The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 183



Only Krnovel

Episode 183 joint speech (2)

The investigation into illegal presidential election funding still made the front pages of newspapers in 2003.

That’s because, thanks to the information we uncovered, most of the five major companies, including Samjin, CL, and KS, were involved in the case, so national interest was very high.

“Vice Chairman, this time, it was revealed through the prosecution’s investigation that Hyunjae Motor Group also delivered illegal presidential election funds.”

“I heard it too. “They said he handed over 10 billion won at the meeting plaza.”

The meeting plaza had to be renamed to the slush fund transfer plaza.

Well, thanks to that, our prosecution line made a big contribution, so it was a benefit for me.

Captain Kang’s employees monitored the meeting square 24 hours a day for a year, and were able to secure evidence of slush funds being transferred from the CL Group as well as the Hyundai Motor Group.

The evidence we secured was handed over to our prosecutors, and as the story about illegal campaign funds quieted down, they were being revealed one by one.

“Of the five major corporations, all but us have been implicated in illegal campaign financing.”

“Taewoo Group will be able to gain an image of being clean from collusion between politics and business.”

“I don’t think so yet. “The Taew Group has not been caught yet, so there is an atmosphere that they would have given election funds otherwise.”

“Well, who would believe that we were the only ones who didn’t do it when everyone stole it? “Everyone will know when the investigation is over.”

It was something we couldn’t actively promote.

Since it could inadvertently provoke the political world, we had to hope that others would recognize it ourselves, and we had to push it just enough to add a little more advertising to the media.

“If we look at the situation so far, the opposition party must compensate 80 billion won, and the ruling party must compensate a relatively small amount of 10 billion won.”

“It will be very difficult to pay the compensation.”

“The opposition party still has quite a few assets. If we sell our company and training center, we can repay the compensation, but the problem is the ruling party. “Because the president-elect and some forces have separated, we are in a position where we cannot even repay the official election debt, let alone compensation.”

It wasn’t a bad result.

And there was another benefit to be gained.

“I heard there are signs of a revision to the Political Fund Act. What do you think about that?”

“There are signs that there will be a revision in the future to fundamentally block corporations from donating election funds to political parties. Because public opinion is not favorable, the revision is expected to be completed within 1-2 years.”

The planning director reported with a smile.

Since he had been at Taewoo Group for a long time, he was well aware of the hardships companies went through to form slush funds to finance elections during election times.

There is no longer a need for that.

Legally, companies cannot provide support to political parties.

Of course, there have always been expedients, and collusion between politics and business cannot be completely prevented.

Still, it was clear that the environment was much better for doing business than before.

“There is no possibility that unlimited presidential election funds will be introduced like in the United States, right?”

“If you’re talking about a super PAC, you don’t have to worry. “Given public sentiment, the introduction of a super PAC is close to impossible.”

It would be better if super PACs were introduced like in the United States.

I was willing to pay a large donation to a politician who would help Taewo Group.

However, in a situation like now where people are going to jail for supporting election funds, they had no intention of opening their wallets.

***

A few days later.

CEO Seo Moon-young, owner of the Haduri site, visited the vice president’s office.

“Vice Chairman, the launch of Tic Tac Tok has finally been decided. We plan to launch it simultaneously in Korea, the US, and China starting next month, and expand into the European market starting mid-year.”

“It’s finally being released. “It took quite a long time to develop.”

“It took a long time to introduce a way to regulate pornographic videos to avoid repeating the same mistake.”

Haduri’s popularity was still hot.

Rather, although the number of users was increasing rapidly every year, its notoriety was growing even faster.

No matter how much effort was made to remove the stigma of being a site for distributing pornography, it was difficult to remove the image once it had been established.

“You must be very busy to run Tic Tac Tok and Haduri.”

“So we are planning to sell or close the Haduri site. “To be honest, I want to close it down.”

“This is a website created with the CEO’s efforts, but are you going to shut it down without taking a single penny?”

“If Haduri remains, it could have a negative impact on Tic Tac Tok, so we are planning to close it down. And I don’t have enough money thanks to the Vice President’s support.”

Haduri’s closure wasn’t a bad choice.

From the business owner’s perspective, selling was the right choice.

From the entrepreneur’s perspective, closure seemed like the right choice.

“Then you can focus on Tic Tac Tok from now on.”

“So, there is one thing I would like to ask of you.”

“Say anything. “We will support you in whatever way you want, whether it’s manpower or investment funds.”

“I would like to work with Sayworld founder Seo Gwang-soo. “I think CEO Seo Kwang-soo is the best person to complement Hado-ri’s problems.”

I was troubled for a moment.

It wasn’t a bad offer.

The Korean version of Facebook had already achieved the No. 1 market share in Korea, and Sayworld was in a situation where if left alone, Sayworld would fall into the abyss of its own accord.

If that happens, CEO Seo Kwang-soo will have nothing to do.

Since he is a highly capable person, he may be able to start a new business.

If possible, I hoped that he would be within the confines of the Taewo Group.

“I will tell CEO Seo Kwang-soo directly. “It may not be easy to persuade, but wouldn’t something be possible if we emphasize new challenges?”

“thank you! “I would be happy to work under CEO Seo Kwang-soo, so I hope you will bring CEO Seo Kwang-soo to the Tic Tac Tok division.”

“You can’t do that. Well, you could be co-representative. Instead of doing this, let’s go meet CEO Seo Kwang-soo together.”

I headed to Facebook’s Korean subsidiary with CEO Seo Moon-young.

I met CEO Seo Kwang-soo, who had changed so much in just a few days.

“You’ve gained a lot of weight. “It seems like it has almost doubled in just a few days.”

“I’ve been strangely hungry these days, so I’m eating five meals a day. “No matter how much I eat, my hunger never goes away.”

Why is CEO Seo Gwang-soo hungry?

When he was driven by a desire for revenge, he relieved his hunger by reducing Sayworld’s market share.

However, when Sayworld fell into the abyss, I could no longer satisfy my hunger, so I was appeasing my hunger with food.

“If you don’t have anything to do, you get a false sense of hunger. So, I would like to offer you a new position.”

“I’m sorry, but once Sayworld closes, I plan to go to a quiet place and do some farming for the time being.”

I’m going to farm.

You can’t make the person who created this amazing site called Sayworld a farmer.

“With Sayworld, we will help you achieve your unfulfilled dreams.”

“Facebook has already taken that position. But are you saying you are creating a competing SNS?”

“It may overlap a bit, but I am thinking of creating an SNS with a different goal. “It’s a social media platform where you can share short videos.”

“You are saying that you are going to create a social media platform based on short videos rather than text or photos.”

CEO Seo Kwang-soo put down the chocolate bar he was holding.

The hunger that food could not satisfy was temporarily satisfied.

“Not only Korea, but also the United States, China, and Europe. Wouldn’t you like to develop and operate a social media platform used by people around the world?”

“… … “Am I capable of doing that?”

“Of course! “Please fill in what I am lacking!”

Representative Seo Moon-young stepped forward.

He held CEO Seo Kwang-soo’s hand, which was covered in chocolate, and cried out.

“How can Haduri CEO Seo Moon-young be here?”

“We are developing a short-form video platform called Tic Tac Tok with Taewo Group. “If we take advantage of Sayworld’s strengths and Haduri’s strengths, we can dominate the global market!”

The pros and cons of Sayworld and Haduri were clear.

Sayworld has a cute sensibility, and Haduri focuses on intense fun.

If these two things are combined, it would not be unreasonable to develop an SNS that would definitely lead the world.

“It combines the strengths of Haduri and Sayworld. It will definitely become a very good social media platform. “Maybe we can stand shoulder to shoulder with Facebook.”

“But what are you worried about more? Become the co-CEO of Tic Tac Tok with CEO Seo Moon-young and take on the challenge of dominating the global market. It is already scheduled to be released in Korea, the United States, and China starting next month. “You need to join now so we can make improvements before launch.”

CEO Seo Gwang-soo’s stomach grumbled.

This is probably a reaction to finding new prey instead of food.

“I don’t know if I can do it well, but I’ll give it a try. But what happens to the colleagues who worked with me?”

“Those who want to stay at Facebook Korea can stay, and those who want to move to the Tic Tac Tok division can move. “We will provide the same amount of everything, from salary to benefits.”

“thank you! “Then, starting today, I will move to the Tic Tac Tok division right away.”

“Before that, just come with me for a moment. There are so many stories to share.”

CEO Seo Moon-young and Seo Kwang-soo began to share their own world.

Perhaps because they were the creators of a similar but different site, I was immediately immersed in the conversation, and I no longer needed to be here.

***

When I returned to headquarters, the planning director was waiting for me.

In his hands were documents related to the 2003 CES.

“It’s already time for CES.”

“It’s easy for the Vice Chairman to forget. There was much less interest in this year’s CES than before. Apple, which has always been a main character, has announced that it will not attend this year.”

“It’s a little disappointing that we won’t be able to see Steve at the CES event.”

Apple has decided to hold its own event called WWDC instead of CES starting this year.

A promotional event and technical meeting just for Apple was held around mid-June.

“In many ways, it would be more convenient for Apple to hold a promotional event according to Apple’s own schedule rather than according to the CES event schedule.”

“It also gives us confidence that we no longer need to borrow the name of CES.”

“Taewoo Electronics is not at that stage yet, so we decided to attend the CES event.”

“Are you ready?”

“In fact, there are no products that are that innovative. “We plan to enhance the performance of existing products and submit products created through several ingenious ideas.”

In fact, Taewoo Electronics also had a few hidden cards.

But it wasn’t the time yet, so I had to hide it.

“Is it possible that the product we are secretly developing will be leaked?”

“There will be no leaks through products exhibited at the CES event. And the researchers participating in the development are providing lodging and food at the company.”

The new product being developed is a collaboration between several companies, including Taewoo Electronics.

In particular, it was a product that Cheon Min-jeong, who can be said to be Taewoo IT’s secret weapon, put a lot of effort into, so it should never have been leaked.

Well, it might be difficult to follow even if it gets leaked.

Still, in order to elicit an explosive response, technology leaks had to be thoroughly prevented.