President Bush sat with his legs crossed, exuding arrogance.
I took the seat across from him—not overly polite, but not disrespectful either—waiting for him to speak.
"You've been stirring up quite the spectacle. I assume you didn't do it thinking the White House wouldn't find out?"
"I did it hoping the White House would notice. I've sent thousands of reports to the White House, the U.S. government, and the Fed. But since I've never received a proper response, I had no choice but to stage something like this."
"That's the first I've heard of it."
President Bush subtly adjusted his posture.
He was clearly caught off guard—my response didn't align with what he'd been expecting.
"You're a busy man, so I'll keep it short. The U.S. housing market is on the brink of collapse.
We're sitting on a ticking time bomb that's even more dangerous than the IT bubble that
previously plunged the economy."
"Are you saying the U.S. economy is about to fall apart? My reports from the Treasury and the Fed all say it's booming…"
That was the reaction I'd anticipated.
If accurate reports had been submitted and appropriate actions taken, the subprime mortgage crisis wouldn't have shaken the global economy.
"Wall Street is running a massive scam. They've even managed to blind the credit rating agencies that are supposed to be watchdogs. Which is why the Treasury and the Fed are probably feeding you nothing but optimistic updates."
"A scam? Wall Street? Against the U.S. government and its people? That's a tough one to
believe."
"Loans are being issued under the names of deceased individuals. Some even under the names of dogs."
"It's hard to believe credit rating agencies would just sit back and let that happen."
President Bush was still putting his trust in the rating agencies.
But would he still trust them after hearing this?
"When investment firms create mortgage-backed securities, they go through a rating agency for evaluation. If the product fails the evaluation, it can't be sold."
"That much is obvious."
"But if it passes the evaluation, the product gets sold—and part of the profit goes to the rating
agency. In other words, the more products they approve, the more they earn."
"Hmm. That's… a troubling setup. So what you're saying is, you believe the U.S. housing market is heading for a collapse?"
His eyes were still filled with distrust.
But I had no real intention of persuading him.
All I wanted was for him to understand that I genuinely cared about the future of the U.S.
economy.
"Most of the investment firms on Wall Street are going to go under. And the ones who'll bear the full brunt of the damage will be the U.S. government and its people."
"Hmm. Are you pushing a conspiracy theory? I didn't think someone as smart as you would buy into that sort of thing."
"It's not a conspiracy—it's a reality that's about to unfold. If we don't act now, the damage will be irreversible."
"Well, aren't we already taking action? I'm well aware that the real estate market has been
gripped by madness. That's why I've raised interest rates over ten times during my term. You
can't say that's not a proactive response."
He wasn't entirely wrong.
Raising interest rates was the best way to cool down soaring housing prices.
But unless the rotten structure at the core was reformed, raising rates alone wouldn't do much.
"I understand that you find it hard to believe me. All I ask is that you know I'm doing everything I can for the good of this country. I've been preparing extensively in anticipation of a potential housing bubble."
"If something like that really happens, you'll be the first person I come looking for. Hmph. Looks like it's time—I'll be heading out."
"Just once more, I beg you—please take a closer look at the mortgage-backed lending system. It's anything but normal."
President Bush let out a sigh.
He gave me a cold look for the first time.
"Enough already. Why would the CEO of SAVE, Wall Street's most profitable firm, get caught up in this conspiracy nonsense? Just stick to what you do best—play the stock market. Let the U.S. government handle the housing market. Hmph. If we meet again, it'll probably be after my term ends."
President Bush brusquely stood up and walked away.
And I, like a tragic heroine from a melodrama, continued to put on a heart-wrenching act.
Even as the security team escorted me back to the airport, I stayed in character—only relaxing my expression once I'd stepped into the terminal.
"Boss! You vanished all of a sudden—we were really worried!"
"I just went to meet someone important. Turned out the VVIP actually showed up in person."
"...VVIP? Wait—no way! Wow. So how did it go?"
"On a scale of 100, I'd say it was a 120. From now on, whatever we do, we'll have a kind of
immunity. No—more than immunity. We now hold the leverage to steer things exactly the way we want."
David tilted his head, looking puzzled.
"Is that even possible? With the Treasury and the Fed still in play, how could you possibly hold the leverage?"
"Would you trust an organization that keeps giving false reports and showing incompetence? Or would you trust the greatest backer who's been the only one telling the truth? Once the bomb goes off, they'll have no choice but to fully rely on us."
They probably won't come looking for me anytime soon.
But the moment the abnormal signs in the housing market erupt massively and simultaneously across the U.S., they'll definitely seek me out.
"Boss, how many insurance policies are you actually taking out? I've never seen anyone take
insurance out on the President of the United States before."
"It's because this is that important. I have to plaster dozens of insurance policies all over myself so I won't become a scapegoat."
"The premiums must be expensive, but I guess the payout will be huge too?"
"With just the payout, I could save the entire Wall Street."
I smiled as I boarded the plane.
Next time I visit the U.S., it won't be on my own terms — it will be at the request of the
American government.
After returning from the U.S., I advised the companies close to me there to tighten their
management.
That didn't mean the Taewoo Group needed to do the same.
It was enough to continue with our existing investment plans while cutting back only on
unnecessary investments.
That was possible because the Taewoo Group's cash liquidity was solid.
But why are there so many reports?
Maybe because of the long business trip in the U.S., my desk was covered with an overwhelming amount of reports.
From each affiliate's business reports to social issues and political events.
While I was reading through them without a break, a report from Taewoo Securities caught my eye.
"Please call Mr. Park, the CEO of Taewoo Securities."
Through the secretarial office, I summoned the CEO of Taewoo Securities.
Since he worked in the same building, he arrived at the vice chairman's office in less than ten
minutes.
"You called, Vice Chairman?"
"There's something that caught my attention. I saw a report that Taewoo Securities plans to create and sell a product based on KIKO."
"The banks are currently generating significant profits with KIKO products targeted at small and medium-sized enterprises. With some modifications, Taewoo Securities could definitely sell similar products."
I had a reason to react strongly to KIKO.
The derivative product I used to exploit Japanese companies during the Kobe earthquake was precisely KIKO.
Originally, it was supposed to be a product created by Quantum Fund.
But in this life, I made it first and shook Japanese companies.
Thanks to that, I was able to extract funds, shares, and patents from many companies.
And now, they're planning to do this in Korea?
In the Korean financial sector, targeting Korean small and medium enterprises?
"How many small and medium enterprises are related to the Taewoo Group?"
"There are roughly over 200 partner companies. The number of small and medium enterprises related to these partners is actually too large to calculate."
Taewoo Group was the top business conglomerate.
Since we were engaged in many different fields, most SMEs had at least some connection to us.
"So, if many of these SMEs go bankrupt or close, it would be a loss for us, right?"
"There will be serious problems with the production schedule."
"But does it make any sense for Taewoo Securities to sell KIKO products?"
"KIKO products are designed to generate profits based on exchange rates. Banks actively
promote them as safe investment products."
The won-dollar exchange rate had stabilized in the 900 won range. Considering it exceeded 2,000 won during the IMF crisis, it had dropped by more than half.
Now that the won-dollar exchange rate seemed stable, products like KIKO were created.
"The won-dollar exchange rate will nearly double within two years. When that happens, every SME signed up for KIKO will collapse. Even so, will you still sell KIKO products?"
"For the won-dollar exchange rate to rise that much, a large-scale economic crisis must occur. Something on the scale of the IMF returning."
"The U.S. housing market is in trouble. From Korea's perspective, it won't be as severe as the IMF, but globally, a massive economic crisis will happen."
"...Is that why you visited the U.S.?"
Only now did Mr. Park grasp the seriousness of the situation.
How could I blame him? Even the U.S. president was optimistic about the U.S. housing market.
"Withdraw the KIKO product plan. Also, gather all the CEOs of companies connected to us for a meeting. Tell them not to sign up for KIKO products, and if they have, to sell them all within a year."
"That would mean paying enormous fees. To my knowledge, some SMEs even took out loans to sign up for KIKO."
"Loans?"
"They were told it was a much safer product than stocks and that it could yield more than the loan interest rate, so banks recommended taking out loans to buy in."
Wall Street or Korean financial institutions—they were all the same hyenas.
They create complex products to confuse subscribers, encourage sign-ups, and when damage occurs, they dump it all on the subscribers.
The more subscribers, the more fees the banks can rake in.
Even if damage occurs, the banks don't lose a cent, so they keep doing this.
"So banks are even encouraging loans for this? No wonder the U.S. subprime loan scandal was so bad."
"I apologize. I was short-sighted too. We will cancel the KIKO product plan and hold a meeting for SMEs to inform them of the risks."
"Wait a minute. It doesn't seem so easy. KIKO is touted by the banks as perfectly safe, right?
Then we should do the same for the banks."
"What do you mean?"
"You, Taewoo Securities, just stay out of it. Let the experts handle this."
The Korean banks are selling KIKO?
We had already been selling KIKO products in the Japanese market for years.
So we knew exactly how to screw them over, and Team Leader Han, who sold KIKO directly to Japanese companies, were an expert in this.