America: My Time

Chapter 1239 Soros's Scheme
Chapter 1229 Soros's Calculation

A chaebol isn't so easily established. John can control the assets of South Korea, but Lee Boo-jin cannot. This is a matter of status. John had given her opportunities before, but unfortunately, she didn't take them. There were too many companies involved. Unless John can separate these companies from the conglomerate, the value of South Korea's assets will be greatly reduced. Without the original power of the conglomerate, its development will naturally be hindered.

“You’ll be in charge of retail and apparel, and you can also manage entertainment and media in South Korea. Those are easy to manage. But heavy industry involves too much technology and too many problems. If you don’t separate them out, it will be very difficult for you to manage them!” John sighed as he said this. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Lee Boo-jin, but that he had overthought things. Many things were not that simple. Heavy industry is not media and entertainment, much less retail and apparel.

With the frantic restructuring, John's reliable manpower was severely strained. Lee Boo-jin was the best choice; in Japan, the focus was on banking, not retail or apparel. Kikuchi Momoko's departure forced John to temporarily entrust Kuroki Hitomi with the tasks, but her abilities weren't ideal, forcing him to relinquish her as well. Kuroki Hitomi's complete handling of the situation completely eroded John's confidence, leaving him with no choice but to entrust everything to Lee Boo-jin!
"Don't refuse, the capable should do more!" Seeing Lee Boo-jin's expression, John stopped her before she could speak. The situation at Phoenix Group forced John to consider his options. Huang Xizhao had been in control of Phoenix Group for too long and had lost his ambition, which wasn't good for its development. He couldn't be touched yet, because he was the person most familiar with ATV. Letting him go would hinder ATV's development and even his own expansion plans.

Once trust changes, it needs to be addressed promptly. John didn't want to see Phoenix Group get into trouble. The 'accident' in Hong Kong made him more vigilant. After all, John hadn't been focused on Hong Kong before, so he had relaxed his attention to it. Now that a problem had arisen, he naturally needed to make arrangements as soon as possible.

"How long can you stay here?" After calming down a bit, Lee Boo-jin asked. For her, John's trust brought a strange pain and a sense of disappointment in family. Fortunately, her judgment was right, her choice was correct, and the situation she had feared had not occurred.

Yes, that's right. Lee Boo-jin did have some worries in her heart. After all, she couldn't even trust her own family. Could she trust John? In fact, John was more trustworthy than her. He hadn't deceived her. He had kept his word and fulfilled all his promises.

Why did she harbor such worries? Was it merely her family's attitude? Actually, it wasn't that; it was more about the departure of several people. Whatever the reason, it left Lee Boo-jin feeling insecure. After all, she didn't have children, which created a sense of crisis and a fear that her choice might have been a mistake. In South Korea, she had witnessed the madness of the chaebols and the tragic fate of women targeted by them.

When these conglomerates gained control of most of South Korea's assets, they became arrogant and reckless. After all, South Korea is only so big, and these newly formed conglomerates are no match for the likes of Japan. Otherwise, they wouldn't have set their sights on American conglomerates and John. Now they are finally getting their comeuppance.

John was unaware of Lee Boo-jin's situation, and this wasn't just Lee Boo-jin's concern; Kikuchi Momoko was even more worried, which is why she clung so tightly to the opportunity, unwilling to let go. Her current mindset was similar to Kuroki Hitomi's back then. The Koreans felt the same way; they were more worried about how dire their fate would be without John's protection, having witnessed firsthand the darkness and madness within the Korean entertainment industry!
The longer you stay in this industry, the more you'll see how dark and crazy it is, and how terrible the price those stars pay to become famous. After all, the Korean market is only so big, and there are so many beautiful women who want to become famous, so the competition is naturally incredibly fierce. This has even become the norm in the industry. After all, these media and entertainment sectors are controlled by conglomerates, so even if they want to resist, they have no way to do so.

The darkness within the South Korean entertainment industry today is far more insane and devastating than Hollywood was in its heyday. The smaller the market, the fiercer the competition, and the more terrifying the hidden darkness becomes—and these guys have already begun. The Asian financial crisis has further eroded their rationality, driving them even more mad. They need to vent their anxieties and fears, causing even more harm to beautiful women. The ugliness of human nature is laid bare in them, yet no one dares to resist; their fates are not in their own hands.

It's not the chaebols that exploit these beautiful women, but the talent agencies. They're burdened with huge breach of contract penalties, an inescapable shackle that forces them to compromise. While elite talent agencies are also shady, they're much better than other Korean agencies—at least not as insane or cruel.

In this Asian economic crisis, even beneficiaries like John were under immense pressure. One can only imagine the unimaginable pressure faced by those who were exploited. This only made the darkness within the Korean entertainment industry more rampant and terrifying, and the victims utterly powerless to resist. When John appeared in Seoul, everyone knew of his arrival, but unfortunately, they all maintained their ridiculous airs, none of them taking the initiative. This left Soros and his cronies dumbfounded, and after realizing what was happening, they were excited. It meant they couldn't get any help from John.

"It's confirmed. John, that little fox, isn't targeting us. He wants to acquire Daewoo Group?" Soros looked at his companion with a serious expression, confirming the news. In such a financial war, any mistake could bring huge losses, which was not the outcome he wanted to see.

“That’s right. We have confirmed it repeatedly. Kim Woo-jung’s Daewoo Group is heavily indebted and can’t hold on any longer. Under our attack, it has reached the brink of bankruptcy liquidation. John wants to take over at this time. He has no ability to resist. If he doesn’t accept, all that awaits him is bankruptcy liquidation. He should be able to distinguish between the gains and losses.”

"If that's the case, it's good news for us too. It means John's funds will be depleted again, and the pressure we face will be lessened. The acquisition in Japan has already drained John's assets, and the Korean acquisition will also consume some funds. The assets he can control will be limited. When his funds are exhausted, that's when we will take the initiative." As he said this, a greedy look appeared in Soros's eyes. This guy had been eyeing John for a long time, but he had never seen an opportunity. But now he felt that John had made a mistake and should not have made acquisitions during the Asian financial crisis, thus reducing his own funds.

If John knew Soros's thoughts at this moment, he would be overjoyed. John made this acquisition at this time; didn't he see how serious the consequences would be, how dangerous it would be for him? No, he saw it. It was precisely because he saw it that he did it. John was well aware of how greedy Soros and oil capital were, but crippling them wouldn't be easy. John also knew how cautious these guys were, so he had to give them the opportunity they wanted. Only then would these guys enter the game, step into the trap he had carefully prepared for them, and pay a heavy price.

What Soros and Oilfield Capital saw was exactly what John wanted them to see. In their eyes, John didn't have much money left to control. But that wasn't the case. All of this money was borrowed by John in advance and passed through Standard Chartered Bank. He made a considerable profit during the Asian financial crisis, and now that profit was being used for acquisitions.

“Soros, your idea is good, but we can’t rush into things. At the very least, we need to find out how much money John has, we need to know about Hurricane Investment and Standard Chartered Bank, and we even need to know about Integrity Bank. Otherwise, it’s easy for John to outmaneuver us. I believe you know very well how cunning and treacherous he is!”

Although Soros knew his companion was telling the truth, he couldn't accept it and it embarrassed him. Soros had always wanted to defeat John and take his place in the financial world, but he had failed in the pound crisis, the European crisis, and the previous Southeast Asian crisis, failing to significantly impact John or even achieve his original plans. Now, seeing hope, he was reminded of it by his companion, which naturally made him feel bad, but he couldn't refute it and could only swallow his anger.

If he could, Soros would love to refute, but now he can only choose to remain silent. No matter how much he says, it's useless. Everything must be based on facts. Without sufficient achievements, one has no right to refute the other party!

(End of this chapter)