After wrapping up my conversation with Dimon, I returned to the estate.
Having spent nearly a month in the U.S., my grandfather greeted me with even more warmth than usual.
"My boy, you've come back from America looking like half the man you were! Did American food not suit your taste? Or were you avoiding beef altogether because of that E. coli scare?"
"I ate plenty of beef at every meal, Grandfather. But you shouldn't be the one bringing up the American beef contamination issue. Things are already chaotic with Super 301."
Super 301.
A U.S. trade law that functioned as a retaliatory measure against countries deemed to have unfair trade practices.
The U.S. had wielded it to pressure South Korea into opening its markets.
In response, the Korean government fought back fiercely, publicly exposing the E. coli contamination in American beef.
But economic power dictates the effectiveness of countermeasures.
Instead of negotiating, the U.S. escalated matters further—triggering Super 301 sanctions.
This meant a 100% tariff increase on Korean automobiles, doubling their prices in the American market.
"Do you really think the U.S. will actually enforce Super 301? It's just a scare tactic."
"I tend to agree. They probably invoked it to secure better negotiation terms during the one-year grace period."
In reality, Super 301 was never fully enforced.
Especially after the IMF crisis hit, the Korean government had no choice but to align with U.S. interests.
"Even if they did go through with it, we wouldn't be affected too badly. Thanks to our joint venture with Ford, we have a way to bypass the sanctions."
"That's true, but using a loophole still incurs additional costs."
"If paying extra means we can crush our Korean competitors, then it's worth it."
I partially agreed with my grandfather's logic, but there were too many uncertainties.
David had already spent a fortune on lobbying efforts to ensure Taewoo Motors was excluded from the sanctions.
And thanks to Ford's backing, we had largely avoided any direct damage.
But the future was unpredictable.
The only way I could accurately forecast the situation was if events continued to unfold as they had in historical reality.
If Super 301 were fully enforced, even Taewoo Motors could end up in danger.
"At the end of the day, we're still a Korean automaker. There's no telling how long we can rely on this loophole."
"That's true. It's frustrating… quite frustrating."
"No need to be too disappointed, Grandfather. If anything, Super 301 will make it even easier for us to acquire Kia Motors."
With the possibility of losing access to the U.S. market, automakers' stock prices plummeted, and no company was stepping forward to acquire Kia Motors.
Of course, if things followed their historical course, Hyunjae Group would eventually take it.
But this time—would that still be the case?
By offloading Taewoo Shipbuilding onto Hyunjae Group, I had burdened them with massive debt.
In my past life, this never happened.
Which meant back then, Hyunjae had the financial resources to acquire Kia Motors.
But this time, with their coffers drained, could they still afford it?
"We can't afford to take this lightly," my grandfather said. "Kia Motors is so desperate for funds that they're offering a 30% discount on their cars. They're also pushing restructuring efforts to cut losses."
"Even with those efforts, Kia Group's cash flow is completely locked up. They can't even pay wages. The labor union is planning to go on strike soon."
"A strike? In this situation? If they stop production, the downward spiral will only get worse!"
Kia Motors' union was known for its militancy.
But I couldn't blame them.
Months of unpaid wages—what kind of worker would sit by and endure that?
"Even the company cafeteria has stopped serving meals. At this point, we can say Kia Motors has zero chance of survival."
"It's all just a means to survive… but to think they've even lost their meals... sigh, how did Kia Motors end up like this?"
His words were contradictory.
Just moments ago, he had wanted to use Super 301 to crush Korea's domestic automakers.
And now, here he was, worrying about Kia Motors' downfall.
"According to an economic research report, Kia Motors' projected deficit for this year was over 6 trillion won."
"Six trillion in losses? Even the government wouldn't be able to bail them out of that."
"It's an amount too big for any company to handle alone. In the end, Kia Motors will go to an international auction."
It wasn't just domestic corporations eyeing Kia Motors.
Ford, our joint-venture partner, was also considering acquiring them.
"Shouldn't we stake our claim before it goes to international bidding?"
"On the contrary, we should act disinterested. Let it go through multiple failed auctions. When the creditors are completely worn down, that's when we step in—at a reasonable price."
"Ah! The hero should always make a grand entrance at the very end!"
"Exactly. When the creditors are exhausted from repeated failures, and we extend a hand, they'll see us as saviors—not buyers."
"It'll feel like a lifeline, won't it? Ha ha ha."
Of course, I had no intention of just sitting back and watching.
Why else would I have brought Dimon to Korea?
He would be deployed before the international auction, tasked with exposing every weakness of Kia Motors to drive down the acquisition price.
***
The Next Day
Instead of heading to the Planning Office, I went to Taewoo Electronics.
I naturally walked into the president's office, sat down in the head seat, and watched as President Woo Sung-il eagerly rubbed his palms together beside me.
"I hear Taewoo Electronics' sales have been quite impressive?"
"All thanks to your efforts, Director. And the royalties coming in from Apple are beyond imagination. Especially with the InnoPhone 2, we've been making a killing."
"Next quarter will be even better. The iPod royalties will start flowing in as well."
"Not to mention, Taewoo Electronics' factories are producing both InnoPhone 2 and iPods, making the profits even sweeter."
At this point, Apple and Taewoo Electronics were moving as one.
Although I had sold our mobile division and factory to Apple, they still had to rely on Taewoo's production lines to meet demand.
As a result, a flood of U.S. dollars was pouring into Taewoo Electronics.
"Speaking of the iPod… are you aware that the U.S. music store has officially launched?"
"Yes, I recently heard that MP3 files can now be legally purchased online."
"Then shouldn't we launch a similar platform in Korea? We need to secure the market before the iPod arrives here."
I had already prepared everything.
Without Woo Sung-il even realizing, we had developed a Korean version of the music store—it was ready to launch.
But the reason I brought it up now was because I needed to set a few conditions before releasing it.
"The U.S. store may have launched, but wouldn't it be difficult to implement in Korea?"
"Because of the Korean Music Copyright Association?"
"That, and the fact that in Korea, 'music sales' still mean physical CDs. Many artists wouldn't want their albums on a digital store because CD sales determine their rankings."
For Korean singers, album sales were everything.
Even the music rankings on broadcast stations were heavily influenced by CD sales numbers.
"Can we change how music programs calculate their rankings?"
"If we place Taewoo Group advertisements before and after music programs, it might be possible. But first, we need to finalize negotiations with the Music Copyright Association."
"To move the Copyright Association, we'll need support from record labels, won't we?"
"Yes, record labels have strong influence over them."
Taewoo Group had various entertainment ventures in progress.
In my previous life, the financial crisis had prevented some of them from launching properly, but we even owned a multiplex cinema chain.
Naturally, we were preparing for a music-related business as well, and a small subsidiary was already in place.
"We should acquire a few record labels. To control at least 30% of the domestic market share, which companies should we target?"
"I've heard that several record labels are on the verge of bankruptcy."
"Then we should be able to buy them at a low price. Acquire them all."
"Would it be appropriate for Taewoo Electronics to handle this? The electronics business and music industry seem too disconnected."
"I'll be spinning off the IT division as an independent subsidiary, and the music business will be integrated there."
Since MP3 distribution was essentially an IT business, it made perfect sense.
Some might find it odd now, but once the IT division became an official subsidiary, no one would question the move.
"Then I'll use Taewoo Electronics' funds to acquire music distribution companies."
"I'll inform the Chairman in advance, so don't worry—just proceed. Also, personally handle negotiations with the Copyright Association and the music program executives."
"The music programs shouldn't be a problem—offering them ad revenue will smooth things over. The real challenge is the Copyright Association, but I'll do my best to negotiate."
Honestly, I had already set the stage.
All he had to do was pick up the spoon and start eating.
After giving Woo Sung-il his orders…
I headed to the IT department building in Gangnam.
"Things have definitely changed a lot."
The IT staff, who once looked like a ragtag bunch, had undergone rigorous training under Jeffrey's brutal regimen.
Now, they were well-organized and knew exactly what needed to be done.
Thanks to that, we were able to expand into various IT businesses.
"You're aware that MCA Records and Apple launched a joint music store, right?"
"Are you referring to Apple Music?"
The name of the music streaming platform was Apple Music.
Although MCA Records, a subsidiary of SAVE Investment, owned most of the shares, they had named it after Apple to emphasize the partnership.
"We're launching a similar platform in Korea. We've already reached an agreement with Apple Music, so we can adopt their system directly. Your job is to localize and optimize it for Korea."
"So, will the Korean platform also be called Apple Music?"
The question came from Lee Dong-min, a standout employee in the IT department.
He was in charge of internet distribution operations and had strong leadership skills, so his colleagues naturally saw him as their leader.
"We'll launch it under a different name in Korea."
"Then why not use another fruit name? It would be best if it were an English name, like Pineapple, Lemon, or Melon."
"...."
I didn't expect "Melon" to come up.
I liked the name, but I didn't particularly want to use it.
"Berry sounds better. Let's provisionally call it Berry Music and move forward with the project."
"So, do we just translate Apple Music into Korean?"
"That wouldn't be enough. We need to add real-time rankings, a new release showcase, and other features."
"What about weekly and monthly rankings?"
"Gather the team and brainstorm creative features. I trust you all to handle this."
I only gave them a few hints.
I couldn't spoon-feed them everything—they needed to develop it themselves.
But now that we're building a music platform, I wanted more.
If Taewoo Group owned a telecommunications company, it could create synergy with the streaming service.
Maybe I should fulfill my grandfather's wish.
He had always dreamed of owning a telecom company.
As his grandson, it was only right to make that dream a reality.