The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 258



Only Noblemtl

258. An eye for an eye (2)

After work, I was enjoying a light beer in Captain Kang’s office.

After drinking about half a can of beer, a team leader also raised his thumb and joined Captain Kang’s office.

“The job is done!”

“Judging by your expression, it seems like everything went well.”

“The stakes are higher than I thought. But aren’t the snacks too poor? You should at least eat squid and peanuts together. Are you breaking up raw ramen and eating it as a snack?”

Ramen was a precious food to me.

Before my regression, it was the only food and staple food that quenched my hunger, and it was also the food I had to eat sparingly because it was not available.

“I think ramen is the most perfect food in the world. Well, we’ll talk about that later, but how high have you raised the stakes?”

“We raised it to a 15 trillion won stake. From Wall Street’s perspective, it’s not that big of a stake, but it’s difficult to find such a large stake in Korea.”

It definitely wasn’t that big of an amount.

Although it was a small amount that could not be compared to the cash held by SAVE Investment Company, it was enough to raise awareness in the Korean banking sector.

“To maintain a 15 trillion won board, the monthly insurance premium must be significant.”

“It’s not that big of a sum since you only have to hold out for a maximum of two years. We plan to pay the insurance premiums through a paper company owned by SAVE Investment Company.”

“After two years, you can come to Taewoo Securities with the insurance policy you currently have. You will be able to serve as a leash for the Korean banking industry.”

To become the president of Taewoo Securities, of course, achievements were necessary.

In particular, in order to become a CEO at a young age, you needed something big to quell the complaints of your subordinates, and an insurance policy that would act as a leash for the Korean banking industry was enough.

“I want to return to Korea quickly, but I have to take care of business in the U.S. first, so I’ve booked a plane ticket to the U.S. for tomorrow.”

“Why don’t you rest a little longer and then go? Even in Korea, you just work and then go.”

“It was a vacation of its own. It was a lot of fun to be in Korea for the first time in a while and work on the KIKO derivatives product we created.”

How did this happen?

Unlike when I first met him, he was a team leader who had become a workaholic.

Of course, it could be that he became a workaholic because I made him do a lot of work and gave him reasonable compensation.

“Starting next year, when the subprime mortgage crisis begins in earnest, I will also be residing in the United States for quite some time. Please just be patient and wait.”

“I won’t be bored since the CEO is coming to the United States. We will lay the foundation as much as possible before the CEO comes to the United States.”

“Don’t overdo it. Just keep doing it the way you are now.”

“Doesn’t saying to keep it the way it is now mean to keep pushing yourself too hard?”

Is that how it works?

I smiled awkwardly and held out a can of beer, and we ended the small celebration by toasting with beer.

Although it was a small celebration party worth 15 trillion won.

We couldn’t celebrate too much because there was still a large plate left that couldn’t even be compared to 15 trillion won.

* * *

Half of 2006 has passed.

The planning director visited the vice president’s office to report on half-year performance.

“All affiliates are performing the same or better than last year. In particular, the performance of Taewo Electronics and Taewu Semiconductor increased by more than 20%. This was thanks to the increase in sales of Taewo Electronics’ home appliances and the success of various collaborative projects.”

“Please continue.”

I received reports for over an hour.

It was a report that all affiliates were growing steadily.

However, in the case of automobile affiliates, things were a little different.

“Interest in electric vehicles is not as great as expected. There are still two years left until launch, but if the current atmosphere continues, sales are not expected to be high even if they are launched.”

“Think of it as a process of improving perfection. There are many ways to attract attention to electric vehicles by just improving perfection.”

I already have several plans in mind.

These were plans so that if only high-quality electric cars could be made, there would be no need to worry about electric car sales.

“And there is one more thing to report. The next presidential election is next year. For the major political parties, the presidential primary begins in June, so there is exactly one year left. If there is a candidate you support, you must start supporting from a year in advance. “I hope you will guide the presidential election.”

“Even in this presidential election, Taewo Group will not release campaign funds.”

“This is an election in which there is a very high possibility that the president will be elected by the opposition party. In fact, the competition for the opposition candidate is expected to be more intense than the presidential election. The more intense the election, the stronger the fallout.”

I didn’t want to go to jail.

If there was a legal way to support a candidate like in the United States, I might have supported it.

If you support a candidate in the same way as before, even if you win, you will be subject to a targeted investigation if the government changes five years later.

“You don’t have to worry. They won’t be in the mood to target and attack us. The new president will be faced with the task of a global economic crisis as soon as his term begins.”

“I wish it would be like that, but in the end, the arms are bent inward. If the president decides to attack and launches an attack, it is difficult to defend at the group level. Even if the National Economy Party acts as a breakwater.”

The power of the National Economy Party was still inferior to that of the major political parties.

Although they were growing their power using Gyeonggi-do as their base, there was no way to stop them when a large political party led by the president attacked.

Therefore, a larger breakwater was needed.

I had already set my sights on the huge breakwater.

“The United States will act as a breakwater.”

“The United States will also change its president in 2007. Although the current administration and the vice president are close, if the administration changes, they will no longer be protected.”

“I have already established a close relationship with the person who will take over the next administration. In fact, I will be able to receive stronger protection than the current administration.”

“Are you serious? No one can predict who will be the next President of the United States!”

I knew who it would be.

But since I couldn’t say that to the planning director, I had to reassure him with words mixed with a little lie.

“Don’t worry, you will get help no matter who becomes president.”

“If the next U.S. president protects us, there is no need to stand in line for the next president of Korea.”

“So stay completely neutral in the next presidential election, and at least you won’t be attacked.”

Actually, it was a bit of a waste.

The race for the next presidential candidate is very intense.

As the competition was so intense, you could make huge profits just by supporting the elected candidate.

However, since we cannot abandon the future for immediate gain, we had to choose a method of remaining neutral.

“We will completely block even if any presidential candidate contacts us.”

“And you may say I am arrogant for saying this, but the Taewo Group is no longer a group that will be affected by the President’s dislike.”

“I know that very well. Taewu Group accounts for over 10% of Korea’s GDP. If Taewu Group collapses, it means that Korea’s GDP will fall by 10%, so even if you are the president, you cannot easily attack it. ”

Rather, he was the head of the planning department who was more overconfident in the power of Taewoo Group than I was.

It was true that Taewu Group was playing a large role in the Korean export market, but that did not mean that Korea would go bankrupt if Taewu Group failed.

Of course, it could really have happened 10 years from now.

That is, if we dominate the electric vehicle market and dominate the IT market even more than we do now.

At that time, I don’t know if I will be able to deal with it alone even if the government and the large opposition party, not the president, all attack.

“Don’t be too overconfident, but just think of it as not having to wait in line for the president.”

“I went too far ahead. I’m sorry.”

“When it comes to political issues, the National Economy Party will primarily act as a breakwater, so don’t worry too much and focus more on the growth of the Taewo Group.”

“I will keep the vice president’s words in mind!”

* * *

A few days later.

I received a call from a team leader.

[Representative, have you heard the news? The U.S. Federal Reserve still hasn’t come to its senses. It is said that another interest rate increase will be implemented.]

“They said he was taking baby steps. The song will be heard all over America.”

Interest rate increased by 0.25%.

These were called baby steps. This was because the interest rate increase was small.

However, with the real estate market already at a standstill, raising interest rates was like pouring fuel into a burning house.

[Moral hazard organizations predict that the number of families going bankrupt will more than double compared to now.]

“You have to see the numbers with your own eyes for the White House and the Federal Reserve to realize the seriousness of it. Now, no matter how much we tell them, they won’t even blink.”

[No matter how late, we will find out the seriousness of the situation early next year. I think the day I will see you in the United States will come sooner than you think.]

“That’s right. I didn’t know that interest rates would rise again.”

US interest rates rose to 5.25%.

In 2004, the interest rate, which was 1%, increased more than five times, so it was strange that no problems occurred.

[Then we will continue to report the situation.]

“I will contact you when my business trip to the U.S. is scheduled.”

After a phone call with a team leader, I got lost in thought for a moment.

But before I had time to think deeply, my cell phone rang again, and this time it was from David.

What day is today?

People who normally don’t have phone calls are calling one after another.

[boss! Have you heard the news?]

“A team leader just called to inform me of the interest rate increase news.”

[It is said that Musk’s SpaceX failed to launch a rocket again.]

“Has the second launch already been carried out? It must be very disappointing.”

[Is the boss okay? Wouldn’t it be wrong to say that most of the rocket launches came from the boss’s wallet?]

“I was expecting it to fail at least four or five times.”

How can launching a rocket for a private company be easy?

It was amazing that even a rocket launch could be done.

[I’m glad the boss is okay. ah! And in the U.S. political world, there are quite a few politicians expressing concerns about the U.S. real estate market.]

“The atmosphere is slowly heating up. Is Rep. Obama one of them?”

[We already met a few days ago. I was quite worried about the U.S. real estate market.]

“Please continue to actively support Representative Obama.”

[We provide support in many ways even without the boss telling us.]

David once said that I had taken out a lot of insurance.

However, among the many insurance policies I took out, the biggest one was with Senator Obama.

Since he was the person who would be the next owner of the White House and the person who would be in charge of cleaning up the subprime mortgage crisis, we had to maintain a close relationship.