The Conglomerate Family Became A Villain [EN]: Chapter 215

215. World’s Rift (4)

The drop in oil prices, triggered by Saudi Arabia’s announcement, continued throughout the first half of 1986. Lower oil prices dragged down overall prices, which in turn led to interest rate cuts.

Adding to this was the Chernobyl nuclear accident in the Soviet Union. While the Chernobyl disaster didn’t have a direct impact [on global markets], it dealt a significant blow to the Soviet economy.

Ultimately, the Soviet Union had no choice but to reduce aid to communist bloc countries, including those in the Warsaw Pact. As Soviet aid dwindled, these countries responded by increasing exports of raw materials, which led to a collapse in commodity prices.

“With commodity prices plummeting, the Federal Reserve will have to respond,” Robert insisted, certain that interest rates would fall once again.

Jeong Hyun-woo agreed.

“The economy will be strong for the next few years.”

The so-called “Three Lows Boom” was on the horizon [referring to low oil prices, low interest rates, and a weak dollar].

‘Was the Japanese bubble able to last so long because of this Three Lows Boom?’

Not being an economics major, he had never learned how the strong yen, the bubble, and the Three Lows Boom were connected.

However, being in the midst of the Three Lows Boom, he could now understand how Japan’s bubble had been sustained.

“We should increase the production of game packs.”

Nintendo’s game packs were storage devices containing games, similar to Atari cartridges.

“So, you’re saying sales will increase because of the economic boom.”

Jeong Hyun-woo nodded.

“It might be a good idea to operate G-Shop a bit more aggressively.”

Robert agreed.

“If we expect a boom, that seems like the right thing to do.”

Jeong Hyun-woo turned his gaze to Anne.

“Anne, please provide active financial support to each development team and affiliate.”

Anne was working as CFO, following Sera.

“Are you suggesting we use financial products from banks?”

The company’s cash reserves alone weren’t enough for aggressive investment.

That’s why she was considering bank loans.

Jeong Hyun-woo had always said there was no need to take out loans. But today was different.

“Interest rates will be low, so take out loans with variable rates and provide support.”

He wanted to pursue an aggressive expansion strategy.

“Charlie, isn’t this too hasty?”

Sera was the type to think that running too fast could lead to a fall.

“Well, I think it’s okay to run a little faster this time.”

“Why?”

“Because interest rates, raw materials, and the dollar will be weak for the time being.”

At this meeting, Victoria Corporation’s direction was set for expansion.

After the meeting, Jeong Hyun-woo had a light coffee break with Sera.

“Are you sure this is going to be okay?”

She was still skeptical about the Three Lows Boom.

“Now that the direction has been set, it’ll be fine.”

“Direction.”

“All the indicators point to a boom, don’t they?”

Sera clasped her hands together.

“To be honest, it doesn’t feel real.”

Until recently, the U.S. economy had suffered greatly from the oil shock, high interest rates, and trade deficits.

But in just a few years, the situation had completely reversed.

“The economy never stands still.”

“Charlie, you’re adapting well.”

“That’s my job.”

Jeong Hyun-woo knew what the most important virtue of a CEO was.

“Victoria Fund is also doing well, so there are no problems.”

The profits of Victoria Fund continued to increase.

“Not everything is good.”

“Oh?”

“The issue with the IRS hasn’t been resolved yet.”

Sera wasn’t too worried about the IRS.

“The IRS investigation is thorough, but we’ve started lobbying the political circles, so it should be resolved soon, right?”

“If we did something wrong during the investment in Japan, they won’t let it go.”

Jeong Hyun-woo had recruited John Peer, an investment expert, to avoid making mistakes, but he couldn’t be sure that he had handled everything perfectly.

‘John is only human, after all.’

People could make mistakes at any time.

‘The problem is how you deal with those mistakes.’

Jeong Hyun-woo thought that the time when everything was going well was the time to be most careful.

“Come to think of it, you haven’t been meeting with MIT lately, have you?”

Jeong Hyun-woo shrugged his shoulders and replied.

“I don’t have time.”

“Still, wouldn’t it be good to meet once?”

Sera knew that one of Jeong Hyun-woo’s backgrounds was MIT.

“Should I?”

“I think it would be a good idea.”

Jeong Hyun-woo changed his mind at her suggestion.

Two days later, Jeong Hyun-woo met with Professor Mark Delin of MIT. He had moved from the education committee and had been promoted to vice president.

“Mr. Jeong, it’s been a while.”

Jeong Hyun-woo greeted him with a bright voice.

“I apologize for not visiting sooner.”

“But we’ve talked on the phone a few times, haven’t we?”

“I think it’s better to visit in person and talk.”

Professor Mark Delin laughed.

“Hahaha, you’ve become quite the businessman.”

He thought that Jeong Hyun-woo smelled more like a businessman than an engineer now.

‘He’s definitely different from when I first met him.’

It seemed unlikely that Jeong Hyun-woo would ever return to school.

“How is the school doing?”

“It’s doing well. We’ve almost caught up in IT, too.”

In fact, MIT’s IT research had never lagged behind other universities. It was just that they hadn’t received much spotlight because they hadn’t produced any star developers or research results that would attract media attention.

Recently, MIT had succeeded in developing a new material to be applied to next-generation semiconductors, and had succeeded in attracting some of the spotlight that had been focused on Western universities.

“How about you?”

“Thanks to you, I’m running the company well.”

Professor Mark Delin also knew that Victoria Corporation’s market capitalization was increasing day by day.

“Mr. Jeong, I look forward to working with you in the future.”

MIT supported Victoria Corporation’s research, and Victoria Corporation accepted MIT graduates as employees. This win-win situation seemed likely to continue for the time being.

“No, we are the ones who should be grateful.”

Professor Mark Delin said as he sat in his Benz.

“Hahaha, a billionaire is too humble.”

“I think the current stock price is temporary.”

“If the current stock price is temporary, does that mean you think the stock price will go down?”

“I think there will be some adjustments.”

Jeong Hyun-woo suspected that Mark Delin had invested in Victoria Corporation.

‘Investing in stocks is a personal freedom, after all.’

However, Mark Delin had never invested directly in Victoria Corporation. He had only subscribed to a JPMorgan fund product.

“You should straighten your shoulders a little.”

“Straighten my shoulders?”

“Put strength in your shoulders and shout to everyone, ‘I am the king of this world.'”

Jeong Hyun-woo waved his hands.

“I’m definitely not in that position.”

The higher you go, the more humble you must be.

This was the same in the United States.

‘Bill Gates, who will become the world’s richest man in the future, emphasized frugality by flying in economy class.’

He didn’t have a personal relationship with Bill Gates yet. But he thought he should emulate his attitude to some extent.

“You’re young, but you’re cautious.”

“That’s too much praise.”

“What are you planning to do in the future?”

“I have to move towards the future.”

Jeong Hyun-woo had told Professor Mark Delin that he would open the way to the future.

“Since you’re here at school after a long time, would you like to take a look around the lab?”

Jeong Hyun-woo nodded and accepted his offer.

“I will.”

The lab he headed to was Professor Thomas Norn’s lab.

Professor Thomas Norn’s lab was more than twice as large as when Jeong Hyun-woo was attending MIT.

“Charlie, it’s been a while.”

Professor Thomas Norn greeted him warmly.

“I should have visited more often, but I couldn’t.”

Professor Thomas Norn patted him on the back and said.

“It’s normal for a businessman to be busy.”

There was also a familiar face in his lab.

“Yuka?”

Yuka Laine was working as a researcher in Thomas Norn’s lab.

“Charlie, it’s been so long?”

“Is everyone doing well?”

“Of course.”

Linus Korhonen was also in Thomas Norn’s lab with her.

“Yo! Charlie!”

His attire was more like a boy who had stayed up all night playing games than a researcher.

“It’s been a while.”

“Come by more often. It’s hard to see your face even though we live in the same Boston.”

Jeong Hyun-woo shrugged his shoulders and said.

“Can’t you come to me?”

“Charlie, how can I visit a CEO of a large corporation? The employees are all watching… and Charlie must be working.”

Linus Korhonen was right.

It wasn’t a good idea to visit a CEO friend at the company headquarters.

Jeong Hyun-woo knew that too, so he scratched his head and said.

“I need to pay a little more attention.”

He talked with Professor Thomas Norn and the other researchers for about 30 minutes.

Their main research was on inter-university network systems, which would be called the Internet in the future.

“Lee, is there anything you need?”

Linus Korhonen raised his voice.

“The latest computer!”

Jeong Hyun-woo smiled and said.

“Okay, I’ll have them send as many as you want to the lab. How about you, Yuka?”

Unlike Linus Korhonen, Yuka Laine replied that she didn’t need anything.

Jeong Hyun-woo turned his gaze to Professor Thomas Norn.

“How about you, Professor?”

At his question, Professor Thomas Norn stroked his chin.

“Hmm, me?”

He thought for a moment and then replied.

“I don’t need anything, but I don’t think that’s the case for the dormitory.”

Professor Thomas Norn was thinking about what the students needed more than what he needed.

‘He’s still Professor Norn.’

Jeong Hyun-woo nodded and accepted his words.

“Then I’ll look into the dormitory.”

It was when he came out of the lab that his secretary, Luna, approached and said.

“I have a call from the company.”

“From the company?”

“Yes, by car phone.”

Victoria Corporation had recently prepared a luxury sedan for business use. And this luxury sedan was equipped with a car phone that allowed you to answer calls in the car.

“They didn’t reveal the contents, I suppose.”

“It was a call from Miss Hilton.”

“Was it a call asking me to call back as soon as possible?”

Luna shook her head and replied.

“No. She asked me to call as soon as the meeting was over.”

It was urgent, but it didn’t mean that every minute counted.

“I understand. I’ll call while moving to the company.”

Jeong Hyun-woo quickened his pace with Luna.

* * *

Jeong Hyun-woo picked up the car phone receiver and sighed inwardly.

‘Hoo… It’s like a walkie-talkie used in the military.’

What he had in mind was the P-77 tactical radio.

The car phone receiver was comparable to the overwhelming size of the P-77 tactical radio used in the field.

‘A Motorola cell phone would be better.’

It would take about 10 more years for easy-to-carry cell phones to become popular.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

As soon as he pressed the button, the phone was connected.

“This is the Victoria Corporation Secretary’s Office. How can I help you?”

“This is Charlie. Connect me to Sera.”

Sera’s secretary, Tom, answered immediately.

“I understand.”

Tom was a young man who became Sera’s new secretary when she became COO. Until he became secretary, Olivia had been Sera’s secretary.

Soon Sera answered the phone.

“Charlie, it’s me.”

“What’s going on?”

“I got a call from Mr. Peer.”

“John?”

If John Peer had called, it was about Victoria Corporation.

‘Hmm, what’s the reason this time?’

Jeong Hyun-woo asked Sera.

“So, did John ask you to call?”

“No. He told me the matter directly.”

If he told Sera the contents instead of Jeong Hyun-woo, it was one of two things.

‘It must be really urgent, or he thought it was something that Sera could handle.’

Judging from the fact that Sera had given him some time, he didn’t think it was really urgent.

“What is it?”

“They asked for lobbying in Japan.”

“In Japan, is it Kajima Construction?”

Jeong Hyun-woo mentioned Kajima Construction to confirm whether Japanese companies or wealthy people trying to invest in the United States might have asked for rebates [kickbacks].

“That’s right. It seems that Kajima Construction told Mr. Peer that lobbying was needed for politicians and local governments.”

Jeong Hyun-woo knew that Japan’s collusion between politics and business was deeply rooted.

‘As the project gets bigger, it seems that Kajima Construction can’t handle it alone.’

He was the type of person who thought that fish couldn’t live in water that was too clear [meaning a little corruption is necessary for things to function].

‘If they want money, it’s better to give it to them.’

If you refuse to lobby in a country with severe collusion between politics and business, you can’t do business.

“How much money is Kajima Construction asking for?”

Sera answered his question.

“The amount isn’t the problem.”

The amount isn’t the problem.

Jeong Hyun-woo narrowed his brows.

‘If the amount isn’t the problem, it’s going to be a little tricky.’

He thought he knew why Sera had called him.

“If the amount isn’t the problem, it means the source of funds is the problem.”

How to create lobbying funds and how to deliver lobbying funds?

John Peer was worried about that.

“I can do something if it’s Washington, but I don’t know how to do it in Tokyo.”

Sera could also say that she had no experience in money laundering or illegal lobbying.

“Let’s not move Victoria Fund’s money for now.”

If you don’t use Victoria Fund’s money, it means you’re using Jeong Hyun-woo’s personal funds.

“Charlie, using Charlie’s money is also a problem.”

Jeong Hyun-woo tilted his head and asked.

“Is it a problem to use my money?”

“Because it means taking dollars out of the country.”

In order to prevent money laundering, the United States requires the source and use of funds leaving the United States to be explained.

“Even if it’s a remittance?”

“It’s the same. And remittances leave a record.”

You have to launder the funds so that no record remains.

Jeong Hyun-woo frowned.

‘Tsk, do I have to use the mafia?’

It was when he clicked his tongue inwardly that his secretary, Luna, announced, “Mr. President, we have arrived.”

Before he knew it, he had arrived at Victoria Corporation.

‘I realize once again that MIT and the company are close.’

Jeong Hyun-woo said to Sera.

“Sera, we’ve arrived at the company, so let’s talk in my office.”

He decided to move the conversation to the president’s office.

Jeong Hyun-woo organized his thoughts while heading to the president’s office on the top floor.

‘Our company is currently under the attention of the IRS.’

Getting involved in money laundering in this situation was too risky.

“Hmm, isn’t there a good way?”

Luna, his secretary, reacted to his murmur.

“What kind of method are you talking about?”

Jeong Hyun-woo waved his right hand and said.

“It’s nothing.”

The next moment, a small mascot hanging on the bag Luna was holding caught his eye.

That mascot was a gift he had given her after returning from vacation.

‘That’s it!’

Jeong Hyun-woo found a solution in the elevator.