RR 38
[038] Let’s Not Be Greedy 2.
“America?”
“Yes. Their headquarters are in Manhattan, New York.”
“And you are Korean?”
Son Jung-ui (Masayoshi Son in Japanese), a young 36-year-old, looked at Oh Se-hyun, a middle-aged Korean man fluent in both English and Japanese, with a curious expression, tilting his head repeatedly.
“Yes. Our investment firm’s capital is Korean, but we primarily invest in American companies and Hollywood films.”
“So, if you invest, it would be in dollars…?”
“That, of course, can be done however you wish, President.”
“But how did you come to know about our SoftBank?”
“Our company also holds a considerable amount of Microsoft shares. So we always receive management reports every quarter. Japanese performance suddenly stood out, which drew our interest.”
“Ah…!”
Having a common connection when negotiating is a very good card. It reduces wariness by becoming an acquaintance and a stakeholder rather than a stranger.
“So, are you coming from America now?”
“No. I came from Korea.”
“That’s fortunate.”
A slightly mocking smile.
Oh Se-hyun bit his lip, anticipating a negative reaction.
“Since you came from nearby, I feel less sorry. As I already informed you by fax, we currently do not need external investment.”
“That’s why I came in person. To persuade you, President Son.”
“Hmm… I apologize if my written words didn’t convey my thoughts accurately. We will not accept investment under any terms. This thought will not change…”
“We’ll offer ten times.”
Son Jung-ui was speechless due to Oh Se-hyun’s sudden offer. Moreover, it was an unprecedented offer of ten times the value.
But Oh Se-hyun uttered the words as if swallowing poison. They were words he wished he could take back if he could.
‘How can a kid have such guts… Bloodline can’t be hidden.’
.
.
A High-Stakes Bet
“Gambling makes people lose their reason, doesn’t it?”
“How do you know that? Are you playing penny-poker at school?”
I’ve seen countless people in this Sunyang Group lose their reason to gambling. They squander tens of billions of won and embezzle company money to cover it up.
If they get caught in the prosecution’s investigation net for embezzlement, they flee abroad and frequent casinos again. After Sunyang Group appeases the prosecution, they return home burdened with gambling debts, repeating the cycle.
These guys in this family can quit drugs, but they can’t quit gambling. Because they’re overflowing with money.
“No kids in our school carry coins. They don’t even carry anything less than a 10,000 won bill. Cards are standard.”
“Really? Rich kids are different, indeed. Alright, setting that aside, what do you plan to do with gambling? Play poker with the SoftBank CEO?”
“Yes. Let’s have a race.”
“A race?”
“We’ll start the bidding for SoftBank shares at ten times, and then race from there.”
“What? Ah, no. Continue.”
It was a long time since I’d seen Oh Se-hyun’s surprised face.
“Then we keep adding five times. Fifteen, twenty, twenty-five times… But we have to tell him in advance that we can stop at any time. And that if we stop, the negotiation ends right there. No turning back… Isn’t that gambling?”
“That guy, Son Jung-ui, is going to be scared, huh? Hahaha.”
Oh Se-hyun clapped his knee and laughed loudly, but the laughter didn’t last long.
“It sounds plausible, but you must not forget the objective. If he agrees to twenty times, we lose. No, even ten times might be a loss. Our goal is investment profit, not the acquisition of SoftBank.”
“I’m thinking of racing up to fifty times.”
He was surprised by ten times, but not by fifty times. He only showed a look of absurdity.
“Don’t make that face. Dell Computer is already over a hundred times. SoftBank shares can also reach a hundred times.”
“Is that really so? SoftBank isn’t a manufacturer. It’s just a distributor. A hundred times? You could lose all the money.”
“We can’t just put the opponent at the gambling table and then walk away. There’s no poker game where you play alone, is there? We have to see it through to the end.”
Oh Se-hyun stood up without saying much.
“Your gambling luck is strong, so let’s try this race. I’ll raise the stakes. But Do-jun.”
“Yes.”
“The end of gambling is ruin. Remember that.”
His voice was calm.
It wasn’t the CEO of an investment firm speaking, but a close friend of my father.
“This will be the last time. Until I become an adult.”
Oh Se-hyun nodded lightly.
.
.
The Final Hand
“Wh-What are you doing?”
“I’ll give you fifteen times. Oh, one thing I should mention first. If I stand up from this chair, I won’t look back. Also, the offer will be considered null and void. Twenty times!”
Unlike the relaxed Oh Se-hyun, Son Jung-ui’s fingertips trembled.
“Twenty-five times.”
“J-Just a moment!”
Oh Se-hyun knew how a person with ample chips leads a race. He also knew that you shouldn’t give the opponent time to think. You have to press relentlessly until they fold their hand and surrender.
“Thirty times.”
“…”
Just then, the opponent’s trembling hand stopped. As he grasped the rules of the game, he regained his composure. He was truly not ordinary.
It was hard to understand the meaning of that composure.
Was he assessing Oh Se-hyun’s stakes, or genuinely not wanting the investment…? Which one was it?
“Thirty-five times.”
Still silence.
Oh Se-hyun picked up his briefcase, which he had placed beside his chair. It was a bluff.
But it didn’t work. Oh Se-hyun continued the race, and Son Jung-ui maintained a poker face, as if thinking, “Let’s see how far he goes.”
“Fifty times.”
“…Call.”
Did it show on my face? He accurately recognized the moment of the last bet.
As the race ended, Son Jung-ui’s face revealed the arrogance of a winner.
I lost. It was embarrassing, but…
But for Oh Se-hyun, the game wasn’t over yet.
Now it was time to raise the stakes.
“How many shares will you give for fifty times?”
“That part needs to go through an internal meeting…”
“Forty-five times.”
“What? This…!”
He clearly looked flustered, but being a quick-witted person, he realized a new game had begun and understood the rules instantly.
“Forty times.”
“Five million shares. No more than that…”
Now Oh Se-hyun had to read the opponent’s stakes. He wasn’t someone who wouldn’t know that if the investment multiple decreased, the number of shares had to increase to recoup the fifty-times profit.
The two quickly began to calculate. How many shares needed to be transferred to yield maximum profit? But Oh Se-hyun was leading this round.
Son Jung-ui couldn’t give up his greed for surplus funds.
He bet again.
“Thirty-five times.”
“Five million.”
Their gazes were steady as they looked at each other, signaling the final bet. It was time to stop the race.
This was not a battle of pride, but merely a negotiation.
“…Call.”
As the gamble ended, both men simultaneously exhaled a long breath.
Composing himself, Oh Se-hyun extended his hand, but no hand met his.
“Five million shares is impossible right now. At least two million shares are only possible through a capital increase. Will you accept this?”
He didn’t seem to be trying to break the deal now. It meant he was stating the reality as it was and seeking a solution.
“Alright. Two million shares through capital increase, three million shares through acquisition. Let’s conclude it that way.”
Only then did Son Jung-ui extend his hand, smiling broadly.
He had sold shares with a face value of 150 yen for 5,250 yen. Through two rounds of pushing and pulling, he had earned 25 billion yen. It was natural that it was hard to suppress his laughter.
“I apologize for saying this, but Miracle Investment is unfamiliar to me… It seems you have considerable financial power.”
“That’s somewhat true. We currently have over 100 billion yen in cash that we can operate with.”
With Son Jung-ui before him, amazed and speechless, Oh Se-hyun had already begun drafting the contract.
.
.
The Road Ahead
“We signed the contract for thirty-five times, five million shares. Now, all you can do is trust your luck and wait.”
“Don’t worry. It’ll work out.”
“But are you really going to sell all of your Dell shares?”
He seemed to have given up on persuading me, and it felt like a final confirmation.
Selling rapidly appreciating shares and using a portion of that money to purchase shares of a mere software distributor at an incredibly high price.
Anyone would call it madness, but the person who earned trillions of won from this very madness was right before his eyes.
“I don’t think there’s any reason to hold onto Dell shares after earning a hundred times the profit. After disposing of Dell shares and acquiring SoftBank shares, you can manage the remaining money, Uncle. I’ll be a high school student next year. I plan to focus only on studying for three years.”
“You’re the first student whose words about ‘studying’ sound so awkward. Haha.”
Oh Se-hyun, who had been chuckling, turned serious again.
“It’s obvious that you, who are always first in your class, want to go to Seoul National University, but what’s your major? Probably business administration or economics, right?”
“No. I’m going to law school.”
“Law school?”
“Yes.”
Oh Se-hyun blinked, surprised by the unexpected answer.
He knew better than anyone that I wasn’t the type to live idly as a prosecutor or judge after earning enough money.
“With Grandfather, the top entrepreneur in our country, and Uncle, who majored in economics in England, by my side, what more would I learn at university?”
“Then law school? What do you plan to learn there? Surely you’re not planning to become a prosecutor or judge, are you?”
“Of course not. I’m just showing something.”
“Showing what?”
“That I study well for a third-generation chaebol. No one from a chaebol family has gone to Seoul National University and achieved grades good enough for law school yet, have they?”
Oh Se-hyun’s lips curved into a slight smile, as if he had guessed the real reason I wanted to go to law school. He thought I intended to impress Chairman Jin one more time.
I didn’t elaborate further. There was no need to inform him.
“I see. Alright, then Dell? When would be a good time to sell it?”
“The current trading price is hovering between $47 and $49, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then let’s sell it all at that range.”
“Understood. And the current exchange rate is 111 yen per dollar. We’ll put 230 million dollars into SoftBank, and I’ll manage the rest of the money as you said. Done?”
Now, there was nothing particularly memorable. All I had to do was review the movie production lists sent from the U.S. and decide whether to invest.
I would focus on my studies and definitely go to Seoul National University’s College of Law. A significant number of high-ranking Korean officials come from there.
Chairman Jin, who did not attend this school, moves them like his limbs. That’s the power of money. But the strongest ties in Korea are academic connections, especially university alumni.
I will hold money in one hand and the bond of alumni in the other, and control officials like my limbs. That way, they won’t think of themselves as mere limbs. They’ll think of themselves as alumni helping each other.
This subtle difference will be the strength that allows me to get slightly ahead of Vice Chairman Jin Yeong-gi, who uses money to control people.
However, my plan to focus on studying had to be put on hold for a while.
On a hot summer day, as hot days continued, I unfolded the newspaper as usual, and all the headlines were identical, as if copied.
[Global Semiconductor Industry “On High Alert”]
My eyes shot open.
Semiconductor exports this year had exceeded $2 billion in the first half alone, the largest single item since Dangun (the legendary founder of Korea), enjoying the biggest boom in history. So what was this sudden bolt from the blue?
.
.
Support me on :
Post Comment