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 the greatest damage."
"CL Card is currently the number one company in the credit card industry. Moreover, with the
solid backing of the CL Group, won't they be able to withstand it?"
"Would the CL Group sell off its assets to protect the credit card company? Given the nature of CL Group, they would hand over CL Card to the creditors and withdraw from the financial business."
Before my regression, I recall that CL Card faced bankruptcy around 2003.
However, since they acquired Taewoo Card this time, the crisis will likely come even sooner.
I needed to start preparing now to easily bring CL Card into Taewoo Group.
"So, my mission this time is to acquire CL Card?"
"You just need to work behind the scenes to ensure that Taewoo Group acquires CL Card from the creditors at a very low price."
"It's been a while since I've dealt with the financial industry. But as you say, I'm still not sure if CL Card will really face bankruptcy."
Dimon's trust was no longer what it used to be.
It was only natural that his trust in me had weakened, as I had left him almost neglected.
However, if the credit card crisis happens as I predicted, he would come to believe in the U.S.
real estate bubble as well.
Then, I could keep Dimon by my side until the subprime mortgage crisis, which was still five to six years away.
"Trust me. If the credit card crisis doesn't happen, I won't hold onto you."
"I'll trust you and do my best to proceed with the task."
Dimon seemed to have regained his vitality.
He began investigating CL Card with his team.
Only then did I remember why I had come to Captain Kang's office.
I had come to meet David.
Lately, David had been spending time in Korea after wrapping up business in the U.S., so I came straight to Captain Kang's office without even contacting him.
However, he was still in the U.S.
I took out my phone to contact him.
[Boss! What's the matter? You actually called me.]
"I thought you were in Korea, but you're still in the U.S."
[I was planning to head to Korea next week anyway. I've finished most of my work here.]
"Delay your flight schedule. There's something you need to do in the U.S."
[Oh! If it's a mission from the boss, I'm always ready. Who am I meeting this time? The White
House? Congress? I'm even ready to meet the hyenas on Wall Street.]
David was full of anticipation.
But the person he was meeting this time was far too young to fulfill his expectations.
"His name is Mark, a high school student."
[A high school student? Me? The highest-paid employee at SAVE Investment?]
"He's already been accepted to Harvard, so you could say he's practically a college student."
[What exactly am I supposed to do with a college freshman?]
"Recruit him as a SAVE Investment scholarship student. He's been receiving support from SAVE Investment since his first year of high school, so it shouldn't be difficult."
Mark, the founder of Facebook.
Until now, we had only offered him limited support, maintaining some distance since he hadn't even entered college yet.
But with Cyworld now under KS Telecom, we had to accelerate the timeline — and I needed him, even though he hadn't graduated high school.
[What kind of college student would refuse a scholarship? Aren't you giving me too easy of a
task?]
"Offer the scholarship under the condition that he participates in a joint project."
[Oh! I knew there had to be more to this than just meeting a high school student. Did this Mark kid create some groundbreaking program or something?]
"Not yet, but he shows great potential. Also, promise him a share in the project's equity — that'll make him more committed."
[What percentage should I offer? 10% should be more than enough.]
David was right — 10% and a scholarship would likely be more than enough to convince him.
But I wanted Mark to work for our company even after graduating from Harvard. To ensure that, he needed enough equity to feel a sense of ownership.
"Promise him 30%."
[Isn't that too generous? You're handling everything — from the project's concept to the
investment. Even 20% would be more than enough.]
"Hmm... Just go with 30%. But add a clause that gives our company the first right to negotiate if he ever sells his shares."
[Understood. Well, I'll skip delaying my flight schedule. Recruiting a high school student
shouldn't take more than a day. I'll see you in Korea next week.]
With KS Telecom partnering with Cyworld...
All we had to do was release Facebook ahead of schedule to counter them.
But that wasn't the end of it.
We had SNS — so wouldn't we need a mobile-exclusive messenger app as well?
While Taewoo Telecom and KS Telecom were locked in an SNS battle.
Samsung Electronics was pouring all its efforts into developing a smartphone to compete with the iPhone.
Chairman Oh Hee-gun was personally receiving monthly reports, showing how much attention he was giving the project.
"The conclusion we've reached is that smartphone production is realistically impossible."
"What nonsense is this all of a sudden? Do you even know how many components in the iPhone are made by Samsung Electronics? Most of the parts come from other companies — they're just assembled and sold. Why can't we do the same? They don't even assemble the phones themselves, they outsource it!"
Samsung Electronics was already making significant profits from the iPhone.
Starting with semiconductors, they supplied various components to Apple, boosting revenue
across all sectors — except mobile phones — compared to the previous year.
"We could certainly produce one by the end of the year if necessary. But most of the core patents are already registered, meaning we'd have to pay enormous royalties. The more we sell, the more losses we'll incur."
"Oh, is that all? Of course, we have to pay royalties. But by developing better technology, we can reduce those royalties over time."
Most Korean companies had grown this way — leveraging low labor costs, licensing or
purchasing other companies' technologies, and reinvesting profits into their own R&D.
Samsung Electronics was no different.
Chairman Oh Hee-gun knew exactly how latecomers survived.
"The issue is... most of those core patents are owned by Taewoo Electronics. If we sell
smartphones, we'll bear the losses while Taewoo Electronics profits."
"Taewoo Electronics holds the core technologies? Why would they, when they withdrew from the mobile phone business?"
"They withdrew from the mobile phone market, but their collaboration with Apple continued.
Taewoo Electronics possesses technologies so critical that Apple couldn't produce iPhones
without their permission."
Chairman Oh Hee-gun was genuinely shocked for the first time in a long while.
He thought Taewoo Electronics had abandoned the mobile phone market — only to discover they had been pulling strings behind the scenes.
"So you're saying we can't produce smartphones without Taewoo Electronics' permission? And even if we manage to make them, all the profits will flow to Taewoo instead? Can't we leverage the patents we own to negotiate?"
"Apple was able to bypass the patents we hold. But in our case, it's impossible to create a
smartphone without infringing on patents held by Apple and Taewoo Electronics."
Chairman Oh pressed his temples with his fingers, deep in thought.
How many times had he emphasized the importance of technological development?
He prided himself on the fact that no other Korean conglomerate had invested as much effort into patent applications as Samsung Group.
Yet Taewoo Group had managed to stay one step ahead.
"I need to meet Chairman Kim Tae-jung. Set up an appointment."
"Chairman Kim Tae-jung has delegated full authority to Vice Chairman Kim Min-jae and is
currently in Vietnam. It's known that Vice Chairman Kim was the one leading the collaboration with Apple."
"Then I'll have to meet Vice Chairman Kim. Arrange the meeting as soon as possible."
Chairman Oh thought of Kim Min-jae.
A third-generation chaebol who hadn't even reached his thirties...
Now he had to bow his head to someone so young — after already being blindsided.
***
The next day.
I visited Samsung Hotel to meet Chairman Oh Hee-gun.
Time was tight due to the ongoing battle with KS Telecom, but I couldn't afford to turn down a meeting with him.
"Vice Chairman Kim, welcome. I wanted to speak with you at Chairman Jang's funeral, but
unfortunately, there wasn't an opportunity."
"I've heard a lot about you through my grandfather. He always spoke highly of Chairman Oh and Chairman Jang Young-joo."
"Hoho, did Chairman Kim really say that? He always gave me an earful whenever we met, but it seems he was praising me behind my back."
The conversation began in a friendly atmosphere.
Samsung Hotel's signature dishes were served one after another, with the finest wine filling the table.
"It's been a while since I've had such a feast. I usually eat at the company cafeteria, so dining at Samsung Hotel feels like a luxury."
"I'm glad to hear you're satisfied. Ahem, the reason I asked to meet you is... because of smartphones."
Finally, Chairman Oh brought up the real reason for the meeting.
I had already anticipated that the only reason he'd seek me out would be the smartphone issue.
"Taewoo Group isn't producing mobile phones,
but they've monopolized all the key patents."
"Was that a problem?"
"Not at all. How could that be a problem? I only feel envious. And perhaps a little regretful. If
Taewoo had partnered with us instead of Apple, Samsung Electronics could have been the first to create a product like the iPhone."
I hadn't entirely ruled out the possibility of partnering with Samsung Electronics.
However, Samsung's business overlapped with Taewoo Group across various sectors — not only mobile phones but also home appliances and other industries.
How could we possibly form an alliance with a competitor?
On the other hand, while Apple's PC business overlapped with ours, the product lines themselves didn't directly compete. Partnering with Apple benefited both sides, making them the clear choice.
"The collaboration between Taewoo Electronics and Apple involves a complicated backstory
that's difficult to explain here. However, Taewoo maintains a policy of not partnering with
competitors."
"Hmm, I understand Taewoo's position. But surely, you can't side with an American company
forever. Partnering with us would strengthen Korea's economy, don't you agree?"
Samsung Electronics must be desperate — bringing patriotism into the conversation.
It wouldn't be polite to reject Chairman Oh's direct request outright.
However, I had no intention of letting them use our technology for free.
It was like a prized catch swimming willingly into our net.
Even after filling my stomach with Samsung Hotel's finest cuisine, the offer made my mouth
water.