America: My Time

Chapter 1557 The Koreans' Compromise

Chapter 1547 The Korean Compromise
Just as John had predicted, within a few days, the pressure began to mount in South Korea. Samsung fared somewhat better, as at least they had someone to help them, but the other South Korean conglomerates were not so fortunate. The pressure they faced was unimaginable, especially for the South Korean government. When they learned that they had been treated as expendable pawns, they were all deeply distressed, yet they had no choice but to face it all. They had originally thought that by aligning themselves with those American conglomerates, they could obtain cheap resources and change the current situation, but the result greatly disappointed them.

At this point, the Koreans thought of Lee Boo-jin again, but unfortunately, this time they didn't even get to see her. Lee Boo-jin was no longer there; she had gone to Hong Kong. In this confrontation, they underestimated John's strength and overestimated the Koreans' standing in the eyes of the Americans. What frightened them most was that although Lee Boo-jin hadn't openly left the Samsung Lee family, she had absolutely no chance of inheriting any of Samsung's assets, not even a single share. This was John and the Americans' decision, and they were well aware of what that meant.

For the Lee family, the relief was natural; they were happy to have one less competitor, and a powerful one at that. However, some were uneasy. This meant they could no longer leverage Lee Boo-jin's status to gain advantages from John. Without Lee Boo-jin's intervention, obtaining patent licenses so easily would have been impossible. Therefore, after this, they would have to rely on themselves, on the American conglomerates behind them, or rather, on those old fogies—at least those old fogies wouldn't stand by and watch Samsung fall into John's hands!

However, for many others, it was fear, especially in shipbuilding, steel, automobiles, and retail, where these companies faced pressure from John. It was difficult for American conglomerates to protect their interests unless they relinquished more shares and came under their control.

Do they regret it? These guys were naturally filled with remorse. If they had known the Americans were such scoundrels, they would never have believed their lies and cooperated with them to target John. Unfortunately, it was all too late now. Regret was useless; John wouldn't let them off the hook and would definitely intensify his crackdown on them.

"Six months! We only have six months. If we can't resolve this crisis within six months, our situation will become even more difficult. It's all the Americans' fault; they betrayed our interests. And Samsung—if they had stood with us, we wouldn't be in this situation now. They betrayed us!"

The weak always shift blame onto others, never reflecting on their own mistakes. Is this Samsung's betrayal? No, it's their own folly, their shortsightedness. They only saw the empty promises the Americans made, failing to see the hidden crisis. They always assumed John couldn't possibly be a match for so many American conglomerates and would compromise and back down. But they were wrong. John withstood the pressure, forcing those old American bosses to compromise. Now all the pressure is on them. Although John hasn't made a move yet, they all know their time is running out.

"Perhaps we can compromise with Mr. John. After all, he has the least ambition towards us. If we just bow our heads and admit defeat, we still have a chance to get his forgiveness." At this moment, someone made such a ridiculous suggestion. In his opinion, John had not suffered much loss, but they would have to pay a considerable price, so there was no need for John to fight them to the death!

"Do you think that's possible? Even Rockefeller and his ilk had to compromise. Do you think we have the right to make Mr. John compromise with us? Stop thinking that Lee Boo-jin will stand up for us. That's impossible. She has severed ties with the Lee family of Samsung. Do you think she would care whether we, who are unrelated, live or die?"

"That's right. Now we only have two choices. One is to compromise with the Americans and accept their investment. The downside is that we will lose most of our wealth, and they will take the lion's share of the profits. The other is to bow down and admit defeat, pay a heavy price, and get rid of the current pressure."

Silence fell. For a moment, the Koreans were all silent, pondering their choice. Bowing to John and admitting defeat would come at a considerable cost, potentially crippling them, and would also offend the Americans—a lose-lose situation. Accepting investment from American conglomerates would severely diminish their own assets, though the advantage would be their protection. If the confrontation between John and Rockefeller hadn't continued, these men would have suspected it was a conspiracy, a deliberate act by John and Rockefeller to scheme against them.

“Accept the investment from the American conglomerate. We have no way out. Even if we can reconcile with Mr. John, Rockefeller and his ilk will not let us go. The weak have no choice. We can only stand on their ship now.”

When these words were spoken, the Koreans present all breathed a sigh of relief. They weren't stupid; they naturally knew what to do in this situation. However, none of them wanted to speak up or bear the blame. Now that someone had spoken up, they all felt relieved and naturally had no further opinions.
"Actually, we can also look at things on the bright side. Although we will lose some benefits by doing this, we will gain the protection of American financial groups. We will no longer have to worry about the oppression from those government guys. From now on, we will be more relaxed. Exchanging money for privileges is actually a good thing for us!"

“That makes sense. If we are under the protection of American financial groups, those officials will have to consider the pressure from the United States if they want to target us. If we do that, we need to closely link our interests with those of American financial groups, to tie them to our interests. Only in this way will they not let us get into trouble, otherwise their interests will be affected. But in that case, we will have to give up most of our assets, which will be a considerable loss for us!”

"Heh, even at this point, you're still nitpicking. Do you think the authorities will let us off the hook if we can't cooperate with American conglomerates and Rockefellers this time? Don't forget, the authorities also want to find someone to take the blame, but the Lee family is already under Rockefeller's protection and isn't worried about pressure from the US at all. Even for Lee Boo-jin's sake, Mr. John won't let anything happen to the Lee family at this point, otherwise Lee Boo-jin's reputation will be ruined, and it might even affect him personally. Do you think we have such protection?"

"Impossible! No matter how crazy the authorities are, they wouldn't dare do that. It would ruin the Korean economy and cause nationwide unrest. They wouldn't dare take such a risk. I don't believe such a thing will happen!"

"Does your disbelief do any good? What do you think you are in the eyes of the authorities? You're not the Lee family. Although Samsung betrayed Mr. John, with Lee Boo-jin's connections, they won't be affected. After all, Lee Boo-jin can't bear the name of being unfilial. But we can't. Time waits for no one. Lee Boo-jin has already disappeared in South Korea. We don't have much time left!" "I agree. At this time, it's not about gains and losses, but about our lives. If I were those officials, I would use us as scapegoats, taking the blame. This would not only satisfy Mr. John but also please the Rockefellers and quell public anger. Don't forget, the public is very resentful right now; their lives have been affected. Under these circumstances, abandoning us conglomerates is the best choice. It can not only quell public anger but also get our assets. What a good thing!"

It's not that this guy thinks so badly of the South Korean officials, but reality is just that cruel and ruthless. If they make the wrong choice, they will pay a heavy price for it. No one can change that. For them, the best choice is to cooperate with those old guys like Rockefeller, give up their assets, and share the profits with American financial groups!
"If we cooperate with Rockefeller and his group, we can withstand the pressure from Mr. John and Asian Energy. At least we will have enough time to make all the preparations! Time is a matter of life and death for us. We cannot take it lightly, otherwise, death will be the only thing waiting for us."

"That's enough. No need for further explanation. Just state your position now. We won't force those who are unwilling. After all, everyone has to pay the price for their choices. If you're unwilling to give up those benefits, then face the anger of all sides and bear the consequences. We don't have that much time to waste, or we'll all be dragged down."

Although some people were unwilling, they had no choice but to accept it under external pressure. After all, everyone had agreed, and if you insisted on opposing it, you would be going against everyone else and would die. Under such circumstances, they quickly reached a consensus and immediately contacted the United States, agreeing to accept financing from major American financial groups.

When these guys accomplished all this, the South Korean government was furious. This was not the outcome they wanted. Allowing American conglomerates to enter South Korea and align themselves with South Korean chaebols would have a significant impact on them. However, they were now powerless to stop it, since those guys had already agreed. If the government tried to stop them, they would face pressure from the United States!

"What should we do? We have nowhere to retreat now. Even if we wanted to use those guys as scapegoats, it's impossible. The American conglomerate will not allow us to do so. If we take these guys down, their interests will be affected. This time we made a wrong move. Not only did we not gain any benefits, but we also put ourselves in a predicament."

"It's too late to say all this now. Everything has already happened and is beyond our control. We can only take it one step at a time!" Faced with such pressure, the South Korean government officials are also starting to have headaches. Samsung is out of control, and now the entire South Korean conglomerate is out of control. This is a disaster for them!
"Let them fight it out. If those guys in the US have already made peace, nothing we do will make a difference. I even suspect this is a conspiracy against us. Otherwise, why would only we Koreans suffer losses while they reap the benefits? Under these circumstances, we can only remain unchanged and wait for the right opportunity!"

Unfortunately, these Koreans never imagined that once they made that wrong move, there would be no turning back. Everything on their chessboard would fall into the hands of the chaebols, and their power would hang over everyone in Korea. Of course, John was also a member of the chaebol, only he was represented by Lee Boo-jin.

Soon, the US had a decision: they had no choice but to accept John's conditions, as they couldn't afford the consequences of failure. A major escalation was an outcome none of them wanted. Although the oil-rich capitalists didn't want to accept it, they were powerless to object; everything was beyond their control.

The agreement was quickly signed, in black and white. Each major conglomerate had a copy, and the US government had a copy. Once the agreement was in place, no one dared to violate it. Anyone who did would become the enemy of everyone and would be subjected to a united attack.

Once the agreement was signed in the United States, the conflict between John and them quickly came to an end. The guys on Wall Street breathed a sigh of relief, but it was a different story for other companies. They were facing enormous pressure. Although John had not yet made a move, a terrible storm had already formed throughout the United States, and many people were looking forward to John's counterattack.

WorldCom, Enron, and Pacific Gas and Electric Company, the three giants, did not believe that they would be defeated by Hurricane Investment, not to mention that Hurricane Investment had to focus on other things. Therefore, they did not take John's threat seriously, and even if someone reminded them, they remained confident.

As they suspected, Hurricane Capital remained silent, seemingly forgetting the previous conflict. These guys were still incredibly arrogant, but unfortunately, they soon came under attack. WorldCom, Enron, and even Pacific Gas and Electric Company all suffered from short selling by Hurricane Capital, and it was a comprehensive short selling.

This sudden attack caught them completely off guard, leaving them somewhat at a loss as to how to respond. After all, in their understanding, Hurricane Investment did not have much capital and could not possibly launch a full-scale attack against them. Hurricane Investment had previously shorted tech giants such as AMD, Intel, and Microsoft!

(End of this chapter)