The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 285



Only Noblemtl

285. Babpsae with torn crotch (4)

A few days later.

A president came to report on currency swaps.

“Chairman, David is in contact with the political world, and even Dimon has decided to join in and discuss with the White House. Recruitment of members of the House of Representatives has already been completed, and it is said that it is possible to recruit senators within this week.”

“It’s not easy, but it’s happening quickly.”

“Actually, this was not that difficult. Now that the Korea-US FTA has been concluded, there has been an atmosphere in the US that Korea cannot be ignored.”

“It means that the currency swap could have been concluded without our involvement.”

I already knew this too.

Even before the regression, a currency swap was concluded between Korea and the United States after the Lehman incident.

“David says it’s so easy that he doesn’t enjoy working.”

“Now that we are here, we need to increase the size of the currency swap. Try pushing it to $50 billion.”

“The story coming out of American politics is that $30 billion is the limit. It doesn’t seem easy to increase it to $50 billion.”

“It is entirely possible if Taewoo Securities and FinTech Bank provide a guarantee. And isn’t a currency swap ultimately a negative bank account? You only use a little when you are really in a hurry, and you will never use the entire $50 billion.”

The country’s foreign exchange reserves could be viewed as deposits.

Currency swap was a concept close to a negative bank account.

A minus bank account that can be easily used whenever you want was not something that anyone could create just because they wanted to.

A negative bank account is created only for people with good credit.

The same was true for currency swaps, and only if Korea could be trusted would the U.S. Federal Reserve propose a currency swap.

“If a fintech bank provides a guarantee, it seems possible to raise up to $50 billion. However, if we are going to owe the U.S. government, why not demand a permanent currency swap like Japan instead of $50 billion?”

“No matter how much Taewoo Group and Fintech Bank offer a guarantee, they have crossed the line. Only five countries, including Canada and Japan, allow for regular currency swaps, but Korea does not yet have that level of credit.”

The currency swap we are about to enter into was temporary.

You can extend your contract, but it will end at some point.

However, if you signed a permanent currency swap contract, you would have an unlimited and indefinite negative bank account.

“I think I went too far ahead. It would be unreasonable to even say that the White House would move to a permanent currency swap.”

“It will be possible if Korea becomes an Asian financial hub, but not yet.”

“For now, I will be satisfied with a $50 billion currency swap. And since the matter is so important, I think I will have to go to the United States myself.”

“Please rest assured. In the meantime, Vice Chairman Park Man-deok will take good care of Taewoo Securities.”

I was a little jealous of one boss.

Even when he went to the United States, Vice Chairman Park was there and I was there, so he was able to go on business trips freely.

“When I was working on Wall Street, I didn’t know why the Chairman couldn’t come to the U.S. often. But now that I belong to the Taewo Group, I think I understand now.”

“Thank you for knowing. Still, I will probably go to the United States in person at least once before the end of the year.”

“You mean when you eat the fruit of an American automobile company? Please take me too. You can’t see that good thing in Korea, right?”

“I saw what you were doing back then. You should quickly go on a business trip at a time like this.”

“I’ll just finish my work and return to Korea right away!”

He was a boss who was running out of town.

His playful side was strangely trustworthy.

* * *

It had been two days since a CEO went on a business trip to the United States.

The planning director came to me with good news and bad news.

“The response to Director Bong’s film, which was produced and distributed by Taewoo Entertainment, is very enthusiastic. It is receiving a lot of attention not only in Korea but also in the United States and Europe.”

“The movie has already been released. It’s been so long since I enjoyed watching it during my free time that I didn’t even know it was released.”

“I was very worried because the movie was released on OTT rather than in theaters, but the response was much warmer than I expected.”

The number of subscribers to OTT services was rapidly increasing as each day passed.

Because smartphones were popularized faster than before the regression, the popularity of OTT was also occurring at an earlier time.

“Didn’t you finish filming the drama?”

“Early this year, writer Lim Hee-young’s zombie drama was aired on OTT. It also received a good response from around the world. And in Asia, writer Lee Seo-hee’s romance drama was a huge hit. Especially in Japan and Southeast Asia. “It’s gaining sensational popularity.”

I hadn’t heard this news since I was away on a business trip to the US for a long time.

Perhaps because he thought it was a small matter compared to the projects promoted by Taewo Group, the planning director did not report it on time.

“I just found out about this news. If I had known about it sooner, I would have given the director a reward.”

“I kept quiet because the Honorary Chairman told me not to report it to him unless it was very important.”

What can I say when my grandfather makes an excuse?

The situation wasn’t bad, and it was a huge success, so there wasn’t much to say.

“Taewoo Entertainment is doing well. Please tell them to continue producing dramas and movies. Please tell them that they don’t have to worry about production costs at all.”

“There were no problems with production because the production cost was higher than other movies or dramas, and the directing staff and actors received more appearance fees.”

“It wasn’t there? Now it sounds like there is.”

“There are rumors that film festivals are rejecting OTT releases.”

Confrontation between OTT and the film industry.

It was an expected problem, but it didn’t feel good when it became a reality.

“As the number of OTT subscribers increases, the film industry will have no choice but to raise the white flag.”

“The number of OTT subscribers is increasing significantly every year, so I believe that in about 10 years, the balance of power will shift from movie theaters to OTT. So can we just wait?”

Just waiting could have been the answer.

However, considering the production team that trusted us and released the movie on OTT rather than in theaters and aired the drama on OTT rather than public broadcasting, we could not just sit still.

“We need to take some action to recruit more production crew and cast.”

“In the case of foreign film festivals, there is no way for me to receive news, but domestic film festivals say that all films released on OTT are excluded from screening. However, in the case of the Taejong Awards held at the end of the year, it may be possible through lobbying. It’s the same.”

King Taejong’s statue has the deepest history and tradition in Korea.

However, it was also the film festival with the lowest reliability.

There have been many cases where outlandish works have won awards, to the point where there is a saying that money can buy awards, and there have been cases where awards were given to films that were released less than a week ago.

“If it is excluded from other film festivals and only nominated for the Taejong Award, I think its image will only worsen.”

“That’s true. These days, the status of the King Taejong Awards has fallen a lot. There have been cases where actors have boycotted groups. Since this is a place where the influence of elders and stakeholders in the film industry is heavily influenced, trust is at a low level. Therefore, it is the only film festival where we can lobby. It is also.”

Lobbying to win an award?

This only applied if our work was not successful or had poor quality.

However, our work was excellent in both artistic value and box office success, and even received a positive response from the audience.

And lobbying just to be nominated for the Taejong Award felt like a waste of money.

“If we’re going to lobby, let’s spend money on larger film festivals.”

“When you say bigger film festival, are you referring to the Busan International Film Festival?”

“That’s not enough. Wouldn’t it be meaningful to lobby for an Academy Award?”

“When you say the Academy, do you mean the Oscars? It’s the largest film festival in the United States, so lobbying is not easy.”

The three largest film festivals in the world were Cannes, Berlin, and Venice.

Although the Academy was not involved, it was the most famous awards ceremony in the world.

And, as is the case with American film festivals, external factors such as lobbying and campaigns had a great influence on the awards.

“I would never ask for an award through lobbying, but wouldn’t it be possible to just get the qualifications to be judged based on fair standards?”

“It seems possible, but it is difficult for Taewoo Group’s planning office to move.”

“Don’t worry, I know someone who specializes in this.”

The expert I was talking about was, of course, David.

David had built up close relationships not only in American politics but also in the film industry, and was able to lobby sufficiently using his connections and funds.

“I’m sorry. I will work harder so that the planning office can handle matters in the United States as well.”

“There is no need to do that. It is more efficient to focus on the areas we are good at. The planning office should sponsor a Korean film festival so that the OTT sector can also receive awards.”

“We will do our best to contact you.”

“Don’t overdo it, but even if it gets nominated for an Academy Award, Korean film festivals won’t be able to reject the OTT field like they do now.”

“I will proceed slowly and without overdoing it!”

The planning director walked out with a stern expression on his face.

I immediately picked up my phone and called David.

[boss! Please, take President Han with you too. I’m really bored to death. I’m roasting people all day!]

“Does Boss Han bother you that much?”

[It’s to the point where I don’t want to go to work!]

“Good then. I’ll give you an excuse.”

I told David about the Academy Awards lobbying.

Then he answered in a flushed voice, as if asking when he had complained.

[You’re about to do something very interesting. I can’t be left out of something like this. We will make sure that films released on OTT are evaluated fairly at the Academy Awards.]

“Please don’t use illegal methods for no reason. This is a work worth fighting for as long as it receives a fair review, so please only allow us to stand at the starting line together.”

[Most of the academy members are friends with me. Not only in the US but also in Europe, many members know this. And it will be difficult to find a sponsor due to the Lehman incident. In this case, I think it would be possible if we offered to sponsor a huge amount of money.]

David’s confident voice.

It was David who rose to the position of the best lobbyist in America, both in name and reality.

He possessed such outstanding lobbying skills that putting him in charge of this kind of work would, in some ways, be a waste of human resources.

[boss! A boss suddenly! uh!]

[Chairman, I think the currency swap issue will be resolved well. The U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to announce the conclusion of a currency swap by the end of this month at the latest.]

A CEO’s voice came from David’s cell phone.

I think they probably stole David’s cell phone.

“What was the amount?”

[Thanks to our efforts together with fintech banks, we think it will be possible to raise at least $40 billion and up to $50 billion.]

“We’ll just have to wait to see what the U.S. Federal Reserve announces. Thank you for your hard work.”

[And it looks like you will have to come to the United States soon. Information is coming in that American car companies will go bankrupt.]

“The fruit is finally ripe.”

There are not many days left for American car companies to harvest their fruits.

Of course, to others, it would look like a rotten fruit, but if you just cut out the rotten part, it was a delicious fruit full of juice.