The first day back from Japan.
Lee Hyun-woo checked the recent situation in the most efficient way.
That is through search keywords.
Instead of just looking at the top ten daily search keywords, he checked the top ten in each field.
Excluding results from entertainment and politics for now.
In the fields of economy, global, and IT, there were unexpectedly many keywords like “America,” “Japan,” “Wall Street,” and “investment.”
Combining these, it means that places with foreign money are closely watching Korean information and communication companies.
Thus, the operator of a portal site must be proficient in keywords.
Therefore, what he told Kim Tae-hyun last time was not entirely made up.
Although some parts involved imagination, the fact that many people were looking into the risks of certain groups allowed him to discover that the 【Misan Group】 was in trouble at that time.
Today as well, he noticed connections between several large companies and liquidity crises or financial crunches.
‘Anyway, even though such big places are struggling, investors’ eyes are still on this side. Is my strategy starting to work?’
Lee Hyun-woo’s strategy was to “avoid foreign exchange crises as an experiment.”
To achieve this, he was trying to awaken some conglomerates he knew, preventing them from going down the wrong path, and attracting foreign investment into emerging IT companies like 【Alpha Cast】 and 【One Computer】.
“If you can receive investment, you should take it.”
Finally, Lee Hyun-woo gave his conclusion.
Jung Sung-woo’s eyes widened.
“Really? Can we do that?”
“Of course. However, you will need a reliable financial expert in your company.”
“A financial expert… I need to look into that.”
Jung Sung-woo showed a slightly overwhelmed expression at Lee Hyun-woo’s advice.
It revealed that he didn’t know any financial experts.
Seeing this, Lee Hyun-woo turned his gaze to Kim Yoon-soo.
“Didn’t you say your brother is knowledgeable about investments?”
“Well, yes…”
Kim Yoon-soo made a displeased face when his brother was mentioned by Lee Hyun-woo.
It seemed that he had always felt a distance from his brother due to a life of constant comparison.
Nevertheless, he provided firm information.
“My father generally gets a lot of information from my brother. As soon as my brother said the era of computers was coming, my father started learning. Since then, he’s been investing in various places, and every single one has been successful. He even managed to get out of bad rumors. Recently, he quickly found out that the 【Bohan Group】 and 【Misan Group】 were going down and pulled out the investment.”
Lee Hyun-woo’s eyes widened.
Initially, he had concerns when he heard that Kim Yoon-soo’s brother was investing in various companies.
Most of them had failed during the IMF crisis.
But to know in advance and pull out the investment?
‘He really has a unique sense.’
This level of skill could have made Kim Yoon-soo feel constantly compared to his brother.
The words of that person at the time flashed through his mind.
- Anyway, the companies my brother invested in are no joke if you just hear their names: 【Hangil Group】, 【Yurim Group】, 【Jinsang Group】, 【Samin Foods】, 【Doma Department Store】, 【Taemyung Foods】, 【Shinhan Construction】, 【Aju Motors】, 【Joseon Securities】, 【Wangbangul】, 【Center Department Store】…
So, he asked further.
“Has your brother recently withdrawn investments from any other places?”
“Yes. 【Hangil Group】, 【Yurim Group】, and 【Jinsang Group】. He’s watching 【Samin Foods】 and 【Doma Department Store】 closely.”
“Wow…”
His mouth dropped open.
In his past life, not knowing Kim Yoon-soo’s brother, he probably was an undiscovered master.
“Your company’s investment was first mentioned to my father by my brother. Didn’t I mention before that he’s also keeping an eye on CEO Jung’s company, 【Alpha Cast】?”
“Please just call me by my name, not CEO Jung, hyung.”
With a few drinks, Kim Yoon-soo and Jung Sung-woo started showing affection towards each other.
However, fearing that the other might have expectations, Kim Yoon-soo quickly opened his mouth.
“It’s not that he’s really going to invest yet; he’s still reviewing it…”
“I’m not trying to impress your brother because he said he’s reviewing the investment. I just think you’re a great person since we’re having drinks together today.”
“I do get told that.”
After turning the conversation back to business, the two started chatting about men’s topics again.
Lee Hyun-woo smiled and didn’t force the conversation back to business.
‘Today, I’ll build more camaraderie over drinks, and tomorrow, I’ll suggest CEO Jung visit your brother.’
It’s almost like Lee Hyun-woo came from the future.
He judges the present and the far future with cheat keys.
However, if there was someone living in the present with excellent investment sense, it was better to entrust Jung Sung-woo and 【Alpha Cast】.
That’s as far as he thought.
“Alright, alright. Let’s have another drink!”
“Sure! Let’s drink!”
“Yes, yes. Let’s get drunk. It’s been a while!”
That day, Lee Hyun-woo ended up drinking too much again.
It often happened when he met Kim Yoon-soo.
Maybe it was because he liked the person.
The next day, Lee Hyun-woo visited Kim Yoon-soo early in the morning.
“Did you have hangover soup?”
“No…”
“Then should we skip work a bit?”
“Haha, alright.”
In his past life, there was no such thing as skipping work for Lee Hyun-woo.
But to leave his office during work hours to have hangover soup with an acquaintance?
‘Now I understand why superiors and subordinates went for hangover soup and saunas.’
Lee Hyun-woo was a person who lived a disciplined life.
The same went for drinking.
Even during company dinners, he never drank beyond his limit.
So, he couldn’t understand leaving work to have hangover soup or spending the afternoon in a sauna the next day.
Of course, he still thought it wasn’t desirable, but in this life, he decided to be flexible.
The first target of this flexibility was ironically himself.
With curiosity in his eyes, Kim Yoon-soo asked.
“What’s up with you, CEO Lee? You never do this during work hours.”
“I usually don’t. That’s why I came out secretly.”
“Secretly? Well, as they say, if the top is clean, the bottom is clean. If I skip work like this, others will learn from me.”
“That’s nonsense…”
“Flexibility is necessary in corporate life.”
“That flexibility is for yourself.”
“Later, your subordinates will understand. Of course, if it’s too much, you have to say something.”
It was time to stop the small talk.
As he took a spoonful of the hangover soup that just arrived, Lee Hyun-woo casually brought up what he was talking about the previous day.
“About your brother…”
“Huh? Oh, my brother?”
“Yes, he seems to have a unique sense for investments. How about introducing him to CEO Jung?”
“Did I tell you that my brother is setting up an investment company?”
“Oh? No.”
When he mentioned that his brother seemed to have a special sense for investments, it turned out he was preparing to enter a related industry.
“I did mention what my father does, right?”
“Yes, you did.”
“It’s not exactly legitimate. So, to invest more openly, my brother is setting up a corporation in the first half of this year.”
In short, moving from the shadows into the light.
Just to be sure, he asked.
“It’s not like a comprehensive financial company, is it?”
“No. He said it’s something like a private equity fund.”
“Oh…”
If it’s a fund that manages money collected from small investors, it was a good find.
Basically, there was Kim Yoon-soo’s father, a single investor, and by law, it wouldn’t be monitored by financial supervisory institutions, and unlike public funds, there were no restrictions on management.
But it needed to be backed by skill.
Many big underground financiers in Korea tried to come into the light through private equity funds and failed.
Knowing this, Lee Hyun-woo wanted to introduce Jung Sung-woo even more.
“That’s perfect. Private equity funds particularly handle undervalued companies.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, right now, 【Alpha Cast】 needs your brother.”
“So, let’s introduce them. But it might be better to mention that he’s a close acquaintance when introducing them.”
The original purpose of private equity funds is to raise the value of a company and then sell the stocks.
Too rapid short-term trading wouldn’t be good for 【Alpha Cast】, so mentioning that it was through Kim Yoon-soo’s connection might ensure better treatment.
‘Moreover, when negotiating with foreign capital, his brother’s experience will be beneficial.’
This assumption wasn’t wrong, as Kim Yoon-soo started talking about his brother’s study in the United States while boasting.
“The reason my brother is knowledgeable about computers and the information and communication industry is that he studied in California during his college years.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Yeah, so when he heard that you guys were connected with 【Alta Vista】 recently, he was quite surprised. Although he scolded me more.”
“Scolded? Why?”
“He said I missed the right timing for investment.”
Lee Hyun-woo chuckled.
At that time, he had no intention of receiving investment from anyone.
So he suggested.
“Now is the right time to invest in 【Alpha Cast】, so tell him to go for it.”
“Yeah, I should. Honestly, seeing that even foreign countries are investing in it, it seems to have quite a prospect.”
“Oh, by the way, how about you? Are you going to accept foreign investment?”
“Of course.”
Lee Hyun-woo raised his eyebrows.
He thought the well-funded Kim Yoon-soo family would support it, but they were also accepting foreign capital.
“My brother said to always accept dollar investments, with non-voting shares or something.”
“That’s not bad.”
“Yeah, and with that money, if we outsource production in China and lower production costs, it will also improve our competitiveness when expanding overseas later.”
The previous day, Kim Yoon-soo was surprised by the outsourcing management story of 【Alpha Cast】.
It turned out he was receiving similar advice.
In short, it meant that Kim Yoon-soo’s brother shared the same thoughts as Lee Hyun-woo.
“Wow, your brother seems to have a knack for management too.”
“Not just because he’s my brother, but he’s really exceptional. That’s why I can’t assert myself at home.”
“Hey, if you make 【One Computer】 the world’s best computer company, you can assert yourself confidently.”
“Well, my voice has gotten louder these days.”
Lee Hyun-woo continued to listen to Kim Yoon-soo’s stories with a gentle smile.
Somehow, thanks to Kim Yoon-soo’s brother, it felt like 【One Computer】 and 【Alpha Cast】 wouldn’t suffer any losses from investments.
‘Now, shall I plan my trip to the U.S.?’
After Japan, a business trip to the U.S. was next.
He needed to sign a significant business cooperation with the 【Alta Vista】 that Kim Yoon-soo mentioned earlier.
On the surface, it seemed like Lee Hyun-woo would be extremely busy traveling domestically and internationally without a break in the first half of this year.
Not at all.
‘What should I do with Ah-young in the U.S. this time?’
Even though they hadn’t confessed yet, they had confirmed their feelings.
They could enjoy dates overseas under the pretext of business.
Last time it was Japan, this time it’s the U.S.
