wall Street are carefully predicting.”

Governor Choi Jae-seok’s face hardened.

The joy he felt after winning a landslide victory in the local elections quickly disappeared.

“You said you have a year or two left?”

“An economic crisis could begin as early as next year.”

“Then there really isn’t much time left. As soon as my term begins, I need to form an economic crisis task force and actively respond to it.”

“Please contact me anytime if you need my help with anything. And I will always share important information with you.”

“This… I thought I was going to raise a toast, but it turned out I was going to raise a toast.”

“If you can purify the poison, it will become medicine. As long as you overcome this crisis well, you will be able to sit in the best position you desire.”

We didn’t drink any more.

I just thought about the future without saying anything.

* * *

In September, I left for a business trip to the United States.

It was to attend a motor show held in Los Angeles.

As soon as I arrived at the airport, David was waiting for me, waving happily.

“Boss! Welcome to the village of angels.”

“I just hope that this auto show will be blessed by angels. Preparations are going well, right?”

“First, get in the car and I’ll tell you the details.”

It was David, driving a luxury limousine.

As I sat in a seat that resembled a hotel room and drank a glass of soda, David continued speaking.

“Seriously, don’t tell me. I don’t know how much I lobbied the motor show committee. Taewoo-Kai Motors already has a reputation, so it wasn’t easy to get qualified to participate, but I drank more alcohol than water to get a booth for Tesla, a new company. “You did.”

“It might not have been possible at any other motor show.”

“The Los Angeles Motor Show was pushed back by the Detroit Motor Show and there were fewer new car or concept car releases, so we postponed the event from this year. We were hoping for the participation of at least one more company, so we were able to secure a Tesla booth.”

The world’s top five motor shows.

In the United States, the Detroit Auto Show was taking place.

However, the Los Angeles Auto Show was gradually declining, being pushed out by Detroit.

Therefore, in order to find a way out, the event was postponed and many companies were encouraged to participate.

“Perhaps after this auto show, the Los Angeles Auto Show will regain its former glory.”

“Hoo! It looks like you’ve prepared a really great car. I guess I’ll have to open my wallet and take a look, too.”

“Even if you have money, you can’t buy it right now. This time, we’re simply releasing it. It will take another year or two before it is officially commercialized.”

“That’s a shame. I’ve been having fun collecting cars lately. I’ll save some space in the garage for the cars from Boss.”

While chatting with David, I arrived at the motor show site.

Although it was not one of the top five motor shows, it was still a motor show with over 100 years of history, so many visitors visited the site.

“I’ll take you to the boss VIP entrance.”

“There isn’t much left until the real event starts. Let’s get in.”

I was able to bypass security procedures and go inside through the VIP passage.

As I entered the venue, my mouth dropped at the sheer scale of it.

But unlike me, David’s expression was nothing but sour.

“It’s a rehash again. It seems like most of the places are carrying the same new cars that were shown at the Detroit Auto Show held earlier this year.”

“It hasn’t been fully revealed yet, but I can see it.”

“You can tell just by looking at the shape of the car. I’ve been to several motor shows. You can tell just by looking at the atmosphere at the venue. Reporters tend to gather at companies unveiling new cars. But there are reporters gathered around major car companies. “There are only a few of them.”

Listening to what David said, it seemed plausible.

Well, it’s not that I didn’t want to unveil a new car at one of the world’s top five motor shows.

However, in anticipation of this situation, it was exhibited at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

To monopolize attention.

“The Tesla booth is over there. Representative Musk is there in person.”

It was Musk who was assigned a booth located slightly outside the center of the event venue.

His face was very damaged by the sun, as if he had just returned from the Marshall Islands.

“Are you finally back in America?”

“I have to attend the auto show and then go back to the Marshall Islands. Everyone is having a hard time, so I can’t rest alone in the United States, right?”

“Are you ready?”

“It’s perfect! Thanks to Kim’s help, I was able to create a piece that was even more perfect than I could have imagined. Thank you so much.”

Musk spent most of his time in the Marshall Islands.

Therefore, we had no choice but to neglect the development of electric vehicles, but since we had a very capable development team, there was nothing to worry about.

“Then let’s see later.”

I moved to the Taewoo-Kai car booth.

Because not only electric vehicles but also internal combustion engine vehicles were exhibited, a much larger space was provided than the Tesla booth.

“Please do well with your presentation. Today will be your day.”

“Thank you. I will do my best not to tarnish the Vice President’s reputation.”

After encouraging the nervous development team, they went up to the VIP-only space located on the second floor.

This was the perfect place to see live reactions from the scene, and David was busy introducing me to many of his connections in the VIP area.

It was only after I exchanged greetings with more than a dozen people from the political and business world.

Taewoo-Kai Motors’ new car presentation has finally begun.

“Boss, the response is not bad. Taewoo Motors is well-known in the U.S. market, so the response is positive.”

“The highlight hasn’t even started yet.”

After the internal combustion engine car announcements were over, it was finally time to announce the electric car.

The development team leader in charge of the presentation took a long pause before introducing the electric car.

[Taewoo Motors has succeeded in developing an electric vehicle that can be commercialized. Let me formally introduce you. This is Quark, created by combining Taewoo Motors’ technological capabilities!]

The small electric car Quark has finally been released to the world.

Quark is a word that refers to particles smaller than atoms, and it was a perfect name for a small electric car.

[Although it is specialized for city driving, it has an output equivalent to that of a sports car and can accelerate from 0 to 100 mph in 5 seconds. And it is an economical model that can run over 400km on a single charge. The maximum speed is possible up to 170 km/h […]

He was a presenter who constantly talked about the advantages of quarks.

As he continued speaking, the camera shutter moved faster.

“Boss! I’m sure it’s getting more attention because no one has a new car on display.”

“That’s why we chose the Los Angeles Auto Show.”

Following Taewoo Motors, it was Kai Motors’ turn.

Likewise, it was Kai Motors that announced electric vehicles as the highlight, starting with internal combustion engines.

It received even greater attention, perhaps because the American market prefers pickup trucks.

“Kai Motors has also released a decent product. If it is a pickup truck, it will definitely work in the American market.”

“The response is better than I expected. I thought people would feel unfamiliar with it because it’s an electric car.”

The electric car was not the iPhone.

The iPhone gained sensational popularity as soon as it was released, but electric cars could not.

This was due to various differences between cars and mobile phones. In particular, cars were expensive items and were directly related to life, so in order to gain sensational popularity, trust had to be accumulated.

“Now it’s Tesla’s turn! I wonder what Musk, who is famous in the IT industry, has created.”

“You can look forward to it.”

Musk took the microphone himself.

He slowly unveiled the new car with his signature sly smile.

“Unveiling the first electric sports car!”

Taewoo is a compact car, Kai is a pickup truck.

And finally, Tesla unveiled an electric vehicle in the form of a sports car.

When electric vehicles appeared three times in a row, the reaction on the spot slowly began to change.

It is not a product made by one company as a concept car.

These visitors were beginning to think that electric vehicles could really be commercialized.

In particular, the design and performance are incomparable to any other sports car.

It was enough to create cheers from visitors and reporters.

“David, please remember what day it is today. This auto show will be remembered as a unique event that led to rapid changes in the automobile market.”