The impact of the article kept growing.
Since the media still dominated the world, when news about important figures appeared in newspapers and broadcasts, it naturally drew people’s attention.
Of course, the article investigating the hidden assets of the former president and reporting it in a documentary style spread widely and was reproduced by other media.
It even topped the daily search rankings.
Lee Hyun-woo watched the situation with an expression of amusement.
Then, as if he realized something, he exclaimed, “Ah… it’s not just real estate that’s hidden, right?”
Of course, there were large real estate holdings, but there were also quite a few artworks.
In particular, he had heard from a media outlet that these started being sold off after the court ordered fines were imposed.
‘Haven’t they already been sold?’
Lee Hyun-woo quickly recalled the art auction house in Seoul.
Just like other artworks, it was certain that the former president’s artworks would be sold through an auction.
And not by a major auction house, but by one that suddenly became large during this period.
“【88 Auction】!”
Having remembered it, it was time to write a letter right away.
Lee Hyun-woo sent detailed information to the media outlet he had used before.
Then he sat back down at his computer and visited the site 【Nam’s Story】.
Lee Hyun-woo typed in the former president’s name.
Then, a heap of information written by someone appeared before his eyes.
‘As expected, his popularity(?) is at its peak!’
Seeing the recent documentary content about this person who had captured everyone’s attention, Lee Hyun-woo felt he should contribute too.
So he wrote the following:
― … (omitted) … The hidden assets were not just real estate. There were also artworks that no one paid attention to. These artworks were being disposed of by his agent through an auction house, mainly using 【88 Auction】.
Would this be a good hint?
Having sent a letter to the media and written on 【Nam’s Story】, he believed he would soon find the remaining money from the sale of the artworks.
‘For some reason, I feel proud.’
Unconsciously, a sense of satisfaction spread across Lee Hyun-woo’s face.
The reason was simple.
He had significantly expedited the recovery of the former president’s fines.
‘Ah, there’s one more thing to do.’
Lee Hyun-woo opened his blog.
Not under the name Nostradamus, but his own name.
Then he wrote:
― Today’s recommended venture company is 【Nam’s Story】.
He recommended a venture company about once a week.
This time, he decided to pave the way for more people to visit 【Nam’s Story】.
As expected, Lee Hyun-woo was a ‘celebrity.’
The information spread rapidly.
Nowadays, his influence was not only significant among IT professionals but also among wealthy investors who used the internet.
Today was no different.
At the café of 【Jungle】, these people gathered and started talking.
― Huh? Today he recommended 【Nam’s Story】?
― I know that place.
― Me too. I visit it every day.
― I expected this site to blow up someday, but Lee Hyun-woo is really promoting it.
― Then it’s certain, right? Every place Lee Hyun-woo has predicted has always succeeded.
― Indeed.
These investors were not exactly big shots.
But recently, they were able to concentrate their firepower.
Because the number of members in the café was increasing.
For reference, this café had been set to ‘private’ since some time ago.
― As you know, the Korean programming language program released by 【Ghost】 is doing quite well.
― I missed the investment timing for that.
― Same here. The biggest problem is that the companies Lee Hyun-woo recommends are not publicly listed.
― But didn’t you go and tell the company representative you wanted to invest, not too late?
― Right. If the company goes public later, it might hit the jackpot.
In fact, they visited Kwak Jin-wook, the big face of 【Ghost】, to invest.
They also immediately went to invest in a few other places recommended by Lee Hyun-woo.
― I’ll go check it out tomorrow.
― Let’s go together.
― I’ll join too.
Thus, some investment funds were about to flow into not only other venture companies but also 【Nam’s Story】.
The next day, Lee Hyun-woo heard the news about the investment funds.
Directly from Park Ki-ho, the representative of 【Nam’s Story】, over the phone.
(Thanks to you, CEO.)
“Hey, why is it because of me?”
(Didn’t you recommend us on your blog?)
“Are you saying someone came because of that? Did the investors say that?”
(They didn’t say that, but I have a feeling that’s the case.)
Lee Hyun-woo chuckled.
‘This person thinks too positively.’
Could his blog really change the minds of investors?
(And they said they would invest in 【Ghost】 as well. Isn’t the common point between our company and theirs being mentioned on your blog?)
“There’s one more thing. Both companies have been performing well recently. 【Ghost】 developed a Korean programming language. I heard its CDs are selling well. 【Nam’s Story】 is also getting more advertisements.”
Lee Hyun-woo finally summed it up.
It was unclear if people were investing because of the blog, but both companies had performance in common.
‘This is enough to create a buzz.’
Of course, it wasn’t just a bubble without substance.
Because of this, he hoped the companies would grow significantly with the current investment funds, and he hung up the phone.
Just then, Yoo Jin-young knocked and entered as if she had been waiting.
“Uh, the chairman of 【Samjin Computer】 is here.”
“Oh? Really? Please let him in.”
Before Lee Hyun-woo could finish speaking, the eccentric chairman quickly entered the CEO’s office, as if he had heard from outside.
“What brings you here?”
“Are you asking my purpose without even offering a cup of coffee?”
“Oh, I’ll get it right away.”
Yoo Jin-young quickly left, and Lee Hyun-woo laughed as he watched her go.
Chairman Park Jin-yong began to speak while watching him.
“I came to ask you something.”
“Go ahead.”
“What do you think about our company entering the modem business?”
“What?”
“No matter how I look at it, just producing computers won’t be enough to survive. This time, due to oversupply, we had no choice but to partner with you for clearance sales.”
“So, you’re thinking of breaking into the modem sector?”
“Yes.”
“What about network equipment instead?”
“Huh? Oh, that might be good too. Since we started offering high-speed internet services, we’ve had to import routers at high prices.”
“Yes, currently, we have to import them. But later, if well managed, there will be demand for these devices in the US, Japan, and other places, right?”
“Indeed.”
“Then we shouldn’t delay. 【GB Electronics】 has already stepped into the network equipment field, and I believe it’s still a blue ocean.”
News of 【GB Electronics】 entering the related industry had been reported.
And if they stepped in, it was only a matter of time before 【Guseong】 followed suit, so news would be coming out soon.
Still,
‘Indeed, entering the network equipment field now wouldn’t be a bad idea.’
Later, South Korea would become the world’s first to commercialize 5G, surpassing high-speed internet.
And when Lee Hyun-woo died, 【Guseong】 was widely known for its 5G network equipment.
If 【Samjin Computer】 entered the related business now and continued to research, wouldn’t they be able to compete confidently with global network equipment companies when the time came to improve the world’s internet speed?
“By the way, Chairman, are you considering entering the modem business because I mentioned 【Won Computer】’s modem story recently?”
“Yes, they had signed an OEM contract with a manufacturing company in the US and secured an order contract with a high-speed internet service company even before setting up a large-scale production system. It turned out to be a gold mine.”
“…….”
“Recently, I read in the news that although they are currently producing modems for the US company under the OEM method, they plan to develop their own model eventually. They said they had already started a research team last year and were in the development phase.”
Indeed, Kim Yoon-soo had recently expressed his ambitions in an interview with a newspaper.
“Later, when they build internet infrastructure in Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, they said they would produce the desired modems in Korea. After reading that, I thought, ‘Ah, another blue ocean has opened up in this industry.’ However, since that young man is well acquainted with you, I thought it might be a bit awkward if I stepped in, so I came to ask today…”
“In the market, there are always competitors. You don’t have to feel uncomfortable because of me. However, if several companies start crowding into the modem market, prices will quickly drop, and they’ll start undercutting each other. But that’s not the case with network equipment.”
Park Jin-yong nodded as if understanding Lee Hyun-woo’s intention.
“So, you mean the blue ocean in the network equipment sector is larger?”
“Yes. The modem manufacturing companies may reach saturation with just ten companies, but that’s not the case with network equipment. It’s even difficult to enter easily. It requires capital and technology.”
“Do you think we have the capital and technical capabilities?”
“You’re raking in money right now, and you’ve been competing with giants like 【Guseong Electronics】 and 【GB Electronics】 all along. Therefore, I believe producing network equipment won’t be an issue.”
He speaks so easily.
But considering what Lee Hyun-woo had done so far, he had easily succeeded.
First, to ensure the success of the auction site, he sold cheap computers and showed this process to pull Kim Yoon-soo into that world.
‘The next part was the best.’
He convinced him to establish 【Won Computer】 and manufacture affordable computers.
It turned out to be a move to ensure the success of online shopping following the auction site.
He called this ‘creating an ecosystem.’
It started as nothing special, but over time, affordable computers began to gain traction among Korean consumers.
With more computers, it became much easier to do business.
But Lee Hyun-woo didn’t stop there. He targeted the music market.
‘The more I hear, the more amazing it is. He seems like a business genius.’
After that, 【Jungle】 ventured into books, cosmetics, and home appliances, seizing the online distribution market.
And it didn’t end there; they even created a portal site, accelerating the decline of PC communication.
PC communication companies belatedly entered the portal site market, but there was a significant gap with the market leader, 【Jungle】.
Even just looking at these achievements, what Lee Hyun-woo had done was legendary, and he had fundamentally changed the internet infrastructure.
At this stage, Park Jin-yong realized that the reason Lee Hyun-woo had improved internet speed was essentially to ensure the smooth operation of 【Jungle Music】.
The idea that download speeds had to be fast for the music business to thrive was not something anyone could easily attempt.
“Alright! We’ll enter the network equipment field!”
