Kim Sung-moo also thoroughly read Nostradamus’ blog several times after reading the newspaper today.
He then verified the information through various channels.
Basically, Guseong manages connections with the Bank of Korea and the Ministry of Finance at the group level, but they all gave ambiguous answers.
It’s hard to say for sure.
We need to observe a bit longer to get a clearer picture.
Anyone could have given such answers.
Government officials are originally like this.
If something is not certain, they avoid saying risky things that could cause a crisis.
Kim Sung-moo silently clicked his tongue at the typical bureaucratism.
He had no choice but to call his youngest in-law who was right in front of him.
He had been observing him for a long time, and Jang Jae-won was a logical person who spoke his mind confidently.
However, today it seemed like Jang Jae-won was reviewing the content pointed out by Nostradamus, i.e., Lee Hyun-woo.
It felt as if Jang Jae-won had read that guy’s blog.
But would a proud person like Jang Jae-won recite the content as it is?
It was probably because his thoughts were in line with the content that he advised Kim Sung-moo to dispose of the real estate.
This made him realize one thing.
‘This guy is impressive.’
As time went by, he was more and more impressed with Lee Hyun-woo.
However, the reality was disappointing.
This was the reason why Kim Sung-moo’s voice sounded weak.
“Sigh, yes… It would be better to sell… Even if we buy it again later, it seems like the real estate bubble will burst for now?”
“Of course. Also, I heard from an acquaintance in Thailand that they might soon abandon the fixed exchange rate system, which could increase financial instability.”
“Heh…”
Kim Sung-moo laughed again in disbelief.
‘At this rate, it really feels like that guy is Nostradamus reincarnated.’
He stopped his hollow laughter and asked Jang Jae-won once more.
“So, what do you think is the most important thing to do right now?”
“Of course, we should hoard dollars. Frankly, the current won is abnormal. It should realistically be at least 1,000 won per dollar.”
This was also a conclusion that Nostradamus had reached.
Even without that, Jang Jae-won, who had experience on Wall Street in the U.S., knew well the power of the key currency in an unstable capital market.
Kim Sung-moo fell silent again at Jang Jae-won’s words.
After a few seconds of looking silently at Jang Jae-won and Kim Tae-hyun, he nodded and said,
“It was helpful. Thank you.”
He hadn’t decided to hoard dollars yet.
However, he had decided in his heart to dispose of the real estate in Thailand.
‘Is our group really not meant to be in the automobile industry?’
If Lee Hyun-woo were around, he would have wanted to ask him.
Whether they should forcibly enter the automobile industry or not.
A little later, Kim Tae-hyun and Jang Jae-won came out of Kim Sung-moo’s office and began to guess the chairman’s thoughts.
“What do you think the chairman will decide?”
“Since the Southeast Asian crisis is not immediately affecting our country, he might want to observe a bit longer.”
“Indeed, it’s not easy to give up cash liquidity anytime.”
“Yes, that’s why I think he will dispose of the real estate.”
No matter how large a conglomerate is, the incoming and outgoing money is substantial daily.
In this situation, what would happen if they only converted the incoming money into dollars and kept it tightly?
“Even if a crisis hits Thailand, it won’t affect our country so quickly. But in the meantime, we need to improve our structure.”
“Improve our structure?”
“We also borrow short-term foreign debt and use it for long-term loans like Thailand. We need to start reducing loans, repaying foreign debt, or extending it.”
“Is that possible?”
“If we don’t, the reality facing Thailand will come to our country as well.”
Thailand hasn’t faced that reality yet.
Naturally, Kim Tae-hyun, who didn’t know much about the dynamics of international finance, couldn’t imagine further.
Instead, a question arose, and he asked.
“By the way, did Uncle also read Nostradamus’ blog?”
“Of course. There was a commotion at the company today because of it. Everyone was curious about who that person really is… I’m curious too…”
“The commotion means that the speculation written there seems plausible, right?”
“Yes, it was well organized even in my opinion. The previous posts were the same. They accurately pointed out our country’s crisis.”
Kim Tae-hyun slightly nodded at Jang Jae-won’s answer.
‘That guy, I knew he majored in economics, but I didn’t know he had such foresight.’
He couldn’t help but be genuinely impressed.
At the same time, the concerns that Lee Hyun-woo occasionally expressed when they met seeped into his heart.
Lee Hyun-woo always talked as if a major crisis was approaching South Korea.
Especially, he mentioned that there could be problems with foreign exchange, and since it was coming from the owner of Nostradamus’ blog, it was very concerning.
‘No, it’s not because it’s concerning, it’s because he’s usually so positive, but he’s predicting negatively.’
That would mean the credibility is at its highest level.
Thinking this, Kim Tae-hyun checked Nostradamus’ blog again after sending Jang Jae-won off.
Among them, he slowly analyzed the post Nostradamus had written before, titled “What Happens When We Pop Champagne Too Early After Joining the OECD.”
‘Right. Last year, most companies took on debt for excessive investments, leading to massive deficits.’
Most of that debt came from domestic financial institutions, which borrowed short-term foreign debt and lent it long-term to companies.
Unknowingly, he read the last part aloud.
“Therefore, if even one instability factor arises early next year, a massive economic crisis will hit…”
Reading this made it seem like he was really hearing from a prophet like Nostradamus.
Anyway, Nostradamus’ view of last year, i.e., this year’s 1997 instability factors, was spot on.
Kim Tae-hyun’s eyes widened even more.
Seeing how accurately everything was predicted, it was hard to control his widened eyes.
One of the companies with over 5 trillion won in loans went bankrupt, and American interest rates had risen, pulling global capital in that direction.
As a result, countries like ours, with significant foreign investments, had increased debt due to the interest rate hike.
The next prediction was the devaluation of the won.
The blog ended with this line.
‘Our country is currently in a checkmate situation.’
Checkmate.
It means an unavoidable situation in chess or go.
If Lee Hyun-woo’s prediction (or prophecy) came true, it would mean that, as he said, South Korea would be caught in a massive economic whirlpool.
For the first time, Kim Tae-hyun, deeply engrossed in Nostradamus’ blog, had shining eyes.
‘I need to study too.’
He decided to take this opportunity to properly study finance and foreign exchange.
The next morning.
Lee Hyun-woo widened his eyes at someone’s visit.
“Do you remember me? I’m Jang Jae-won.”
“Yes, the uncle of Ah-young whom I met at Seorabeol Hotel…”
“Yes, that’s right. Do you know that I’m a journalist too?”
“Yes, aren’t you a reporter for Sejong Daily?”
“That was an obvious question.”
“But what brings you here…”
The reason Lee Hyun-woo flinched was that he couldn’t tell if the other person knew his identity as Nostradamus.
‘It seems like Ah-young’s father and Tae-hyun hyung know.’
He had a strange feeling that they wouldn’t have told any other people.
However.
“Lately, I’ve been really into Nostradamus’ blog? I’m amazed by that person’s sense of international finance. So, I came to ask directly once more. Could you reveal the identity…?”
It seemed like he didn’t know that he was Nostradamus.
At that moment, an interesting thought crossed his mind.
‘Could I change the media narrative through this person?’
The power of Sejong Daily is immense.
This is a fact that won’t change even in the future where portal sites dominate.
Moreover, no matter how accurate Nostradamus’ predictions are, only a few people will pay attention.
Luckily, this person showed interest, so he decided to test the waters.
“What if you find out?”
“I want to meet them.”
“What will you do when you meet them?”
“I want to make a proposal.”
“A proposal?”
“If there’s no issue with qualifications, I want to have them write an editorial for our newspaper’s online edition.”
Lee Hyun-woo’s eyes widened.
Things that didn’t happen in his past life were happening continuously like an improbable novel.
“I’m thinking we could capture the issue. Nostradamus, who has been hiding his identity behind a blog… writing an editorial for our online newspaper? Wouldn’t that increase the number of people visiting our website?”
“Don’t you think the audience would be different?”
“Of course. Readers who are adept at using computers and the internet would increase. Mostly young people.”
“You mean securing future readers.”
“Even though they might prefer portal sites later on, predicting how things will turn out in the world is difficult.”
“That’s true.”
That’s exactly what Lee Hyun-woo wanted.
Whenever unpredictable things happen, the second life would become richer.
He was already seeing new signs.
‘An editorial by Nostradamus…’
He might need to reconsider his writing skills, but he was eager to try.
However, he was at a crossroads of whether to reveal his identity to the person in front of him or keep it a secret.
“Alright, I will accept that proposal.”
“…….”
Lee Hyun-woo decided to reveal it.
After all, he hadn’t broken any laws, and recently, he had been thinking of revealing that he was Nostradamus, so he straightforwardly accepted the idea.
The problem was that the person’s eyes were filled with question marks.
“Accept it? Do you know Nostradamus? So, you’re saying you’ll convey it?”
“Yes, I know very well. It’s because I am Nostradamus.”
“……!”
As expected, Jang Jae-won widened his eyes in surprise.
“You… you are… Nostradamus?”
“Yes.”
“Haha…”
“Ah, but on the condition that you keep it a secret, I was going to accept the proposal you just made. Is that okay?”
Jang Jae-won, who was awkwardly laughing, was so shocked that he couldn’t answer right away.
Instead of answering, he had more questions.
“Does Ah-young also know about this?”
“Yes, she knows. Not only does she know, but she also pretended to be Nostradamus for me.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Lee Hyun-woo briefly explained the situation to Jang Jae-won.
“So, the chairman thinks that Ah-young is Nostradamus?”
“Oh, come on, do you think someone like him would be fooled by my words? He probably has figured it out by now. Tae-hyun hyung might know as well.”
“This is…”
Originally, Jang Jae-won was a smart and logical person.
But today, his logical thinking kept halting due to the influx of shocking information, causing him to keep interrupting.
Then Lee Hyun-woo asked once more.
“What should we do? Should I write the editorial as myself or as Nostradamus?”
