Chapter 839: Turning the Tide

Woo Young-shik, the sole candidate for the Moderate Party, made appearances on various broadcasting stations’ current affairs programs, sharing a wide range of stories.

Naturally Myeong-su was the one who had done the most work behind the scenes.

He stuck close to Woo Young-shik, whose political sense was lacking, transforming him from Woo Young-shik the prosecutor into Woo Young-shik the politician.

The occasional public opinion polls indicated an overwhelming victory for Woo Young-shik.

After entrusting Myeong-su with matters related to Woo Young-shik, I stepped back.

“Ah, this is finally coming to an end.”

Choi Woo-sik of the KS Group was ousted, and Yoon Hyun-joo officially took over as chairman.

On the day she assumed the chairmanship, she immediately announced the sale of several affiliates, sending shockwaves through the business world.

She declared that the terminal business, which was tightly restricted by regulations, would be the first to be dismantled.

As promised, she sold the terminal production factories to us.

“Boss, here’s the acquisition contract.”

Eva handed me the factory acquisition contract.

I briefly skimmed through the neatly organized contract and nodded in satisfaction.

“Good work. It would have been a bigger headache if it weren’t for you, Eva.”

“I just put a spoon on the table you set, Boss.”

So modest. Of course, I drew the overall picture.

But it’s also true that things were wrapped up more smoothly thanks to Eva, the expert.

“How’s the money laundering of Director Yoon Hyun-joo’s slush fund going?”

“It’s still being circulated through various accounts. They said it would take some time because they have to avoid the eyes of the U.S.”

“Really? Then wrap it up quickly and hand it over. That way, we can cleanly wash our hands of it. Also, divest our shares of KS Group stock at the appropriate time.”

“Okay, Boss!”

“How’s the stock divestment going?”

“We’re working on selling it off slowly over a long period. If we dump everything we have, it’ll have a significant impact on the market.”

This is why you need to entrust work to capable people.

Future Investment, operated by Eva, managed amounts in the tens of billions of dollars.

If all the stocks were dumped at once, the stock market could collapse like a house of cards.

“The market is still ripe for the picking, right?”

“Of course. Honestly, I still don’t understand why you’re telling me to divest the stocks, Boss.”

As of now, no one was anticipating the economic crisis that would hit in a few years.

No, there were already people who were making predictions.

The U.S. Federal Reserve itself was one of them.

In 2001, the year after the dot-com bubble burst, Federal Reserve Governor Edward Gramlich warned of the risks of subprime mortgage loans and expressed concerns about a housing market bubble.

But such voices couldn’t elicit any response in the current market.

“Looking at the current situation, do you not understand what I am saying?”

Eva nodded and gave an awkward smile.

Both Eva and Han Gyeong-yeong couldn’t understand my choice.

Since she was someone walking alongside me, I decided to give her a little more of a hint.

“The future I predict will soon arrive. A small typhoon that started in Southeast Asia swept through all of East Asia. But before its effects could fade, the dot-com bubble burst worldwide.”

Eva nodded.

She was also one of the people who had used that to make huge profits.

“The U.S. had no choice but to lower the benchmark interest rate from 5.5% to 2% in just one year. To inject liquidity into the market.”

Even so, it couldn’t stop the decline of the NASDAQ index.

It calmed down only after falling by more than half.

And from then on, the seeds of a nightmare began to grow rapidly.

Lowering the benchmark interest rate didn’t just affect the stock market index.

“After that shock, the world economy began to grow. Especially China’s growth was astonishing.”

“Isn’t that a normal movement? China’s economic growth rate is increasing every year. If the amount of money in the market increases as the benchmark interest rate decreases, the market will naturally respond.”

Eva tilted her head as if asking what the problem was, and I nodded.

“I’d understand if the money had only flowed into the stock market. But the real bomb isn’t that.”

“Wait. The stock market isn’t the problem?”

Eva asked back with a surprised look.

“If not the stock market… Are you talking about mortgage loans, Boss?”

Eva’s face turned pale, finally understanding what I was trying to say.

“Yes. Mortgage loans will become a bomb that shakes not only the U.S. economy but the entire world’s economy.”

The desire to own a nice house was a common desire for people all over the world, not just in the U.S.

The U.S. government wanted the money circulating in the market to go into the stock market.

But as the benchmark interest rate fell, capital from around the world flocked to the housing market.

From then on, people began to fall into a big misconception.

The belief that the housing market would rise forever. The moment that belief shatters would be the beginning of catastrophe.

A prime example was close at hand.

Japan, the neighboring country, had collapsed due to a real estate bubble.

Fortunately, at that time, it could be passed off as a crisis unique to Japan.

But 21st-century global financial markets are characterized by synchronicity.

If a problem arises on one side, it inevitably arises simultaneously on the other side.

“Are mortgage loans really that dangerous? To the point of bringing down the world’s economy? I know that U.S. housing prices have risen more than 100% in five years. But Wall Street’s assessment is that it’s a normal rise due to increased housing supply and the U.S. government’s continued encouragement of homeownership.”

The fact that most investors, including Wall Street, thought this way was also a problem.

Since Eva was also part of the mainstream, she couldn’t escape that paradigm.

Well, if it weren’t for the memories of my previous life, I might have thought the same as Eva.

“It could be seen as a normal rise. If the hyenas of Wall Street hadn’t jumped in.”

“…Boss. What are you talking about?”

“I can’t tell you everything yet. Let me just say that timing is the issue. The bomb will surely explode. And the impact will be incomparable to the dot-com bubble.”

When I spoke with conviction, Eva was shocked. She seemed even more surprised since my words had rarely been wrong.

“Incomparable to the dot-com bubble?”

“Of course. You’ll feel like the dot-com bubble was just a scratch.”

“The housing market and Wall Street’s greed combine to make the bomb explode…”

Eva fell into thought, muttering to herself.

“It’s homework, Eva. Try to find out what the problem is. If you find it, I’ll grant you one wish.”

“What? Really, Boss?”

“Have you ever seen me lie? Try to find it. What’s going to explode.”

Eva should be able to quickly grasp the current market conditions.

Mortgage loans were a problem, but the various derivative products resulting from those loans were an even bigger problem.

“This will be an opportunity that will never come again. So, withdraw the funds slowly as I instructed.”

“But if you’re so sure, shouldn’t we be betting on a short?”

“Not yet. It’s still a small seed. Leave it until it’s about to burst, until it’s grown as much as greed will allow. The more it builds up, the bigger the fruit we’ll be able to pick. You know what I mean, right?”

At my words, Eva’s eyes curved into a smile.

“Got it. I’ll slowly wrap it up without shocking the market. Still, it’ll probably be the end of the year before all the funds can be recovered.”

“That’s good enough. Things will get busier starting next year.”

After talking with Eva a bit more, I sent her off.

After sending her off, I immediately called the U.S.

— Charlie! Long time no see.

Steve Jobs answered the phone with a cheerful voice.

“Are the preparations for the launch going well, Jobs?”

— We’re already running the factories at full capacity at Foxconn. But the problem is whether we can meet the desired quantity by the launch date or not.”

“Ah, then we’ll handle the contract manufacturing for the quantity to be launched in Korea.”

At my words, Jobs’ voice brightened.

— Oh, did you acquire a factory? We poked them a bit, but they were asking for such a ridiculous price. After that, we just gave up. No matter how much it’s for you, Charlie, for them to have such audacity to deal with me like that. I’ll never let that company sell my iPhone!

He really holds a grudge. Although he doesn’t show it to me, he was originally famous for being petty.

I হেসে হেসে calmed the angry Jobs.

“Haha. They don’t have the capacity to launch the iPhone right now either. And we’ve already signed an exclusive contract with Korea Telecom, right? For the time being, it’s an exclusive contract with that carrier, so they couldn’t sell it even if they wanted to.”

— I already got a report about that. It’s a good carrier. But what are you going to do about Japan? It’s about time to start preparing and promoting.

I sighed inwardly at Jobs’ words. At times like this, I wish I had two bodies, really.

“I haven’t been able to pay much attention to it because I’ve been busy lately. First of all, simultaneous release in the U.S. and Korea is the priority. We’ll start selling in the Japanese market next year, so we can start negotiations a bit later, but… I’ll get right on it.”

The iPhone, which was initially launched exclusively in the U.S., was scheduled to be supplied worldwide starting with Europe a few months after the simultaneous release in the U.S. and Korea.

“Don’t worry about China.”

— Have you decided on a carrier for China?

“No. But there’s a place I have in mind.”

— They’ll meet all my requirements, right? If not, I won’t release it in that country.

“Of course, I know. I’m sorry that my actions caused a disruption in your production schedule.”

I had asked Steve Jobs to temporarily shut down Foxconn’s factory in China.

Because of that, the iPhone’s production schedule had been pushed back by several months.

— Don’t worry about it, Charlie. What wouldn’t I do for you? You’re my muse.

I laughed out loud thanks to Jobs, who was deliberately exaggerating.

“Thanks, Jobs. Then send me some engineers. It would be better for Apple employees to come and take the lead to fix the production facilities.”

— Alright. I’ll send them right away.

After finishing the call with Jobs, I gathered my thoughts for a moment.

There’s a lot to do. After organizing my thoughts, I immediately called Manager Ma.

“Manager Ma. Contact Jungwoo Group and inform them that Apple employees will be visiting soon. We need to convert all the production factories we acquired this time to facilities for producing iPhones.”

“Yes. I’ll relay that.”

“And contact SoftBank and tell them I’d like to meet regarding the iPhone launch.”

“Will you be going to Japan directly?”

I shook my head. Why would I need to move?

“The one who’s in need should come. Tell them to come directly. Or tell them we’ll find another partner.”

“Understood, Boss.”

SoftBank still didn’t have a carrier.

I heard that Masayoshi Son had contacted Apple several times wanting to sell the iPhone in Japan.

But Apple hadn’t given any indication.

“Let’s see how many days it takes for Chairman Son to fly over.”

Masayoshi Son, who was once called the richest man in Japan with assets exceeding 10 billion dollars, saw his asset size shrink to 1 billion dollars due to his late response to the collapse of the dot-com bubble.

Moreover, I had invested in the Chinese market first, where he should have invested, and his success story was slowly coming to an end.

When 90% of SoftBank’s market capitalization evaporated during the dot-com bubble collapse, all kinds of media attacked him, citing his management ability as the problem.

A Korean-Japanese being called the richest man in Japan must have hurt their pride quite a bit.

The insidious Japanese media were celebrating his downfall.

“Welcome, Chairman Son.”

“It’s been a while, Boss Kim.”

Masayoshi Son arrived in Korea just a day after the call.

“You came earlier than I expected.”

“Is it true that you, Boss Kim, have the right to exclusively distribute the iPhone in Japan? Apple said they couldn’t confirm.”

“Why would I lie to you, Chairman Son? Let’s sit down and have a conversation first.”

He came to Korea in a hurry with only uncertain information.

This meant that he was driven to the edge of a cliff.