The Enemy of My Enemy
"Now that I think about it..." Choi Cheol-jun wore an expression that said, 'Come to think of it, that makes sense.'
"Don't you think it's a bit strange, Uncle? Even if they call it 'Sintobuli'—buying local—how many Korean films have actually succeeded lately? In this climate, they're pushing Korean films? I just don't get it. No matter how I look at it, it just seems like a waste of money."
"Is Geumsan Steel's retained earnings really that loose?"
Yoon-gi, hearing this, shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know about that yet. For now, Uncle, please just handle your usual duties at MEV and stay on standby. If I need you to do something, I'll let you know separately."
"Oh? Ah, alright."
Not long after Choi Cheol-jun left, Choi Deok-bae’s voice echoed in his mind. It was a truly accurate assessment. Because of that, Yoon-gi burst into a small laugh.
"Still, he feels a bit like my father, so I don't dislike him."
"The five brothers each have such distinct personalities that it’s quite amusing. Ah, four brothers. My mistake."
Just as Yoon-gi was drawing a clear line, Choi Deok-bae spoke again. "I think I've said this before, but if you have a lot of money and you just win by throwing it around, that’s nothing more than 'money-wasting'."
Yoon-gi shook his head. "Well, sometimes that might be fine. But my assets aren't always loose enough to do that."
"Even with my current wealth, if I were to properly film a Hollywood movie, I could only make about 20 of them. Do you understand what this means?"
"And if you get into the habit of winning with money, one fatal problem arises."
Yoon-gi took out three coins for Choi Deok-bae, who was curious. "A 100-won coin can beat a 50-won coin."
Choi Deok-bae nodded at the tower of coins stacked in an inverted pyramid shape. "And a 500-won coin can beat a 100-won coin."
A 500-won coin was placed on top of the 100-won coin. "What if the 100-won coin is me?"
What Yoon-gi was trying to say was clear: if you only try to crush your opponent with the power of money, you will inevitably be defeated by someone with more money than you someday. In reality, while Yoon-gi's current assets exceeded 1 trillion won—making him a top-tier chaebol in Korea—if he expanded to the global stage, he wouldn't even be in the top 100 wealthiest people.
"But you know, there are times when a 100-won coin can beat a 500-won coin."
Instead of answering Choi Deok-bae, Yoon-gi continued. He placed the three coins roughly on the desk, then made a circle with his thumb and index finger in front of the 100-won coin and flicked his hand.
Snap! Snap! Snap!
With just a single flick of his finger, two coins fell to the floor. As both the 50-won and 500-won coins were knocked away, Choi Deok-bae was left speechless.
Yoon-gi smirked at the highest praise Choi Deok-bae could offer. "That’s why I don't try to simply suppress my opponents with money."
Thinking the explanation was finished, Yoon-gi picked up the receiver and began dialing to call Choi Chul-kyu. "If someone picks up those coins while cleaning, wouldn't that be a small happiness in its own right?"
Just as he was about to pick up the receiver he had set down for a moment, the phone suddenly began to ring.
"Hello?"
At Yoon-gi's response, a familiar English accent came through the receiver.
[Chairman! It’s me, Colin!]
Colin, who was still consistently sending movie-related information from Hollywood. Thanks to Yoon-gi sending him 2 percent of MEV's foreign film net profits, Colin was currently sending news faster and more accurately than ever before. Was he a kind of informant? Since Colin had called so urgently, it was clear that something corresponding to that urgency had happened, so Yoon-gi went straight to the point.
"What happened?"
[Yes! Currently, funds are flowing back into Hollywood!]
Instead of asking back, "Is it Mafia money?", Yoon-gi deliberately waited for the words to continue. He knew well that it was the fastest way to get to the main point.
[A Korean, just like you, Chairman, is currently making investment proposals in Hollywood for films you didn't reinvest in! And most of the films have accepted those proposals!]
"What is his name?"
[I haven't been able to find out his exact name, but I did find out he goes by the title 'Mr. Oh'!]
"That was good information. Contact me again if you find out more details."
[Understood!]
With Colin's high-tension report, Yoon-gi summoned Choi Chul-kyu to his study.
The appearance of MEV brought two influences to the Korean film industry. One was that all the theaters in Seoul lost their competitiveness. Theaters with only one or two screens and no additional facilities offered no merit to the audience. It was to the point where not only people living in Gangnam, but also those in Gangdong, Gangseo, Gangbuk, and even the Gyeonggi area would come to play at MEV on weekends. If the YK Department Store headquarters was in Gangbuk, MEV was in Gangnam. Therefore, simply watching a movie was no longer enough of an entertainment.
The second influence was a direct hit to the Korean film industry. In fact, the Screen Quota System had existed since '66 when P was in power, but during the Yushin regime, when P's rule reached its peak, the screen quota system was also extremely strengthened. It was to the extent that one could only import one foreign film for every eight Korean films released, and even then, there was a limit of 40 films per year. This naturally led to the proliferation of "uncompetitive" Korean films, so for the Korean film industry, it was a time when they were essentially milking the system.
However, YK had whispered in JD's ear and abolished this screen quota system. As Choi Deok-bae thought, in original history, the screen quota was relaxed around this time as well. The reason was the United States. Since movies were also a subject of trade, the US demanded the lifting of restrictions on foreign film imports, and Korea accepted this, freely allowing foreign film imports. Along with this came the relaxation of the screen quota system. Therefore, in MEV right now, the sight of Choi Deok-bae sitting next to a lone audience member watching a horror movie and watching it together was a natural occurrence even in original history.
"Kyaaak!!"
An audience member who was startled while watching the movie screamed, and Choi Deok-bae was also startled by the scream and grumbled. Of course, far away, in Gangseo-gu, people were screaming for slightly different reasons.
"Chairman Oh is right! At this rate, the country is really going to collapse!"
A Chinese restaurant, same atmosphere but different from last time. The people gathered were also not theater owners, but other people.
"Really, these days, even if we shoot a movie, there's nowhere to release it! It's a big problem!"
The identities of the people lamenting as if screaming in front of Oh Jeong-su were those who could be called the heavyweights of the Korean film industry of this era. No, to be more precise, they were those who had monopolized the honey.
"Are things that difficult these days?"
At Chairman Oh Jeong-su's feigned ignorance, one of the directors nodded.
"That's right! Just looking at the theaters in Seoul, some have closed their doors, and the rest have drastically reduced the number of screenings. Even so, thanks to you, Chairman Oh, talk of deals is coming up again lately, but it's a level far short of what it used to be. This is all because of MEV!"
"What do you think is the cause of MEV being a problem right now?"
At Oh Jeong-su's method of making the other person say the answer, the director immediately gave it.
"Isn't it because they only screen foreign films! If it's a Korean company, they should naturally screen a lot of Korean films, so what on earth are they doing? What good does it do to screen foreign films other than filling the stomachs of those 'nose-pickers' (Westerners)? The president of MEV is truly a pro-Japanese, communist traitor!"
The magic word created by the era. The word 'Communist', which boasted a long tradition since the Korean War, didn't actually matter if the opponent was really a communist. If JSD had heard their conversation? If it were the JSD of these days, he would have dragged those who cursed MEV to Namyeong-dong immediately, but they had the luck of not having JSD here, so they could denounce MEV to their heart's content. And in the gradually ripening atmosphere, Chairman Oh Jeong-su opened his mouth with a fishy sneer.
"Now, everyone. In that sense, I will make a good proposal."
[Let's save domestic companies.]
[Let's drive out YK, which is killing domestic companies.]
[MEV is ruining the film industry.]
[Fierce foreign currency outflow, a shortcut to the country's ruin.]
Placards hung at 10 theaters in Seoul excluding MEV. Along with these placards, content denouncing MEV and YK began to be reported gradually on TV and in newspapers. Of course, it wasn't at a mainstream level. Because Ma Seok-il was still in charge of entertaining reporters. However, as money from unknown sources was pouring into newspaper companies and broadcasting stations, it was impossible to block it 100 percent, and these reports were clearly having an effect. This was because there were definitely people who held grudges against YK.
They were the 'producers' similar to YK. From a consumer's perspective, there was no need to curse YK, but from the producers' perspective, there was no company they wanted to kill more than YK. People who had lost their competitiveness due to YK and had to close their businesses participated in this 'Anti-YK Movement' with excitement, and some ordinary people who were deceived by the reports joined them. This alone was enough to make their voices heard to some extent, but an strangely large number of people additionally participated in their rallies. They were the fake protesters hired by Oh Jeong-su with money.
In fact, most were fake protesters, but as people who were genuinely dissatisfied took positions at the top and led the protests, the effect began to change dramatically. It was to the point where even ordinary citizens who had no thoughts were rethinking, "Is YK really that bad?" It was truly Oh Jeong-su's scheme, knowing what 'public opinion' was. This situation was naturally reported to Yoon-gi, and Yoon-gi was welcoming Son Min-gwan in his office.
"Chief Son's strength is truly important in this matter."
There was no burden at all on Yoon-gi's face as he smirked.