Chapter 203: Negotiations with Samsung

[Chapter 203: Negotiations with Samsung]

The Grand Hotel.

Kim Hee-sun sat before the vanity mirror, her complexion pale. The beauty in the mirror looked dim and pitiful. Not far behind her, a middle-aged man in a black suit shouted, "You can't refuse this! It concerns the honor of the nation!"

Kim Hee-sun could no longer suppress her sorrow and anger. She looked back defiantly. "Why must it be me?"

The man in the black suit replied fiercely, "Do you think being a star exempts you from this? Your status only means you serve those of higher position! Ian Carr owns CBS, Fox Entertainment, and Gannett. Carr Media is now one of the most powerful media groups in the world!"

Kim Hee-sun lamented, "Is he really stronger than Samsung?"

He shook his head gently. "Of course not; he might not have the heft of Samsung, but his voice travels worldwide! Only he can wipe away the humiliation Korea has suffered. Hee-sun, this is for the nation's honor!"

Kim Hee-sun coolly regarded him. "Even if it weren't for the nation, you would still do this to me."

"At least it won't be you!"

In despair, Kim Hee-sun lowered her head, aware of her misfortune. She was not a trainee who debuted out of obscurity. If she were a trainee, national honor was hardly a topic of discussion. When the boss had a need, she had to comply. Her experiences had been better than those of the trainees; she had earned fame early on and escaped the worst of such situations. She had thought she could avoid this fate, but discovered that no matter how far she had come, she could not escape!

The more famous she became, the more likely she was to be chosen. After all, beauty was never in short supply, but beautiful women with fame carried added value! The reason she had been chosen was that they had heard Ian Carr disliked women with loose morals.

Thus, she was selected -- without any right to refuse. This was not just Samsung's decision, but also the will of the Blue House. They desperately needed to resolve the World Cup scandal and salvage their international reputation.

Sadness and helplessness engulfed her. She sat there, staring at her reflection in the mirror, murmuring to herself, "It appears that a star is still a star; no matter how high one rises, they remain prey to those who control their destinies!"

Even amidst the rising tide of Korean feminism, they were still commodities! They were resources to be bartered! The suited man saw her mood and coldly ordered, "Wipe away your tears; don't anger the esteemed guests!"

With that, he left.

...

Half an hour later, Kim Hee-sun finally finished her makeup and donned a traditional Korean dress as she exited the makeup room, stepping into the waiting room. There, she was taken aback to see Song Hye-kyo and Yoo In-na. Were they also summoned?

Tears still shimmered in Song Hye-kyo's eyes, and upon seeing Kim Hee-sun, she paused for a moment before smiling gently. "You're here too?"

Kim Hee-sun forced a smile and glanced around. "Is Ji-hyun not here?"

Yoo In-na responded, "She's also here, in another room."

Kim Hee-sun, disheartened, remarked, "So all the famous female stars in Korea have been called here? Just to appease Ian Carr?"

"Shh!" Song Hye-kyo raised her finger to silence her. "Not everyone is here; some are shooting films and couldn't make it, but just because they escaped this time doesn't mean they can avoid it next time. Our only hope now is that he doesn't find us appealing."

Kim Hee-sun sat there in confusion.

She knew this hope was somewhat ridiculous, akin to a drowning person grasping at straws. They were currently in the waiting room, and through the side window, they could see the lavish meeting hall.

...

In the grand hall, Lee Kun-hee was speaking with several high-ranking officials from the Blue House alongside a young man.

It was Ian Carr; Kim Hee-sun had seen his picture before. Even the boss of Samsung, when facing Ian, wore a look of enthusiasm. Kim Hee-sun had encountered many corporate tycoons, their expressions always brimming with pride -- an arrogance that diminished everything else to mere fodder. But now, facing this American, they began to act subservient.

Ian Carr might not yet match Lee Kun-hee's wealth, but that was irrelevant.

Currently, all of Korea sought his favor. Kim Hee-sun found some comfort in the fact that Ian was at least handsome, which eased her internal resistance and suffering to some degree.

She couldn't hear their conversation and waited silently.

...

After a while, a middle-aged woman entered. "Hee-sun, go bring the fruits."

Kim Hee-sun understood.

She stood up gently and, like a server, picked up the platter of fruits that had already been prepared and followed another server into the meeting hall. In the center of the hall, Kim Hee-sun knelt and placed the fruits one by one on the table, mimicking the earlier server's actions.

She heard a translator's voice: "Mr. Carr believes Samsung will undergo significant growth in the future. He intends to purchase a ten percent stake in Samsung, but his current funds are limited to two billion dollars."

Lee Kun-hee chuckled, "That price does seem a bit low."

Kim Hee-sun was shocked.

In the future, Samsung's value would soar to over three hundred billion dollars, while currently, its market cap was just over forty billion dollars. Even so, that wasn't a price that two billion could buy.

The translator passed the message along; Kim Hee-sun, with decent English, caught Ian Carr say: "If the Korean National Bank can provide a loan, we can renegotiate the price."

...

To purchase Fox Entertainment required 13 billion dollars, a sum even a bank like Lino couldn't produce; after all, Lino Bank was only managing around forty billion at this time.

Not only was there no such money available in the bank, it was impossible for them to lend it to a single individual; banks weren't going to put all their eggs in one basket!

Thus, Ian was attempting to contact Etna Insurance Company, DuPont Group, and others, needing multiple parties to support him to acquire the shares. In this situation, he simply didn't have the extra cash to buy Samsung shares.

But Ian didn't mind.

To be precise, he never desired equity in Samsung; the Lee family had their own equity structure, and even if they only had 4%, they could still control the company, and their market cap had only increased five or six times over twenty years. Currently, the Lee family still held over 30% of the shares.

In terms of investment return rate, it was nowhere near as strong as those future internet companies... but those Internet companies didn't have such hefty investment needs, and Ian needed to establish his position in Korea.

Influence and status were paramount.

So for Ian, it was simply about using Korean money to buy Korean companies, while subtly infiltrating their market. Whether or not it succeeded, he didn't care; for now, they needed his help.

...

At that moment, he glanced at Kim Hee-sun.

He marvelled at how even Kim Hee-sun was sent to play the role of a servant, complemented by the presence of Song Hye-kyo, Yoo In-na, and Jun Ji-hyun, demonstrating that Korea was indeed showcasing all its top talent.

However, was it worth spending tens of millions or even hundreds of millions for a few starlets?

To Ian Carr, it definitely wasn't!

In the past two years, though he had many women, few required him to spend money, particularly at such extravagant amounts. Starting a business was tough; every dollar had to be used wisely.

...

An official sitting beside Lee Kun-hee added: "Korea can lend you the funds, but may I ask how you plan to restore our reputation?"

Ian shrugged, "Don't expect anything extraordinary; what matters is a long-term reeducation. We can instill in the global public the idea that every country has its bad apples -- this World Cup incident is just an individual occurrence and doesn't represent all Koreans. Overall, Koreans are quite good people. We can highlight positive stories about Koreans around the world, such as those who bravely save innocent girls, promote environmentalism, demonstrate humility and courtesy, and other virtues."

In truth, restoring Korea's reputation was no easy feat.

Firstly, such a matter couldn't be woven into a contract.

What could one write? "Carr Media must promote a positive image of Korea" - what constituted that? Would a simple positive piece on a dot-sized news segment suffice?

Secondly, the issue itself had no clear standard. National reputation was not a measurable thing; it was very subjective, very idealistic.

What level of restoration would be considered fulfilling their agreement?

If I randomly pulled people off the street to vehemently shout, "Koreans are great," would that meet the metrics?

Without clearly-defined quantitative indicators, this was a vexing task.

But what choice did they have?

For now, no one besides Ian Carr could help -- other media outlets all shook their heads, acknowledging how difficult the task was.

They could only rely on Ian to do something to redeem their reputation, yet what they sought was merely the process rather than an absolute result; in other words, Ian Carr only needed to fulfill what he had promised, and he wouldn't be held responsible for the outcome!

This was also the reason they always discussed how Ian Carr should proceed... the conversation focused on operational techniques rather than the results of those actions.

As for Ian, his thoughts were much simpler.

He could say nice things, but as for what level they could restore their image to, wasn't that up to the Koreans? You dig your own grave; that isn't my concern -- at most, my company won't produce negative coverage about you.

Thus, for him, this was a guaranteed win with no loss.

...

At that moment, Kim Hee-sun had finished arranging the fruits and was about to leave.

Lee Kun-hee noticed Ian had glanced at Kim Hee-sun a few extra times, so he waved his hand. "Go stand by Mr. Carr and be on standby for any service."

Kim Hee-sun, resigned, could only lower her head and stand behind Ian.

As his gaze passed over Kim Hee-sun's charming figure, Ian smiled slightly and continued, "For a sudden burst of crisis, you can't counter with another sensational headline; it must be accumulated over time to slowly change perceptions. This is like being shot; the inflicted damage requires a long healing time to recover. Korea is in such a situation; expecting me to resolve it all at once is neither possible nor realistic. Otherwise, the person sitting here isn't me; it would be Sumner Redstone, Ralph Roberts, or Rupert Murdoch."

As he spoke, Ian paused before adding, "Jews have run amok killing in the Middle East, but why don't they have a horrible reputation? It's because the media consistently glorifies them. They have killed so many people yet still come off as the poor victims! A minor scandal at the World Cup is trivial to resolve. People are forgetful; even such news passes in mere months."

Ian didn't plan to make a significant news event to restore the Korean reputation; on the contrary, this required long-term publicity, which was more manageable.

After struggling to regain their face, they wouldn't want to counter it with another explosive news leak.

Just like the stock market; there are ups and downs in business!

Lee Kun-hee smiled, "It sounds like you may not be able to do much more."

...

At that moment, Ian noticed his cup of tea was empty.

No server had come to refill it.

The middle-aged man in black had shot a stern look at Kim Hee-sun. "Hey! Quickly pour tea for the gentleman!"

Only then did Kim Hee-sun realize, scrambling to pour Ian tea.

Ian gently patted her hand, smiling, "You're not used to this; don't force yourself."

Very smooth!

...

Then Ian poured tea himself, speaking casually, "The media can help the public forget, or ensure they remember. In any nation, there are always those who are both vile and good. You can choose to report on the ugly, or you can choose to report on beauty and virtue. The news choice is the greatest power of the media."

Lee Kun-hee fell silent.

Did you just imply that if I don't agree with you, you'd turn around and report on our negative aspects?

In truth, Ian sincerely wanted to have a good discussion with Lee Kun-hee, trying to avoid threats.

But some habits were hard to break.

As they chatted, he inadvertently reverted to being threatening.

The key was that Ian was genuinely in a position to threaten!

With control over three major media companies, his voice was widespread, and a mere word could be known worldwide.

After a moment of contemplation, Lee Kun-hee glanced at the officials from the Blue House beside him.

The official stated, "4.5 billion, with an interest rate of three percent."

Ian shook his head. "3.2 billion with an interest rate of two percent, and only paying interest for five years."

...

In 2002, South Korea's interest rate was only 2.25%; Japan's rates had been around 1 percent or even down to 0.1 for a long time.

The most profitable way in international finance was to borrow money from these low-interest countries and then deposit it in high-interest banks -- doing nothing at all and making a tidy profit over the difference! The premise was to have low fees and minimal exchange rate fluctuations; if executed well, the overall winnings outweighed the losses.

The renowned Warren Buffett was an expert in this area, making significant sums utilizing national interest spreads.

Of course, the low-interest countries weren't naive, so they had restrictions -- for instance, money borrowed from them could only be used for investment within their borders or would face heavy cross-border fees, plus there may even be exchange limitations.

Meaning they had plenty of ways to circumvent the limitations, which was the case across all countries.

The amount of fees depended on the country, with European countries typically imposing the highest fees.

For instance, if a German citizen wanted to transfer money to Korea, they would first need to deposit the money in a local German bank, from there to the German central bank, then from there to the European central bank, and finally from there to an American bank through international payment systems before the funds could reach Korea. If the Americans disallowed it, the money wouldn't go through.

Each step was another instance of incurring fees.

However, the American-centered payment system lacked such hurdles, which meant profits abounded.

Even if Japan and Korea set up obstacles, it was inconsequential because both countries were beholden to the U.S. Restrictions applied only to the common folk, while Americans had numerous means to withdraw money from both countries -- this was also the reason why interest rates in Japan and Korea were so low.

Later on, when the Japanese raised their interest rates, they were directly accused by the U.S. of betraying American interests.

Previously, Ian hadn't had the ability to borrow from Japan or Korea, but now it had become plausible.

He could simply borrow money from a Korean bank and invest it in a Korean enterprise; you would have no grounds to object, right?

Well, you couldn't argue, but the shares in Samsung were tough to negotiate! Besides, you were only offering interest for five years! And Samsung's ten percent was calculated at merely 3.2 billion?

That was just outlandish pricing!

Everyone fell silent.

...

Lee Kun-hee glanced back at his entourage; they moved aside, and after a brief moment, the waiting room's girls stepped forward to align along the sides of the meeting hall.

Lee Kun-hee smiled at Ian. "Big deals can't be resolved in a day; why don't we have Mr. Carr enjoy our hospitality first?"

Ian smiled.

His gaze drifted over Song Hye-kyo and the others, and he nodded, "I've experienced Korea's renowned hospitality; it's indeed sincere and warm -- very much to my liking."

Lee Kun-hee beamed with delight: "What do you like most?"

Ian didn't reply but regarded Kim Hee-sun, Song Hye-kyo, Yoo In-na, and Jeon Ji-hyun.

All were beautiful, but those with a spotlight were something else entirely!

He lightly chuckled, "I like them all!"

*****

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