The Olympics held in Sochi, Russia.
The grand opening ceremony took place on February 7.
Despite many twists and turns, the closing ceremony proceeded on February 23.
Then, two days later, on the 25th,
the Russian flag fluttered over a square in the Crimean Peninsula, where a sudden rally was held.
"Russia has finally begun to move. They're two months ahead of our expectations. Officially, the Olympics are over, but with the Paralympics still to come, I didn't think they'd make a move this soon."
"They must have figured that, compared to the Olympics, there's less international attention on the Paralympics."
It wasn't truly the end of the Olympics until the Paralympics concluded.
But Russia, impatient, made their move first, and the moment global attention shifted from the Olympics to Crimea was upon us.
"They say Aksonov, a member of the Russian Unity Party of the Republic of Crimea, has led an armed force with guns and rocket launchers to seize the parliament."
"It's the easiest way to become prime minister."
He was a man who could never become prime minister through elections.
His approval rating barely topped 4%, and he was not someone who enjoyed popular support.
But then, did he really need public backing?
If you have guns and rocket launchers, you can seize the parliament for yourself—so why bother?
"It's predicted that Representative Aksonov will appoint himself as prime minister and request annexation by Russia."
"That's probably how it will go. Russia gets its justification since the prime minister of Crimea reached out first to ask for annexation."
"And the previous Crimean prime minister also came to power through a kind of coup, so that just adds to the justification."
"It's just the bare minimum justification. In reality, the fact that Russia is forcibly snatching Crimea by military force remains unchanged."
From Russia's perspective, it could be justification enough.
But for the rest of the world, it was insufficient—and on the contrary, the Crimea crisis was more than enough reason to sanction Russia.
"How is the United States responding?"
"For now, they're just observing—that's what I've heard from David."
"The moment Russia carries out a direct military invasion, America will take action as well."
"But it's unlikely that the UN will be able to stop this crisis."
"Since Russia is a permanent member of the Security Council, no matter how strongly America and the Western powers object, the UN won't be able to stop Russia."
The UN operated on a unanimity system.
So if Russia, as a permanent member, chose to veto, there was ultimately nothing the UN could do.
Even if the UN tried to act, in the end it could only issue recommendations—there was nothing it could do legally.
"With the UN unable to intervene, the United States and Europe will have to act independently. Sanctions will be announced, probably no later than March."
"That's exactly why we're making our move now. We plan to execute operations targeting the rubble and Russian companies."
"This is the perfect timing. The rubble will collapse and Russia will plunge into an economic crisis."
"We'll try to absorb as much of the outflowing money from Russia as we can!"
Russia would suffer more than €100 billion in damages due to Crimea.
Even if we claimed just half, that would be €50 billion—over ₩70 trillion.
And that was a conservative estimate; if the plan worked out properly, the financial companies in Finance Tower could split profits of up to ₩100 trillion.
"Will President Han personally oversee this operation?"
"Since this is an operation involving all of Finance Tower, I'll take command for now, and George will handle any weak spots."
"Keep an eye on any financial companies that behave unexpectedly during this operation. In the next round, we can exclude them or assign them to the lowest-yielding sectors."
"I'll do as you say, but I doubt any companies will dare. They're so busy wagging their tails that they won't even try to bare their fangs."
Thus began the Russian operation.
It was the opening salvo of the oil war.
It was also the start of a campaign to extend Taewoo Group's influence beyond Korea—to the whole world.
***
March arrived.
An incredible amount had happened in less than a month.
In the end, Akshonov seized the office of Prime Minister of the Republic of Crimea by force.
He immediately requested annexation with Russia, and unidentified armed soldiers were now occupying the Crimean Peninsula.
Of course, they were Russian soldiers.
They had removed all identifying patches, but there was no way to truly conceal their allegiance.
It was just a token charade.
But by now, Russia wasn't even bothering with such formalities.
"Russian troops have moved. They've occupied the major airports on the Crimean Peninsula."
"Has Russia made an official announcement?"
"They deny it, but anyone can see these troops are Russian. The Ukrainian government has issued a condemnation against Russia, and meanwhile, more than 6,000 soldiers from Russia are crossing into Crimea."
The full-scale occupation had begun.
That meant the United States and the Western world would soon impose sanctions on Russia.
"The United States and Europe will start to react."
"I just got an update from David—President Obama is holding a press conference regarding the situation in Crimea."
No sooner were the words spoken than breaking news flooded in.
Details came in about President Obama's statements at his briefing.
[We are deeply concerned about Russia's military actions. Any military intervention by Russia will have consequences.]
Consequences.
It was a declaration that the United States would not just stand by and watch.
That's why President Han pondered Obama's words seriously.
"From President Obama's remarks, I get the impression that the U.S. might even deploy troops to Ukraine."
"If President Bush, or a Republican, were in the White House, it wouldn't be out of the question. But given Obama's disposition, he'll avoid direct military confrontation."
America was already weary from so many wars.
The days of sending troops directly, as in the past, were unlikely to return.
"If the United States does not intervene militarily, a large-scale war should be avoided."
"Ukraine won't be able to mount a proper resistance and will lose Crimea to Russia. So set the probability of war at zero and proceed with the operation."
"We will proceed accordingly."
The financial firms in Finance Tower began moving simultaneously.
Taewol Securities alone was moving money amounting to $30 billion.
Combining the funds of all the financial companies in Finance Tower, the amount easily exceeded $100 billion.
That massive sum was being bet on Russia's economic crisis.
If even the slightest part of the plan went off course, it could result in enormous losses.
That was why every day felt like a test of endurance, and tension hovered over Finance Tower.
About two weeks into March, finally, the news we wanted broke.
"The United States has finally begun economic sanctions against Russia! And the EU has announced it will soon impose strong sanctions on Russia."
"The situation is unfolding just as we predicted."
"Now all that remains is to prepare to sweep up the money. Russian companies' stock prices are plummeting, and oil prices are rising."
When the atmosphere of a war thickens, oil prices go up.
Oil prices tend to react even more sharply to the sense of impending war than when a war actually breaks out, and this was precisely that time.
"Oil prices won't stay high for long; they'll drop again soon. So sell off as quickly as possible."
"Taewoo Securities has already liquidated all of its oil holdings. However, some financial firms are resisting, of a sort."
"What kind of resistance?"
"They're protesting, saying oil prices won't stay elevated for more than a year at least."
They weren't wrong.
If you looked only at the Crimean crisis, oil prices were expected to keep rising.
But looking at the bigger picture—OPEC led by Saudi Arabia, and shale gas—there were far more factors that could push oil prices down.
"There are some financial firms with a narrow view. Let them act on their own, but be sure to get a promise that they won't hold us responsible."
"Is it okay to allow such independent actions?"
"We need to remind them that ignoring our counsel leads to losses. When oil prices fall significantly, they'll come back in line, won't they?"
"We'll allow individual action only concerning oil prices."
Russia was the world's third-largest oil producer.
With problems in Russia, it was natural to predict that crude oil prices would rise.
So naturally, some might want to act against the direction of Finance Tower.
This was a good opportunity to let them personally experience what happens when they disobey our instructions.
Fifteen days after the EU also started economic sanctions on Russia,
I toured Finance Tower with President Han.
Smiles blossomed on the faces of all the financial company employees we met,
and voices bragging about how much had been earned this week could be heard everywhere.
"The atmosphere is very good."
"Russian companies' stock prices have fallen at least 20%, and the rubble has been completely shattered, so money is literally pouring in."
"Captain Kang told me that the upscale bars near Finance Tower are packed."
"The number of luxury bars catering to Finance Tower's financiers is growing daily."
Financial firms were generous with bonuses.
Especially on Wall Street, it was common to give part of the profits as incentives.
Having made two consecutive large profits, imagine how much money flowed to Finance Tower's employees.
When money comes in, there must be somewhere to spend it.
That's why high-end bars sprang up around Finance Tower.
Precisely speaking, a high-end bar district was created at my request.
Opening luxury bars requires significant capital—where else did that money come from all of a sudden?
The source was Myeong-dong.
The owner of Myeong-dong opened numerous high-end bars near Finance Tower for me.
He made good money, and through him, I gained access to sensitive information bit by bit.
"We need to make sure that as long as they remain in Finance Tower, they'll believe they can keep making toasts to continued success."
"Most already do. Some financial companies have even closed their branches in Hong Kong and Singapore, operating only their Korean offices now."
It still wasn't enough.
Compared to Hong Kong and Singapore, Korea's position as a financial hub was still smaller.
But once the oil war ended, the Asian financial center would completely shift to Korea.
"What's the situation inside Russia?"
"According to David, it's absolute chaos. The Kremlin might not show much outward reaction, but companies are rushing to escape. Many foreign enterprises have already packed up and left."
It was a natural response.
With the Russian economy in crisis, purchasing power inevitably fell.
There was no reason to stay in Russia and rack up losses; the sooner you left, the more you could minimize your deficit.
"Russia's economy is headed back twenty years."
"Most Japanese companies and a few Korean ones are pulling out, too. Chairman, does Taeu Group seriously intend to remain in the Russian market?"
"There's still more to gain, so we can't leave just yet."
Many divisions of Taewoo Group had entered Russia.
In automobiles and electronics, massive factories were located there.
Some cities practically operated around Taewoo Group's factories.
"Are you planning to negotiate with Russia? If you do so while the U.S. and Europe are imposing sanctions, you could face disadvantages."
"That's why everything has to be handled secretly. And as long as Taewoo Group doesn't actively support Russia, there shouldn't be any major problems."