The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 211



Only Krnovel

211. Continued elections (5)

Subprime mortgage crisis.

2007 was the worst financial crisis that would push the global economy into the abyss.

For this kind of financial crisis to occur, several coincidences and inevitabilities had to overlap.

Even if the banking sector provides ‘no questions asked’ loans, it could have been prevented early if the supervisory agency had managed it properly.

“Even if you give out a loan in the name of a dead person or a dog, the supervisory agency will just ignore it. As you know, the banking industry and the supervisory agency have a close relationship. So, it is highly likely that this situation will continue for two to three years.”

“If bad loans accumulate for several years and then explode all at once….”

“An economic crisis that is difficult to imagine is coming.”

Dimon believed me and prepared for the subprime mortgage crisis.

But today I must have gained even stronger confidence.

“I need to work harder to save money. Even during the IT bubble, if I had more money, I could have benefited much more.”

“This is a great opportunity to pick up a good company at a bargain price.”

“Hmm, with the current funding structure, we can only borrow tens of billions of dollars by 2007. I think we will need several times more than that.”

“The more money you have, the more things you can do. So, how about signing up for insurance products or derivatives from now on?”

So far, we have profited several times from insurance and derivatives.

Dimon was well aware of this fact and showed great interest.

“It’s not that I didn’t think about it, but wouldn’t it be too early? If the CEO’s plan goes according to it, it will take at least three years before any profits are made.”

“You have to invest for three years to avoid raising suspicion. And won’t the bank let you sign up for more insurance only if you make money for three years?”

If everyone is in madness.

A person who did not fall into madness could actually appear abnormal.

That’s the situation in America right now.

Everyone believed that the real estate market would rise further, so they would laugh at anyone who insured real estate declines.

“Then, starting this year, I will sign up for insurance with several banks. It will not be a large amount of money, but I will start with a small amount that will not affect the bank’s profits.”

“Just gradually increase the amount. If something happens, it will be an excuse to take over the bank that launched the insurance.”

“I’m not confident in acting like an idiot, but I think I should at least go to an acting academy.”

It was Dimon, smiling like an idiot.

But to me, it looked like the smile of a devil, not a fool.

“Proceed as slowly as possible so as not to stimulate the market. There is still a lot of time left.”

“But CEO, don’t you plan on investing separately? Wouldn’t you be able to make a big profit by signing up for an insurance product from Taewo Group or SAVE Investment Company?”

“In the case of SAVE Investment Company, it may be possible to take steps through various channels, but it is difficult to move at the Taewoo Group level. If you get dirty, you will be in trouble.”

“I think it was really good to come to Korea. After talking with the CEO, the stress that had built up over the past few days was completely relieved!”

It was Dimon who had waited a very long time to achieve his goal.

The goal is to become more successful than his boss and the CEO of America’s largest financial company.

The goal I thought was impossible is now just around the corner.

* * *

A month has passed.

Meanwhile, the Republic of Korea was still in an uproar over the impeachment trial, and the results finally came out today.

“The impeachment trial was dismissed. The president, who had been suspended, has been brought back as of today!”

“Things are going as expected. It is a natural result since the impeachment forces were defeated in the general election. The project we were working on will not suffer damage for no reason, right?”

Under the leadership of the Prime Minister, the purchase of raw material mines was in full swing.

The return of the President did not mean that the Prime Minister’s power would completely disappear, so there was no reason to worry, but he still might not receive as much push as before.

“There doesn’t seem to be a big problem. I heard that the president also views the Central and South American FTA positively and is satisfied with the Taewoo Group’s track record.”

“But make sure to take care of it so that no problems arise.”

“It will take at least a year, but we can purchase as many raw material mines as the Vice President wants. We will make sure there are no problems in the meantime!”

The impeachment of the President has been concluded.

So from now on, the fight for leadership in the political world would become even more intense.

In this situation, we had to throw a huge topic into the political world.

“How is the hosting of IIT in Korea going?”

“It is being reviewed very positively. I have been contacted that Korea could announce its bid as early as this month.”

“It’s progressing faster than I thought.”

“This is thanks to the large-scale publicity that Taewoo Group is investing 10 trillion won in India. Prime Minister Mimoan Singh and the ruling Indian National Congress are also working hard to achieve results in the early stages of their term.”

Early in the term of office when one is most powerful.

The only thing that could stop the prime minister and the majority party from actively pushing for it was public opinion.

However, because the problem had been resolved over a long period of time, the bid to attract IIT to Korea was progressing rapidly.

“Then the ball will come our way sooner or later.”

“Even if India announces that it will host IIT in Korea, it may be difficult to host it if there is no agreement with the Korean political circles.”

“That problem must be solved at the National Economic Party level.”

“If the National Economy Party is to resolve the issue of hosting IIT in Korea, it needs to reach an agreement with a major political party.”

“To get one, you have to give up one. We will have to agree to pass the bill that the major political parties want.”

“But I don’t know if Representative Choi Jae-seok, who has a strong will, will join hands with a major political party. Although we say he helped us greatly in this general election, he is not a person who will easily move according to our wishes.”

That’s why I supported Representative Choi Jae-seok.

Because we did not need a puppet to do our will, we needed a partner to move forward together.

“I need to meet with Representative Choi Jae-seok. I will decide the meeting place separately, so just tell me.”

“I’ll make an appointment to meet you later today.”

I called Captain Kang and instructed him to find a meeting place.

As evening fell, I quietly moved to Captain Kang’s office, changed cars, and went to the meeting place.

* * *

“There was a place like this near Seoul.”

“It is an abandoned factory that collapsed during the foreign exchange crisis. Now, our company has taken over it and is using it as a combat training center for our employees.”

A shabby abandoned factory.

However, the inside was well decorated, and all the windows were covered with black power-saving tape, so there was no way to look in from the outside.

And as we went further inside, a small room appeared, a space decorated somewhat like a conference room.

“Vice Chairman, Representative Choi Jae-seok is here.”

“I’m sorry for bringing you to such a shabby place. I had no choice but to prevent misunderstandings about collusion between politics and business.”

“I understand everything. But it’s not as mountainous as before, so it didn’t take that long.”

Representative Choi Jae-seok, like me, must have switched cars and moved.

An employee that Captain Kang trusted must have driven the car himself and brought it here.

“How are you living in Yeouido as the head of a negotiating group?”

“The treatment is better than before, but I am 10 times more tired. There are many people who want to meet me, and there are many people who are forcing me to quickly line up at one of the large political parties, so it is extremely difficult.”

“It sounds like a favorable situation to me.”

Appeasement and coercion.

This was a method that came about because there was nothing they could do about the other person.

If he had the confidence to recruit them, he would have offered them sweet fruit, and if he had the confidence to sweep them away, he would have threatened them rather than coerced them.

“The current situation isn’t that bad. Hehehe.”

“I think I should act like I am in a good mood. As I said before, there is one thing I need to persuade and convince.”

“If I can’t convince you, does my promise to give up my job still stand?”

“Of course it is. But this is something that will be of great help to the Republic of Korea, so I am confident that I can convince you.”

Hosting IIT Korea.

There was a pause before bringing up this topic.

Rep. Choi Jae-seok took a sip from the bottle of water prepared on the table, and only then did I get to the point.

“Do you know that it is the Indian Institute of Technology?”

“I don’t know much about it, but I’ve heard about it. It’s a university that every Indian student wants to enter, and I also know that once they graduate, they will take their graduates to Silicon Valley.”

“You know very well. IIT is a school that can be considered a military academy that trains engineering experts. What would it be like if such a university opened in Korea?”

Representative Choi Jae-seok pursed his lips.

Among the things that should not be touched in Korea was education.

Universities naturally fell into the category of education, and creating a new university was a difficult task for a politician.

“It’s not a bad idea to have a university similar to the Indian Institute of Technology, but aren’t there already several such universities? I know there are one in Daejeon, Pohang, and Gumi.”

“Rather than a university similar to IIT, we are trying to attract IIT’s Korean campus. We are moving IIT from India to Korea.”

“Are you saying that you are not talking about creating a new university, but rather bringing a university from India to Korea?”

Rep. Choi Jae-seok was astonished.

Although there have been cases of establishing sisterhood relationships with foreign universities, this was the first time hosting a campus.

“We have already finished talking to the Indian political circles. If we get the OK sign from the Korean political circles, we can proceed right away, even this year.”

“Isn’t an Indian engineering university a source of pride for India? But how can we agree to building a campus in Korea?”

“I have a close relationship with Prime Minister Mimoan Singh. And it was possible because the Korean Wave is currently spreading in India and public opinion is not bad.”

“As expected, as the vice president of the Taewoo Group, you have global contacts. However, attracting a foreign university campus to Korea could affect public sentiment. It is also very likely that major political parties will greatly exaggerate this matter.”

“That’s why we need help from Representative Choi Jae-seok and the National Economy Party.”

This time I took a sip of bottled water.

Meanwhile, Representative Choi Jae-seok was pressing his temple with his thumb, as if he was thinking too much.

“Please explain to me what correlation there is between hosting an Indian engineering college campus in Korea and the economic development of the Republic of Korea.”

“If we are successful in attracting Korea, we can train various IT developers and settle them in Korea.”

“Even on a Korean campus, more than half of the students will be from India. Will it be possible for them to settle there?”

“We may not be able to settle all of them, but we plan to hire 30% of them at Taewo Group.”

“If that happens, there may be even more opposition. Doesn’t that mean jobs are being lost to foreigners?”

Employment difficulties were becoming more severe every year.

Job seekers were struggling to get a job at a top 10 company, so they did not welcome the creation of a new competitor.

But what if the door to employment widens as competitors increase?

Especially if Taewo Group, where all job seekers want to work, expands new hiring.