By now, only one month remained in 2008.
It was the time to wrap up the year and wait for the new one, but in just the next two months, tremendous events awaited me.
Tonight, I had stayed up all night in the office with President Han, watching the results of the U.S. presidential election.
"Chairman, there's no need to watch any further. Candidate Obama has won decisively," Han said.
"It ended more quickly than I expected," I replied.
"Even without the Lehman crisis, the outcome probably wouldn't have changed. In the midterm elections two years ago, the ruling party suffered a crushing defeat, so the result was almost predetermined," Han noted.
"Still, if the Lehman crisis hadn't happened, the race would have been quite competitive. By the way, David worked incredibly hard," I added.
As soon as I mentioned David, a call came through.
"You're never satisfied, huh?" David said jokingly.
"You've poured years of effort into this. How much praise do you want from the chairman?" I teased, deliberately pausing before picking up the call on speakerphone.
David's voice was several times louder than usual as he cheered.
[Wowww! Boss! Candidate Obama has been elected president!]
"Wasn't the result already decided months ago?" I asked.
[Still, there's a huge difference between predicting a likely win and the actual victory, isn't there?] he replied.
"You've worked hard all this time. I'd love to send you to a resort to rest for a while, but there's still too much to do," I said.
[······I got excited and then it stopped.]
David's voice dropped momentarily.
But he, like us, was a workaholic, so he quickly regained his energy.
"More exciting events are coming up. If you don't mind sitting out, you could go to a resort," I suggested.
[I can't skip out on that. Ah! Also, regarding the Academy Awards, things are going well. For films released on OTT platforms, it seems the rules will be changed so that only foreign-language films can register as nominees.]
"The Academy Awards are a local American ceremony anyway, so being nominated in the foreign-language category is more than enough," I said.
The reason the Academy Awards weren't considered one of the three major international film festivals was simple.
They mainly awarded films released in the United States.
Although often called an "American-only celebration," the sheer size and population of the U.S. made it comparable to other film festivals.
[Even for the Best Foreign Language Film category, lobbying and campaigning are extremely important. That's why we signed a contract with one of the top three campaign firms in the U.S. Honestly, the campaign costs are even bigger than the film's production budget.]
"The campaign expenses must be substantial," I remarked.
[They could easily exceed the production costs of the film.]
"It's worth it, so just proceed as planned," I said.
I couldn't agree with the idea that the tail was bigger than the belly.
Even being nominated for an Academy Award brought massive publicity, causing OTT subscriber numbers to surge.
[Then we'll proceed as planned. I also have another update. Soon, the three major U.S. automakers will be called to a congressional hearing. It looks like the hearing will take place by mid-month at the latest.]
"Companies reporting such enormous losses will obviously plead for government bailouts. You could even call it begging rather than a formal hearing," I said.
"Just look at GM—they posted over $38 billion in losses last year, and this year they're already over $30 billion in the red. If they don't get a bailout, bankruptcy is inevitable," Han explained in detail.
GM, Chrysler, and Ford—all were experiencing astronomical losses.
From the U.S. government's perspective, they couldn't simply let these automakers, which could be called the pride of the nation, collapse.
[It's likely that the U.S. Congress will approve the bailout, assuming nothing unusual happens.]
"Probably, but the timing could vary depending on the attitude of the three automakers' CEOs," I said.
[They wouldn't be foolish enough to do anything to provoke public opinion during the hearing.]
"We'll see about that," I replied.
The CEOs of the three automakers had already suffered a severe blow to their pride.
Just asking for a bailout had wounded their egos. Could they bend their pride further in front of the congressional hearing?
[Finally, Candidate Obama's campaign officially invited you to the presidential inauguration in January next year. You'll attend, of course?]
"January next year, huh? That's perfect timing. We'll see each other in the U.S. then," I said.
[Okay! I'll be at the airport to pick you up in January!]
After ending the call, President Han took a deep breath, as if sensing that a new battle was about to begin.
"Don't be too tense. We hold the initiative," he said.
"Honestly, the scale of the losses at the three U.S. automakers is beyond astronomical," I remarked.
"The rotten parts will be cut by the U.S. government. If they leave the trimming to us, I have no intention of acquiring them either," Han said.
The problems in the automakers weren't limited to just one or two issues.
The system and regulations forced them to carry astronomical debts. Han was concerned about this.
"The Job Bank system must be reformed. In what country does a laid-off employee still receive full wages and benefits? There are over ten thousand employees essentially doing nothing yet still getting paid. Especially at GM, over $500 million is spent annually just on Job Bank costs," Han explained.
"That's not the only problem. The system preventing plant relocations and automation of production lines also needs to be fixed," I added.
Just like in Korea, the U.S. also had a powerful auto union.
The union's influence was immense, and even company management decisions were often dictated by union demands.
Without restructuring this system, the American automakers weren't worth acquiring.
"It would be difficult for the current administration to take such measures. Will it be possible under the next administration? A significant portion of Obama's supporters are low-income workers," Han noted.
"Wage cuts are better than bankruptcy, right? And it's feasible because it's early in the presidency when approval ratings are highest," I said.
"The real negotiations will begin after President-elect Obama is inaugurated," Han added.
"We can consider early next year as D-DAY," I remarked.
The global economic crisis triggered by the Lehman collapse was far from over.
If anything, it was causing chain reactions and signaling a long-term economic downturn.
From the U.S. perspective, it was essential to prevent major companies from going bankrupt by any means necessary.
All we needed to do was watch what measures the U.S. would take and then simply put the companies into our basket.
***
The next day.
I called the Chief of Planning to my office.
"It seems Director Bong's film has a high chance of being nominated for the Academy Awards. How are Korean film festivals proceeding?" I asked.
"Apologies, but I've reached out to several festivals, and they say it's difficult to nominate films released on OTT platforms. Senior figures in the film industry are applying strong pressure," he replied.
"People who can't read the times aren't seniors—they're just old men stuck in the back room. So, it's difficult to submit to any festival?" I pressed.
"For smaller film festivals, it might be possible, but for major festivals, submissions are difficult."
Difficult to even submit?
The veteran power holders in the film industry had such a tight grip that the emerging OTT sector had little chance of breaking in.
If we couldn't break in, we could simply create a new structure ourselves.
"If submissions are difficult, we'll have to use the last resort. Let's acquire a major film festival ourselves."
"You mean becoming the main sponsor?" the Chief of Planning asked.
"Something like that. Are there any festivals available for acquisition?"
"The Baekseon Arts Awards could be possible. It's considered one of Korea's three major film awards, but the founding company, Hankyung Newspaper, is struggling financially. Juang Group has already acquired some of the shares."
I was familiar with the Baekseon Arts Awards.
Although considered one of Korea's top three awards, it had a uniquely dominant position in terms of fairness and media impact.
It wasn't limited to film awards.
It also honored achievements in drama, variety shows, and documentaries, making it the perfect fit for our purposes.
"Juang Group is a media conglomerate with newspapers and broadcasting stations. Could we acquire their shares?" I asked.
"Juang Group isn't in great financial shape either. Hankyung Newspaper is in even worse condition. If we acquire shares from both, we can become the organizers of the Baekseon Arts Awards," he explained.
If we could control the Baekseon Arts Awards, there'd be no reason to meddle with other festivals or awards.
Of course, the acquisition would require a substantial investment, but it was far better than pouring money into other festivals.
"Proceed immediately. Once things are underway, I'll step in for the final negotiations myself," I said.
"We'll first secure the shares available on the market through Taewoo Securities, then proceed with negotiations with the two companies," he confirmed.
"President Han is skilled at share acquisitions; he'll handle it well. I'd like this completed by the end of the year at the latest."
"We'll start moving on it right away," he said.
I had thought acquiring the shares would be relatively straightforward.
But there was one factor I hadn't anticipated.
The eldest daughter of Juang Group was married to Oh Hee-gun, chairman of Samsung Group.
Samsung Group, holding the second spot in the business world behind Taewoo Group.
Before the regression, Taewoo Group didn't exist, and Samsung Group had maintained the top position in the business world for over twenty years.
Juang Group, backed by such a powerful Samsung Group, wasn't going to make the share acquisition easy.
***
A few days later.
President Han came to see me, letting out a long sigh.
"Whew, we barely secured an 8% stake in Hankyung Newspaper. But Juang Group insists they will never give up the shares they own."
"If their management isn't in good shape, why would they hold onto the shares so stubbornly?"
"Well… Hankyung Newspaper is set to be managed by Lady Gong Hee-young, wife of Chairman Oh Hee-gun, and her nephew. The same goes for the Baekseon Arts Awards—Lady Gong's influence runs deep there as well."
The web of interests was complicated.
To acquire the Baekseon Arts Awards, we would need to convince Hankyung Newspaper, Juang Group, and Samsung Group.
But on the other hand, if we could persuade Samsung Group alone, the rest would likely fall into place.
"I suppose I'll need to meet Chairman Oh Hee-gun," I said.
"Is it really appropriate for chairmen to meet just over acquiring an awards ceremony?"
"Does it seem inappropriate? This is worth my time, so schedule the meeting."
"I'll ask the Chief of Planning to arrange the appointment. But Samsung Group isn't going to give this up easily. To secure the Baekseon Arts Awards, you'll need to offer something bigger—are you prepared for that?"
"There's no need to give up what's already in my hands. I just need to control what's in someone else's hands."
The relationship between Taewoo Group and Samsung Group was complex.
As the top two conglomerates, there were times when Taewoo Group could be their client, and times when Samsung Group could be ours.
By leveraging that dynamic skillfully, it was possible to acquire the shares without surrendering any of our own.