President Han Jeong-hoon had returned from the United States.
After spending nearly a month coordinating detailed plans with the Quantum Fund, his face looked noticeably worn.
A meal was arranged at Captain Kang's Korean restaurant for a regular catch-up.
Han Jeong-hoon devoured the herbal ginseng chicken stew and only after drinking the broth did color return to his face.
"It seems Koreans really need to eat Korean food. I feel like all the grease stuck in my stomach has finally been cleansed."
"When did you start liking Korean food? You spent years at SAVE Investment Company."
"Back then, when I was young, I could digest anything. Now, as I get older, my stomach isn't what it used to be."
Han Jeong-hoon had become the youngest president in the company's history.
Thinking of his peers still stuck at deputy manager level, his complaints were almost laughable.
"Stop with the small talk. How are things with the Quantum Fund?"
"The plan is perfectly laid out. Taewoo Securities will handle Japan, and in Europe, we'll start methodically with Greece. But to execute everything as planned, we'll need a bit more seed capital."
Like any business, more money was needed to make bigger money.
To operate across all of Europe, a substantial sum was essential.
"So even if we tapped into all of Taewoo Group's reserves, it still wouldn't be enough?"
"That's right. Even if we use some assets as collateral to borrow from a fintech bank, it wouldn't suffice."
I have always been extremely averse to debt.
I knew from experience the troubles Taewoo Group had faced because of debt before.
But borrowing from a fintech bank was an exception.
After all, in a way, the fintech bank was practically mine.
It was no different from moving money from my left pocket to my right.
"Then we'll need to find more sources of funds."
"First, we should make use of some of the assets you personally own. And if you look at Cocoa Bank's assets, in a broad sense, they're ours too, aren't they?"
"That's true, but compared to other banks, Cocoa Bank's deposit size isn't that large."
"Taewoo Securities also plans to aggressively raise fund capital."
It was a time to gather as much capital as possible.
Especially if Cocoa Bank's deposits increased beyond their current level, the burden would definitely ease.
"Let's have Cocoa Bank and Taewoo Securities run the fund in coordination."
"That was my plan as well. But most of Cocoa Bank's customers are young and aren't particularly interested in funds."
"If they aren't interested, we just need to make them interested, right?"
"Do you have a clever idea for that?"
There was one very effective way to significantly increase Cocoa Bank's user base.
A method that wouldn't require much advertising or investment but could attract a large number of new users.
"Then we'll give Cocoa Bank users cards featuring cute characters. And those who subscribe to the funds linked with Taewoo Securities get cards with even cuter characters."
"······Do you really think giving cute character cards will increase sign-ups?"
President Han blinked in disbelief.
Having spent years in the securities industry and knowing all the tricks from start to finish, he seemed unfamiliar with this 'cuteness' approach.
"Isn't this an era where emotions matter more than functionality?"
"Sure, the iPhone shows emotions are important, but does that mean 'cute' emotions will work too?"
"It absolutely will. So launch a new character through Taewoo Group's professional designers. Don't just create the character—build an appropriate storytelling around it and integrate it fully."
It could be considered childish.
But since it had already proven effective before my return, I could push it through.
"Understood. Then we'll release new characters alongside the existing ones."
"Of course, cute characters alone aren't enough. If we include a principal-protected option, we could attract a large number of subscribers."
"Launching a principal-protected product would certainly make attracting subscribers easy, but if something goes wrong, the backlash would be enormous."
"Then we just need to make sure that doesn't happen, right?"
"I'll carefully review the investment plan from the ground up."
At the mention of "principal protection," President Han's expression changed abruptly.
Even if this venture failed, Taewoo Group wouldn't collapse.
They would just have to tighten their belts for a few years, sharply reduce development costs, and their ranking in the business world could drop.
Taewoo Group had always moved forward.
But if it had to step backward, part of the responsibility would fall on President Han, so he could not take it lightly.
"The risk is high, but if we succeed, the rewards are great. Your rank could even change, Han."
"I'll make sure we succeed no matter what!"
If the warehouse-filling project succeeded?
Even if President Han Jeong-hoon were promoted to vice chairman, everyone would accept it.
Knowing this, a spark of ambition began to glimmer in his eyes.
***
After the Lehman crisis, every company was struggling.
Among them, the shipping industry was hit the hardest, and the situation at Korea's largest shipping company, Hyunjin Shipping, had gone beyond serious.
On top of that, Hyunjin Shipping was embroiled in a management dispute.
Choo Young-hee, the CEO and captain of Hyunjin Shipping, had no choice but to neglect the company's development in order to protect her control.
Thanks to that, she succeeded in defending her management rights.
But Hyunjin Shipping had completely lost its growth momentum, and in the end, CEO Cho Young-soo of Hyunjin Group, who had been contesting the management, was asked for help.
"Madam, you've come all the way to see me. Today must be a rare day indeed."
"You created a situation where I had no choice but to come. Your greed completely ruined Hyunjin Shipping. How do you plan to take responsibility?"
"The cause of defeat usually falls on the manager. But shifting blame onto the opposing manager—that's a new one."
Cho Young-soo and Choo Young-hee.
Though technically in-laws, their relationship was worse than most strangers'.
Both were desperate to harm each other due to the management dispute at Hyunjin Shipping, and every word between them was laced with barbs.
"So you intend to continue like this?"
"Let me make you an offer. I'll give you the Hyunjin Shipping building—step aside. Even just the rental income would be enough for three generations to live comfortably."
"Step aside and take only the Hyunjin Shipping building? I might as well sell Hyunjin Shipping to the Charlotte Group instead."
Choo Young-hee was from the Charlotte family.
Though she had married into the Hyunjin Group, her natal family was the Charlottes, so her words were never to be taken lightly.
"Shall I add about 5 billion won as a retirement bonus? You need to step down from Hyunjin Shipping as soon as possible if the company is to survive. The annual deficit keeps growing, doesn't it?"
"If you hadn't been so greedy for management rights, none of this would have happened!"
"Don't you think these problems arose because you couldn't manage properly? Stop your greed and step aside. If the company deteriorates further, I won't even be able to intervene."
Choo Young-hee gritted her teeth.
After the Lehman crisis, the shipping industry had fallen into a recession unlike anything before.
If things continued as Cho Young-soo warned, Hyunjin Shipping was about to cross a river of no return.
"Phew. Can you promise 5 billion won as a retirement bonus and shares of Hyunjin Holdings for the Hyunjin Shipping building?"
"You are something else. Well, since it's family business, I'll yield. I'll promise you the shares of Hyunjin Holdings as well. But in return, you need to handle the aftermath cleanly."
"What do you mean by 'handle the aftermath'?"
"If Hyunjin Shipping is to survive, you'll need government assistance, won't you? That means attending a few hearings and showing that you take responsibility. Only then will it look proper when I take over Hyunjin Shipping."
Hyunjin Shipping was like a poisoned chalice.
Chairman Cho wanted Choo Young-hee to drink the poison.
In return, she would receive 5 billion won in retirement from the Hyunjin Shipping building—by no means a bad deal.
"So you want me to be a figurehead for a few years?"
"They say the shipping industry's recession will continue for the next two to three years. You just need to be the public face until then."
"······Fine. I'll do as you want. But handle your relationship with Taewoo Group yourself. I won't be bowing to them too."
"I heard you borrowed money from Taewoo Group using ships as collateral. I'll meet Chairman Kim of Taewoo Group and resolve that issue."
Chairman Cho responded in a bright voice.
With the long-standing dispute over Hyunjin Shipping's management finally settled, he felt a weight lifted from his shoulders.
"From now on, do as you please. I'll truly just be a figurehead."
"Still, make it look like you're showing up for work. You're earning billions per month—you can at least manage that, right?"
"Don't worry. I'll behave properly so there's no gossip."
Choo Young-hee rose from her seat.
As she strode away, visibly fuming, Chairman Cho smiled.
***
Taewoo Securities had officially begun collaborating with Cocoa Bank.
They launched fund products exclusively for Cocoa Bank users, and cards featuring cute characters were being issued.
Three days passed.
Han Jeong-hoon, president of Taewoo Securities, scratched his head and came to see me.
"Far more customers are subscribing to the fund than we expected. And the number of Cocoa Bank users has also increased significantly."
"Judging by your expression, I take it you don't know why the subscriptions are rising?"
"We conducted a survey among subscribers. Forty percent said it was because of the principal protection, and thirty percent… said it was because of the cute card issuance."
The survey showed that the cute card was just as effective as the principal protection.
Unlike the principal protection, which carried enormous risk, the cute card had no risk at all, so Han Jeong-hoon could hardly believe the results.
"You can say fund subscribers joined because of the principal protection, but Cocoa Bank users likely joined because of the cute card."
"Our investigation at Taewoo Securities confirms the same. I don't understand when Koreans started liking cute aesthetics so much."
"Given the same conditions, it's only natural they'd prefer the cute card."
It was the age of emotions.
Now emotions mattered more than functionality, and 'cuteness' had become a highly effective emotional appeal.
"Thanks to your idea, we should be able to cover the funding shortfall. If fund subscriptions continue until next year, we can even exceed our target—assuming, of course, that the Japan project succeeds."
"The Japan project will start soon, then."
"There are still no signs of activity in Japan. If nothing happens there, this plan could face major disruption. So why not cancel the Japan project altogether?"
The Japan project had only been planned so far.
Canceling now would mean no losses and allow full focus on the European market.
But why cancel? I had no intention of missing a perfect opportunity to secure the funds we lacked.
"Proceed with the Japan project. Its early signals will appear soon."
"Then we'll proceed as planned. Also, Chairman Cho Young-soo of Hyunjin Group has contacted us. He wants to discuss matters regarding Hyunjin Shipping."
Is Hyunjin Group finally making a move?
I had expected contact eventually, but it came far sooner than I anticipated.
Well, no matter when they reached out, the result wouldn't change—I would still extract only the most valuable parts of Hyunjin Shipping.
TL/n -
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