The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 273



Only Noblemtl

273. I’m still hungry (3)

I arrived at Captain Kang’s office first.

I prepared a small party by myself until Captain Kang and Team Leader Han arrived.

All I had to prepare was a few cans of beer and one of my favorite snacks.

“Representative! We’ve finally come to Korea!”

“Wow! Just because I came to Korea, I got a neat haircut. On Wall Street, people build new hair on their heads every day.”

“How can I just come back to my hometown? I got my hair done at the best hair salon on Wall Street.”

“Did you hear the news when you came? I suddenly found myself sitting in the chairman’s position.”

Suddenly, a team leader lowered his head.

Then he continued speaking with a solemn expression.

“Congratulations, Chairman! From now on, I will call you Chairman, not CEO.”

“I should now call you President Han instead of Team Leader Han. Congratulations on becoming the president of Taewoo Securities. Actually, I’m not sure if it’s something to celebrate. It would be very frustrating to play in the big water called Wall Street and then play in the stream called Taewoo Securities.”

“Don’t I know you, Chairman? Aren’t you the one who can turn a stream into a sea? I’m not worried about that at all.”

I unconsciously nodded at what President Han said.

Taewoo Securities was planning to go beyond the Korean financial market and enter the global market.

“Should we have a celebration party? I prepared something small.”

“On a day like today, of course I should have a drink. But even if it’s okay to drink beer instead of champagne, isn’t ramen a bit harsh as a side dish?”

“I boiled ramen as a way to not lose my original intention. And it’s also my favorite food.”

“Thank you for giving me the honor of eating ramen cooked by the Chairman himself.”

“Let’s have a refreshing drink first!”

We clinked beer cans with President Han and Captain Kang.

We poured a can of beer into our mouths in one go and crushed it.

A chopstick of ramen to eat when your mouth is full of cold energy!

There was no other heavenly taste, and it was a taste that healed the painful memories before returning.

“Wow! There is no food like ramen. Strangely, it didn’t taste like this in America. After eating a spoonful of ramen, I finally feel like I’m in Korea.”

“You had a hard time. You had a hard time getting money from Wall Street thugs, right?”

“It was fun in a way. When will we see the arrogant Wall Street guys bowing down again? But the amount of money stolen is less than expected. It’s enough to stabilize AIZ, but anything more than that seems a bit difficult.”

“If you include the money received from Korea Development Bank, it is not that small.”

“But is Korea Development Bank really trying to take over Lehman Brothers? If Taewoo Securities follows suit by saying they ate AIZ, their crotch will be torn apart.”

Korea Development Bank was really aggressively pursuing acquisitions.

The CEO and other executives flew directly to the United States to conduct negotiations, and even purchased our own Lehman Brothers insurance policies.

“It will probably be difficult. Lehman Brothers’ debt has not yet been fully revealed, so when they find out the truth, they will freak out and give up.”

“Surely the Korea Development Bank will return the insurance policy and ask you to hand over the money and credit again?”

“If you have a conscience, you can’t do something like that. If you ask for something back, you can use that as an excuse to demand something else, so no matter what happens, we benefit.”

All I had to do was cross the river and see Buddhist temples.

I was able to enjoy the sightseeing as the popcorn was automatically going into my mouth just by looking at it.

“They don’t know how terrible Wall Street is, so they’re trying something like that. Even when David and I stepped forward, Wall Street was the only place where we couldn’t get even 20% of the insurance money.”

“I only received 20% of the insurance premium, but you can benefit in other ways, so hold on to your insurance policy carefully.”

“Is there any other way to use it? Isn’t it difficult to see any benefit right now, unless the economy improves and financial companies come back to life?”

“You’ll see.”

I was drawing another big picture.

KEPCO headquarters site, which cannot be developed due to regulations.

The plan was to build a skyscraper there using Wall Street companies.

Of course, not right away, but we would proceed with the plan step by step.

“Ah! And the logistics industry is also taking a big hit due to this economic crisis, right?”

“Not only the logistics industry, but most industries have been greatly affected.”

“Then we can acquire an American freight forwarding company at a low price.”

“There is a lot of stock for sale. DHL is also making moves to withdraw from the U.S. domestic cargo transportation business.”

DHL, the world’s leading transport company.

It was a cargo transportation company competing for first and second place in the United States.

Although it was such a huge company, it was not enough to prevent the huge bomb called subprime mortgage.

Rather, because it was a huge company, it had to suffer more damage.

“DHL is having a hard time, so there’s no need to look anywhere else.”

“In fact, DHL was hardly prepared for this economic crisis. It was playing a game of chicken with FedEx, the number one company, so it suffered even greater damage due to a lack of free funds.”

“The timing is amazing. Then it would be a waste of money. I should try to acquire DHL’s U.S. freight forwarding division.”

“Are you planning to start a logistics business in earnest?”

That wasn’t necessarily the case.

What I needed was data, and I planned to secure American road data through my freight transportation business.

“It’s not that much, but we need a freight forwarding company to practice for future projects.”

“Aren’t you wasting too much money on rehearsals?”

“Isn’t this the cheapest price?”

“That’s right. Since DHL put it up for quick sale, we can beat the price, and we have the financial wherewithal to acquire it.”

The acquisition of a freight transport company could hardly be called a mistake.

It was of such a scale that it could be said to be just a bonus service.

Compared to AIZ or American car companies.

“I could announce my intention to acquire it through David.”

“There’s no need to send David for this. We can easily take over by just sending one working staff member.”

“But you should at least show some courtesy. Contact David and ask him to negotiate with DHL.”

“David might be a little bothered. The U.S. presidential election is just around the corner, so he’s spending every 24 hours meeting people.”

The US presidential election is just a few months away.

Since the outcome was already decided, I wasn’t too worried, and since we had already invested a lot, it didn’t matter if David was absent for a few days.

“Negotiations will be conducted by the working-level team, and David only needs to show his face, so it won’t take up much time.”

“I’ll put it that way. Ugh! Ramen is blowing!”

We simultaneously stuck our noses into the bowl of ramen and inhaled the noodles.

And only after drinking all the soup did he open his mouth again.

“Congratulations again. You can go to work starting tomorrow, right? We have prepared a grandiose inauguration ceremony. It is even grander than the president’s inauguration ceremony, so you can look forward to it.”

“I suddenly feel nervous. I can’t believe I left the company as a team leader and came back as the president.”

“You seem very excited. That feeling won’t last for a few days. The aftereffects of the subprime mortgage crisis will soon hit Korea, and you’ll be so busy that you won’t even have time to sleep.”

Lehman Brothers has not gone bankrupt yet.

Therefore, the aftermath was not fully conveyed to Asia, but sooner or later, the moment Lehman Brothers went bankrupt, the typhoon would quickly reach Korea.

President Han also knew that fact well, so he erased his excited expression.

* * *

next day.

A large banner was hung at Taewoo Group’s headquarters.

[Taewoo Securities President Han Jeong-hoon inauguration ceremony]

All of the headquarters employees were standing in line in the lobby.

I also stood at the center of the employees and waited for CEO Han Jeong-hoon.

“President Han Jeong-hoon is coming in!”

The cries of the secretarial staff and the simultaneous applause.

Clap clap clap! I clapped hard too, and the CEO finally walked into the lobby.

You’re having a hard time maintaining your poker face.

It was a president who reached right in front of me in a single bound with a disciplined step, probably because he had practiced his gait.

“Congratulations on becoming the president of Taewoo Securities.”

“We will do our best to avoid causing any inconvenience to Taewoo Securities, Korea’s No. 1 securities firm.”

We shook hands lightly.

That image was imprinted on everyone at the Taewoo Group headquarters.

“You also have to say hello to the Taewoo Securities employees, so let’s have lunch together.”

“I’ll be there on time.”

In my heart, I wanted to follow Taewoo Securities.

I was curious about how the employees reacted to Han, who returned from team leader to president.

However, I couldn’t do it for the sake of the president’s reputation, so I decided to hear it directly from the president during lunch.

After the inauguration ceremony, I went up to the president’s office.

The scene in the chairman’s office that I still can’t get used to.

Although I couldn’t fix the interior because of my grandfather’s devotion, I sat down in the chair and promised myself that I would decorate the chairman’s office the way I wanted once the new building was completed and I had to move.

“There are still so many lists left.”

AIZ restructuring is not yet over.

Because it was the largest insurance company in the United States, there were many employees working there.

In order to identify the good ones, I had to check the detailed information of all employees and create a list of dismissals or promotions.

“Chairman, it is time for an appointment with Taewoo Securities CEO Han Jeong-hoon.”

“Has it happened already?”

As I checked the details, I realized that morning work hours were already over.

I sent the list I had prepared so far to Park Man-deok, president and vice-chairman of the financial affiliate, and went out.

“Did you wait long?”

“No. I just arrived too.”

“Let’s go to Cheongdam-dong. I made a reservation at a restaurant.”

The place to eat was, of course, Captain Kang’s restaurant.

We were traveling in the same car, but we didn’t talk at all in the car, and it wasn’t until we arrived at the restaurant and were shown to a separate building that we opened our mouths at the same time.

“How’s the mood?”

“Whoa! I almost died trying to keep my expression on. It’s hard to describe the atmosphere in words. The employees who didn’t know me were congratulating me, but the older employees couldn’t hide their shocked expressions.”

Taewoo Securities employees at the deputy manager level and above knew President Han.

I couldn’t just congratulate him because I didn’t just know him but had experience working with him.

How can you be happy when someone who was your colleague or successor suddenly becomes the president?

“Don’t be too pushy. It would be difficult if a deputy manager level decided to resign at the same time.”

“That’s not going to happen. But there’s just one person I’d like to play a role in.”

“Who is it?”

“Deputy Director Do Min-wook! I suffered more than one thing from that person.”

Deputy Director Do Min-wook?

I searched my memory and recalled Deputy Director Do Min-wook’s detailed information.

He was a person who was neither outstanding nor lacking in ability.

“Have you been bullied at all?”

“I once lost my girlfriend to that person.”

“Now that you’re married and have children, are you still holding on to your ex-girlfriend’s story?”

“It’s a matter of a man’s pride! Have you ever had the experience of losing your girlfriend just because she was higher in rank than me? You don’t know how sad it is if you don’t have one.”

This is why you wanted to come as president of Taewoo Securities.

Even though it seems like a very trivial revenge, the standards are different for each person.

We prayed for Deputy Director Do Min-wook to rest in peace, and we began our lunch.