America: My Time

Chapter 1213 Samsung Asks for Help
Chapter 1203 Samsung Asks for Help
With Soros's move, South Korea's financial crisis erupted, forcing South Korean conglomerates like Samsung to fend for themselves. They had initially hoped for government intervention to solve the problem, but that seemed impossible. They had no choice but to rely on themselves, or face certain death. Samsung was the first to act. They thought they could persuade Standard Chartered Bank to provide them with bailout funds, but they were met with a rejection. This forced Samsung to take further action.

When Lee Jae-yong appeared in Hong Kong with Lee Boo-jin, John couldn't help but sigh. The entire South Korean economy, even many bigwigs in Hong Kong, and those guys in the US were watching closely. Soros was no exception; even a fool knew why he was in Hong Kong. Had Samsung really reached the point where it needed to seek help from the outside world?

"Sit down. Let's sit down and talk about it. For Fu-jin's sake, if I'm able, I'll lend you a hand. But I hope you don't put all your hopes on me. I'm also under a lot of pressure myself, and I'm not as carefree as you think."

Although John didn't want to help Samsung, Lee Jae-yong had come to his door in person and even brought Lee Boo-jin with him, so he couldn't refuse. Otherwise, his image would collapse. So he had no choice but to show some 'sincerity' to avoid being seen as cold-blooded by outsiders.

Even his own woman personally intervened, so it would seem too heartless for him to still refuse to give her a penny. This would contradict his previous public image. Even if it meant losing a little profit, John couldn't let his public image collapse.

When Lee Jae-yong heard John's words, he breathed a sigh of relief. At least he could get some funds from John, which was a good thing for Samsung. No matter how much the funds were, they would give Samsung a breather, since John's reputation was still there.

"I wonder how much funding you can provide to Samsung. Samsung has suffered heavy losses due to the exchange rate and urgently needs funds to alleviate its pressure. Moreover, Samsung also needs your support in the retail sector!" Lee Jae-yong bluntly asked John how much funding he could provide to Samsung, and also took the opportunity to seek John's assistance in sales!

"In terms of funding, I can only provide you with $50 million in support, but this is not entirely support. I hope it can be converted directly into Samsung shares, which will be controlled by Fu Jin. Of course, this is not mandatory. You can also choose short-term loans, but these will not be loans from me, but from Standard Chartered Bank. Everything will be done according to the rules. The choice is yours to make, and I have no objection."

John paused slightly, smiled calmly, and continued, "Don't think I have a lot of money. I don't have as much as you think. A lot of my money is in useful use. I can't abandon my plans and my layout in Asia for Samsung. You should understand that. Fifty million US dollars is my limit. I have huge investments in South Korea, Japan, and Asia. This time, I also suffered considerable losses in my real businesses, even more than Samsung's losses on paper. Also, Soros isn't just targeting you, he's targeting me and Standard Chartered Bank too. I can't afford not to take precautions. I hope you can understand!"

Is fifty million US dollars a small sum? Not at all. In fact, it's a huge amount of money at this time. After all, South Korea is in dire need of foreign exchange. With fifty million US dollars, Samsung can definitely get through the crisis and protect more of its assets from being plundered by Soros and his ilk.

"Could you give us more? The entire exchange rate in South Korea has been impacted, and the pressure we're facing is greater than we imagined!" Lee Jae-yong is shameless; even with John offering such help, he's still not satisfied!
"Impossible. I also have many businesses in South Korea, and they were also impacted by this financial crisis. My losses are much greater than yours, so I'm powerless to do so now. It's impossible for me to sacrifice my own interests for Samsung." At this point, John frowned slightly, somewhat disgusted by Lee Jae-yong's actions. This man was too greedy. If it weren't for Lee Boo-jin's sake, he wouldn't even have received this 50 million.

Judging from Lee Jae-yong's reaction, it's clear that he doesn't want John to invest in Samsung or Lee Boo-jin to get Samsung's shares. Perhaps he's worried that Lee Boo-jin will take everything from him, or even that he's guarding against John's takeover of Samsung, especially since Asian Energy and Quantum Mining are frantically acquiring resources in Southeast Asia.

In truth, John didn't have much affection for the Lee family men at Samsung. Helping them wouldn't bring any good returns; they had no habit of repaying kindness. The man before him was even more ruthless, capable of driving his father-in-law's family to the brink of ruin—a testament to his insidious and vicious nature. John didn't want to associate with such a person. If it weren't for Lee Boo-jin's sake, he would have gladly used the financial crisis to deliver a fatal blow to Samsung, crippling its development in the semiconductor industry!
Now it's clear that Lee Jae-yong wants even more. How could John not be disgusted by such a greedy person? If Lee Boo-jin hadn't been there, he would have turned around and left without giving the guy any chance at all.

Seeing that Lee Jae-yong still wanted to say something, John continued calmly, "Alright, that's all the power I have. Any more is impossible. The choice is yours. I don't have that much time. You'd better make a decision quickly. If you're too late and Soros makes his move, I'm afraid I won't even be able to spare the fifty million!" At this point, John didn't want to argue any further. He simply put some pressure on Lee Jae-yong. How he chose, or rather, how Samsung chose, was their own business and had nothing to do with him!

When John put it that way, Lee Boo-jin had no choice but to step in and pull Lee Jae-yong up to avoid a verbal conflict. Before coming to Hong Kong, the Lee family had hoped to get more funds from John; their expectation was two hundred million US dollars, but now they only had fifty million. Naturally, Lee Jae-yong was not willing to accept that!

These guys are overthinking it. Trying to get two hundred million dollars from John at this point is just wishful thinking. Moreover, Lee Jae-yong clearly only wants to borrow the money; there's no question of a loan, let alone John's offer to invest.

"Fu Jin, is this the man you chose? He's so cold-blooded and heartless. Knowing how difficult Samsung's situation is right now, he only gave us 50 million in funding to operate. This amount of money can't change Samsung's current predicament at all. Our expectation is 200 million US dollars. Why didn't you try to persuade him?"

Good heavens! After leaving and returning to the hotel, Lee Jae-yong blamed Lee Boo-jin for not trying to persuade John. What did she think she was? What did she think John was? What did Samsung's fate have to do with John? Besides, Samsung had schemed against John quite a bit; among the many obstacles from South Korea, Samsung was at the forefront. It was already quite generous of John not to kick him while he was down, and he even gave him 50 million in funding—that was more than enough. If their positions were reversed, this guy would probably have kicked him while he was down without hesitation.

"What do you want me to say? I told you before I came to Hong Kong not to have too many ideas, but did you listen? You're only thinking about Samsung's own problems. Have you considered John? He was also impacted by this financial crisis and suffered considerable losses. He also needs funds. It's already very difficult for him to come up with $50 million to help us operate! I have no face to ask. If you are not satisfied with this result, you can refuse. I believe there are many people in Korea who would be willing to accept it. He has no reason to help Samsung!"

Lee Boo-jin was also a little annoyed at this point. Was this her fault? It was clearly Lee Jae-yong and Samsung who were too greedy. Moreover, it was obvious that her brother did not want to accept the conditions proposed by John. He just wanted to take 50 million US dollars for free to operate. How could there be such a good thing in the world? Did he really think that his identity was so important and that he was worthy of John's attention?

Lee Boo-jin isn't stupid. Among all the beautiful women around John, who would ask to do such a thing? Kikuchi Momoko also controls some assets in Japan, but did she ask for help for her family? Chung Chor-hung also controls some assets in Hong Kong, although not a lot, but at this time she didn't ask for help for her family either. Only she did this, and she was forced to come.

Lee Boo-jin was well aware of the schemes in her elder brother's and father's hearts. They only cared about their own interests and did not care about her situation at all. To them, she was just a pawn to be used. As long as they could get benefits, they would not care how difficult her situation was.

If she were to speak up now, what would John think? How would he perceive her? Did he really believe that simply asking would solve everything? That's two hundred million dollars, and two hundred million dollars during a financial crisis! Getting fifty million dollars was beyond her wildest imagination. In truth, Lee Boo-jin hadn't even considered the possibility of John helping Samsung. She was fully aware of how aggressive John's plans were and how much funding he needed. Yet, under these circumstances, John still offered fifty million dollars, which was already quite a significant amount. But Lee Jae-yong was still unsatisfied; she wanted more funds and didn't even want to pay the price. There's no such thing as a free lunch!

(End of this chapter)