A conference room at GM headquarters.
Finally, the ceremony for the acquisition of GM shares was taking place here.
Attending the event were myself, Dimon, the alliance with Warren Buffett, government officials, and the president of the United Auto Workers.
For media distribution, we posed for photographs signing the contracts. Only after capturing the moment of handshakes on camera did the share acquisition ceremony conclude.
"Haha, I don't even know if I should be attending a gathering like this. I only invested a mere five billion dollars, and yet here I am, sitting at an equal table—it feels a bit awkward," Buffett said.
"With your presence, you brought something more important than money—trust. That alone qualifies you more than enough," I replied.
I shook hands firmly with Warren Buffett. He had been the wildcard in the GM acquisition.
No matter how good the Taewoo Group's reputation was, or that a fintech bank had acquired CITI Group, the largest financial institution in the world…
Without Warren Buffett, it would have been nearly impossible to sway public opinion in the United States.
"I'll be heading out now. Please discuss the management issues between yourselves and lead the company as you see fit," he said.
"If there's anything about our management policies that doesn't sit right with you, feel free to let us know anytime," I added.
"Too many cooks spoil the broth. I'll leave company management in the hands of experts like you," Buffett said with a smile, and truly walked out.
Following him, the government officials and the Auto Workers union representatives left as well, leaving only Dimon and me in the conference room.
"I've met a lot of people on Wall Street, but I've never met anyone like him."
"That must mean he trusts us that much. Living up to that trust won't be easy."
"If we can transform GM to yield at least tenfold returns, wouldn't that honor his trust?"
"To do that, we'll need to make a lot of changes starting right now."
Dimon had already been diligently trimming the fat.
Divisions that weren't generating revenue had been cut without hesitation, large-scale restructuring had been implemented, and factory automation systems had all been installed.
Still, there were far too many areas that needed improvement.
The lineup, heavily focused on large vehicles like SUVs, needed to be changed, and systems had to be improved to support higher profitability.
"There's truly a mountain of work ahead. If we had acquired Ford or Chrysler, it might have been a bit easier. Now that the acquisition is complete, is there a particular reason you insisted on GM?"
"Hmm… perhaps you could say it's to settle old scores."
"Settle old scores? I know Taewoo Motors had some minor disputes with GM during European acquisitions, but aside from that, there wasn't much, was there?"
In this life, not particularly.
But in my previous life, Taewoo Motors had suffered the humiliation of being acquired by GM.
So in this life, it had to be reversed—Taewoo Motors acquiring GM would neatly settle the past.
"Settling old scores is just something I said. The real reason GM was necessary was to achieve economies of scale."
"Taewoo, Kia Motors, and now GM… if managed well, we could even aim for the number one market share in the U.S. But holding the top share doesn't necessarily guarantee profit. In fact, the well-performing Taewoo and Kia Motors could even take a hit. The auto market is already essentially saturated."
Dimon was right.
The U.S. auto market was nearly at saturation.
That was part of the reason American automakers had reached this state.
"The internal combustion vehicle market may be saturated, but the electric vehicle market is still in its infancy. To dominate the EV market in a short time, you need a scale of this magnitude."
"So you pursued this acquisition with the EV market in mind?"
"It's not just about electric vehicles. To charge EVs, you obviously need charging stations. If the chargers we produce become the international standard, the profits will be enormous. To achieve that, we need to secure a first-mover advantage."
The competition to establish international standards was happening across various industries.
Looking at past examples, the party that gained first-mover advantage often won, and the victor usually monopolized the profits.
"I've seen expert predictions suggesting it will take at least twenty years for electric vehicles to become widespread. Aren't you painting too grand a picture?"
"I've already devised a way to compress those twenty years into ten."
"Ten years is a timeframe worth betting on. So in essence, Taewoo, Kia, GM, and even Tesla would form a kind of alliance."
"That's a scale sufficient to dominate the EV market—assuming, of course, that GM stabilizes."
"I'll do my best to make that happen. Ahem! cough cough"
Suddenly, Dimon began coughing violently.
Was the burden of stabilizing GM weighing too heavily on him?
"Are you all right? You can take a few days off if you're not feeling well."
"Seems like the flu is going around. A few of our executives have already ended up in the hospital. I'll probably need to visit a doctor myself soon. I've been taking medicine, but it's not letting up easily."
The flu is spreading?
At that moment, a single word flashed through my mind:
"Influenza virus."
It was the name of the flu that had struck in 2009.
A deadly epidemic that had claimed nearly 20,000 lives.
And now, that ruthless virus was only just entering its initial stages.
And as of yet, no one even knew that the influenza virus was the culprit.
I hurried back to the hotel.
Captain Kang, President Han, and David had been waiting impatiently for me, and the moment I arrived, they popped the champagne.
"Congratulations! GM is finally part of the Taewoo Group!"
"I predicted this day from the moment I first met the boss. Taewoo Group is now among the world's top ten companies!"
"Congratulations, sir. Having you as our chairman is the greatest blessing of my life."
The three of them had prepared extensively.
Somehow they had managed to get balloons and even prepared a three-tier cake for a cutting ceremony.
"Now is not the time for celebrations. Put down the champagne and gather around here."
"What's the matter?"
"Is there some hidden debt in GM that we don't know about?"
President Han and David removed the party hats from their heads and sat down.
Captain Kang stiffened, remaining alert behind me.
"Does anyone know that the flu is spreading across the United States right now?"
"I did notice a lot of people catching colds lately," David said.
"I've seen plenty of people around me with colds too, but influenza spreads every year, so I didn't think much of it," President Han added.
None of us yet understood the severity of this particular outbreak.
To gain certainty, I needed more detailed data—and there was someone in Taewoo Group who could provide it immediately.
"I'll need to connect with Team Leader Chun Min-jung."
Without checking the time in Korea, I dialed the number.
Fortunately, Team Leader Chun seemed to be awake; the call was answered before the second ring.
[Chairman, what are you doing at this hour? Aren't you still in the U.S.?]
"Yes, I'm still in the U.S. I need some information. Can you find out how widespread the flu is right now in the U.S.?"
[If we extract big data on influenza from portal sites and social media, we can get a fairly accurate picture. Please wait a moment—it'll take about five minutes to pull the data.]
I switched the phone to speaker and set it on the desk.
The sound of rapid typing, like someone playing a piano, came through the speaker. In less than five minutes, Team Leader Chun spoke again.
[Search records related to influenza have increased by 200% compared to last month. On social media, keywords related to influenza have increased over 300%. Based purely on the data, it's clear that a significant flu outbreak is about to begin in the U.S.]
"Thanks for the information. Could you send the detailed data to me via email?"
[I'll summarize it and send it within ten minutes.]
"Then we'll review it soon once it reaches Korea."
Team Leader Chun sent an enormous amount of data via email.
I showed the materials to David and President Han, and they quickly grasped the severity of the situation.
"This seems very different from the seasonal flu. Its transmissibility is extremely high, and the mortality rate appears elevated as well."
"It's likely an influenza-virus-type flu. Fortunately, treatments for the influenza virus already exist on the market."
"Are you referring to Tamiflu? I've heard it was also used for avian flu treatment."
"That's right. Tamiflu will be selling like hotcakes soon. There will be shortages, so securing exclusive manufacturing rights could yield huge profits."
I remembered the Tamiflu frenzy.
During the previous influenza outbreaks, simply taking Tamiflu greatly alleviated symptoms, leading to panic buying and stockpiling.
"Boss! Tamiflu was developed by an American company, but the current exclusive production rights are held by a Swiss firm. They're already profiting heavily from it, so they're unlikely to give them up easily."
"It doesn't have to be exclusive. Even obtaining co-production rights is enough. David, handle the negotiations directly."
"Chairman, but do we really need to focus on a flu treatment right now? Sure, it's a lucrative business, but Taewoo Group has no pharmaceutical infrastructure. By the time we build the base and produce the medicine, the flu will already be over, won't it?"
President Han analyzed the situation strictly from a business perspective.
But there was one piece of information missing from his analysis.
"The foundation has already been secured. Remember CEO Seo Jung-joon, who served as an advisor for Taewoo Group?"
"Oh! You mean Centurion, right? The pharmaceutical company established with investment support from Taewoo Group and SAVE Investment Company?"
"That's right. So it's not accurate to say Taewoo Group has no pharmaceutical infrastructure."
"But can Centurion handle it alone? Even with co-production rights, producing the medicine won't be easy."
"That's why we need to bring in one more expert. David, there's a Korean researcher among those who developed Tamiflu. Recruit him."
Dr. Kim Jung-woo, a Korean-Japanese chemist.
He had participated in developing Tamiflu, and some even said it wouldn't have been possible without him. He was that crucial.
"Recruiting talent is my specialty. How should I bring him into Taewoo Group? Or should we bring him into Centurion?"
"Recruit him into Centurion. Offer him the position of vice president, with a salary at least three times higher than his current pay. And let him know that Taewoo Group will provide additional benefits separately."
"We'll need to meet him first, but those conditions don't sound bad."
David dashed out.
With the flu already spreading, he understood that this was a race against time.
If this mission succeeded…
Centurion could be scaled up severalfold almost overnight.
And if that happened, Taewoo Group could wield significant influence even in the COVID-era world that would arrive ten years from now.