America: My Time

Chapter 1001 Recognize the reality
Chapter 991 Facing Reality

John isn't that crazy about investing more money in South Korea for pharmaceutical research and development. Investing in the medical industry is fine, but developing pharmaceutical products is a different story. After all, South Korea doesn't have that many talented people these days. Investing in Japan would be better than investing in South Korea, since Japan has plenty of talent, while South Korea has practically no talent to speak of.

Lee Boo-jin didn't pay much attention to John's statement. She knew what the situation was like in South Korea. South Korea only had a limited population, and it was unrealistic to expect South Korea to support its own businesses. The problem with cosmeceuticals wasn't too big, after all, they weren't medicines, and she had only mentioned it casually, nothing more.

Talent is the biggest problem restricting South Korea's development. Now, John has snatched up all of Japan's talent. If South Korea wants to develop, it needs to invest more funds. However, the United States is no longer wholeheartedly helping South Korea compete with Japan. After all, John's appearance has given the Americans new hope, and Taiwan's development is clearly surpassing that of South Korea. Under these circumstances, the United States naturally knows what to choose.

"Sit down. Since we've brought up investment, let's have a proper discussion. South Korea has enough industries like chemicals, steel, shipbuilding, and automobiles. There's no need to venture into more industries; that would only bring trouble. At most, we'll invest in retail and healthcare. Even if we were to invest in R&D, it would be limited to cosmetics. South Korea doesn't have that many talents right now, especially high-tech talents. With the talent available to South Korea, how long would it take to produce results in pharmaceutical R&D? What's the point of investing so much money? Doing well in healthcare and retail is enough!"

John's words made Lee Boo-jin nod thoughtfully. With her intelligence, she quickly understood what John meant. South Korea is only so big. If John invests more, it will only cause conflict with those South Korean conglomerates. It's already at its limit. If he invests in pharmaceuticals, it will probably bring more problems.

"Think it through. Don't oversimplify things, and don't think that those government officials are being 'kind' to you. They keep trying to get me to invest in South Korea because they want to use my power to suppress your local conglomerates. After all, your conglomerates are playing too recklessly. If this continues, South Korea will become your conglomerates' domain!"

John is well aware of the current situation in South Korea. As long as the current assets can develop smoothly, that's enough. There's really no need to continue competing with South Korean conglomerates for the market. The South Korean market isn't worth John's investment of so much energy and money. Compared to the Chinese market, it's insignificant!
Lee Boo-jin dismissed John's words, saying, "Things aren't as serious as you make them out to be. No matter how much the conglomerate develops, it's impossible for it to reach the level you're describing!"

John shook his head and said, "You haven't had much contact with them yet, so your understanding of many things is limited. If it's not necessary, it's best for you to leave after completing your arrangements in South Korea. Don't get involved in your family's conflicts of interest; it won't do you any good. You're not the heir to Samsung. It's better to stay away to avoid unnecessary trouble. Given South Korea's current situation, if it continues to develop, it won't be long before the conglomerates' assets account for more than half of the country's total, and it will be impossible to suppress them then."

The struggle for interests is always ruthless, especially the power struggle within a family. The power struggle within Samsung is even more terrifying; people will stop at nothing to gain wealth or power.

Since she doesn't want to profit from the family business, there's no need to get involved and risk future trouble. With John as her shield, Lee Boo-jin doesn't need to continue fighting for power, especially since she already wields considerable power and her wealth is constantly increasing. While it can't compare to Samsung, it still has a vast market! Retail can be very profitable if done well, not to mention the huge food processing companies behind it!
John also inspected the factories in South Korea and found no problems. The South Korean workers at this time were quite obedient, and after receiving technological improvements from the Russians, they had made good progress in automobiles, shipbuilding, steel, and petrochemicals. As for retail, John didn't look into it too much, since South Korea at that time was not as powerful as it would be in later years.

Although John didn't invest in semiconductors in South Korea, he had already grasped the country's lifeline. After John took over South Korea's automobile, shipbuilding, and steel industries, the changes were rapid. With Russian technology and professional guidance, it was easy to assimilate it. The same was true in the petrochemical sector; under the "careful" guidance of the Russians, it naturally experienced rapid development, surpassing South Korean companies!

Compared to this period, the aggressive behavior of the Koreans, especially Daewoo, was frenzied. John's investments were very stable. He did not expand as wildly as the Koreans, but rather made purposeful and selective investments, and the investments were also coordinated with each other.

Of course, Russia wasn't having an easy time either during this period. Both the Russian Empire and Russia were struggling, which is why John's Australian shipping company was still able to trade with them, primarily through barter. Neither Russia nor Russia had the internationally accepted currency, the US dollar, so barter was the best solution. Australian shipping could make a fortune, but Russia and Russia didn't mind, as they saved their precious foreign exchange reserves—a win-win situation. However, John understood that such transactions couldn't continue indefinitely, which is why he began to reform Australian shipping! John wasn't just aiming for a large shipping company; he had a much bigger goal: a commodity trading company and a commodity trading platform!

It's not finished yet; it needs to be improved bit by bit. The US is already working hard to improve the software for the commodity trading platform. John knows how powerful the network will become in the future. He currently controls a vast amount of assets, including energy, minerals, and food, which form the foundation for creating a commodity trading platform. If shipping is further integrated, it could form a formidable industrial chain, controlling the trading of commodities.

However, all of this takes time, and Australia's current shipping capacity is not enough to meet such a transaction. After all, once it starts, the requirements for shipping are very high. If it cannot be controlled by itself, the consequences will be serious. If it is not careful, it will be held hostage by others, which is not a situation that John wants to see!

As oil prices have fallen, John's crude oil reserves in South Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia, and China are gradually being restored. Selling is easy, but rebuilding reserves is not an easy task and will take a long time.

South Korea and Japan are tiny places with not enough land to build oil reserves. But China is different, and Southeast Asia is different. Everyone only saw John's other investments in China, but not the crazy recovery in oil reserves. Most of the cooperation with Russia was in oil transactions, while Russia was frantically buying up their planes and weapons.

Because the transactions continued, and with Da Mao joining in, Er Mao also felt the pressure. They frantically sold everything they could, without considering its original value; all they cared about was money. To describe them in one word, they were desperate for money. There was nothing they wouldn't dare to sell if they could.

It's not that others didn't want to participate in this crazy feast of wealth, but credibility was a big issue. John received different treatment from them. Since the Russian era, John had been doing such transactions with them without a single problem or dispute. So, integrity was John's greatest source of confidence.

As for supplies, needless to say, John's network in Southeast Asia played a huge role during the period of cooperation with the Russians. Whenever the Russians had a need, John had his own factories. There were even more factories in China, with numerous light industrial factories along the coast.

Most importantly, with the current development of the situation, a strong advantage has been formed in the light industry sector. Many companies need sales channels, and John has already made arrangements for this. Today, there are many 7-Eleven convenience stores in Southeast Asia, as well as in the North American and European markets, the Russian market, and the market of the Middle Eastern tycoons.

During his trip to South Korea, John also learned about their needs in detail. It has to be said that the South Koreans boast loudly, but the lives of their people are not so good. Their small territory leaves them lacking in everything, and these guys are unwilling to open up the market, fearing that their agriculture will be directly destroyed.

Upon seeing the detailed report in his hand, John couldn't help but sigh. South Korea's situation was far worse than he had imagined. He couldn't understand what those guys were thinking, raising tariffs so high. While seemingly protecting their agriculture and livestock, the people's living standards were plummeting. For a small country, using tariffs for protection is a double-edged sword; it will widen the gap between rich and poor and exacerbate social conflicts! The pros and cons are hard to say; perhaps only South Korea itself truly understands. John didn't understand, nor did he want to. After all, it wasn't really his concern. John's goal was simply the vast Chinese market, and everything was centered around strategizing for that market!

(End of this chapter)