Chapter 117: Strong Against the Strong
Chapter 117: Strong Against the Strong
I couldn’t analyze the American economy with mere numbers.
My knowledge was still lacking.
But how often were the experts right about the economy anyway?
The subprime mortgage crisis of 2007.
Of all the Wall Street investors who had handled immense wealth for years, and all the famous economists, how many had actually predicted it?
Analysis is something you do after the fact. Perhaps intuition is what matters most.
‘I think this is the peak.’
I felt the U.S. stock market was in a precarious state, even if it wasn't going to crash today.
When everyone is greedy, it's time to leave the market.
‘Ah… I should have just kept my mouth shut.’
The TV cameras filming the economic advisory meeting kept focusing on me, and the expressions on the faces of the President-elect and the other attendees were stiff.
‘Looks like I really messed up.’
Looking back, it was the same when I spoke with the South Korean Minister of Health and Welfare. It seemed I had some subconscious aversion to politicians.
‘I saw too many politicians on TV when I was a kid.’
Politicians who promised to build a better country and care for the weak.
The only time they ever came over to shake your hand and smile was during election season.
And now, I had just unleashed my deep-seated hatred of politicians in the United States.
* * *
Despite it being the dead of night in Korea, the retail investors were wide awake.
―Biden’s economic advisory meeting is about to start.
―Damn… investing in the US market has me watching this kind of broadcast. Feels like I'm a global investor now.
―I just yolo'd my entire life savings into it without a second thought lol.
―Watching the stock price go up while my heart's pounding makes me feel like I'm winning at life.
―Anyway, let's focus today. It's been a while since our man Kim Shin was on.
―Our man Kim Shin, who even made Earth Channel a success in a super competitive market. The guy’s a legend.
―You guys see the seating arrangement? He's right next to the President.
―His influence is no joke.
―Seems like he's considered a key figure in American politics and business.
―The TV cameras are focusing on our man Kim Shin a lot, too.
―Well, the network has to care about ratings.
At the economic advisory meeting, various experts took turns sharing their views.
―They're boldly proposing to pump in another two or three trillion dollars.
―The scale of the US economy is insane. The fact that they can even print that much money is incredible.
―Is that really okay? Aren't they taking on too much debt?
―It's fine because they're the key currency country. The whole world absorbs it.
―The creditors actually love it even more. Hahaha.
―If Biden prints money after his inauguration, the stock market is guaranteed to go up.
Then, the microphone was passed to Kim Shin.
―Oh… he's talking.
―The President-elect handed him the mic himself.
―That's real power!
―…Huh?
―What is our man Kim Shin saying right now?
―He's saying the stock market is a bubble?
The Korean retail investors listened to Kim Shin’s words, bewildered.
―Is he talking about inflation?
―That, and that the stock market is at its peak. He’s saying it's dangerous.
―For real?
―He doesn't seem to be kidding.
―Come on… stocks are rising all over the world. Why would he say something like that?
―Why? Because he thinks it's a bubble.
―Is it really a bubble?
―Looks like our man Kim Shin has decided it's the peak.
―So what should we do?
―What do you mean, what should we do? We're not supposed to use our brains. If you don't want your body to suffer, you do as you're told.
The Korean retail investors began to move swiftly.
―Sell.
―Short. Go short!
―Change positions. Change positions.
* * *
“I messed up, didn’t I?”
“Yes, you did. I’d say you messed up spectacularly. You just told the President-elect of the United States that his economic policy is wrong.”
As soon as the economic advisory meeting ended, I left the building with Lee Jong-yeop.
President-elect Biden had campaigned on stimulating the economy through aggressive fiscal expansion, but there were concerns about inflation. I had just publicly stated that such a policy could be a mistake.
“I was trying not to cause trouble, but I did it anyway.”
“To be honest, I thought you might.”
I looked at Lee Jong-yeop, surprised.
The fact that I had caused trouble was one thing, but that he had anticipated it was another.
“You thought I would cause trouble?”
“Yes. You have a strange side to you, sir.”
There was a discrepancy between how I saw myself and how Lee Jong-yeop saw me.
“You’re good with people who have a moderate amount of power. When you were at Arcor, it was doctors. You’d smile, play along. You were even willing to swallow your pride.”
“But?”
“Things change when you’re dealing with someone like the director of a major hospital. You don’t hesitate to say no when something isn't right.”
Was I the type to yield to weaker authorities but push back against stronger ones?
“It’s just like what you did when you overturned that incident during the cataract surgery at the top ophthalmology clinic in Nonhyeon-dong.”
“That did happen, didn’t it?”
I had stepped in because I thought it was wrong.
Going fishing at the breakwater or bringing a bouquet to a daughter’s recital were things I could handle by sacrificing a precious weekend.
But if I truly believed something was wrong, I couldn’t help but act on it.
After causing that stir at the clinic in Nonhyeon-dong, I’d had a tough time with sales for a while.
Even though ophthalmology clinics were spread across the country, it was a small world, and word got around quickly.
“So I’m a bit of a troublemaker, huh?”
Lee Jong-yeop grinned at my self-deprecating comment.
“The good thing is, there aren’t many people stronger than you.”
“That’s so comforting.”
I needed to fix this, but the situation was already out of my hands.
American television networks had broadcast it live, and articles were already out.
<Midas Touch Kim Shin: “The Current Stock Market is a Bubble.”>
<Kim Shin’s Bold Statement: Bubbles in Stocks, Real Estate, and Crypto>
<Kim Shin’s Warning at a Meeting Hosted by the President-elect>
<Kim Shin Publicly Calls Out the Fed and Government, Urging Them Not to Make Mistakes for the People’s Sake>
I felt a dizzying sensation every time I saw a new headline.
At this rate, it looked like I was setting myself up against the President-elect and the U.S. government.
Lee Jong-yeop read through the articles and commented.
“The articles came out pretty well, though.”
“They did?”
“Many of them are interpreting it as concern for the American economy. Some are even praising you for speaking your mind in front of the President-elect.”
“How will the Fed or the government see it?”
“They might see you as a fearless lunatic… but America isn’t a dictatorship. It probably won’t matter much, will it?”
“True.”
There were plenty of economists and scholars in the U.S. who disagreed with the government.
They weren’t thrown in jail for pointing out that the Fed was making a mistake.
Just as I was breathing a sigh of relief.
“President-elect Biden is planning massive support for businesses, but it’ll be hard for you to get a piece of that.”
“That’s true, isn’t it?”
“Yes. You’ll probably be walking on eggshells for a bit.”
* * *
President-elect Joe Biden.
He began his career as a senator for Delaware in 1973 and was four years older than even former President Bill Clinton.
He had a long political career and had served as Vice President under Barack Obama.
Now in his late seventies, he possessed a seasoned way of thinking.
“He’s an interesting man, isn’t he?”
At Biden’s words, his transition team staff looked troubled.
“That was an aggressive statement that could become an obstacle for the new administration.”
“Just when the President needs to implement his policy of aggressive fiscal spending, we’re dealing with this tired old inflation debate.”
“He was an unknown figure until last year. It seems inviting him was a mistake.”
The transition team staff viewed Kim Shin very unfavorably.
In three months, they were scheduled to enter the White House alongside Biden.
“There’s a high chance the media will focus on Kim Shin’s remarks.”
“They’re a pack of hyenas, after all.”
Biden smiled faintly.
“To the press, I’ll say it was a valuable point for America’s sake.”
“Sir? He’s a man who dared to defy the President-elect.”
“Which is why for now, we praise him and let it pass smoothly.”
The current president, Trump, would have immediately lashed out at Kim Shin’s words, calling them nonsense. But Biden was not that type of man.
Having served 36 years as a senator and 8 years as Vice President, he was politics personified.
He knew when to smile and when to time his counterattack.
“The media wants me to criticize Kim Shin. They’ll just blow up the story between us even more. For now, we brush it off lightly. In a year or two, we’ll see whose words hold true, won’t we?”
“And if Kim Shin is proven wrong, the President’s name will be held in even higher regard for implementing the correct policy.”
“Exactly. And… we can’t rule out the possibility that Kim Shin will be proven right.”
He didn’t want to engage in a heated debate now, only to find himself in an awkward position if Kim Shin’s words proved true in a year or two.
Biden looked at his chief of staff and said.
“Do you know the secret to how I’ve held on to power for so long?”
“I’m not sure yet, sir.”
“It’s that I only fight battles I can win.”
* * *
After the economic advisory meeting, I rested at the hotel, but there was no contact from the President’s transition team.
President-elect Biden spoke with reporters.
“Kim Shin, whom I invited, frankly shared his opinion at the meeting. Those diverse perspectives were exactly what I wanted.”
Watching the President-elect’s statement on the hotel room TV, I felt a knot of anxiety.
I had grown bolder through investing and business, but it was hard to completely shake off my timid nature.
‘Still, I think I deserve some credit for being nervous about taking on the U.S. President-elect.’
No one would be able to directly challenge another country’s President-elect.
A reporter asked Biden another question.
“Do you agree with the concerns about inflation or a stock market bubble?”
“I will listen carefully to his opinion, but ultimately, I trust the judgment of the Treasury and the Fed. Government spending is essential. It will protect our industries and safeguard the middle class.”
He wasn’t getting angry?
He wasn’t speaking aggressively, but was instead defending me?
‘Somehow, he seems like an even more formidable person.’
Lee Jong-yeop, who was looking at his computer, spoke up.
“The New York stock market has fallen.”
“It has?”
“Yes. The Dow dropped by over 1%. It seems to be because of your ‘bubble’ comment.”
The stock market usually only fluctuated in response to comments from the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury or a member of the Fed.
But now it had moved because of something I said. There was no real need for that.
“And the Korean retail investors are apparently selling off a massive amount of stock.”
I personally felt the New York stock market was a bubble.
The index might rise further, but overall, I judged it to be at a high point.
‘My own rate of return this year is just absurd.’
Because they were printing so much money, it was possible that today’s stock index could become the new average.
Like the term ‘new normal,’ it meant the standard had changed because the times had changed.
But if that wasn’t the case, then I felt we were definitely in an overvalued period.
The next morning, articles from many media outlets appeared.
<The Fed: “Inflation Concerns? We Do Not Wish to Comment on the Opinion of an Individual Investor.”>
<Chicago Fed President: “It Will Take Years Just to Reach 2% Inflation.”>
<Next U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen: “Now is the Time to Revive the Economy. Debating Inflation That Hasn’t Arrived is Unnecessary.”>
<Former Fed Chair Ben Bernanke Predicts the Fed Will Not Raise Interest Rates for the Next Four Years>
The opinions of the Fed and the incoming Treasury Secretary were to be expected.
Such heavyweights had come out to publicly refute my opinion.
But there were also articles that were favorable to me.
<Harvard Professor Larry Summers: “I Entirely Agree with Kim Shin’s Statement.”>
The man who was Treasury Secretary during the Bill Clinton administration supported my view.
<Goldman Sachs Chief Strategist: Can Agree with the Opinion that a Bubble has Formed in Stocks, Bitcoin>
<JPMorgan New York Research Center Head: Excessive Liquidity is Causing All Assets to Skyrocket>
Globally renowned investment banks came out in support of my opinion.
The situation was a headache in many ways, but my mind felt clearer.
It seemed Lee Jong-yeop’s assessment that I got stronger when facing a strong opponent was true.