A Time of Rapid Change, Part 2
“Last time you mentioned grabbing a drink, so I thought we’d be meeting at a street food stall or a barbecue joint. Haha.”
“Is there anything better than sashimi to go with soju?”
Meeting again at a high-end Japanese restaurant, Oh Se-hyun was pleased with Lee Hak-jae’s straightforward response, so much so that he found himself drinking faster.
“Looks like I’ll be picking up the tab today. After all, closing a 24 billion won deal brings in quite a commission.”
As soon as the ink dried on the contract transferring 20,000 pyeong of commercial land in Bundang to Sunyang Construction, money flowed into Do-jun’s account.
“We’ve taken care of the tax issues at Sunyang, so one round won’t be enough, will it?”
“Just give me a call, and I’ll be there anytime. Haha.”
Oh Se-hyun laughed heartily, and Lee Hak-jae raised his glass.
“How about I offer you something even bigger? Interested?”
Oh Se-hyun’s hand trembled slightly as he accepted the glass. A bigger deal meant Sunyang Group.
He recalled Lee Hak-jae’s warning.
The intention to use Do-jun to gain a foothold in Sunyang Group.
The thought of raising his own value.
Why would someone with such suspicions suddenly make a new offer? Could it be bait?
“I should first see if I can handle it, right?”
“It’s just under 200 billion won.”
Clang—
He dropped his glass.
But Oh Se-hyun didn’t even notice the glass fall, and no words came out of his gaping mouth.
200 billion.
Last year’s national budget was 22.6 trillion won. It’s an astronomical figure, nearly 1% of the government budget.
Seeing Oh Se-hyun’s stunned expression, a peculiar smile played on Lee Hak-jae’s face. It was a mix of condescension and smugness.
“I’m sorry. I was just so surprised…”
Oh Se-hyun hurriedly cleaned up with a wet towel, trying to steady his breath.
“Seems like it’s too much to handle.”
“It is. Oh, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying I won’t take it. I’m just saying there’s no investment opportunity in the country that can handle such a large sum. It would have to be split into countless smaller investments…”
“What about overseas? Like where Do-jun invested. You could ride that wave.”
At Lee Hak-jae’s suggestion, Oh Se-hyun almost slapped his knee. He understood what was being asked.
“That’s difficult too.”
“Why is that?”
“I can’t go into details, but Do-jun’s funds went through PowerShares’ U.S. headquarters to a third-party investment firm. And the companies Do-jun invested in aren’t large enough to handle a 200 billion won investment.”
The mention of a third-party investment firm made Lee Hak-jae’s eyes gleam, but he didn’t press for more details. He knew he wouldn’t get a detailed explanation anyway.
“It’s safe, right?”
That’s the most he could ask.
But he learned one thing for sure. Do-jun’s money wasn’t just sitting with a giant like PowerShares; it was moving independently.
“There are no safe investments. It’s about managing risk. Do-jun’s risks are within a controllable range, so don’t worry.”
Oh Se-hyun reassured him and subtly asked back.
“About that 200 billion won. Is it money that doesn’t need to generate returns? Is preserving the principal the most important thing, and it can’t be tied up in long-term investments, needing to be accessible at any time… Is that right?”
When he mentioned the most important principle of slush funds, Lee Hak-jae couldn’t help but chuckle.
This guy’s got a sharp sense.
Lee Hak-jae nodded lightly, and Oh Se-hyun tilted his head.
“In that case, wouldn’t it be better to keep it in Korea? We have banks here with much better interest rates than in the U.S.”
Lee Hak-jae responded with just a smile.
Even just managing 200 billion won for the fees would bring in billions. He’s not someone who can’t do that math.
Yet, he proposes the best option for the client without hesitation, forgetting his own profit.
He’s a much better guy than expected.
“As I said, it’s not money to earn interest on. In fact, we sometimes need to move money to the U.S., so we were thinking of transferring some.”
It also meant their U.S. business was growing. As it grew, the need for black money increased.
“Understood. I’ll review it and let you know the final proposal.”
It was a polite and exemplary answer, but Oh Se-hyun’s mind was already set on declining. There was no need to take on the stress of handling Sunyang Group’s slush funds.
After all, he was already a successful member of the top 1%.
“I don’t know why you wanted to see this, but it came from New York. Take a look.”
I quickly snatched the few sheets of paper Oh Se-hyun handed me.
“Are you going to show it to your father? Because importing movies is possible?”
I nodded absentmindedly and started checking the contractual relationships.
But as soon as I saw the most notable work, I almost cursed.
Damn, UIP direct distribution!
The movie ‘GHOST,’ which would dominate the 1990 world box office, was already set for domestic distribution by UIP, a direct distributor that started last year.
If my father’s film company had taken on the domestic distribution, he could have leveraged it to push his own films into theaters… What a shame.
But then another movie caught my eye.
HOME ALONE.
“Uncle. Is this movie in production?”
“What?”
Oh Se-hyun glanced at the movie list and then flipped through the papers.
“This one? It says it’s on production hold. Check the last page. Wait a minute.”
Perhaps thinking the densely written English was burdensome for me, he began to read slowly and explain.
“Um, it’s a small family film… The director is a newcomer, the lead is a newcomer… Wait, the lead is a kid, like you.”
Oh Se-hyun paused and continued reading the rest of the document.
“This one can be left out.”
He tossed the papers onto the desk and shook his head slightly.
“Why?”
“Warner Brothers was set to produce it for 1.4 million dollars, but the production budget skyrocketed. So it was passed to 20th Century Fox, and they’re re-evaluating it now.”
“But won’t they still make it?”
“Who knows? I’m not familiar with this field. But if it’s shaky from the early production stages, it doesn’t bode well, does it?”
Not at all. It will do well. Very well, in fact.
Knowing there’s still a chance, I couldn’t focus on any other movies. Even blockbuster hits like Total Recall or Die Hard 2 didn’t excite me anymore.
“Uncle. Did the money from selling the Bundang land go into Miracle?”
“Soon. Why?”
His gaze was curious, as if he already guessed.
“I’m thinking of investing in this movie.”
As expected, he sighed first.
“Do-jun. Investing in stocks and movies are entirely different games. With stocks, you lose if the price drops, but with movies, if you don’t break even, you just lose it all. There’s no timing to pull out.”
This time, I had no justification or explanation to persuade him.
An uncertain director and lead actor, a family film with a massive budget. Pouring money into a movie that even major American studios hesitate over is a suicidal move.
Oh Se-hyun’s worried expression was understandable.
But I couldn’t let this opportunity slip by. It was a golden chance for Miracle Investment to make a name for itself in Hollywood as a film investor.
Of course, the profits, several times over, would be a bonus.
“Uncle.”
“No matter what you say, I’m against it this time. This isn’t an investment. It’s a gamble. And it’s already a losing one.”
Oh Se-hyun preemptively blocked any further discussion, so I played my last card.
“This is the last time. I won’t say a word about investments in the future. Isn’t that enough?”
“Do-jun!”
He finally raised his voice. I understood, but I was starting to get annoyed too.
“It’s unearned income from selling land. I can afford to lose it, and it’s my money. I promised my parents I’d live doing what I want. Besides, even if all the money managed by Miracle disappears, it’s not a problem, right? My grandfather is the richest man in the country. Isn’t that so?”
My calm voice made Oh Se-hyun’s expression change rapidly.
He seemed to realize the distance between a self-made man like himself and someone like me, who was fortunate to be born into a wealthy family.
A world where losing a hundred or two hundred billion won ends with a scolding.
A world where even if you ruin a company worth billions, you can be forgiven after a few years of reflection.
A world entirely different from that of ordinary people who might lose their jobs over a few million won.
That’s the world of a chaebol family.
Oh Se-hyun gathered the scattered papers on the table and stood up.
“You want to invest as much money as possible in this movie as quickly as possible, right?”
His tone was cold, devoid of any friendliness. I responded just as formally.
“Yes.”
“Fine. Do as you wish.”
“Oh, one more thing.”
“What is it?”
“We need to secure the Korean distribution rights.”
“We might be the only investors, so that shouldn’t be a problem. Anything else?”
“No.”
“Handle it as quickly as possible and report back.”
He emphasized the word “report,” indicating he was quite upset.
But his displeasure would melt away like snow when he saw the year-end box office results.
Oh Se-hyun’s expression was still sour as he left Do-jun’s house. He understood why Do-jun was so stubborn. It stemmed from the fear of being further disliked by his grandfather if his father’s film company failed.
The desire to help his father by importing American films was understandable but reckless.
“Sigh. This loss is going to be significant.”
Oh Se-hyun was a professional.
Even if the loss was due to a client’s reckless decision, he had no intention of shirking responsibility. He felt a duty to make up for the loss with his own skills.
“Damn, the Jin family sure knows how to bring trouble.”
To recover from the losses from the film investment, he had no choice but to accept Lee Hak-jae’s offer of slush funds.
Managing about a trillion won over a year should make it possible. Oh Se-hyun drove towards Sunyang Group’s headquarters.
When Microsoft released Windows 3.0, it quickly began to dominate the PC market, and the company’s stock prices soared in tandem.
Dell Computer, which had been listed at just 30 cents, was also breaking records daily, with its stock price skyrocketing.
Thanks to this, even Oh Se-hyun, who had been quite upset with me, was now all smiles, as if nothing had happened. He even comforted me, saying that the $8 million investment in “Home Alone,” which translated to a loss of about 5.6 billion won, could be easily recouped in a few years.
In contrast, the Korean stock market was plummeting.
This was due to Japan’s credit restriction policy implemented in April to put an end to its bubble economy. But this was just the beginning.
As the policy was enacted at the peak of Japan’s bubble economy, the Japanese economy began its descent into an endless abyss.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s northern diplomacy, marked by establishing relations with the Soviet Union, reached its pinnacle under the Roh Tae-woo administration. On October 3, Germany, divided into East and West since World War II, finally reunited after 45 years.
This marked a turning point, as Eastern European countries, once Soviet satellites, began transitioning en masse to capitalism, effectively bringing the long, drawn-out Cold War to an end this year.
The entire world was now entering an era of capitalism.
From November 16, when “Home Alone” was released, Oh Se-hyun was probably the only person in Korea anxiously tracking the film’s performance.
He called New York daily to check the box office numbers, and on the first day of 1991, he came to see me.
“You might just be the richest elementary school kid in the world. Except for the Arab royals, of course.”
The paper he handed me was filled with numbers, and at the very end, a figure of $200 million was circled in red.