The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 352
Only Krnovel
352. New beginning (1)
A few days later.
A CEO who returned from work in the United States was called to Captain Kang’s restaurant.
There was a business owner who only ate greasy American food, but when he saw Korean food, his eyes rolled and he hurriedly stuffed the food into his mouth.
“How many restaurants in America do you eat like you’ve starved for days?”
“Korean restaurants in Korea are made to suit the tastes of Americans, so for Koreans to eat them, they are greasy and bland. In particular, they do not have the spicy taste that is typical of Korean food at all.”
Joowoouk!
A business owner tears kimchi by hand and puts it on top of rice.
Then, with a very happy expression on his face, he deliciously ate a piece of kimchi with his bare rice.
“Have you finished eating now?”
“I’ll just take one last sip of Sungnyung and finish.”
I quietly watched the president gulping down his drink.
The moment he put down the bowl, I held out the plane ticket in front of him.
“I need to go to Europe tomorrow.”
“I arrived in Korea from the United States today. But are you saying I have to go to Europe tomorrow?”
“They said the Financial Hub Building will be completed soon. But there are too many vacancies. Can’t the Financial Hub Building be used as a shared office?”
“You are saying that European financial companies should move their Asian bases to the financial hub building.”
“Is that possible?”
Sigh!
President Han hastily tore off another piece of kimchi and stuffed it into his mouth.
Since he had to go to Europe again starting tomorrow, he was in a hurry to store the taste of Korea in his body.
“It is possible. But wouldn’t European financial companies alone be enough? To enrich the financial hub, why not also accept Japanese financial companies? Japanese financial companies have more weaknesses against us than European ones.”
“Starting with Nomura Securities, if I get access to a few Japanese financial companies, it will be a little richer. Then I can go to Europe via Japan.”
“······Okay. Within a week, I will sign a contract to move into the financial hub building with Japanese and European financial companies.”
Returning from a tour of Japan and Europe in one week?
It was close to impossible.
Even if we went on a honeymoon to Europe, the plan was to see only Western Europe and return in a week.
“Can I take it for a week? I can stay in Europe for about two months and then come back.”
“If you eat in the car and sleep on the plane, a week is enough.”
“It’s okay if you’re late. Please take a tour of Europe and come back slowly.”
“I am tired of living abroad. I will finish it as soon as possible and come back!”
Because it was a meeting with financial company representatives, CEO Han had to make the move himself.
If CEO Han didn’t move, I had to move, but I had no desire to do so.
Should I throw in some carrots though?
There was a magic word that could boost a CEO’s motivation.
“All achievements related to the financial hub will be recorded under one president’s name. If that happens, wouldn’t it be a very good justification for being promoted to vice president?”
“I’m moving right now!”
A CEO jumps up from his seat and bows his head towards me.
He was running out of the restaurant with the intention of leaving for Europe right now.
* * *
Taewoo Financial Tower completion ceremony.
The sky-high tower and sturdy convention hotel have been completed.
What’s even better than the news of the completion of the financial tower is that my grandfather returned to Korea from Vietnam after such a long time.
“It’s harder to see my grandfather’s face than to see Nara’s face. I was very worried that he might not even attend the completion ceremony.”
“As you get older, you miss nature. And if you want to see my face often, shouldn’t you get married? When I have great-grandchildren, I will put my face stamped on your house every day, even if you don’t like it.”
This is the kind of holiday stress you only see on TV.
Where did you go to school? Where do you work? When are you getting married? When are you having a baby?
The only person who would say this to me was my grandfather, and hearing him talk about marriage for the first time in a long time made me dizzy.
“Won’t you do everything when the time comes? But I think the Vietnamese atmosphere suits you well. You seem to have become younger.”
“Who said that the air in Vietnam is good? Seoul and Vietnam are both full of fine dust. Just chatting with young people while working makes me feel younger both physically and mentally.”
“You’re in such a nice place in Vietnam, why did you come to Korea today?”
“The president is coming, so I should come too. If I had said I would attend at the ministerial level, I wouldn’t have come.”
The president, who has little time left in his term, decided to attend the completion ceremony in person.
It was a president who valued the financial hub that much, and a huge number of reporters filled the completion ceremony, perhaps at the request of the Blue House.
“I can’t tell if it’s Taewoo Group’s event or the government’s event.”
“Isn’t that how it was originally? No matter how times change, entrepreneurs have no choice but to look at the opinions of those in power.”
“I think so too.”
I agreed to some extent with what my grandfather said.
However, I did not agree with the statement that it does not change even if times change.
If I create future power with my own strength, I won’t have to go through this anymore.
“Now take care of your facial expressions. The president is coming.”
The sitting president came up to us and shook our hands.
Still, he was a president who greeted his grandfather with courtesy.
A completion ceremony was held together with the President, and representatives or agents of financial companies from each country attended the completion ceremony.
Quantum Fund, Berkshire Hathaway, Fintech Bank, Nomura Securities, BNP Bank, etc.
Various financial companies from the United States, Europe, and Japan gathered in Korea.
The person who invited them was Taewoo Group, and of course, as the host, I had to greet them frantically.
* * *
I don’t even remember how the completion ceremony ended.
Fortunately, I was still breathing thanks to my grandfather helping me entertain guests. Otherwise, I would have been breathing in the emergency room instead of the hotel.
“Thank you for your hard work. We guided most of the attendees to the convention hotel. Guests who made reservations at other hotels are being escorted by Captain Kang’s security team.”
“You don’t know how lucky I am that the hotel is right next door.”
I was currently staying in a newly completed convention hotel.
It was located right next to the financial tower, and unlike regular hotels, it was a hotel targeting financial companies, so it had an unusual structure with a similar number of suites and regular rooms.
“Quantum Fund CEO George has contacted me and wants to meet briefly. I think it would be better to postpone the appointment until tomorrow morning.”
“I can’t put off meeting with Representative George. I will meet with him right away.”
“Then I will bring you here.”
There were only a few places where representatives attended this event in person.
One of them was Quantum Fund, led by CEO George.
Even though he was having fun in Europe, CEO George took the time to visit Korea, so no matter how difficult it was, we had to see him face to face and talk to him.
“Mr. Kim! You’ve already lost half of your face. After all, you’ve dealt with so many financial guys, so it’s only natural.”
“CEO George has a nice face.”
“Thanks to you, I’m having a lot of fun in Europe. So how could you not be in a good mood?”
The European fiscal crisis was still continuing.
It was a market that could be fun for at least two to three more years.
Even if I had not recommended it, Quantum Fund would have jumped into the European financial crisis, but thanks to me, it was able to do so more quickly.
“Taewoo Securities is slowly withdrawing from Europe. I would like to continue to have fun with CEO George, but as you know, Taewoo Group is not only a financial company, so we need to pay attention to image management.”
“It may be a shame for you, but it’s good news for the Quantum Fund. We’ll take your share.”
“If someone else takes advantage, I feel sick to my stomach, but if CEO George takes advantage, I welcome it.”
It wasn’t just something I said.
Although it cannot be compared to the help I helped Quantum Fund.
I said this sincerely because I also received a lot of help from Quantum Fund.
“But where do you plan to attack after Europe? We are ready to join you in the next operation as well.”
“It’s still a long way off. I’ll tell you after the European fiscal crisis is over.”
“You’re saying there’s a plan in mind! Even if you ask me to go to hell with you, I’ll go there with you, so just tell me whenever you want.”
The employees of Taewo Group had a lot of faith in me.
The strength of trust was especially high among executives with whom I had spent a long time.
However, the person who believed in me the most seemed to be CEO George, not the Taewoo Group executives and employees.
He trusted me to the point where he would have believed me when I saw red pepper paste and called it ketchup.
“For now, have fun with the European fiscal crisis. And since IT will continue to be strong, you will not suffer any loss by investing only in IT stocks.”
“You say nice things to me, but I feel like I have to say something bad.”
“Has something bad happened?”
“That’s not true. Most of the financial companies that moved into the financial hub seem to be thinking of moving back to Hong Kong or Singapore five years after their contracts end.”
There were two countries that represented Asian financial hubs.
One was Hong Kong and the other was Singapore.
Hong Kong occupied the overwhelming first place, with Singapore following behind.
But I forcibly ruined that relationship.
We moved our Asian base from Hong Kong and Singapore to Korea.
Seoul quickly became a financial hub city in Asia.
It wasn’t something I was happy about.
Hong Kong and Singapore were financial hubs that formed naturally.
In the case of Seoul, I was forced to create it, and the justification and connection were weak.
“There is a proverb in Korea: In 10 years, even rivers and mountains can change. But aren’t times faster than before? Now, 5 years is enough for rivers and mountains to change.”
“It looks like you have the confidence to turn Seoul into a financial hub city.”
“Korea will also provide a lot of policy support. But won’t problems arise in Hong Kong first?”
It has been 15 years since Hong Kong was returned to China from Britain.
Although it became Chinese territory again, Hong Kong can now be seen as an independent city-state.
But there is no way China will just sit back and watch this.
Gradually, mainland China would intervene strongly in Hong Kong.
In the end, Hong Kong also becomes a city under the control of a communist country.
“Do you think China will control Hong Kong?”
“Until now, the GDP of other cities has fallen significantly compared to Hong Kong, but the gap is shrinking significantly every year. This means that the reason for China to protect Hong Kong’s independence is disappearing.”
“Hmm, if Hong Kong were to become a communist city, it would definitely lose a lot of its charm as a financial hub.”
Current Hong Kong served as the gateway to China.
However, with new entrances opening in many places, Hong Kong’s value was bound to decline over time.
“And isn’t it true that where money accumulates, a financial hub is bound to emerge? If you make me feel that the Congo is dropping a lot by being next to me, I will stay in Korea even if we tell you to leave.”
“That’s true. Financial companies are ultimately organizations that operate based on money. If they could make money, they would set up a base in Antarctica, not Korea.”
Which came first, the chicken or the egg?
In order to become a financial hub, financial companies had to gather together.
Where financial companies gathered, money was bound to accumulate.
Conversely, financial companies also gather where money gathers.
If you raise all your chickens and eggs, there is no need to worry.
Financial companies had already been forced to collect money, so all they had to do was make money flow here, and the financial hub would run well on its own.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
