Chapter 1614: The Real Reason

Zhao Fusheng knew well that Koreans had always been fond of self-congratulation since ancient times.

During the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Taizong of Tang launched three campaigns against Goguryeo. Although he did not completely destroy Goguryeo and eventually withdrew due to extreme cold and the Goguryeo people's scorched-earth resistance at any cost, in Korean records, this was turned into their victory over the Tang.

As for the late Ming and early Qing periods, there was no need to mention it—Joseon's history actually recorded that they nearly occupied the entire Liaodong region...

Well, one must remember that at that time, even while the Ming Dynasty had to deal with the Later Jin's invasion, it could still beat Joseon to a pulp.

As for Korean films and TV dramas, they were even less reliable.

In his memory, Zhao Fusheng seemed to have watched a movie or a TV series that claimed Li Shimin was shot in one eye by a Goguryeo general. It was really a stretch for the screenwriter to write that. Probably because people in China didn't like watching Korean historical dramas, and Li Shimin couldn't jump out of his coffin to deal with them.

Occasionally, such historical films would appear at major film festivals each year.

It had to be said that they were truly thick-skinned. Speaking of which, only the screenwriters and directors of anti-Japanese divine dramas were qualified to compete with them.

"You're going back?"

Jiang Wen asked Zhao Fusheng with some surprise.

He had thought Zhao Fusheng would stay here a bit longer.

"Not interested."

Zhao Fusheng waved his hand: "I'm going back to the hotel. You stay here with your assistant."

Anyway, there was no danger. It was fine for Old Jiang to stay here with the translator and assistant.

"Alright, then will you come to the official opening ceremony of the film festival tonight?" Jiang Wen thought for a moment and asked Zhao Fusheng.

"Depends on my mood."

Zhao Fusheng couldn't be bothered to say more. He waved his hand and stood up on his own.

Jiang Wen was speechless, but he knew Zhao Fusheng's character. He nodded and watched Zhao Fusheng leave with Park Sun-young and the others.

On the way back, Park Sun-young explained that she had originally planned to return after getting the documents, but Jiang Wen had found her and asked her to help with translation.

Zhao Fusheng nodded and didn't pay much attention to the matter.

...

...

Back at the hotel, Zhao Fusheng naturally didn't idle. Instead, he began reading the materials Park Sun-young had given him.

Park Sun-young and Hu Donghai had gone to rest. In the room, besides the bodyguards on shift, only Zhao Fusheng sat there quietly reading the materials.

"Lee Boo-jin, The Shilla Hotel, Samsung..."

Zhao Fusheng murmured to himself as he flipped through the materials.

Lee Boo-jin had been serving as Vice President of The Shilla Hotel for seven years. During those seven years, she had developed The Shilla Hotel very well, even making it the top hotel in Korea.

Because of this, Lee Boo-jin's status within Samsung had also improved considerably.

At the same time, Samsung had indeed encountered some problems in recent years.

Since Lee Yoon-hee's suicide due to emotional reasons, Lee Kun-hee had gradually stepped back from the front line, entrusting the company's power to his children.

The reason for this was partly because he was indeed mentally exhausted and saddened by his daughter's suicide, but more importantly, it was due to changes in the Korean political landscape.

Roh Moo-hyun, a man of humble origins, a high school graduate who had worked as a human rights lawyer, after ascending to the presidency of South Korea, began to wield the knife against the chaebols!

Chaebols are monopoly capital groups that developed from family businesses and are controlled by families. Korean chaebols control South Korea's political and economic resources, covering almost all industries and fields in the country.

In South Korea, not only is the government's shadow visible everywhere in economic activities between politics and business, but conversely, any politician aspiring to run for president must first seek the support of the chaebols, including their substantial financial backing.

Once a politician ascends to the presidency, the chaebols demand that the ruler repay them in various ways. This is the unique political-business culture of Korean society. How Korea is built and developed is decided through negotiations between the Korean president and the chaebols.

However, one Korean president chose to fight against the chaebols—President Roh Moo-hyun.

In the early 1980s, Roh Moo-hyun and his friend Moon Jae-in established a law firm in Busan, specializing in speaking for the underprivileged.

In 1988, on the eve of the 13th presidential election in South Korea, Roh Moo-hyun accepted Kim Young-sam's proposal and entered politics. His subsequent political career was extremely smooth.

Five years ago, Roh Moo-hyun successfully won the presidential election, and Moon Jae-in naturally became Roh Moo-hyun's Chief Secretary for Civil Affairs, but he resigned less than a year later.

After taking office, he attempted to build clean politics and an independent foreign policy through a series of measures. His independent foreign policy and peace and prosperity policy, amid the escalation of the North Korean nuclear crisis, seemed out of place and sparked great controversy.

On March 9, 2004, the Grand National Party and the Millennium Democratic Party submitted a motion to impeach then-President Roh Moo-hyun to the National Assembly. On May 14, the Constitutional Court rejected the impeachment motion, and Roh Moo-hyun immediately resumed presidential power.

In fact, Roh Moo-hyun's political crisis was a retaliation by the chaebols.

The reason was simple: during his tenure, Roh Moo-hyun launched a sweeping investigation into the chaebols. At the same time, he politically purged pro-Japanese collaborators and their descendants from the Japanese colonial period, including SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, who was the third-largest conglomerate in South Korea. He was thrown into prison. It should be noted that Chey Tae-won was the son-in-law of former President Roh Tae-woo.

Not only that, even former President Park Chung-hee was implicated.

Against this backdrop, how could Samsung's Lee family, as the top chaebol in South Korea, escape?

From the very beginning of his term, Roh Moo-hyun's eyes had been fixed on Samsung.

This was the real reason why Lee Kun-hee was keeping such a low profile now.

Simply put, Roh Moo-hyun now held the greatest power in South Korea. Even Samsung Group had to temporarily avoid the锋芒, lie low, and wait for an opportunity.

This was the real reason Lee Boo-jin sought cooperation with him.

Chaebols of this level would not completely collapse, but they understood the principle of a wily rabbit having three burrows better than anyone.

Facing difficulties in the domestic market, seeking new profit growth points in external markets was undoubtedly the most suitable approach.

After all, Samsung Group was a large family. Even maintaining the status quo, it could ensure substantial annual income, and these funds could be fully used for new project investments.

"A pathfinder?"

Frowning slightly, Zhao Fusheng defined Lee Boo-jin in his mind.

In his view, Lee Boo-jin should be the pathfinder sent by Lee Kun-hee. Of course, Lee Boo-jin herself should be satisfied with this positioning, as she urgently needed to enhance her status within the family.

"Alright, let's just take what we need."

Zhao Fusheng thought for a moment and muttered to himself.

He was well aware that he needed to expand the Korean market and required substantial cash flow. Meanwhile, Lee Boo-jin needed to expand her influence within Samsung and enhance her image as a successor through cooperation with him.

Under these circumstances, cooperation was undoubtedly the best choice.

The essence of business is profit, and the purpose of cooperation is the same. As long as profit can be made, whether through cooperation or parting ways, the meaning is essentially the same.

For Zhao Fusheng, Samsung was the top chaebol in South Korea. Even if President Roh Moo-hyun intended to target Samsung, it had nothing to do with him. It wasn't as if Roh Moo-hyun would target Hanxing Investment just because he cooperated with Samsung's Lee Boo-jin—that would not align with South Korea's national interests.

Although he admired Roh Moo-hyun as a politician, Zhao Fusheng would not abandon cooperation with Samsung out of admiration for Roh Moo-hyun.

In South Korea, for a foreign company to establish a foothold without seeking a powerful partner was undoubtedly a pipe dream.

With that thought, Zhao Fusheng picked up the materials again and began examining the many companies Lee Boo-jin had previously invested in.

He hoped to find some of Lee Boo-jin's investment strategies from these materials.

After a long while, Zhao Fusheng looked up with a strange expression.

"Does this Miss Lee really know how to invest?"

Zhao Fusheng muttered to himself in disbelief.

Indeed, this was his honest thought, because in Zhao Fusheng's view, Lee Boo-jin was a textbook example of a sucker.