The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 337



Only Krnovel

337. Silent (1)

As each day passed, the Japanese stock market fell sharply.

Therefore, the Japanese financial company that signed a contract with us had to hold on to President Han’s pants to somehow reach an early agreement.

A very easy negotiation that had no choice but to grant most of the conditions we wanted.

Therefore, President Han was able to complete all negotiations and return to Korea in less than 15 days.

“I was going to say that I had a hard time, but it seems like I gained 5kg more than before I went on a business trip to Japan.”

“CEOs of financial companies are insisting that we eat together every day. Is there a way? It’s also rude not to eat, so I forced myself to lift the spoon and gained some weight.”

It was a negotiation involving trillions of dollars of money.

So, if the expensive food helped even a little, the owner would have been treated well since it was a surplus business.

“You wouldn’t have been fooled by the delicious food and negotiated roughly, right?”

“Is that really true? As a condition of canceling the contract, we agreed to receive $30 billion in cash, twice the amount we invested.”

“It looks like cash isn’t the end. I see you say ‘first of all.’”

It was a boss who was patting his protruding belly.

It was an action that seemed to indicate that he had not only brought delicious food into his stomach.

“Cash alone is $30 billion, and if you add stocks, real estate, and various patents, it is over $50 billion at best.”

“It will take time to convert the remaining assets into cash, so I guess doubling the gain is all that matters right now.”

“The profits earned through short selling and the amount generated from betting on the yen are still ongoing.”

The yen is currently a currency that causes tremendous fluctuations.

Therefore, many speculative forces flocked there.

“Now, the yen is slowly showing signs of rising.”

“We bought yen at the lowest point. Immediately after we bought yen, the Japanese government began intervening in the foreign exchange market in cooperation with G7 countries.”

Any country is afraid of a sharp decline in the value of its currency.

In particular, since the yen was claimed to be a semi-reserve currency, although not a reserve currency, the Japanese government was expected to actively intervene.

“For the time being, the yen will continue to rise. When Japanese funds that have been abroad return, it will rise even steeper.”

“Thanks to this, I think we can have a lot of fun. If we add short selling and the yen, we think we can raise our funds to $70 billion.”

Invest $30 billion and earn $70 billion in profit.

It is generally impossible to turn a large amount of $30 billion into $70 billion in a short period of time, but it was possible because the worst disaster in human history occurred.

Of course, it could be felt that the profits were small compared to the scale of the disaster.

If we had been a little more aggressive, we could have made more profits.

However, since this investment was made in the name of Taewo Group, the line had to be maintained.

“It’s a decent profit. But even though we’ve made such a profit, the Japanese government and media are so quiet. I expected there would be at least a comment complaining, if not criticism, but they’re too quiet.”

“There is a story I heard while meeting with representatives of Japanese financial companies. I was told that the Japanese government will remain silent until the end.”

The Japanese government remains silent?

Although it was one of the scenarios we expected, we really did not expect the Japanese government to act in accordance with the scenario we most wanted.

“When a disaster occurs, you want to shift responsibility to an external party, so why are you silent?”

“There are complex reasons. The first reason is that the Taewoong Group predicted the earthquake before the Japanese government and provided a lot of relief supplies and donations.”

It was an understandable reason.

Taewoo Group was ranked first in relief donations.

Since one group donated more money than Taiwan or the United States, the Japanese government also had to pay attention.

“What is the second reason?”

“It is Governor Choi Jae-seok and the National Economy Party. It is said that when they evacuated Korean residents, they also evacuated Japanese citizens. It is as if Korean politicians took over the work that the Japanese government and politicians should have done.”

“It would be a headache for the Japanese government if this became known.”

“So it seems they have decided to remain silent. Taewo Group’s relief supplies and relief donations are not mentioned at all in the media, and talk about the National Economy Party is also considered taboo.”

I understood the Japanese government’s choice.

They had no choice but to choose silence in order to hide their shame.

“Instead of not talking about relief donations, they are trying to keep quiet about the money we made from this disaster.”

“That’s right. It’s a very lucrative business for us. Even though we spent $200 million in relief donations, we earned $70 billion plus alpha, right?”

“Thanks to Governor Choi Jae-seok, things were resolved easily.”

Simply providing relief supplies and donations was not enough.

The Japanese government was able to choose silence thanks to Governor Choi Jae-seok personally leading lawmakers in relief efforts.

“It’s partly thanks to Governor Choi Jae-seok, but I think it’s also a big reason why we kept the line. If we had been more greedy, the Japanese government probably wouldn’t have stayed silent.”

“The relationship between priority and follow-up was wrong. We kept the line because the Japanese government stayed quiet. If the Japanese government had first created public opinion of criticism, we would have squeezed out more than $100 billion instead of $70 billion.”

“Now that I think about it, it is true. I’m not sure whether to like it or hate it because Taewo Group’s image has been maintained with profits of $70 billion instead of $100 billion.”

It’s a shame we didn’t make more profit.

Just protecting the image of Taewo Group was not a bad result.

By more than doubling the capital, the desired result was achieved.

“Don’t be disappointed because there are still games left to watch.”

“If you mean this game, are you talking about Europe? Quantum Fund has already told me that Europe’s financial situation is going a bit strangely.”

“The great earthquake in Japan is causing a chain effect. The wounds that were forcibly sutured after the Lehman incident will begin to open. Sooner or later, Europe will be covered in blood as the wounds burst.”

There may be complex reasons for the start of the European financial crisis.

One of them was because Japanese funds that had been distributed in Europe were returned to Japan.

If the great earthquake in Japan had not occurred, we might have been able to survive at least another year or two.

“We plan to begin preliminary work in Greece and southern Europe by investing the amount received from a Japanese financial company.”

“The plan will have to change a lot. More funds will be invested than initially planned.”

What if all the profits earned in Japan were invested in European projects?

Since the amount was 70 billion dollars more than the initial plan, we had to increase the size to cover the entire amount.

“I already received a call from Quantum Fund. Although the overall framework will not change, we made a verbal promise to intervene in the European economy a little more deeply.”

“And please pay attention to one more thing. Greece is famous for its shipping industry, right?”

“Greece ranks first in the world’s shipping industry. It is a country with a developed shipping industry, accounting for more than 7% of Greece’s GDP. Of course, if you look at the ranking of shipping companies alone, there are no Greek companies in the top 10, but there are no large corporations and only shipowners who own ships. If you add up all the numbers, it’s safe to say that Greece ranks first.”

Greece, a maritime country.

It was a country in a geographical location where the shipping industry had no choice but to develop.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to secure some decent ships.”

“Are Hyunjin Shipping’s ships not enough?”

“Even if it is a contract with Hyunjin Shipping, the number of ships that can be secured is only a small number. Hyunjin Shipping also has a contract with a ship owner and leases ships for use.”

It was a Republic of Korea with sea on three sides.

And because Taewo Group was an export-oriented group, the shipping industry was very important.

Hyunjin Shipping, one of the world’s top five shipping companies, was destined to go bankrupt within a few years.

If that happens, it will ultimately be good for Japan, China, and Taiwan.

Because they will handle the volume of the bankrupt Hyunjin Shipping.

Of course, there are other shipping companies in Korea, but they are smaller than Hyunjin Shipping.

In the end, a situation could arise where Taewo Group’s export products had to be entrusted entirely to overseas shipping companies.

“You are saying that a shipping company is essential for the growth of Taewoo Group.”

“We need a shipping company that can handle Taewoo Group’s export volume, even if it means taking some losses.”

“Okay. Then, we will use this opportunity to acquire not only the ship but also other facilities. We will also contact a Japanese shipping company.”

“It looks like the negotiations with Japanese financial companies include shares in Japanese shipping companies?”

A CEO smiling brightly.

He took out data stolen from a financial company.

“Instead of cash, a Japanese financial company handed over a variety of goods in kind, including real estate. Among them were shipping vessels and shares of Japanese shipping companies.”

“I hadn’t even thought about Japanese shipping companies, but we achieved unexpected results.”

“We will discuss with the Japanese shipping company to change the ownership of the vessel to Taewoo Group.”

“We just need to become ship owners. Please allow Japanese shipping companies to operate the ships during the recession.”

Taewoo Group did not yet have an affiliate that could operate its own shipping vessels.

Taewo Trading Co. could operate it as a temporary measure, but in order to operate it properly, the experience and skills of a shipping company were needed.

So there was no need to bring a ship now.

It was enough to just transfer the name to Taewoo Group.

“There is still room for the European project, so we will finish the work in Japan and move to Europe. And Quantum Fund is taking the lead in the preliminary work, so I also have room.”

“Quantum Fund is an expert in this matter, so you can trust it.”

There is only half a year left until the European fiscal crisis breaks out in earnest.

In the meantime, we had to penetrate deep into Europe, and Quantum Fund decided to take on that role.

All we had to do was take advantage of the hole created by Quantum Fund.

* * *

Near the end of spring of 2011.

At the request of Governor Choi Jae-seok, we met in a quiet restaurant in Gyeonggi-do.

“Governor, it’s been a while. It’s an honor to meet the hero who saved the Korean people.”

“It’s strange. I just did what I had to do, but the media is putting too much pressure on it.”

Governor Choi Jae-seok said while stroking his hair.

Although he had a really embarrassed expression and tone, he was the one who most wanted the situation to turn out this way.

“You proudly ranked first in the poll for the next leader. There was a whopping 15% difference from second place.”

“I’m embarrassed.”

“Shouldn’t we now slowly prepare for our next move? Not taking action when public opinion wants it is no different from a kind of betrayal.”

“I will just take the final exam and then make a decision.”

Governor Choi Jae-seok was definitely more determined than before.

And I knew what he meant by the final test.

“The ruling party is trying to hold a vote on free school meals.”

“It looks like a referendum on free school meals will be held in August at the latest.”

A battle for the position of mayor of Seoul.

There was no way to guarantee victory even if you threw everything away.

There are just a few days left until the referendum, which will significantly change the political landscape in South Korea.