The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 76



Only Krnovel

Episode 76 advance (5)

Half of 1996 has already passed.

A joint venture between Ford-Taewoo-Shanghai Automobile was established.

Taewoo Motors was transporting large quantities of molds and parts to China to produce finished cars there.

Taewoo Group was enjoying a boom like this.

The situation in South Korea was not very good.

Signs of a foreign exchange crisis were already beginning to appear everywhere, and this could also be seen in the report of the head of planning.

“This year’s economic growth rate is as expected at 7%. “This is a decrease of about 2% compared to last year.”

“It looks like the slowdown in exports is severe. “I heard that there is a strong trend of resignations from large companies these days.”

“There is even a new word being coined, ‘retirement syndrome.’”

The same was true for Taewoo Group.

I took the lead in selling off several affiliates and carried out restructuring in order to sell them at a high price.

“The exchange rate was also unusual.”

“The exchange rate of 1 dollar has exceeded 800 won. Nevertheless, there are predictions that the trade balance deficit will reach $20 billion.”

There was screaming everywhere.

Although it was a warning sign of a major accident, the Korean government and companies were trying hard to pretend not to hear it.

“What do you think, Manager? Do you think a red light has come on for the economy?”

“I think it’s just a passing wave. The Chairman also said that in times of recession like this, we need to find a breakthrough through bold investments.”

The planning director spoke firmly.

Warning sounds were coming from many places, but like other experts, they were not taking it seriously.

“Even if the wave only passes by for a moment, it can cause major damage if you are not properly prepared. Wouldn’t it be better to make bold investments after the wave has passed?”

“The president said that the moment a duck stops moving, it sinks. He said that in order for Taewo Group to not fall, it must invest in more businesses.”

A duck sinks if you stop walking?

A duck’s body is buoyant, so it can float even without moving its feet.

Well, aside from this.

There was absolutely no way to stop my grandfather’s greed for expansion.

Up until now, I had been blocking it in many ways, but if I blocked it from all directions, an explosion would eventually occur.

We had to create a breathing hole before the explosion occurred.

There was a need for something that would cost less and have very good business prospects.

“Wouldn’t it be better for Taewoo Group to also try the IT industry? “Did you know that IT-related businesses are booming in the United States?”

“By IT, do you mean business through the Internet?”

“How about expanding the distribution business of Taewoo Department Store and Taewoo International to the Internet?”

Dot-com bubble.

It was an IT bubble that occurred in the United States and Korea.

In the late 90s, the IT industry was on fire.

Even if you only have an IT label, you will soon reach a market where the stock price will rise more than 10 times.

Of course, that period was very short, and it crashed as soon as it entered 2000.

The IT business is bound to fall into abyss after four years.

I also tried to jump into that IT boom.

Even though it was said to go bankrupt after 4 years, it meant that you could make a lot of money for at least 3 years.

What we needed was the future one year from now, not the future four years from now.

If we could ride the IT boom from this year to 1999 and make huge profits, we could have safely escaped the foreign exchange crisis.

And there was one most important point.

The entire IT industry fell into abyss due to the dot-com bubble.

Some of them survived until the end, and 10 years later their value was higher than during the dot-com bubble.

Because I knew what would survive.

We were able to create a roadmap on how Taewo Group should ride the IT boom.

“Are you saying we should start a distribution business through the Internet?”

“We could call it T-Market. Please create a report that includes not only product display via the Internet, but also an electronic payment system. “I will report directly to the chairman.”

“I think it will take some time to write the report. “There is very little accumulated data, so we have to start with data research.”

“Try asking the Economic Research Institute for help. We have data on changes resulting from the popularization of the Internet. Also, there is a report predicting the Internet distribution market, which will be helpful.”

It was an economic research institute centered around Advisor Fukuda.

I asked Advisor Fukuda to conduct research in various fields.

The same was true for the IT industry, and numerous reports had already been published.

* * *

A few days later.

The excellence of the planning department was demonstrated once again.

Although they say they collaborated with an economic research institute, they created an Internet distribution business report that I really liked in just a few days.

I quickly went up to the president’s office with the report.

Because I had to quickly appease my grandfather who was anxious to expand the group.

“Is Director Kim Min-jae here? We had a lot of trouble entering China. “I can’t tell you how great it is that Taewoo Motors can officially enter China.”

“Full-scale advancement will not be possible until next year. “I think it’s still too early to receive praise.”

“What happened so early? What even people who worked at Taewoo for over 10 years could not do, you did it in less than a year. “Of course I should receive praise.”

Praise burst out of the grandfather’s mouth.

Although my grandfather was famous for being stingy with praise, he did not hold back on praising Taewoo Motors’ expansion into China because it was such a big deal.

I always felt good hearing my grandfather’s praise.

Would you like to hear another compliment?

I presented the report prepared by the planning office to my grandfather.

“This is a new business plan report.”

“Internet distribution business? “It’s an unfamiliar business field.”

“As you know, the Internet has reached many homes. And the pace of dissemination is accelerating every year. “If you take the lead in the Internet distribution market now, you can see great benefits.”

My grandfather checked the report without saying a word.

He flipped through the report several times to see if there was anything of interest.

“We are starting an internet distribution business by merging Taewoo International’s distribution division and Taewoo Department Store. “It’s a business that seems certain to succeed.”

“I can guarantee that the Internet market will grow several times more than offline markets such as department stores. “You absolutely have to start right now.”

“You are right. Whether you’re watching TV or reading a newspaper, you’re always saying that the future will be the Internet era. “In the Internet age, wouldn’t you like to buy things online?”

As expected, my grandfather had great insight.

Despite his advanced age, he had no hesitation in accepting advanced civilization.

“And there was a businessman I had a relationship with while I was on Wall Street. He had already started his Internet distribution business two years ago. “It’s a company called Amazon, and they’re planning to list their stock next year.”

“So you’re talking about creating a joint venture with a company called Amazon?”

“It’s similar, but a little different. I would like to purchase Amazon’s system, modify it for Korea, and then launch it. This shortens the initial development time and requires less development staff.”

Amazon went through a lot of trial and error over the past two years.

Jeffrey, the founder of Amazon, corrected all errors with the help of SAVE investment company.

There are already a plethora of investment companies interested in Amazon on Wall Street, and there is widespread speculation that the stock listing will be a huge hit next year.

“Then it won’t take much initial capital.”

“However, it is true that a considerable amount of funds are needed. “We may need to create a new subsidiary or department in the Taewo Group dedicated to IT.”

Taewo Group’s assets had to be tied up as much as possible.

Amazon is a company I invested in, so it can introduce the system at a low price.

In order to prevent my grandfather’s desire to expand his business, I had to lighten my wallet.

“Hmm, I know that the future of the internet distribution business is bright. “I’m a little concerned about spending too much money.”

“Compared to any other business, the profitability compared to investment is high. “We can be confident that an internet distribution company that dominates the Korean market will be more valuable than one that owns 10 department stores.”

“So how much initial capital is needed?”

You have to walk the line well here.

If you sing too much, grandpa’s interest will wane.

However, if I called too little, my grandfather could turn his attention to other businesses.

“50 billion won is enough. This is the cost of introducing a system from Amazon, recruiting IT experts, and creating a new department.”

“Hmm, it costs more than I thought.”

“It’s definitely not a large amount. What business can you start with 50 billion won? “If we take the manufacturing market as an example, wouldn’t it cost hundreds of billions of won to build one factory?”

Grandfather was troubled.

This was because 50 billion won was a truly ambiguous amount.

If we take manufacturing as an example, it was a really cheap amount, but it was an excessive amount to invest in an internet business.

Moreover, if 50 billion won was withdrawn, there would be a slight lack of money to invest in new businesses.

Since I knew the financial situation of the Taewoo Group, I asked for 50 billion won.

I need to relieve my grandfather of his worries.

I struck the final blow with a more confident voice.

“We will increase profits more than 10 times within 3 years. “If it fails, I will give you back the shares I own in Taewoo Electronics.”

“Hey you bastard! How much tax did I pay for transferring my shares in Taewoo Electronics to you? “Are you offering to give it back?”

“I am that confident. In addition to the Internet distribution business, Taewo Group must carry out many IT businesses in the future. Only then can Taewoo Group become the No. 1 group in Korea and compete with world-class groups.”

Grandpa read the report again.

It was only after reading about the future of the Internet market several times that I raised my head.

“Do you really think the Internet market will grow this much?”

“It’s bound to get bigger. Why didn’t our Taewoo Group become number one in the business world? Isn’t it because another company took the lead? So, we must absolutely dominate the Internet market!”

“good night! We can’t just follow others’ tails forever. Let’s take the lead in the Internet market!”

You have finally come over.

Entering the Internet market.

I planned to transform all affiliates of the Taewo Group into Internet-friendly, starting with Taewu Department Store.

In particular, Taewoo Securities was the next target.

Just as you can buy goods online, the era of buying stocks online will soon come.

Of course, it cannot begin as the relevant laws have not been revised yet, but as soon as next year, the laws will be revised and securities companies will open HTS (Home Trading System).

Only 4 months.

Four months after the relevant laws were revised, securities companies created and launched HTS.

Naturally, it was a crude and poorly functional system.

However, if we create a perfect HTS in advance, we can dominate the Internet securities market.