The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 68



Only Krnovel

Episode 68 failure (1)

It didn’t take long for the pros and cons to end.

The CEOs of affiliates holding shares in Taewoo Electronics looked at the grandfather’s thoughts and walked to the ballot box to quickly vote.

Most of the people attending the general meeting also glanced at the grandfather’s face.

He was a grandfather who made eye contact with shareholders very confidently.

He still felt arrogant, as if all of Taewo Group’s choices were made only by him.

It was also a natural thing.

Because it was my grandfather who created Taewo Group and grew it to its current size.

Without my grandfather, Taewu Group would not have existed, and many people thought that Taewu Group was their grandfather.

“The vote for or against has ended. “I’ll start counting.”

Voting counting began in a public location.

He was still a very relaxed grandfather, and I knew why.

Somehow, the National Pension Service, which was supposed to remain neutral, took my grandfather’s side.

The National Pension Service owns a whopping 6% of the shares.

If you add the National Pension Service’s stake to the 10% held by Taewo Group affiliates, the stake is 16%.

You really do your best for your grandson.

I thought about it, but I never thought it would actually involve the national pension.

“The tally results are in. The shares in favor of the spin-off and sale of the mobile phone division at Taewoo Electronics are… … 30% and the opposing share is 25%. “Depending on the results of the general shareholders’ meeting, we will proceed with the division and sale of the mobile phone division.”

There was silence in the general shareholders’ meeting.

When the results were announced, everyone looked at the grandfather with their hands over their mouths.

My grandfather leaned back in his chair with an expression of disbelief.

Then he left the shareholders’ meeting without saying or doing anything.

Shareholders’ eyes are now on me.

It was proof that the pendulum of power, which seemed like it would never tilt, had turned towards me.

“President Kim Min-jae, the chairman is waiting on the rooftop.”

The manager came to me quietly and said.

I nodded and quietly took the elevator up to the rooftop alone.

There were security guards guarding the door leading to the rooftop.

They must have heard from my grandfather in advance and opened the iron door, allowing me to enter the rooftop.

Write it, ugh.

A grandfather blowing out white smoke while looking at the sky.

I quietly stood next to my grandfather and waited for the smoke to disappear.

“Whoa, you won.”

“It wasn’t a fight where winning or losing was important. “Aren’t my grandfather and I also people who work for Taewoo Group?”

“It seems that Taewoo Electronics’ influence has been increasing without my knowledge. Who would have thought that all the unknown major shareholders would be on your side… … .”

I bought Taewoo Group shares in Myeongdong and the banking sector.

Since they could not be purchased in one place, they were distributed to several companies created by SAVE Investment Company.

My grandfather didn’t know that those companies were all mine.

“I was lucky.”

“I don’t think it was luck. “We even tried to appease Taewoo Securities CEO Park Man-deok.”

My grandfather and I really did our best.

Stocks released on the market were purchased with SAVE investment company funds.

My grandfather was buying shares of Taewoo Electronics using Taewoo Securities.

That’s why I tried to appease Taewoo Securities CEO Park Man-deok.

If only Taewoo Securities takes my side, it will be a fight I will 100% win.

The appeasement process was not easy, but in the end, we succeeded in appeasing him.

“He acted closer to intimidation than appeasement.”

“Hehe, did you really want to beat Grandpa that much?”

“This is what I want to say. “I really didn’t know that they would even mobilize the national pension.”

“You really didn’t know?”

“I had some expectations.”

“You were reading all my moves. Hehehe, if it were my grandson, of course it would be like that.”

Grandfather laughed heartily.

However, there was a strange sadness in the laughter.

“I guess it won’t be long before I become an old man in the back room. “I couldn’t even beat my grandson.”

“Grandpa still corrects. “You still have 20 years to go before you go to the back room.”

“How could you do that when you were embarrassed in front of shareholders?”

“Grandpa is absolutely necessary for the future of Taewoo Group.”

“Thank you for saying that.”

Grandfather’s shoulders looked smaller today.

Although my grandfather was clearly the decisive cause of the Taewo Group’s collapse.

My grandfather’s abilities were never lacking.

Although I am currently fighting with my grandfather, the moment the foreign exchange crisis hits, my grandfather’s help becomes more urgent.

Mergers and acquisitions.

My grandfather’s ability shines when he takes over companies that went bankrupt due to the foreign exchange crisis.

At least until then, my grandfather should have continued to sit in the chairman’s chair.

“I want to work with my grandfather to make Taewoo Group the best company in the world.”

“So, I want you to listen to everything you say?”

“I want to ask you to trust me. Please trust me just until what I do turns out to be wrong.”

“Nothing you’ve done has failed yet. Okay, give it a try. “Whether we sell the mobile phone division or another division, we will not touch what Taewoo Electronics does.”

“thank you. “I will become a grandson who will not disappoint my grandfather.”

Grandpa tapped my shoulder and headed toward the exit.

I followed my grandfather down the rooftop while maintaining a certain distance.

* * *

A few days after the shareholders’ meeting.

Very good news came from Dimon.

“The current group is coming out strong. “We raised a whopping 2.4 trillion won.”

“If that’s the case, Samjin Group will no longer raise the race.”

“Hyunjin Group went away a long time ago, and if things continue this way, it looks like Hyunjin Group will be the buyer.”

“Thanks for your efforts. “You really sold it for twice the price.”

Taewu Group sold Taewo Shipbuilding for 1.2 trillion won.

However, Dimon was on the verge of transferring Taewo Shipbuilding to Hyunjae Group for 2.4 trillion won, twice the price.

“It is thanks to the CEO who lit the fire at the right time. “If Hyunjin and Samjin Group had not come forward as competitors, it would have been difficult for him to receive even 2 trillion won.”

“Now then, you can move on to the next task.”

“You are talking about selling the mobile phone division.”

“I will handle the initial negotiations with Apple’s board of directors, so please just finalize them.”

“I have negotiated countless times with Wall Street. “Please just leave it to me.”

It wasn’t a very difficult negotiation.

Taewoo Electronics’ mobile phone division, which owned the hugely successful Innophone, was a truly profitable company.

In particular, in the case of Apple, they were diligently preparing their next product after Steve came as CEO, and Innophone was able to fill the gap until the next product was released.

“Let’s go to America together. “I will stay in the United States until CES ends.”

“I feel reassured that I am going to the United States with the CEO. “We will finalize the sale of Taewoo Shipbuilding before then.”

I walked to the blackboard located in the center of the office.

The blackboard was filled with information about Taewoo Group’s affiliates and liabilities.

I circled Taewoo Shipbuilding and Mobile Phone Division.

“If only the mobile phone division is sold well, Taewo Group’s debt will be greatly reduced.”

“The debt, which was approximately 20 trillion won, is expected to decrease to 15 trillion won.”

Before the foreign exchange crisis, the debt was 20 trillion won.

When the foreign exchange crisis arrived, the exchange rate fluctuated and rose to 80 trillion won.

It was not a debt that increased simply because of the exchange rate, but a debt that increased because the sudden loss of short-term borrowings meant that money had to be borrowed at a higher interest rate from other sources.

But now the debt has decreased to 15 trillion won.

The short-term borrowing problem is also gradually being resolved, so even if a foreign exchange crisis occurs, the debt will not increase significantly.

Still, it wasn’t enough.

I wanted to somehow resolve the 15 trillion won loan.

To achieve this, it was not possible to simply sell the company or restructure it.

“While I’m in the U.S., I think I should stop by Ford.”

“Are you planning to sell Taewoo Motors as well?”

“No way. Even if we sell all of our other affiliates, we will not touch Taewoo Motors. “It’s a company that is like my grandfather’s pride.”

Now it’s time to realize the next plan.

As soon as CES ended, we had to move right away.

* * *

The new year of 1996 has arrived.

As the numbers on the calendar changed, I felt a little impatient.

It was a feeling of impatience because there was only one year left until the foreign exchange crisis.

“Boss, we have arrived at the CES venue.”

“Are the preparations for the exhibition complete?”

“That’s right. “We exhibited more products than at the German Consumer Electronics Show and our booth was larger.”

Vice President Woo Seong-il personally took care of the booth.

It was very rare for the president and vice president to go on an overseas business trip at the same time.

Because the CES event was that important, we came to the United States on the same plane.

And because I had many other schedules, I couldn’t focus only on the CES event and had to leave the event to Vice President Woo Seong-il.

“Let’s go inside and take a look.”

“I will guide you.”

Thanks to Innophone’s success, we were able to be assigned a booth in the center of the event venue.

Therefore, Innophone occupied a significant portion of the booth, and next to it, two types of new slide phones were on display.

“What is the reaction to the slide phone?”

“The response from those involved was very enthusiastic. “They praised the product for having an innovative design following the flip phone.”

In terms of design alone, it was an excellent slide phone.

While the flip phone had a design that men would like, the core customer base for the slide phone was women.

“The design of the electronic products also came out well.”

“These are products that have abandoned the clunky design and added beautiful design and various functions.”

Taewoo Electronics was changing rapidly.

We abandoned ‘tankism’ and started creating products that emphasize emotion and function.

This was also thanks to the blowing away of the superiors who had old-fashioned ideas in one fell swoop.

“Where was the MP3 player displayed?”

“It wasn’t the only Taewoo Electronics product in the booth, so we placed it a little further out.”

“Even though it is a product made by another company, we have decided to take responsibility for promoting it, so we have to do it right. “Change the placement right next to the Innophone.”

“Oh, I understand.”

The MP3 player was named MP Man.

This was the same name as before the regression, so it was expected that the same results would be obtained.

When looking at MP Man with bitter eyes.

A very welcome voice came from right next to me.

“Hey, Kim! Taewoo Electronics has prepared a lot for this CES. In particular, the slide phone is really popular.”

“of course. “That’s because a very famous person did the initial design.”

Steve was in charge of the initial design of the slide phone.

It was a product filled with Steve’s touch, from emotion to design.

“But is this the MP3 player I’ve only heard about?”

“Would you like to try it?”

It was Steve who was interested in MP Man.

I gave the MP Man on display to Steve.

It was the moment when a rare masterpiece called the iPod began, so I held my breath and watched the scene.