After finishing all the contracts, I took a brief break.
The planning director personally brewed a warm cup of tea and brought it to me.
"This is bellflower root tea. I prepared it because you've been speaking a lot today, and it's good for your throat."
"Thank you. My throat was feeling a little scratchy—I'll enjoy it."
While I soothed my throat with the tea, the planning director stood quietly by, waiting.
"Is there something you'd like to say?"
"Well... after assisting you closely, I've a question."
"Go ahead."
"Cyworld, the messenger app, and Haduri—these are all programs designed exclusively for
smartphones. I firmly believe it's the right decision to expand and dominate the smartphone market."
He wasn't the planning director for nothing.
The planning department had to understand the entire flow of the group and be the most sensitive to the world's changes.
Even without detailed explanations from me, the planning director had already grasped my
intentions.
"You've read the situation accurately. I'm planning to monopolize all apps and sites used on smartphones."
"Monopolizing chat services through the messenger app and short video platforms through Haduri is a very strategic direction. But I wonder... why aren't you creating a video-centric
platform?"
Oh-ho!
The planning director was asking even better questions than I expected.
His ability to read the flow of the times was truly exceptional.
"A video platform is indeed the final piece of the puzzle, as you've pointed out. But launching it now would be too ahead of its time."
"Do you mean the market isn't ready yet for video platforms to become popular?"
"Exactly. So, for now, forget about the video platform."
Of course, I was already preparing one.
I was planning to build it in partnership with Google.
With 49% of Google's shares in my hands, collaborating was no issue at all.
YouTube and streaming services.
I had already recruited YouTube's early developers, and they were hard at work within Google.
"You've answered all my questions. I apologize if my question was unnecessary."
"Not at all. It was an excellent question. Feel free to bring up any doubts whenever you have
them."
I even considered promoting the planning director.
Of course, I'd have to hold off on that until I officially became chairman.
"I'd like to see the president of Taewoo Securities—can you arrange that?"
"I'll contact him right away."
I summoned Park Man-deok, the president of Taewoo Securities, to the vice chairman's office.
It was time to inform him about the looming credit card crisis.
"Vice Chairman, did you call for me? I thought you'd forgotten about me—it's been so long since we've met."
"How could I ever forget you, President Park? You're one of Taewoo Group's core pillars!"
Taewoo Securities, under Park Man-deok's leadership, was thriving.
Especially during the dot-com bubble, when everyone else was recording losses, Taewoo
Securities had increased its customer base by over 30%, thanks to the patriotic fund that yielded positive returns.
"It's all thanks to you, Vice Chairman. Avoiding losses during the dot-com bubble allowed us to maintain our position as the industry's number one."
"Do you remember what I said before launching the patriotic fund? The promise that I'd hand
over Taewoo Card to CL Group for a few years."
"Of course, I remember... Could it be... is the time finally here?"
Park Man-deok couldn't hide his delight.
Even if he didn't show it, how envious must he have been?
Though the patriotic fund was yielding great returns, other securities companies were throwing around credit cards like confetti, playing their own money games.
"Do you want a card company that badly?"
"Wouldn't that be stating the obvious? There's no cash cow like a credit card company."
"Your opinion will change completely in just a few months. Soon, most card companies,
including CL Card, will be staggering under massive debt."
"...Even with solid parent companies backing them, would that really happen?"
Even Park Man-deok, the president of Taewoo Securities, was reacting this way.
No wonder neither the government nor the credit card industry saw this as a problem yet.
"Do you know how many cards have been issued so far?"
"According to the latest statistics, it's close to 100 million."
"That means the average economically active person holds about four cards. Why would anyone carry so many cards?"
"I assume it's to juggle debt between cards."
"Card juggling is nothing more than passing today's debt onto your future self. And the time to repay that debt is finally approaching."
Card juggling was merely a trick to delay the inevitable — increasing one's debt.
At first, it might seem like freedom from debt, but in reality, it only increased the total amount owed.
What happens when debt beyond one's ability to repay comes knocking all at once?
Inevitably, they would default, becoming credit delinquents — and the card companies would begin to see their expected payments turn into overdue debts.
"I once received a report from the Economic Research Institute stating that credit card
delinquency rates had surpassed 10%. It also mentioned that the number of credit delinquents had more than doubled compared to the foreign exchange crisis."
"The nation's treasury recovered enough to graduate early from the IMF bailout, but the wallets of ordinary citizens only grew lighter. And now, people don't even need to carry wallets anymore."
"Then... all the credit card debt will fall on the card companies themselves?"
Only now was Park Man-deok grasping the gravity of the situation.
Yet, he still couldn't imagine CL Card collapsing.
"The debt may be large, but wouldn't CL Group be able to handle it?"
"This year's credit card usage is expected to exceed 600 trillion won. If even 10% of that becomes overdue, that's 60 trillion won. CL Card holds about 30% market share — that means they'll be burdened with at least 10 trillion won in liquidity issues. Do you think CL Group can withstand that?"
Credit card companies were, in essence, subcontractors.
When customers withdrew cash, banks provided the money first, while the card companies either repaid the bank later or deducted funds from the company's own accounts.
But if delinquency rates rose?
Liquidity would dry up, making it impossible to pay the banks on time.
Even a top-three conglomerate like CL Group couldn't resolve a multi-trillion won liquidity crisis
in the short term.
"Then CL Group might hand over the card company to creditors?"
"CL Card will soon suspend cash advance services, sparking the credit card crisis. That's when we'll move in and acquire the company."
"You mean... you're suggesting we acquire CL Card once it falls into the hands of creditors? But I'm not sure if acquiring CL Card in such a situation would be a good move. Wouldn't it tank our stock prices like when we acquired Hyundai Semiconductor?"
The same Park Man-deok who had been clamoring to own a credit card company was now hesitating.
It was a natural reaction for a finance executive — profits always came first.
"If we can resolve the liquidity issue, we can quickly restore CL Card. This is our chance to
acquire not just CL Card, but Taewoo Card along with it. We'll become the undisputed number one in the card industry in one fell swoop."
"Would Taewoo Group really be able to handle up to 10 trillion won in liquidity problems?"
"The group's surplus alone exceeds 10 trillion won. We can handle it without taking out any
loans. Plus, there's a way to recover at least part of the overdue funds."
"If we can recover even half of the amount from the 10% delinquency rate, liquidity won't be an issue at all. But is there really a way? Even debt collection agencies struggle to recover that kind of money."
There were limits to how far financial institutions could go in collecting debts.
They couldn't resort to illegal methods, making it nearly impossible to recover money from
delinquent customers.
That's why they outsourced the work to debt collection agencies — and the amount recovered depended entirely on the agency's capabilities.
But I had the best debt collection agency in my hands — the ruler of Myeongdong.
***
A few days later
I visited Gwanghwamun Bear's mansion for the first time in a while.
Lee Young-han greeted me warmly, dressed in a modified hanbok.
"Vice Chairman! It's been so long, I almost forgot what you looked like."
"What happened to your suits? Seeing you like that, I almost thought Chairman Lee had come back to life."
It was the same style of hanbok Gwanghwamun Bear always wore.
Lee Young-han was wearing an identical design — a perfect homage.
"In Myeongdong, I have to dress like this to make the loan sharks bow their heads. I think of it as borrowing my grandfather's legacy."
"I guess Gwanghwamun Bear's reputation still carries weight in Myeongdong."
"Some of the old-timers still tear up when they see me — they say I remind them of him."
"If loan sharks are crying, then I can only imagine how ruthless your debt collection must be."
"Well... that's true. But why are you suddenly bringing up debt collection?"
"I have a large-scale debt recovery job coming up soon."
"If it's for you, Vice Chairman, I can squeeze out every last penny — even a single dime. Who's the fool bold enough to borrow from Taewoo Group and not pay up?"
Lee Young-han was angrier than I was.
Maybe it was loyalty, or maybe it was respect for the man who had made him the king of
Myeongdong.
"It's not our money. I'm planning to acquire a company soon — one that's been lending money left and right without a second thought. We'll have to clean up the mess."
"A company like that exists?"
"I'm going to acquire CL Card."
"But didn't you sell Taewoo Card to CL Group? Are you saying you're going to buy back Taewoo Card?"
"I'm not just buying back Taewoo Card — I'm taking CL Card along with it. I'll need your help."
Myeongdong's golden days were long gone.
But the district still held considerable influence behind the scenes.
"If there's anything I can do, just say the word."
"CL Card is facing a liquidity crisis. If they start borrowing from banks or secondary financial
institutions, their debt will only snowball."
"I won't lend a single penny to CL Card! I'll also give a heads-up to the Myeongdong Three."
To solve the liquidity crisis, money was essential.
If the banks refused, they would inevitably come crawling to Myeongdong.
"Simply refusing to lend them money isn't enough. I want CL Card's liquidity crisis
to accelerate — the faster, the better."
"A lot of CL Card's bonds are circulating in Myeongdong. I'll apply pressure through the bonds, and I'll tell every debt collection agency I know to leave CL Card's bonds untouched for the time being. And... I'll take care of a few illegal operations myself."
Lee Young-han grinned wickedly.
I could easily guess what kind of illegal operations Myeongdong had in mind.
They wouldn't hesitate to use homeless people or vagrants — issuing credit cards under their names and deliberately defaulting on the payments.
TL/n -
You can read up to chapter 500 by supporting me at
ko-fi.com/inkbound/shop