The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 331



Only Krnovel

331. Filling the barn (5)

An annex to Captain Kang’s Korean-style restaurant.

I arrived early and waited for Hyunjin Group Chairman Cho Young-soo, who came into the annex exactly at the appointed time.

“Chairman Kim, nice to meet you. Is this the first time we’ve met together like this? I feel like we’ve seen each other often, perhaps because we’ve heard about it in the media.”

“I should have come to see you first, but I’m sorry I’m late.”

Meetings with CEOs of conglomerates were always like this.

It was polite to talk for a long time about trivial matters.

It was only after talking about miscellaneous things for over 30 minutes that I was able to get to the point.

“I understand that you signed a contract with Chairman Chu of Hyunjin Shipping. Can I take over that contract?”

“Are Hyunjin Shipping going back to the Cho family?”

“Isn’t that the way of the world? Chairman Kim helped Chairman Chu, and although it took some time, we were able to bring back the company that our family had built.”

Do you think that because of me, Chairman Chu was able to defend his right to manage Hyunjin Shipping?

Chairman Chu was the one who would have distributed the funds somehow even if I had not lent them.

Rather, it was not enough to be thankful because it was thanks to me that Hyunjin Shipping was not broken up.

“I am not interested in the management rights of Hyunjin Shipping. I just accepted it because it was a good offer.”

“I have no intention of blaming Chairman Kim. I just want to let you know that Hyunjin Shipping has returned to the Cho family.”

“What does it matter who the contract is with? As long as the terms of the contract do not change, it makes no difference whether the Chairman takes over the contract.”

Hyunjin Shipping was already in trouble.

Chairman Cho seemed to think that he could put the spilled water back into the cup.

Even if you put the water that poured into the sea back into a cup, it would not be drinkable water.

“Thank you very much. I will fulfill the contract in my name.”

“I heard that the shipping industry is having a hard time. Are you okay?”

“Chairman Chu is in the red by signing an unreasonable charter fee contract, but if Hyunjin Shipping collapses, the Korean shipping industry will be shaken, so will the government remain silent?”

As expected, too big to fail.

What happened was that large corporations in Korea and the United States all cried out for being too big to fail.

Chairman Cho believed that being too big to fail would work even now that Lehman Brothers, the largest financial company in the United States, had collapsed.

I was not in a position to curse others.

Before his return, my grandfather also had that kind of thinking and the Taewoo Group collapsed.

“I understand that the charter contract was signed as a 10-year long-term contract. Even if the government provides great help, if the foreign ship owner does not provide a discount on the charter fee, wouldn’t it be difficult to avoid a deficit?”

“Don’t foreign shipowners ultimately have to make money? If Hyunjin Shipping collapses, they won’t receive a penny in charter fees, so they will give them a discount.”

“They say sailors are stubborn, but it won’t be easy.”

Chairman Cho’s face hardened slightly.

He seemed to think I was saying something that was crossing the line.

“Hyunjin Group’s capital power is enough to revive Hyunjin Shipping. Although it is a hole-in-the-wall store compared to Taewo Group, it owns several companies, including healthy airlines.”

“I went too far. It was never my intention to doubt Hyunjin Group’s capabilities. I was just concerned that people’s taxes might be transferred to foreign ship owners.”

“The recession won’t last forever. Can’t we just tighten our belts in the meantime?”

I’ve had enough of my conversation with Chairman Cho.

Although he was a capable enough manager, he did not seem capable of reviving Hyunjin Shipping.

Hyunjin Shipping did not sign a long-term charter contract.

It might have been possible if the situation in the shipping industry had been a little better than it is now.

In the worst of the worst circumstances, it was impossible for Chairman Cho to revive Hyunjin Shipping, no matter how outstanding he was.

In the end, Hyunjin Shipping was destined to collapse.

It also meant that Taewoo Group could take away valuable assets owned by Hyunjin Shipping through a contract signed in advance.

“If you need more funds, please let me know at any time.”

“What would the government think if we borrowed money from Taewoo Group? Wouldn’t the government provide support only if it was known that no one would help?”

It wasn’t a bad idea.

Because receiving government support was the best way to reduce debt.

However, if the charter contract issue with foreign ship owners is not resolved, the government will never provide support.

Because there is no reason to support it.

No matter how much support is provided, the money will eventually go into the wallets of foreign ship owners.

If that happened, it was clear that public opinion would worsen, so there was no justification for the government to step forward.

“Anyway, I sincerely congratulate Hyunjin Shipping on returning to its chairmanship.”

“Thank you very much for your congratulations. And Hyunjin Group is ready to do business with Taewoo Group at any time. Just contact us at any time.”

After shaking hands with Chairman Cho, I stood up.

Now that I know that the future of Hyunjin Shipping will not change, there is no reason to stay here anymore.

* * *

A few days later.

A very welcome guest came to Taewo Group.

“Dimon! It’s even nicer to see you in Korea. Wasn’t the way here inconvenient?”

“I was able to sleep very well during the flight. I slept so well that it was a more comfortable flight than at home.”

Contrary to what he said, Dimon’s face was full of fatigue.

How tiring must it be to manage everything from a fintech bank to a CITI group?

“You can’t keep a tired person for long, so let’s start by talking about work.”

“You can take it slow.”

“Ask President Han to come in now.”

I contacted the secretary’s office.

A president who was waiting came into the chairman’s office.

“It’s been a while! But why is your face so damaged? It seems like you’re getting older all by yourself.”

“It’s the same for CEO Han. Don’t you feel like you’re twice as old as you go up in rank? I loved working in Myeong-dong.”

They were two people reminiscing about the past for a moment.

Now that they were the chairman of a large company and the president of a securities company, they were under a lot of restrictions, and it was only natural that they missed the past when they were free.

“Let’s unwind the memories with a drink tonight, and now let’s talk about work.”

“I heard about the chairman’s plan from President Han. He plans to make a big deal using Taewoo Group’s assets as collateral.”

“It will be a very big deal. It is a very big deal that can fill Taewoo Group’s treasury, which was lacking due to the acquisition of AIZ and GM, at once.”

“Fintech banks are ready to lend as much money as the Chairman wants.”

The reason Dimon was brought to Korea was because of a loan.

If you knew about the fintech bank, you could say it was yours, but that didn’t mean you could take out money and spend it as you wanted.

Dimon had to fly to Korea himself because a blindfolded and silent procedure was necessary.

“You only need to lend an amount equivalent to the shares of global companies owned by Taewoo Group.”

“Currently, shares of global companies owned by Taewo Group include Apple, Amazon, Google, game-related companies, and OTT companies.”

“There are a lot.”

“It’s not a lot. It’s just the shares held by Taewo Group, but the chairman’s personal shares, fintech banks, and paper companies hold more.”

Based on the SAVE investment company, shares of global companies were purchased.

Therefore, the stock held by Taewo Group was smaller.

“If the shares held by Taewoo Group are used as collateral, how much loan can be made?”

“The Taewoo Group can lend up to $20 billion in Apple shares alone. And if you add in the shares of other companies and the patents the Taewoo Group holds, it is possible to borrow more than $80 billion.”

80 billion dollars was an astronomical amount of 100 trillion won.

You must have this amount to be eligible to participate in this game.

“But would a fintech bank be able to lend $80 billion?”

“It’s difficult to loan the entire $80 billion right now, but we can spread it out over two years.”

“How much can I borrow within this year?”

“Up to $30 billion can be borrowed in installments within this year.”

$30 billion was a truly enormous amount.

The loan interest alone was equivalent to the annual sales of most small and medium-sized businesses.

“I want to settle the loan interest after the game is over, but that’s possible, right?”

“We will unconditionally meet the conditions the Chairman wants. We will work hard to get you to pay the lowest loan interest possible.”

“Fintech banks should not suffer losses. Make sure they receive loan interest rates that are the same as market interest rates.”

“Do you mind though?”

“Shouldn’t we all make a living together? That’s better than causing problems for no reason.”

The fintech bank was also owned by me anyway.

Even if the money was used for interest, it was nothing to waste since it ultimately went into the fintech bank’s coffers.

“Then, I will finish discussions with President Han within this week and draw up a contract.”

“There is no need to give out the loan too quickly, just prepare it slowly before the end of the year.”

“Bitcoin transactions are already increasing, so the amount of money coming in is increasing significantly. We can easily prepare about $30 billion within this year.”

If we sweep this round, not only Taewoo Group but also.

The financial power of the fintech bank would be strengthened, and that amount would be enough to stabilize the CITI Group.

* * *