“W-wait! CEO Park! Please reconsider!” Kim Sun-yeop pleaded.
I said firmly, “I’m not making any decisions about the shares right now. I need time to think.”
―Then at least, could you talk to my father…?
“Goodbye.”
I hung up, a satisfied smile spreading across my face.
“A product is only valuable when there’s competition.”
My 2% stake in Daehoo was the key to victory.
If I had enough time, I could slowly acquire more shar...
The Arnault family was a family of entrepreneurs.
The current patriarch, Bernard Arnault, had the support of his family, which allowed him to attend prestigious schools, but it was purely his own ability that built the luxury empire.
He moved to the United States, accumulated wealth through real estate, and then returned to France to acquire luxury brands, establishing his empire.
Because of this, Bernard Arnault was the most influential figure in the family, and the elde...
As I walked behind Raymond, his low voice brushed past my ear.
“You seized the opportunity well.”
“I was lucky.”
That wasn’t entirely wrong.
Having a private meeting with Kissinger as an auction item was unexpected.
Thanks to that, I had some leeway.
Today, I could just throw out some bait and postpone the main discussion for a later dinner.
However,
“Luck, huh…?”
There was a hint of a hidden smile in Raym...
Caught completely off guard, CEO Choi Jung-yeol widened his eyes and asked again in disbelief.
“Wh… what did you just say?”
His flustered tone made it clear he was stunned, and Seok-won, smiling calmly, reiterated his proposal.
“I said we’re offering you 15% out of the 75% stake we now hold in Interplaza.”
“…Surely, you’re not joking with me, are you?”
Still struggling to process the offer, CEO Choi looked at him with a baffled expression...
Meanwhile, Holmes’s mind was swirling with complex thoughts.
Theranos was on the verge of securing a massive investment.
If they could secure this funding…
They could fix Newton’s numerous flaws and cross the threshold to success.
The only thing they needed was money.
Everything had gone smoothly so far.
Holmes had skillfully avoided the rigorous financial audits that institutional investors typically demanded.
Instead of going thr...
The representative from the Arnault family visited the Vice Chairman's office.
The moment I saw her face, I realized she wasn't an ordinary representative.
"Welcome. I didn't expect Delphine Arnault to come in person."
"You know who I am?"
"How could I not recognize the eldest daughter of the Arnault family?"
"I'm not as famous as Vice Chairman Kim Min-jae, so it's an honor to be recognized."
The representative's identity was the eldest daughter of th...
October 13, 1997 – Government Complex Building No. 1, Gwanghwamun
The economic situation was so dire that the media labeled the anticipated IMF bailout announcement as “the second national humiliation.” Against this backdrop, Choi Jin-woo, newly appointed as Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Minister of Finance and Economy, kept his inauguration brief and immediately convened a countermeasure meeting with senior officials.
The abrupt dismissal...
Right now, financial professionals were swarming around me.
Since I was a key figure in the Epicura incident, all the financial people attending the gala had gathered around to extract information from me.
But right in front of them, I had just made a bombshell declaration: “Theranos doesn’t have a CFO.”
The reaction was immediate.
Carson, standing next to me, was the first to ask.
“A CFO doesn’t exist?”
“It’s still a startup…...
The Next Day
I woke up to an overwhelming smell of alcohol.
The stench came from David, who had spent the entire night drinking with Indian politicians.
"How many drinks did you have?"
"You should be asking how many bottles, not drinks. Honestly, I lost count, but the bill came out to around 50,000 dollars."
What, were they drinking liquid gold?
Well, with some high-end wines costing tens of thousands of dollars per bottle, it wasn’t impossible.
...
[KOSPI: 373.73 (▼29.43)]
“The circuit breaker just triggered!”
At Yoo Seok-hyun’s shout, Jung Hwan-yeop, who had been seated, turned his gaze toward the large market status board displaying the KOSPI index and spoke.
“This drop is brutal.”
“No kidding.”
Choi Ho-geun, standing with both hands on his hips, turned his head toward Hong Jae-hee and asked:
“What’s the exchange rate?”
Hong Jae-hee checked her mon...
5:30 PM.
Sharma and Holmes sat side by side in the back seat of a luxury sedan, traveling to their destination.
Sharma proudly recounted his interaction with Ha Si-heon earlier that day.
“When I told him to withdraw the investment if he wanted, his attitude changed 180 degrees.”
“You said that to his face?”
Unlike Sharma, who was intoxicated by his victory, Holmes’ expression was subtle.
As someone who had advised caution when dealing ...
Sharma crossed his arms arrogantly and stared at me. Then, he said something rather unexpected.
“I believe you are well acquainted with the board members of Theranos. Two former Secretaries of State, a former Secretary of Defense, a former Senator, and even former CEOs of major corporations. The board is composed of some of the most prominent figures.”
He was the one who brought up Theranos’ board of directors.
“Why do you think they invested in and support The...
While everyone was cautiously assessing the situation, the consortium began rapidly acquiring Daehoo shares.
Individual investors and institutions, seeing the renewed upward trend, also joined the buying spree, but the momentum wasn’t as strong as before.
Chairman Kim Hoo-joong, short on cash and suspicious of another trap, was watching from the sidelines.
Three weeks passed.
The consortium, having acquired a 5% stake in Daehoo’s key subsidiaries, emerged as a ...
A few days later.
I departed for New Delhi, the capital of India, with David.
"Boss, isn’t the reason we’re in India to establish a Taewoo Electronics factory?"
"That’s right."
"Then why aren’t we meeting with the Indian government?"
"India has elections next year. There’s no point in negotiating with the current administration."
"You’re predicting a change in government? The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has held power for six years now."
...
2025-05-21 13:03:03 +0000 UTC View PostHannam-dong, Seoul.
Late at night, Chairman Park Tae-hong had called his two sons to the main family house after hearing the news that Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Lee Eun-hyung would be holding an emergency press conference. Together, they watched the live broadcast in the study.
[…An initial inflow of 5.5 billion dollars will be made available through the IMF’s liquidity support funds, with further assistance and its conditions to be deci...
I had to reschedule my flight twice.
Talking with Steve, I completely lost track of time, and before I knew it, I had to board my flight to Korea 10 hours later than planned.
"What time is it in Korea right now?"
"It's 8 AM."
"Looks like I'll have to head straight to the office. I had planned to arrive late at night, get some rest at home, but that plan is out the window now."
I had traveled to the U.S. with a secretary from my executive office.
Heari...
October 7, 1997
[KOSPI: 427.98 (▼13.42)]
The KOSPI, which had appeared to find a bottom and was showing signs of rebounding over the past few days, took another sharp dive. Jung Hwan-yeop shook his head in dismay.
“I had a sliver of hope, but yep—it was just a dead cat bounce.”
Trying to quickly adapt to the team and pull her weight, Noh Hee-won—who had been diligently studying the stock market lately—leaned over to Hon...
[Donghae Group, Drowning in Debt Due to Reckless Management and Aggressive Mergers & Acquisitions]
The Seoul District Court has approved the debt workout application of Donghae Group, best known for its flagship brand, “XX Cooking Oil.”
With this decision, all debt repayments for eleven Donghae Group subsidiaries—including the parent company Donghae Oil, Donghae Peregrine Securities, Donghae Peregrine Investment Trust Management, and Donghae Mutual Cre...
“It’s fate that we met like this, so out of courtesy, I decided to sign up for a $100,000 fund.” It wasn’t a very large amount, but he was deeply moved just by the fact that he had sold me a fund.
After having coffee at a nearby cafe, we headed to JPMorgan headquarters together. I had taken pictures in front of the building before, but this was my first time coming inside.
“I will guide you upstairs.”
“No, thank you. I’ll wait here.”
“Yes, then ...
“Can I meet the CFO directly?”
At my request, Sharma’s expression hardened instantly.
His sharp gaze swept over me as if piercing through.
Sharma was notorious for being authoritarian and overbearing.
They say the ‘monarch and subject’ mindset typical of middle-aged Indian businessmen was ingrained in him to the bone.
Under normal circumstances, he would have already snapped, “How dare someone like you make such a request?”
But now, I wa...
Apple’s WWDC.
A product launch event as well as a developer conference.
Once the presentation ended, discussions began with over 5,000 developers on various topics.
This time, artificial intelligence was the main point of interest.
Questions poured in about AI technology, especially in connection with the Internet of Things (IoT) used in Taewoo Electronics’ products.
Fortunately, I didn’t have to answer them myself.
Professor Hinton handled all ...
September 29, 1997.
As autumn rain drizzled steadily outside the window, the atmosphere inside the spacious presidential office, with its dark carpet, was heavy and tense.
“So, you're saying that U.S. Treasury Secretary Frank called you and offered to arrange a meeting with the IMF Managing Director, who's currently touring Southeast Asia?”
At President Kim Sung-gyu’s question from the head of the table, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Le...
The next day.
As soon as the foreign exchange market opened, a torrent of massive sell orders for the won flooded in, and the won-dollar exchange rate instantly surged past the 1,000-won mark again.
The efforts of the government and the Bank of Korea to pour out their foreign reserves and drag the rate back down had all been for nothing—it was as if none of it had ever happened.
Phones were ringing off the hook from every direction, and traders were sho...
The moment she saw Ha Si-heon, Holmes’ heart froze.
She remembered Ha Si-heon vividly.
Because he was the man who had left her with an extremely unpleasant memory.
An Asian man who had suddenly appeared at the investment presentation.
On the surface, he seemed to praise Holmes’ genius, but in reality, he was the one who cornered her with sharp questions.
As if he intended to expose her weaknesses in front of the investors.
At the time, Holmes trie...
CH405
Domer couldn’t quite pinpoint what kind of impact it would have, but his instincts told him something was off.
Wizards, especially those at Domer’s level, had incredibly sharp intuition, and their premonitions were rarely wrong.
Even though Domer and the other wizards had thoroughly inspected the area multiple times, confirming that the dimensional rift had been completely sealed and no hidden dangers remained, he couldn’t shake the feeling th...
It all started with a trivial matter.
A minor issue involving mobile phones, worth a few hundred billion won at most.
But this small incident had triggered a war between the giant Daehoo Group and the hidden powerhouse, Chunha Trading, with trillions of won at stake.
And the outcome was clear.
“Damn it!!!!!”
Chairman Kim Hoo-joong’s scream echoed through his office.
He threw everything he could reach and then shouted, “How much did we lose?!”
<... 2025-05-18 12:50:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe product launch event had begun.
I was able to watch from the very front row, and sitting next to me was David, attending as a major shareholder.
"Did you see this? The crowd is as big as at CES. Plus, all the major media outlets are here. It seems Steve's reputation has really grown."
"Well, iPhone sales have been increasing every year. The combined sales of iPhone 1 and 2 have surpassed 20 million units. It's only natural that people would gather to get a first look ...
September 18, 1997.
In a small conference room inside Japan's Ministry of Finance building located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Deputy Minister Shin Seung-ki and four other officials from South Korea’s Ministry of Finance and Economy sat in a row on one side of a long table, visibly tense.
Rolling up his sleeves, Deputy Minister Shin checked his wristwatch, then reached for the teacup in front of him and took a sip of green tea, perhaps to ease his parched throat.
September 15, 1997.
It was the Chuseok holiday, so Seok-won was staying home. With an ice-filled glass of whiskey in one hand, he stood in front of the large living room window, gazing at the night view while talking on the phone with Landon in New York.
[Did you see the headline about Korea in today’s Bloomberg report?]
“You mean the one that said, Leave Seoul immediately?”
[So you did see it.]
“It claimed that non-performing lo...
2025-05-18 12:30:02 +0000 UTC View PostI didn’t know.
After starting the business, I realized I had a greed for people.
I don’t chase money.
I simply keep talented individuals who can make money near me.
That’s why I tried to send my brother’s friends to Harvard.
Frankly speaking.
Wouldn’t it be a hundred times better for them to aim for a global market of 7 billion rather than squeezing a domestic market of ...