Based on the content that Lee Hyun-woo just shared in more detail, everyone got excited and caused a commotion.
“Wow… Damn! Are you talking about AltaVista, the famous portal site in Silicon Valley?”
“Oh, I’ve heard about it too. It was established before Yaho, right?”
“But are you saying they have been looking at our site?”
“Not only that, but it’s surprising that they proposed a business collaboration.”
“Hey, why are you all so surprised about this? Isn’t it obvious? Jungle is the strongest in Asia and can compete with Yaho, which is currently boosting its stock price in the U.S.”
The final comment was made by the eccentric Oh Min-woo in a cocky manner.
Everyone knows Oh Min-woo’s personality, so they don’t pay attention to him.
Except for one person.
That person was none other than Lee Hyun-woo.
‘As expected, this guy fits my style perfectly.’
The moment we think we are behind or late, we fall behind the opponent.
Then, in business collaboration, we will have to give a lot and receive a little in return.
‘If there’s ever a negotiation, this guy would be perfect.’
Lee Hyun-woo, who secretly wanted to present Oh Min-woo to the other side, asked while looking at his younger brother Lee Jung-woo and Oh Min-woo.
“By the way, Team Leader Lee and Team Leader Oh? How far has the data storage technology progressed?”
“I’m almost done and currently testing it. It should be completed by next month.”
“Me too. But are you asking because you want to send it to AltaVista sooner?”
Oh Min-woo, who is quite perceptive despite his arrogance, immediately read Lee Hyun-woo’s inner thoughts.
“That’s right. Since things have come to this, I want to finish the work quickly and send the research and development team members to AltaVista in sequence.”
“Then there’s no choice. Team Leader Lee.”
Hearing Lee Hyun-woo’s answer, Oh Min-woo called Lee Jung-woo.
“Huh? Oh, yes?”
“Let’s collaborate. Then we can finish it faster.”
“Umm… Should we?”
“Anyway, we’re all being played by the CEO. Didn’t he say he would give something to the research and development team that finishes first or makes the best product?”
The expression “being played” was excessive, but it couldn’t be denied.
Everyone had been competing, but now it was hard to find out why they did it.
So, even though they didn’t nod, they showed a look of agreement with Oh Min-woo’s remark.
Seeing this, Lee Hyun-woo smiled and said as if making an excuse.
“I said I would give a reward after it’s finished.”
“That’s right. If I had known this, Director Lee and I could have finished it faster by combining our efforts.”
“We already combined our efforts.”
“That’s right. That’s why we could finish earlier.”
“Wow, looking back, I’m endlessly envious.”
Following Lee Hyun-woo’s excuse, Oh Min-woo, Woo Sang-won, Jang Yoo-cheol, and Lee Jung-woo each said a word.
Then Oh Min-woo looked at Lee Hyun-woo and said.
“If only the CEO had told the two of us to work together…”
“Even if you take a detour, as long as you get to Rome, it’s fine. So, the conclusion is out. Team Leaders, please hurry and finish the work, and everyone here, please apply for a visa.”
After the meeting, Lee Hyun-woo gave instructions to Kang Dong-ho and Han Se-jin again.
To have those proficient in English get the visas.
Because he felt reassured sending people who knew sales along with the developers.
The reason Lee Hyun-woo didn’t go himself was simple.
‘I only appear when it’s time to sign.’
The roles of a mid-boss and a final boss are different.
It wasn’t a decision made out of authoritarian thinking.
By doing so, he could evenly distribute experiences to everyone, and the other side wouldn’t look down on the company as a small one.
‘To gain a lot from the business collaboration, we must not lose the initiative.’
For now, seeing the next email from AltaVista would make Jungle’s status more certain.
So, when the email arrived the next day, a sense of pride was etched in Lee Hyun-woo’s eyes.
AltaVista had sent an all-okay sign to Lee Hyun-woo’s proposal.
‘Jungle seems to be more valuable when viewed from abroad than from within the country.’
Indeed, Jungle was an IT company with competitive power in auctions, shopping, and portals.
In terms of technology, it was considered to be on par with eBase, Amazoness, and Yaho.
Lee Jung-woo seemed to have similar thoughts, as he spoke in an excited tone at home a few days later.
“Hyung, at this rate, won’t our auctions surpass eBase? our shopping surpass Amazoness? And our portal site will beat Yaho.”
“Who says we can’t?”
“Right? This must have been your grand plan.”
“It’s still a long way off, but let’s say so.”
In reality, the grand plan was to grow the company to its peak and then retire to enjoy life.
It was too troublesome to explain, so he decided to tell him slowly later.
As he looked at his brother with this thought, his eyes were already glistening.
“I can’t sleep these days. I’m thinking about world domination.”
“Hey, what do you mean by world domination?”
“It’s just an expression. But besides me, others also feel their blood boiling. Not to mention, our country joining the OECD has boosted our pride to the core, and the company’s growth is like a double celebration.”
“……”
For a moment, Lee Hyun-woo’s expression stiffened slightly.
When his brother mentioned the OECD, it suddenly reminded him of a long-forgotten event.
That was the foreign exchange crisis.
‘If it were my previous life, it was an inevitable storm.’
Lee Hyun-woo, who thought he couldn’t avoid the foreign exchange crisis even after returning to the past.
But in the middle, he came up with an interesting plan.
That was to ‘avoid the foreign exchange crisis just for fun.’
Since it was made with an attitude of ‘if it doesn’t work, so be it,’ the plan wasn’t meticulously crafted.
But unknowingly, he was moving towards the target point.
By building relationships with chaebol friends or friends’ oppas, he started giving education or advice, and planted seeds in One Computer and Alpha Cast.
Now, the company Jungle, which Lee Hyun-woo had built up, was receiving foreign investments and business collaboration proposals from overseas companies.
‘If we manipulate the chaebols and their professional managers while reducing the outflow of foreign funds, something really interesting might happen.’
Lee Hyun-woo thought this as he loosened his stiff expression again.
He decided not to stress too much.
If he did, he might end up becoming a workaholic again, immersing himself in a ‘national remodeling project’ on top of his company work.
So, with a light-hearted approach, he sat at his computer that night and started scribbling on Nostradamus’s blog again after a long time.
The title was as follows:
What Happens When You Pop the Champagne Too Early with OECD Membership
When a middle-income country joins an advanced country’s social club, the pros and cons become clear.
‘If I give a warning, will there be a slight change? If not, whatever.’
Thinking this, Lee Hyun-woo started writing out the details.
First, this year, our country’s current account deficit is at 5% of GDP.
Second, although imports were more than exports, the deficit was mainly due to companies taking on debt for over-investment.
Third, as everyone knows, debts come from banks.
Fourth, the problem is that domestic financial institutions are gathering funds through short-term foreign debt and providing long-term loans to companies.
Fifth, therefore, if even one instability factor arises from the beginning of next year, a massive economic crisis will occur.
After writing this much, it was very specific as if it were written by Nostradamus.
‘It shows that I’m from the future.’
There was no helping it, but who would notice?
Lee Hyun-woo shrugged his shoulders unconsciously and continued writing.
Nostradamus’s View on the Unstable Factors of 1997
First, what if companies that took on debt for over-investment cannot repay the principal or interest? (Look at companies with loans over 5 trillion won. One of them will go bankrupt soon.)
Second, what if the U.S. raises interest rates? (Not interested because it’s not our country? If interest rates rise, money will flow into banks, and domestic demand will temporarily shrink. Then what will happen to a contry that actively export to that country?)
Third, related to the second point, countries with a lot of foreign capital will have an increased amount of debt to repay due to interest rate hikes.
Fourth, related to the second point’s parentheses, to continue exporting, that exporting counrty must secure price competitiveness, and when the currency is devalued, the amount to repay will increase again.
Fifth, considering the second to the fourth point, that country is currently in a checkmate.
There was more to write, but as he wrote, he started feeling stifled.
‘This isn’t what I’m writing for.’
Stress should be avoided.
So he roughly finished and posted the entry.
‘I don’t even know if this will serve as a warning. It’d be good if it does, if not, whatever. The end!’
But as he was about to go to bed, he kept imagining his blog having an impact.
‘Maybe many people will just snort at this?’
Moreover, with the blog being as massively activated as Jungle was earlier, Nostradamus was no longer the only one providing such predictions.
There were already many economic experts writing with similar concepts and positions as Lee Hyun-woo.
Some were recording rosy prospects that began with the OECD membership.
He had glanced at them last time, and their visitors and click counts were enormous.
Seeing that, he felt once again.
People don’t seem to like frustrating stories.
Is that why the subculture market he mentioned to his employees recently is growing?
‘Yeah, there’s no need to keep thinking negatively.’
Determined not to think about a stifling future and only think about positive outcomes, Lee Hyun-woo decided to call it a day and go to dreamland.
Thinking of the sun that will rise tomorrow, he lay down on his bed and closed his eyes.
The next day, seeing the brilliant rising sun, Lee Hyun-woo turned on his computer as soon as he got to work.
And, as usual, he went into his email inbox.
But what’s this?
There were quite a lot of new emails.
As he started to look through each one in detail, his eyes widened.
Joe Max, CEO of Diamond Fund
Young Andrew, External Cooperation Director of Motorola
Masao Nakamura, Head of Asia Investment at Nobuyuki Securities
Yan Wenli, Director of Dachshund Research Institute
Donald Pence, Dean of Information and Communication Department at Stanford University
How could so many heads of institutions send emails overnight?
It was clear that someone had mentioned Jungle.
Sure enough, upon checking AltaVista, he found a story about Son Jung-yi.
“In the future, the places that will change the paradigm of the world will be Jungle and Yaho!”
“Son confirms investment in Jungle following Yaho!”
