Outskirts of Los Angeles, USA.
Under the blazing sun typical of the dry desert climate, a red, old-model Chevrolet Camaro cruised down a quiet road in the middle of the day.
Edmund Cho, dressed in a white T-shirt with a piercing in one eyebrow, pressed his hand to his nose and inhaled a line of cocaine.
The ...
Chu Min-jeong was a highly guarded person.
Except for the moment I first entered the restaurant, she showed no change in expression. Even after shaking hands, she quickly withdrew her hand and hid it under the table.
Unkempt hair.
A face devoid of makeup.
Dark circles shadowing her eyes.
It was an appearance that didnâ...
During the financial crisis, Taewoo Group sold off many of its subsidiaries.
Notably, large-scale divisions such as shipbuilding, credit cards, and mobile phones were among them.
Some of these eventually returned to the group, but overall, they had been working to downsize.
However, once the crisis ended, they embarked on a ...
Lee Soo-Hyun fell into deep thought.
If a new competitor emerged, the entire plan to sell Foreign Exchange Bank would need to be revised.
And if Lone Star truly lost its eligibility, every agreement he had made with them would become void.
"It seems you've thought it over enough. Have you made up your mind?"
"What exa...
Thanks to the iPad and iPhone S, the audience was more than satisfied.
With their expectations already met, they watched the next product unveiling with a sense of ease.
[The final product weâd like to introduce today is a TV. You might be wonderingâApple making a TV? If it were just a regular TV, that would indeed be surprisin...
In any organization, whistleblowing was the most uncomfortable situation to deal with.
Especially in the strictly hierarchical world of government officials, whistleblowing was considered nothing short of betrayal.
Because of this, several government ministriesâdeeply entrenched in their own cartelsâmaintained an iron grip on i...
Lee Young-soo, the CEO of Hanyoung Tech, couldnât believe his sudden streak of good luck.
âWhatâs going on? Everything is going so smoothly.â
After losing the bid, he had suffered a series of setbacks against Chunha Trading.
His investor, Mr. Han, was also losing patience, and Lee Young-soo was starting to feel the p...
âI have a good eye for people. Youâre impressive, CEO Park.â Chairman Wang Qian of Haixin Group said with a smile. âYouâve already secured three monthsâ worth of supply in just one month.â
Just one month after we started siphoning off defective semiconductors, we had supplied half of Haixin Groupâs order, earning me anothe...
Sa-seong (Samsung) Electronics Headquarters, Taepyeong-ro, Seoul.
An Byeong-seok, president of Digital Wave, and Deputy General Manager Yoon Nam-ho entered the spacious lobby, lined with artificial marble.
Although they had visited several times before, the sheer presence of the conglomerate, which was vying with H...
"Hey, President Park."
Accompanied by a lady in a beautifully arranged hanbok, Executive Director Woo Chun-il entered the private room of the Ojinam restaurant. With a smile on his face, he greeted Seok-won, who had been waiting.
Seok-won rose from his seat and slightly bowed his head. As he did, Woo Chun-il extended his hand towar...
The new year of 2002 had arrived.
A year of unending celebrations.
With both the World Cup and the presidential election taking place in South Korea, it was set to be an exceptionally heated year.
Of course, not everyone would be celebrating.
But for Taewoo Group to come out smiling, we had to be on the winning side.<...
CL Card falls into Taewoo Groupâs hands
Taewoo Card had returned homeâbringing CL Card as its "wife."
Yet, Park Man-deok, CEO of Taewoo Securities, didn't look pleased.
"The scale of CL Card's card bonds is beyond imagination. Once we factor in the hidden liabilities, the total surpasses 2 trillion won.
The real issue...
Only a few days remained in 2001.
In my previous life, the credit card crisis occurred between 2002 and 2004.
However, in this life, since I had sold Taewoo Card to CL Card, the timing had been pushed forward.
With Dimon's and Myeongdong's operations happening simultane...
After finishing all the contracts, I took a brief break.
The planning director personally brewed a warm cup of tea and brought it to me.
"This is bellflower root tea. I prepared it because you've been speaking a lot today, and it's good for your throat."
"Thank you. My throat was feeling a little scratchyâI'll enjoy it."
Quantum Fund Headquarters, 7th Avenue, Manhattan, New York.
In a spacious office overlooking the towering skyscrapers of Wall Street, George Soros and Rodney, the CIO, sat across from each other on a sofa.
ââŚThe Southeast Asian currency crisis has been manipulated by a few wealthy elites and the Western media w...
The next day.
In the large conference hall of the Japan Securities Dealers Association in Tokyo, a crowd of reporters had gathered.
Todayâs press conference was set to address the major issue that had recently erupted â the massive losses from option contracts.
When President Yamakawa entered through the side door, accom...
Once the conversation ended, Seok-won stood up first and left the study.
President Park Jin-hyung watched the door close, then turned to Chairman Park Tae-hongâwho was already lighting his third cigaretteâand spoke with a face full of concern.
âAre you really planning to entrust the reserved funds you converted into dollars t...
A few days later.
It was the day of the month when the entire family gathered at the main house, so Seok-won made his way to the mansion in Hannam-dong.
At the wide dining table, Chairman Park Tae-hong sat at the head seat. On either side were his eldest son, President Park Jin-hyung and his wife, Madam Jo, and Seok-won himself. To...
Steve was like a god in the IT industry.
Especially after the iPhone became a huge success, more people began to praise him, and CEO Im Jaebeom was no different.
"Do you really think I resemble Steve?"
"You seem doubtful. Then I'll make you believe it."
I took out my phone and called Steve.
Calli...
Like any negotiation, the terms always depended on how desperate one side was.
So...
Would Samsung Electronics really be incapable of producing smartphones without Taewoo's patents?
The answer was half true, half false.
With our patents, they could manufacture smartphones without any issues.
But even without pe...
I didn't hand over the credit card company to the CL Group for no reason.
It was merely a temporary measure to protect Taewoo Group from the madness of the credit card crisis.
"The credit card companies will soon collapse simultaneously. Especially CL Card, which is engaged in a cutthroat competition with Samsung Card, will suffer ...
âDid you say three hundred thousand units?â
Unlike the two men who couldnât hide their confusion, Seok-won responded calmly.
âThatâs right.â
âThatâs six times more than what we originally planned. Can we really sell that many...?â
President Ahn Byung-seok trailed off, uncertainty in his voice. Across...
While the Japanese stock market was gripped by fear and panic from the shock of the Big 4 securities firms, the atmosphere at Daehung Investment's Asset Management Department was the exact opposite â cheers erupted as stock prices nosedived.
[Nomura Securities: 967.2 (â171.6)]
[Daiwa Securities: 491.6 (â7...
Negotiating with the President (3)
At Han Cheong-hoâs words, Park Jung-hwan put down his pen.
"Exactly. You, of all people, should know how much effort Iâve put into fostering the heavy industry sector. And yet, you've let things turn into this mess."
"Your Excellency, please give me just one more chance...
Negotiating with the President (2)
Presidentâs Office, Chomyung Bank, Jongno
Choi Moo-ryong frowned at Han Cheong-hoâs visit.
âWhat brings you all the way here?â
âCheongil Refinery is in trouble. I need your help.â
âI can barely keep my own head above water. Iâm...
Negotiating with the President (1)
Tae-soo was startled to see a man dressed in hanbok standing before him.
"What brings you all the way here?"
"Just running an errand."
The man continued to feign loyalty to Jang Mal-dong, keeping up his act.
Tae-soo played along without hesitation.
"Wel...
Taewoo IT had been posting tremendous quarterly results, and what had once started as a department with fewer than 100 employees had now grown into a team of over 1,000 experts.
âThere are quite a few empty desks.â
âA lot of staff are currently dispatched to various projects, so only about 70% of...
President Woo Sung-il was as efficient as ever.
That was exactly why I had kept him in his position at the head of Taewoo Electronics.
It hadn't been more than a few hours since I mentioned wanting to meet Cyworld's CEO, Seo Kwang-soo â yet here he was, already seated in the vice-chairman's office.
âWelcome. You must hav...
I arrived in Korea a little later than planned.
The morning sun was just rising, and I headed straight to the office.
I was dying to rest, but there was no time for that as the emergency situation was still ongoing.
âVice Chairman! The Chairman arrived in Korea yesterday. He is waiting in the Chairmanâs office now.â
Yamakawa Hiroshi, the president of Nomura Securities, woke up early in the morning as usual.
Raising his upper body, Yamakawa reached out beside his bed, removed the cover from a glass of water, and gulped it down to soothe his parched throat.
Glancing at the clock, he saw that it had just passed 6 a.m.
Although he had slept...