American Gossip King

Chapter 203 Negotiations with Samsung

Hong Hotel.

Kim Hee-sun sat in front of the dressing mirror, her face pale.

The beauty in the mirror had dim eyes and looked pitiful.

Not far behind her, a middle-aged man in a black suit shouted angrily, "Damn it! This concerns the honor of the nation; you have no right to refuse!"

Kim Hee-sun could no longer contain her grief and indignation.

She glared back at him angrily: "Why does it have to be me?"

The middle-aged man in the black suit roared, "You think you can avoid all this just because you're a celebrity? Your status only qualifies you to serve men of higher status! Ian Carl is an American! He now owns CBS, Fox Entertainment, and Gannett. His Carl Media is now one of the most powerful media conglomerates in the world!"

Kim Hee-sun said sadly, "Is it really better than Samsung?"

The other person gently shook their head: "Of course he can't compare. He's not as physically strong as Samsung, but he has a huge voice! He can make his words travel the world! Only he can wash away the shame that the Republic of Korea has suffered. Hee-sun, this is for the honor of the nation!"

Kim Hee-sun looked at them coldly: "Even if it weren't for the country, you would still do this."

"At least it won't be you!"

Kim Hee-sun lowered her head in despair.

She knew she was already lucky.

She didn't debut as a trainee.

If a trainee from South Korea debuts, don't even mention national honor.

It means that if the big boss has a need, you have to go and accommodate him.

Her experience was better than those trainees; she had less control over her life and became famous early, so she didn't have to go through this.

She thought she could escape, but she found that even after getting to this point, she still couldn't escape!

The more famous she is, the more likely she is to be chosen.

After all, there is no shortage of beautiful women, but only beauties with an aura have added value!

The reason she was chosen was because Ian Carl had heard that he didn't like women who were too promiscuous, which was very un-American.

So, she was chosen.

Moreover, they have no right to refuse.

Because this time it's not just Samsung's intention, but also the Blue House's (South Korean presidential residence).

They urgently need to resolve this World Cup scandal and restore their international reputation.

Sadness, helplessness.

She sat there, staring blankly at herself in the mirror.

He murmured to himself: "As expected, actors are actors. No matter how high they go, they are still inevitably controlled by others in terms of their fate!"

Even with the so-called rise of feminism in South Korea, these women are still ultimately commodities! Resources to be used for bargaining!

The man in the suit noticed her mood and said coldly, "Wipe away your tears. Don't upset our important guest!"

He left after saying that.

Half an hour later, Kim Hee-sun finally finished her makeup and dressing.

She was dressed in traditional Korean clothing when she walked out of the dressing room and into the waiting room.

There, she was shocked to see Song Hye-kyo and Choo Ja-hyun.

This surprised her slightly.

They came too?

Song Hye-kyo still had tears in her eyes, and she was slightly taken aback when she saw Kim Hee-sun.

Then she chuckled softly, "You're here too?"

Kim Hee-sun gave a helpless and awkward smile, glancing around: "Ji-hyun didn't come?"

Choo Ja-hyun, who was standing nearby, replied, "Yes, in another room."

Kim Hee-sun exclaimed indignantly, "So all the famous actresses in South Korea were summoned? Just to please Ian Karl?"

"Shh!" Song Hye-kyo gently raised a finger: "Not all of them. Some people are filming and don't have time off. They might escape this time, but they might not escape next time. Our only hope now is that they don't even want us."

Kim Hee-sun sat there blankly.

She knew this expectation was somewhat ridiculous, like a drowning person grasping at straws.

They were in the waiting room, and from the window next to them they could see the reception hall in the distance.

In the luxurious reception hall, Lee Kun-hee, accompanied by several high-ranking officials from the Blue House, was talking to a young man.

It was Ian Karl; Kim Hee-sun had seen his photo before.

Even when facing Ian, Lee Kun-hee, the head of Samsung, showed enthusiasm on his face.

Kim Hee-sun has met many bigwigs in the business world, and their faces are always full of arrogance.

That's the arrogance of treating everything as worthless.

Only in front of Americans does he start acting like a dog.

Ian Carr's net worth may not be as high as Lee Kun-hee's right now, but so what?

Now the whole of South Korea is begging him, not to mention he's an American, his own father!

To her some relief, Ian Carl was at least a handsome man, which lessened her inner conflict and pain considerably.

She couldn't hear what they were saying, so she could only wait silently.

A moment later, a middle-aged woman came in: "Xishan, go and deliver the melons and fruits."

Kim Hee-sun understood.

She rose gently, picked up the bowl of fruit that had been prepared beforehand like a waiter, and followed another waiter over.

Carrying the fruit to the center of the reception room, Kim Hee-sun followed the actions of the maid, kneeling on one knee and arranging the fruit one by one.

The translator's voice came through the ear: "Mr. Karl believes that Samsung Group will have great development in the future. He plans to buy 10% of Samsung Group's shares, but he currently has limited funds and can only offer up to 2 billion."

Lee Kun-hee chuckled and said, "This price is indeed a bit cheap."

Kim Hee-sun was secretly surprised.

The Samsung Group is expected to appreciate to over 300 billion US dollars in the future, compared to its current market value of only over 40 billion US dollars.

Even so, it's not something that can be bought for two billion.

The translator relayed the message, and Kim Hee-sun's English was quite good. She heard Ian Carl say, "If the National Bank of Korea can provide a loan, the price can be discussed further."

The purchase of Fox Entertainment would require 13 billion, a sum that Linuo Bank alone could not afford—Linuo Bank has been developing rapidly during this period, but the funds it controls are only around 40 billion.

Even if the bank didn't have that much money right now, it wouldn't give it to just one person. Banks don't put all their eggs in one basket.

Therefore, Ian also contacted Ankang Insurance Company, Dubang Group, and others, needing the support of multiple companies to acquire the shares.

In this situation, he didn't have enough money to buy Samsung shares.

But Ian didn't care.

To be precise, what he wanted from Samsung was never equity – the Lee family has its own equity structure, and even with only 4%, they can control the company, while their market value has only increased five or six times in twenty years. As for now, the Lee family still owns more than 30% of the shares.

In terms of return on investment, it's not as strong as those future internet companies... but firstly, those internet companies don't need as much investment, and secondly, Ian needs to establish his position in South Korea.

Status and influence are always the most important.

So for Ian, it was about using Korean money to buy Korean companies and, incidentally, infiltrating their territory.

Whether it works out or not, he doesn't care; now it's your turn to ask him for a favor.

He glanced at Kim Hee-sun as he spoke.

Goodness, even Kim Hee-sun was sent over as a waitress. Add to that Song Hye-kyo, Choo Ja-hyun, and Jun Ji-hyun who appeared before, the Koreans really brought out all the best they could offer.

The problem is that this is a huge deal.

Is it worth spending tens or hundreds of millions of dollars on a few female celebrities?

For Ian Carl, it's not worth it!

Over the past two years, Ian has had quite a few women, but very few of them have required him to spend money, especially on expenses exceeding 100 million.

Starting a business is not easy; every penny must be spent wisely.

Kim Hee-sun's name isn't Kim Knife Blade.

An official sitting next to Lee Kun-hee said, "South Korea can lend you money, but how do you intend to clean up our reputation?"

Ian shrugged: "Don't expect any special methods. The key is long-term brainwashing. We can instill this concept in people around the world: every country has bad people, this World Cup is just an isolated incident, and it doesn't represent all Koreans. Koreans as a whole are still very good. We can report more on the good deeds of Koreans around the world. For example, bravely rescuing an innocent girl, paying attention to environmental protection, being humble and polite, and all other good things."

When the topic of Koreans' humility came up, Ian almost choked on his words, but fortunately, his professional business sense allowed him to quickly adjust his mindset.

Koreans are good people as long as you give them benefits!

The latest novel is first published here!

Koreans are very humble, and they never steal other people's history... That's worth two billion!

Actually, clearing the name of South Koreans is a very difficult task.

Firstly, this cannot be written into the contract.

You mentioned that the contract states "Carl Media must promote South Korea positively," what are the standards for that?

If Carl Media publishes even a small, positive report, saying a few words that the Koreans are alright, is that considered fulfilling the agreement?

Secondly, there's no standard for this matter itself. National reputation is a subjective and subjective thing, difficult to quantify.

To what extent must the agreement be completed?

If I randomly grab a few people on the street and shout "Koreans are all good people," does that count as meeting my quota?

Without clear quantitative indicators, this is difficult to do.

But you still can't do anything about it!

Because currently, apart from Ian Carl, no one can help them—the other media outlets are also shaking their heads, it's really too difficult.

They could only hope that Ian would do it, and they could only pursue the process, not the result—that is to say, as long as Ian Carl made a promise, he would not be responsible for the outcome!

This is why they kept discussing what Ian Karl should do... They could only discuss the methods, not the results.

As for Ian, his thinking was much simpler.

Kind words can be said, but as for how much can be salvaged, that depends on you Koreans yourselves.

You brought this upon yourselves, that's none of my business. At most, my company will just stop reporting your negative news.

So for him, this was a win-win situation.

At this moment, Kim Hee-sun had already arranged the fruits and was about to leave.

Lee Kun-hee noticed that Ian glanced at Kim Hee-sun a few more times, so he waved his hand and said, "Go, stand next to Mr. Carl, and be ready to serve him at any time."

Kim Hee-sun had no choice but to lower her head and stand behind Ian.

Ian's gaze swept over Kim Hee-sun's shapely figure, and he smiled slightly before continuing, "You can't reverse the impact of a sensational event with the same sensational news. Only through long-term accumulation can the impression gradually change. It's like being shot; the damage requires a long time to heal. That's the situation in South Korea right now. You expect me to resolve it all at once? That's impossible and unrealistic. Otherwise, it wouldn't be me sitting here now, but rather Somerset Stone, Ralph Roberts, or Rudolf Murdoch."

Ian paused, then said, "Jews go to the Middle East and commit mass killings, but why isn't their reputation tarnished? Because the media keeps glorifying them. They kill so many people, yet they're still the pitiful victims! World Cup cheating is a trivial matter, easily resolved. People are forgetful; even news like this will be forgotten in a few months at most."

Ian doesn't intend to create any big news to clear the South Koreans' name; on the contrary, this kind of publicity, which requires a long time, is easier to manage.

They barely managed to salvage some face before being hit with another vicious revelation.

Just like the stock market.

Trading is all about ups and downs!

Lee Kun-hee laughed and said, "It sounds like you can't do any more."

At that moment, Ian looked at the teacup; it was empty.

No waiter came to serve tea.

A man in a black suit glared at Kim Hee-sun and said, "Damn it! Quickly pour some tea for the gentleman."

Kim Hee-sun then realized what was happening and hurriedly poured tea for Ian.

Ian patted her little hand and smiled, "You're not used to this, don't force yourself."

Very moisturizing!

Then he poured tea himself, speaking calmly: "The media can make people forget, or it can make them remember. In a country with so many people, there will always be both ugliness and goodness. You can choose to report the ugly side, or you can choose to report the truth, goodness, and beauty. The right to choose the news is the media's greatest power."

Lee Kun-hee was speechless.

Are you saying that if I don't agree, you'll report on our bad side?

Ian really wanted to have a proper talk with Lee Kun-hee, and try not to use threats.

But some things are just habits.

As the conversation went on, threats were used again without our noticing.

The key point is that Ian is a real threat now!

Controlling three major media outlets simultaneously, his influence was so great that even a casual remark from him could be known worldwide.

After a moment's thought, Lee Kun-hee glanced at the Blue House officials beside him.

The official said, "45 billion, with an interest rate of 3%."

Ian shook his head: "32 billion, 2% interest, interest only for the next 5 years."

In 02, South Korea's interest rate was only 2.25%, while Japan's interest rate had long been around 1% or even 0.1%.

The most profitable way to do international finance is to borrow money from these low-interest-rate countries and then deposit it in high-interest-rate banks. You don't have to do anything and you can make a profit from the exchange rate difference all year round. The premise is that the transaction fees are low and the exchange rate fluctuations are not significant. However, the exchange rate can fluctuate, so if you operate well, the overall profit will still outweigh the loss.

The renowned Warren Buffett is a master of this, having made a fortune by taking advantage of interest rate differentials between countries.

Of course, low-interest countries aren't stupid, so they all have restrictions. For example, money borrowed from me can only be used for investment here, or there are large cross-border transaction fees, and even currency exchange restrictions.

For example, in China, ordinary people are limited to exchanging $50,000 USD in foreign currency—of course, for the wealthy, this restriction doesn't exist; they have too many ways to circumvent it, and it's the same in any country.

The amount of the transaction fee varies from country to country, with European countries having the highest fees.

For example, if a German wants to send money to South Korea, the German must first deposit the money in a local German bank, then transfer the money from the local bank to the German central bank, then from the German central bank to the European Central Bank, and finally from the European Central Bank to the United States, and only after the money is transferred through the international payment system can it reach South Korea—if the Americans disagree, the money cannot be sent out.

Each step of the process incurs a handling fee.

However, the US-centric payment system has fewer hurdles, which means huge profits.

No matter how many restrictions Japan and South Korea impose, it's useless. After all, Japan and South Korea are America's dogs, and the restrictions only apply to ordinary people. The Americans have plenty of ways to extract money from these two countries—which is why interest rates in Japan and South Korea are so low.

When Japan later raised interest rates, the United States directly declared it a betrayal of the Americans.

Ian didn't have the ability to get loans from Japan and South Korea before, but now it's much easier.

I borrowed money directly from a Korean bank and invested it in a Korean company. You have nothing to say about that now, right?

That's true, but the problem is that Samsung shares aren't so easy to give away! Besides, you're only paying interest for five years! And you're only calculating 10% of Samsung's shares at 32 billion?

Hey, that's just asking for the moon and then negotiating on the spot!

Everyone fell silent.

Lee Kun-hee glanced back at the people behind him, then stepped back. A moment later, the girls in the waiting room came out and stood on both sides of the reception room.

Lee Kun-hee smiled at Ian: "Big deals can't be settled in a day. Why don't you enjoy our hospitality, Mr. Carl?"

Ian smiled.

His gaze swept over Song Hye-kyo and the others, and he nodded: "I've experienced the hospitality of Korea firsthand. It's truly sincere and warm, and I like it very much."

Lee Kun-hee smiled broadly: "Which one do you like?"

Ian did not answer, but his gaze lingered on Kim Hee-sun, Song Hye-kyo, Choo Ja-hyun, and Jun Ji-hyun in turn.

They're all beauties, but the one with the aura is just different!

He chuckled and said, "I like them all!"

(End of this chapter)