Using the President to Set the Stage (2)
Park Tae-jong spoke with a serious expression.
"Have you heard of Samwon Construction?"
"Samwon Construction? Isn't that a mid-sized company making a name for itself by specializing in government contracts?"
"That's right. That very same Samwon Construction has just begun its expansion into Saudi Arabia."
Tae-soo was taken aback.
'There's no way Samwon Construction has already entered the S...
Using the President to Set the Stage (1)
A secret meeting was taking place in the reception room of the Blue House.
Han Cheong-ho handed a box of apples to Presidential Chief of Staff Kim Jeong-rim.
Of course, the box was filled with something other than apples.
"Please inform His Excellency that Han Cheong-ho of Cheongil came to offer his congratulations."
"I will deliver the message as you wish."
Kim Jeong-rim smiled as he accepted ...
After finishing my schedule in the U.S., I returned to Korea.
It had been only a short 2-night, 3-day trip, yet I had over ten meetings and met well over a hundred people—a grueling schedule.
My eyelids felt heavy from exhaustion.
But even after returning to Korea, there was no time to rest. As soon as I arrived at the company, I summoned the president of Taewoo Telecom to the planning office.
“Is Taewoo Telecom’s market share still stagnant?”
“Thi...
As 1998 drew to a close,
I boarded a flight to the U.S., leaving all other matters behind.
The hyenas of Wall Street had been hounding me relentlessly—I couldn’t delay any longer.
“Team Leader Han, how bad is it over there?”
“We’re getting calls from at least ten firms a day. If it weren’t for Quantum Fund backing us, they’d probably be storming our office by now.”
“Well, of course, they’ve lost their minds. We’re sitting on a mountai...
After wrapping up my meeting with Lee Young-han and returning to my office, I found Dimon waiting for me.
“Did everything go well?”
“You must not have much to do these days. Isn’t managing the consulting firms keeping you busy enough?”
“The restructuring is nearly complete, and most of the companies have been successfully merged into Taewoo Group. There are still a few left, but they’re small-scale, so they won’t take much time.”
...
“Oh, right. Jeffrey Preston Bezos’s arriving in New York tomorrow, isn’t he?”
Sitting with one leg crossed, Seok-won asked casually. Landon responded immediately.
“Yes. He’s flying in from Seattle on the private jet we arranged.”
Jeffrey Preston Bezos/Jeff Bezos was a brilliant talent who graduated from Princeton, quickly rose through the ranks at various startups and emerging financial firms, and became an executive before even turning thirty. Then, he sudd...
In the executive office with its sweeping view of the East River beyond a wall of glass, Seok-won sat comfortably on a plush sofa, flanked by Landon on one side and Andrew on the other—Andrew having recently been promoted to Chief Investment Officer in recognition of his performance.
After Daisy, the secretary, set down a tray of tea and quietly exited, Seok-won leaned back against the soft cushion and spoke.
“I hear some warning signs are starting to appear in Thailand.”<...
After a full day of rest to adjust to the time difference and recover their energy, Choi Ho-geun and the team headed to Eldorado Fund on the third day to begin their training.
As the van crawled through heavy traffic, with cars barely inching forward, Jung Hwan-yeop looked out the window and grimaced.
“Seoul’s traffic is bad, but this place is on another level.”
“Seriously. We’ve been in the car for almost thirty minutes and it feels like we haven’t even moved...
Late at night, a faint voice came from a van parked in a dark corner of a deserted highway rest stop.
“They should be here soon…”
The man checking his watch was Oh Jin-mo, a gold wholesaler specializing in the black market.
In the gold trade, legally circulated gold was called “front gold,” while illegally traded gold was called “back gold.” Oh Jin-mo dealt exclusively in back gold.
The past few weeks had been a blessing for him.
Gold was leaki...
The gold collection campaign, having been taken over from the trading companies, was struggling.
Chunha Trading might have built a positive image through its charitable activities, but it was still a relatively unknown company.
Most people were hesitant to participate, fearing another scandal like the one involving the trading companies.
But Chunha Trading didn’t give up.
Unlike the trading companies, which had bought gold at ridiculously low prices without a...
In politics, what’s the best way to respond when you can no longer refute the criticism?
The answer is to attack the critic, not the criticism. Bring up their past mistakes and moral flaws, regardless of their relevance to the current issue, to discredit their criticism.
This tactic, often called “mudslinging,” was effective but had a fatal flaw:
It made the fight dirty.
“Assemblyman Lee An-jin! You were investigated by the prosecution three years ago for a...
The small spark ignited by Assemblyman Lee An-jin quickly engulfed the entire nation.
“Wake up! Wake up! The government that treats its people like fools must wake up!”
“Who benefits from this gold collection campaign?!”
Most people hesitated to get involved in matters that didn’t directly concern them, but this time was different.
Hundreds of thousands of people had participated in the gold collection campaign, most of them donating their precious heirlo...
10:00 AM,
the day Assemblyman Lee An-jin raised suspicions about the gold collection campaign.
“That son of a bitch!” Song Young-mo, CEO of MG Trading, threw a document at his secretary after seeing the news.
“That’s Assemblyman Lee An-jin, a four-term member of the opposition party,” the secretary said, scrambling to pick up the papers.
“I don’t care who he is! Why is he causing trouble?! What was Assemblyman Kim Soon-jae doing?! He can’t even control...
“Mr. Park, welcome.”
I bowed my head as I entered Assemblyman Lee An-jin’s office.
“Thank you for meeting with me.”
“Of course, I always have time for you, CEO Park. Haha.”
Lee An-jin, a four-term Assemblyman, had readily agreed to my sudden request, not just because of the bribes I had given him, but also because of my elevated social status.
“I hear Chunha Trading is thriving. With so many large corporations collapsing due to the economic c...
Oh Jin-mo went to his regular small gold refinery the next day.
“Mr. Lee, I’m here.”
“Oh, Mr. Oh. The usual?” the refinery owner asked, rubbing his fingers together with a smile.
Oh Jin-mo’s voice was still laced with doubt. “The usual, yes.”
“You seem hesitant today. Something wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong…”
The refinery owner, seeing his hesitation, asked, “What is it?”
“It’s nothing. Just fire up the furnace. I...
“I thank everyone for attending today’s event.”
The audience in the auditorium applauded enthusiastically. I bowed my head in acknowledgment.
“Our nation is facing difficult times. People are suffering, and countless companies are collapsing. The President and our Assembly members are working tirelessly to restore our economy, but it’s not an easy task.”
I paused and continued,
“But we are a resilient people, descendants of Dangun with a proud 5,000-y...
The seminar room was instantly filled with fervor at the sudden appearance of the CEO.
JG Blockchain members cheered and applauded, some overjoyed and fidgety, others with expressions of awe and reverence.
Choi Nam-woo surveyed the seminar room and said, “I’m very pleased to meet you all. Welcome to JG Blockchain.”
Taek-gyu tried to lower his head, but his eyes met Choi Nam-woo’s before he could. Choi Nam-woo didn’t seem to recognize him at all and turned his ga...
Multi-Level Marketing (MLM)
Also known as Network Marketing or Pyramid Selling.
In typical marketing, sellers and consumers are clearly distinguished. However, MLM is structured in a chain where sellers become consumers, and consumers soon become sellers.
MLM itself isn’t illegal, but it usually conjures up a negative image. This is because in Korea, large-scale MLM scams erupt every now and then, just when you think they’ve been forgotten.
The most famous case...
Cheongil Group (5)
Han Cheong-ho deliberately looked around the office.
"Isn't this place too shabby and cramped? It seems like a waste for a young man like you to rot away in Gangwon Province, just selling molybdenum."
He tapped the table twice, loud and firm.
"Come work under me. I’ll give you a president's seat in one of Cheongil Group’s subsidiaries."
Tae-soo scoffed.
‘He’s really trying hard to shake me. A sweet offer...
Cheongil Group (4)
Tae-soo returned the envelope of money with a grin.
"Instead, I’d like to exchange it for your business card."
"My business card? Hahaha."
The secretary burst into laughter.
He could guess why Tae-soo was doing this.
"Hahaha, well, this is quite something. You’re truly remarkable. Very well."
The secretary readily handed his business card to Tae-soo.
<Kim Hwan, Chief Secretary of Geumsan Group.&...
Cheongil Group (3)
Song Jin-gu pulled a bundle of documents from inside his coat and handed them over.
Tae-soo smiled in satisfaction.
"As expected. Elder Jang Mal-dong is a man who never forgets his debts. Thanks to him, my job just got easier."
The gift Jang Mal-dong had sent was land deeds.
He had repaid Tae-soo for exposing the traitors in his ranks and helping him recover his private loans—an act that had sav...
Cheongil Group (2)
The door to the president’s office at Cheongil Chemicals burst open.
"Hyung!"
Kim Jung-nam came running in, looking like a total wreck. His hair was a mess, and his body was covered in hastily wrapped bandages, clearly for show.
Kim Bong-nam, who had been reviewing paperwork, frowned.
"What the hell happened to you now? What trouble did you get into this time?"
"Hyung, how could you say that? Your...
Cheongil Group (1)
These days, Tae-soo was so busy he barely had time to breathe.
Managing the mines, overseeing the school construction for Pohang Steel, and buying land in Gangnam—there was no shortage of work passing through his hands.
"Cheongil Group should be making their move soon… but they’ve been oddly quiet so far."
Tae-soo had been selling his valuable molybdenum to everyone except Cheongil Group.
There was no way Ha...
As soon as I stepped out of Team Leader Park’s office, Captain Kang escorted me.
He had been hiding nearby with more than twenty men.
The moment I walked outside, he personally prepared a vehicle and ushered me inside.
"It looks like Team Leader Park has joined hands with Executive Lee."
"Team Leader Park? But wasn’t he the one who showed unwavering loyalty to the Gwanghwamun Bear?"
"There’s an old saying: When a prime minister’s dog dies, p...
A few days later.
Grandfather stormed into the house, fuming with anger.
The moment he saw me waiting in the living room, he started venting.
“Those bastards are rotten to the core. Do you know what they said when I brought up passing the moneylending law? They asked why we would block foreign capital during a financial crisis. Instead of regulating it, they think we should be encouraging it!”
“Did they say that knowing full well the money was coming from Jap...
The final month of 1998 had arrived.
Before the year-end executive meeting, I called in the company presidents I was close to for a private session in the planning office.
Taewoo Electronics, Taewoo Securities, Taewoo Telecom.
These were among the top subsidiaries of Taewoo Group, yet the executives, despite their status, were now presenting their reports with the humility of new employees.
"Taewoo Electronics has seen a significant increase in sales. The IT divisi...
“We’ll be landing at LaGuardia Airport shortly. Please fasten your seatbelt again.”
At Bella’s words, spoken as she approached from the side, Seok-won removed his eye mask. He had been reclining with his legs stretched out, resting comfortably on the angled seat.
Turning his head toward the round porthole window next to him, he saw thick clouds blanketing the sky beneath the clear blue above.
“There are a lot of clouds, but there’s no rain or snow, so there sh...
Still in awe, the group stepped off the bus as it came to a stop. Waiting for them with a warm smile was a tall, blonde woman.
“Welcome aboard. We’re delighted to have you.”
Dressed in a beige trench coat with leather gloves and her hair swept up in a neat bun, the striking woman was Bella, the private jet’s flight attendant.
She had the glamorous figure of a fashion model and greeted them in slightly accented but impressively fluent Korean. The group couldn't hel...
"Ten sets of underwear and dress shirts are packed in the large suitcase. Just in case, I also put in an extra suit," she said.
"Ah, okay," replied Choi Ho-geun.
He was brushing his teeth and poked his head out slightly from the bathroom door at the sound of his wife's voice.
Wearing an apron, his wife continued speaking as she neatly stacked brand-new, still-packaged dress shirts into the open large suitcase in the living room.
"Don’t wear the same ones two or t...
Molybdenum Price Surge (3)
Wednesday, December 27, 1972.
Four months had passed since the United States announced the suspension of molybdenum production.
In that time, the sweltering heat of August had given way to the bitter cold of December.
The news was filled with noise, but not about molybdenum prices—it was all about the upcoming inauguration.
Chhh—chhh—
"On the 15th, at Jangchung Arena in Seoul, the National Unification ...