Chapter 78: Knowing the Value of Pennies Paves the Way to Riches. And Who Knows? Another Jerry Yang of Yahoo Might Just Appear?

“You know, if you understand the value of small change, you can accumulate wealth. And who knows? Maybe another Jerry Yang from Yahoo will pop up?”

It seemed quite a few ventures were knocking on Miracle’s door. I could also see my uncle’s underlying hope that the US IT boom would replicate itself in Korea.

“Then just invest a little bit in the ones that catch your eye, Uncle. You might at least make enough for grocery money.”

Hold on, companies with real potential haven’t even shown up yet. They’re probably huddled in places like warehouses, the founding members gobbling down ramen as they pour their hearts into development.

Of the ones I remember, the only ones that have surfaced are Nexon’s ‘Nexus: The Kingdom of the Winds,’ which started its service last year, and NCSoft’s ‘Lineage,’ which began this spring. That’s about it.

If you’re not planning to ride the venture wave and pull out quickly, investing in other companies would just be throwing money away. What to do?

“Do-jun. Don’t get the wrong idea.”

“Yes?”

“Just because you’re meeting influential figures in the government and handling billions of dollars, trillions of won, doesn’t mean you’re a chaebol chairman.”

“Uncle.”

“Shut your mouth and listen.”

This was the first time I’d seen Oh Se-hyun like this in ten years.

His stern expression and the glare he fixed on me were filled with contempt.

“Your grandfather, Chairman Jin, only manages projects worth trillions of won himself. He dines with powerful figures in the government and secures vested interests worth hundreds of billions. That’s what chaebol chairmen do.”

That’s what I’m doing right now. So why is he so angry?

“But they command tens of thousands of servants who bring in their daily bread. With the money those servants earn penny by penny, they acquire steel mills and build factories in China.”

Ah, I think I know what he’s getting at.

“Without servants, there’s no master; without tenant farmers, there are no landowners; without the people, there’s no king. But what about you? You have no servants, no tenant farmers, no people. All you have is some money in your hands. And yet, you’re already imitating a chaebol chairman?”

Even if he hadn’t told me to shut up, I wouldn’t have had anything to say.

That a servant like me would start acting like a chaebol after only ten years. Even without Oh Se-hyun’s sharp words, I wanted to smack myself.

How dare I act so cocky?

“Grocery money? You could earn tens or hundreds of billions. Is that grocery money?”

“I apologize. I was short-sighted.”

Oh Se-hyun seemed taken aback by my quick apology but quickly regained his composure.

“Good that you understand quickly. That’s enough.”

Looking slightly awkward, Oh Se-hyun nodded.

“So, where should we invest?”

“Yes? I thought you would decide, Uncle….”

“No. I can decide the direction, but you have a better sense for investment judgments. Just tell me, anything catch your eye?”

“Then put 1 billion won each into two online game companies and you decide on the rest.”

“Games, huh….”

Oh Se-hyun paused to gather his thoughts before speaking.

“Let’s use only 10 billion won in total. Two places for games as you said. For the rest, I’ll make smaller investments of up to 1 billion won each.”

“Sounds good. Even if just one hits big, we’ll break even, right?”

“You just heard, the next administration will promote IT. Do you think only one will hit big?”

Oh Se-hyun’s bright smile was good to see.

It’s a shame such a good person will retire in five years.

I need to make sure his retirement package is really generous.

* * *

Winter of ’97 was brutally cold. It was the only winter where Christmas carols didn’t fill the streets.

With three days left in December, I put on a suit once again to fight this year’s final battle.

“Business cards are here. Take some.”

Since I was going to meet people, I needed business cards.

After much thought, I decided to pose as an employee dispatched from Miracle’s US headquarters—a young second-generation Korean-American in charge of managing investment systems.

The fact that someone was dispatched from headquarters also subtly conveyed how dangerous Korea currently was.

Seeing the English name ‘Howard Jean’ printed on the card brought back vivid memories of flying to Texas to invest in Dell Computer eight years ago.

It feels as fresh as yesterday.

“When your first business cards come out, it feels kind of rewarding, doesn’t it? Makes you feel like you’ve grown up. Heh heh.”

“Is that so? It feels a bit strange, to be honest.”

“You can enjoy that feeling later. Let’s get going. The creditors will be waiting with bated breath.”

We set off for the meeting location where Ajin Group’s main creditors were waiting. Oh Se-hyun and I had put our heads together to plan for today.

Our goal was to ruthlessly lowball the acquisition price.

We need to save every penny, don’t we?

# # #

Executives at the general manager level from three banks and their staff greeted the two of us with anxious expressions in a large conference room.

You don’t only need a poker face when you have a good hand. You also need to maintain one when your bankroll is dwindling and you’ve got a terrible hand.

But the creditor group, mainly composed of banks, seemed ill-equipped to sit at the gambling table.

They couldn’t hide their nervousness in their expressions, tone, or actions.

These were people who always lived comfortably in banks, holding the world’s most important thing—money—and always being catered to.

Having never faced such a cold wind, they were shivering naked in the cold.

The fact that a young man accompanied the CEO seemed out of place, and they looked at me with curious eyes, but their interest quickly faded.

With CEO Oh Se-hyun present, they wouldn’t care who I was.

“We’ve heard that the merger discussion with Soonyang Automobile is completely over. Shouldn’t we move on to the acquisition process now?”

They started pressing us as soon as we sat down, not even giving us a moment to catch our breath. And their urgings were directed solely at Oh Se-hyun.

“We haven’t signed the agreement yet. Soonyang Group is still adjusting their shares.”

“When will that be finished?”

“Why are you asking us questions you should be asking Soonyang Group?”

Oh Se-hyun and I leisurely held our coffee cups, wondering how much to offer those who couldn’t withstand the cold for the price of a coat.

“You even gave Chairman Jin of Soonyang Group a hint. Saying the agreement was done, and all that was left was procedure.”

“That’s not the whole story.”

When I quietly opened my mouth after putting down my coffee cup, their attention shifted to me.

“Excuse me, but who is this gentleman…?”

“Ah, we urgently called him in from the US headquarters. He’s in charge of overseeing this merger and acquisition.”

The creditors looked somewhat surprised at Oh Se-hyun’s introduction.

Don’t I look too young?

Two or three people from the bank took out their business cards and subtly handed them to me. They must be curious about my position and rank.

Also, these guys are trying to see if I’m qualified to be at this table.

I then handed out my business cards, and they seemed convinced when they saw them.

In America, aren’t young punks running Wall Street?

I lightly bowed my head to the creditors.

“Howard?”

The creditors repeated my name, exchanging glances.

“As a second-generation Korean-American, I use an English name. Please understand.”

“I see. Please, continue with what you were saying.”

“Yes. Our investment review board at headquarters is currently conducting a thorough re-evaluation of this acquisition.”

As soon as I threw out the bait, the expected reactions poured in.

“What? Re-evaluation?”

“No, how can there be a re-evaluation now? What is the meaning of this…!”

The creditors, startled, turned their burning gazes toward Oh Se-hyun. I threw the bait, but they instinctively kept looking at the CEO.

Banks stick to the principle of not dealing with servants.

“That’s what I’m saying. I tried to dissuade them several times, but… as you know, the Americans follow the system and don’t really listen to the CEO.”

Oh Se-hyun shrugged and then pointed at me.

“According to company policy, even I have to be mindful of this guy. He holds the key to our Miracle’s US investors’ opinions. So, please listen to what he has to say until the end.”

On the stage that Oh Se-hyun laid out for me, I began to sing my pansori.

“The initial scenario was this: Soonyang Group wants Ajin Automobile, but they’ve used up all their money acquiring Hando Steel. That’s when our Miracle appeared. We planned to hold Ajin Group temporarily and sell it back to Soonyang Group at a very high price when they had the funds. I believe you all can guess this much.”

The creditors’ expressions were uncomfortable. Once they realized Miracle’s goal was money, they knew it wouldn’t be easy to get what they wanted.

“But then the Korean financial crisis hit. The acquisition amount is 1.2 trillion won. If the exchange rate was 800 won, that’s 1.5 billion dollars. At the current 1,800 won, it’s only 670 million dollars. And if it goes up to 2,500 won? 480 million dollars!”

Upon hearing about the exchange rate, the creditors, with pale faces, began to spill out desperate words.

“The IMF bailout has started. Two billion dollars has already come in, so it won’t go up to 2,500 won. It’ll drop below 2,000 won soon and stabilize….”

“They promised 55.5 billion dollars, but only 2 billion has come in. Now that the government has changed, they’ll try to renegotiate with the new administration. 50 billion dollars… there’s no telling when it will come in. It might even go up to 3,000 won next year.”

The creditors fell silent.

“And the day after tomorrow is ’98. You need to finalize your accounts for this year, but if you look at your ledgers, you won’t find any answers. Once the new government takes office, they’ll probably start consolidating banks…. To survive, the dollars Miracle holds need to enter the banks before the year changes, wouldn’t you agree?”

Export companies earn dollars, but import companies need dollars. If you hold dollars now, all these companies will flock to you.

Foreign banks’ demands for dollar settlements are also piling up.

In this kind of economic crisis, the need for large banks always emerges, and the next administration will surely expedite consolidation based on this year’s performance.

“But from Miracle’s perspective, Korea is unstable. What if it can’t recover? What if the Korean economy plummets to the level of Southeast Asia?”

“So, what are you trying to say?”

“We are the ‘preferred bidder’ but we are considering giving up that qualification.”

“Wh-what?”

“We mean we’re withdrawing. If we give up on acquiring Ajin Group, Daehyun Group will step in, right? Negotiate with them.”

As if Daehyun Group would step in. They’re too busy putting out fires on their own feet.

“Oh, don’t look at me like that. The American investors, the ones who own the money, think Korea is unstable. What can I do?”

Oh Se-hyun feigned being burdened by the flood of gazes from the creditors.

If there’s anyone quick-witted among them, they’ll know what needs to be done.

Cash has dried up, and a large, unsellable pile of bad inventory is sitting there, causing headaches.

The best course of action is to get rid of it quickly, whether it’s half-price or a clearance sale.

This simple principle applies to corner stores, big corporations, and banks alike.

“Convince the American investors to change their minds. Our Republic of Korea isn’t that weak. In terms of economic size and competitiveness….”

When one of the bank executives spoke urgently, I replied with a slightly mocking tone.

“That’s what the Korean government said before the financial crisis hit. Isn’t it?”

They closed their mouths. They wouldn’t have much to say other than the same excuses.

At this point, Oh Se-hyun slyly chimed in, adding fuel to the fire.

“Shouldn’t you be making a grand decision?”

“Yes? What do you mean by decision?”

Oh Se-hyun made a phone shape with his thumb and pinky finger with a haughty look, gesturing with it.

“Call your bank presidents. The ones who make the decisions are the bank presidents.”

Even executives are just servants. It’s time for the owners to step up.