An Investor Who Sees The Future

The arrest of the Helltokkaeng operators was a big issue for a while.

In the case of adult sites, there is virtually no related industry now, and in the case of gambling sites, only the users are harmed, so the damage to the industry is minimal. But the story is different for illegal sharing sites.

The number of visitors and sales of webtoon sites has decreased significantly, and the estimated damage to the industry is over 300 billion won.

But unfortunately, the punishment for copyright infringement in Korea is not very severe. The main culprit, Park Jeong-seon, will get 5 years at best, and the accomplices will probably get 1 or 2 years and be done with it.

There is still a civil lawsuit pending, but even if a multi-billion won compensation ruling is made, there is no way to collect it if they say they have nothing.

They probably already diverted some of the money they earned elsewhere. After a few years in prison, they’ll come out and live well with the hidden money.

I understood after hearing the operator’s name.

”Ah! So that’s why he used an ID related to Arirang?”

Because he’s a Park from Miryang and his name is Jeong-seon?

He probably didn’t know that would be his downfall. It wasn’t reported in the media, but Taekgyu’s contribution to the arrest of the gang was very large.If Taekgyu hadn’t stepped in, it would have taken a long time due to issues such as the lack of investigative personnel. It’s a good thing they were caught before the damage to the artists grew.

Taekgyu said as if he was frustrated.

”They should be sentenced to about 20 years so they can’t do this again.”

”Korea is lenient on these kinds of crimes.”

Even if they shut down the Helltokkaeng site and catch the operator, it’s unlikely that all illegal sharing sites will completely disappear. Still, just instilling the perception that such illegal sharing is a criminal act and that it will be punished will have a considerable effect.

As soon as the access to the illegal sharing sites was blocked, the sales of the webtoon sites began to increase again.

The police announced that they would track down and arrest the operators of illegal sites, whether they were in Korea or abroad.

But more important than these stories right now is...

”Min Hayoung confessed to you?”

”No, I told you it was a joke.”

I was so dumbfounded that I shouted.

”Do you really think that was a joke?”

Taekgyu strongly denied it.

”No. It was a joke.”

I said as if I had thought of something.

”Come to think of it, isn’t this the first time a woman has confessed to you?”

”Even though it was a joke, that’s right.”

”And Min Hayoung has never been in a relationship, right?”

”Yeah.”

”Then wouldn’t it have been Min Hayoung’s first time confessing to a guy?”

...I said this to my mother and got an earful for an hour. She said that if I don’t want to be cursed for the rest of my life, I have to do it properly before I get married.

I have to follow my mom’s advice on this.

I’m also worried about where to have the wedding and who to invite. Should I have it in Hawaii, which is halfway between Korea and the United States?

When I decided to go out, Taekgyu, who was playing games at home, joined me.

”I should call my sister. I should tell her to bring Oh Geon.”

A moment later, Hyun-joo noona came to our house with Henry and Oh Geon.

”I was resting well, why did you call?”

Ellie, who had finished washing up and getting ready in the meantime, said.

”It’s the weekend, so it would be nice to go shopping together.”

Taekgyu said magnanimously.

”I’ll buy you a bag, noona. Choose whatever you want.”

”No thanks.”

”Come on, you’ll be happy if I buy you one.”

”Shut up.”

Even though she said that, Hyun-joo noona didn’t bother to refuse. A luxury bag is always right.

We took a car to the Ceylon Hotel in Namsan. The duty-free shop was attached to the hotel, and it was crowded with people because it was the weekend.

Until we left the car for valet parking and went inside, people didn’t pay much attention to us. But a few men glanced at Ellie and then soon noticed.

”Oh! Isn’t that the model from the Vester commercial?”

”Wow! She’s really pretty.”

”Wait. That looks like Kang Jin-hoo next to her.”

”Gasp! It really is him.”

”Looks like they came shopping together.”

”And next to them is the Golden Gate branch manager couple.”

”Amazing.”

Before I knew it, people were staring at us with surprised eyes, and Taekgyu, who doesn’t like to be the center of attention, went off on his own.

”It’s Anneke’s birthday soon, so I’ll go see if there’s anything to buy for her.”

My mother, who had received my call, came to the duty-free shop. We stood in line like the other visitors and went into the luxury brand store.

”Are you looking for a particular product?”

Ellie said to the store manager.

”Please give me everything from here to here.”

At her words, the store manager, far from being surprised, calmly asked.

”Are you going to buy all the products displayed on this line?”

Ellie smiled and shook her head.

”I’m sorry. It was a joke. I’ll take a look.”

The purchase limit for Koreans at the duty-free shop is $5,000, but this does not apply to Ellie, who is a foreigner.

However, when bringing it back into the country, you have to declare it at customs and pay taxes. If you do this, the price is not much different from buying it at a department store, but... well, it doesn’t matter.

Ellie enjoyed shopping, linking arms with her mother, trying on bags on her shoulder, trying on clothes, and applying cosmetics.

After each of us finished our shopping, we gathered at the M Pizza main branch on the first floor of the Ceylon Hotel.

If you buy something at a downtown duty-free shop, you can pick it up when you leave the country. Therefore, even though we had shopped to our heart’s content, everyone was empty-handed.

By the time the pizza and wine came out, CEO Im Soo-mi appeared.

”It’s been a while, CEO Kang Jin-hoo.”

”Are you still busy these days?”

CEO Im Soo-mi said with a smile.

”I just came back from Neverland because of the event we’re holding at the end of this month.”

She said that they are planning a large-scale event linking the hotel, duty-free shop, and theme park.

”What kind of event is it?”

At my question, Taekgyu answered instead.

”It’s Halloween at the end of this month.”

I was taken aback.

”No, since when did our country start celebrating Halloween?”

At my words, Taekgyu flinched.

”T-that was just a joke between friends.”

I said bluntly.

”There are no friends between men and women.”

Taekgyu shouted back.

”She said it was a joke!”

”...”

It seems like he wants to believe it was a joke.

A moment later, Taekgyu asked with a confused expression.

”W-what if, by any chance, it wasn’t a joke?”

Even if he says he’s going to go on a harem route, he knows better than anyone that he eventually has to choose someone.

I patted Taekgyu’s shoulder.

”You should choose one and get married soon too.”

”...”

***

I spoke with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Van Hoa on the phone.

”I heard you were a great help this time. Thank you.”

[Haha, not at all. Of course, we must cooperate on illegal acts that infringe on copyright. I’m rather glad I could be of help.]

The conversation, which started with the Helltokkaeng incident, naturally moved on to the electric vehicle industrial complex.

Prime Minister Nguyen Van Hoa did not hide his desire to make Vietnam the electric vehicle production base of Southeast Asia.

He said that he would not spare any government-level support, not to mention free land and tax breaks. In fact, similar proposals are continuously coming in from neighboring Thailand, Cambodia, and Indonesia.

After CarOS released the AD series, which is capable of fully autonomous driving, global car sales began to decline in earnest.

In the era of autonomous driving, there is no need to own a car. This year, it has already dropped to 90 million units, and it is expected to decrease to the low 80 million range next year.

However, the decrease in sales is only for internal combustion engine vehicles; the sales of autonomous electric vehicles are growing exponentially.

GM and Ford, which have partnered with CarOS, are gradually converting their existing factories into electric vehicle factories. At the same time, they have also accelerated restructuring and redeployment due to changes in the production line.

As the demand for electric vehicles increased, the OTK battery manufacturers became busy. Even with the TS Company and Seosung SB factories running at full capacity 24 hours a day, it was difficult to meet the demand.

Each electric vehicle manufacturer was in an emergency to secure OTK batteries, and each factory adjusted its production volume according to the supply of OTK batteries.

It’s still about $20,000 more expensive, and there are problems with expanding charging facilities, but it’s only a matter of time before these are resolved.

The time for internal combustion engine vehicles to disappear into history is not far off. Therefore, each country is trying to switch to electric vehicles in some way.

Eunsung Motors has also already begun restructuring, mainly at its overseas factories, but it has not yet touched its domestic factories. The reason is, of course, the labor union. They are strongly opposing not only layoffs but also redeployment.

”I will review that matter positively.”

[Haha, thank you. I’d like to meet and talk with you soon.]

***

Saturday morning.

Ellie spread a yoga mat in the garden and stretched.

Her slender limbs moved beautifully. Perhaps because she did ballet when she was young and has been exercising regularly, her body is flexible.

Ellie never skips a workout, no matter how busy or tired she is, and she also controls her diet. I should learn from her thorough self-management.

While Ellie was exercising, I drank coffee next to her and opened the mail. I don’t know how they got our home address, but invitations to various events from department stores, luxury brand stores, and hotels had arrived.

From brands that are commonly found in department stores to ultra-high-end brands that I’ve never heard of before. The world is wide, and there are many brands that are called luxury goods.

As the number of millionaires has grown significantly worldwide, the luxury market is also growing exponentially.

It seems like dozens of brands are competing fiercely, but in reality, it’s close to an oligopoly of a few groups. Most of the luxury brands that you would know just by hearing their names, such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, and Hermes, belong to large corporations like the LVMH Group and the Richemont Group.

”What letter is that?”

”Chanel is having a fashion show, are you interested?”

Ellie shook her head.

”It would be fun to watch, but I only wear suits when I work anyway. And I only wear workout clothes when I exercise.”

”Don’t you need clothes to wear when you want to dress up?”

”If I need them, I can just buy them then.”

Ellie, like other people, likes high-end brands of clothes, bags, and jewelry, but she is of the opinion that she only needs what she needs when she needs it.

She also has a great sense of style, so she looks good in whatever she wears.

”You don’t dislike shopping, do you?”

”All women like it. I used to go with Jessica often when I worked in Hong Kong.”

For reference, Taekgyu also likes to shop. It’s just that the things he buys are things that ordinary people are not interested in at all.

”Do you want to go shopping? I’ll buy you whatever you want.”

Ellie’s eyes widened.

”Really? Can I go into a store and ask for everything from here to there like a movie star?”

I nodded my head.

”Of course. How much could that be?”

”Hehe, it’s nice to have a rich husband.”

If I had known she would like it this much, I would have asked her to marry me sooner.

After I announced that I was getting married, the attitude of the people around me changed. The employees who worked at home treated Ellie as if she were the lady of the house, and if they had something to talk about regarding household matters, they would go to Ellie instead of me.

Is this what it means to be a married couple?

I thought about the proposal.

But a proposal is something you do to get permission to get married, so is there any meaning in doing it when we’ve already decided to get married?

After an hour-long workout, Ellie wiped her sweat and drank water.

”After I marry Jin-hoo, should I try to get Korean citizenship?”

In general, developed countries have strict conditions for acquiring citizenship. But the easiest way is through marriage.

If you get married, you can acquire the citizenship of your spouse’s country relatively easily.

”Do you need it?”

”Then I can stand in the same line as Jin-hoo when we enter the country.”

When we go abroad together and then enter Korea, I stand in the line for Koreans, but Ellie stands in the line for foreigners.

Hearing this makes me realize anew that I’m in an international marriage.

The fact that Ellie can acquire Korean citizenship means that I can acquire Hong Kong or British citizenship.

If I were to acquire Hong Kong citizenship, China would probably like it. Considering my relationship with the United States, it would be better not to.

I opened the last letter.

”They say the Ceylon Duty-Free Shop has a lot of new products.”

”Ah! Then should we go see my mother-in-law too? We’re going to Russia next week.”

”Shall we?”

”You didn’t know? Halloween is now a national festival.”

”Huh?”

Surprisingly, it was true.

If Halloween were a festival in Southeast Asia or Africa, no one would have been interested. But Halloween is a festival celebrated in the United States.

Even if you don’t know the origin, if they do it in a developed country, they are willing to accept it.

Halloween started to spread through clubs, and now it is said to be a festival that even kindergarten children enjoy.

Companies also moved quickly to release various events and products.

Taekgyu said as if he had thought of something.

”Should we have a Halloween party at home?”

”What exactly do you do at a Halloween party?”

”Of course, it’s a costume play.”

”Really?”

”You don’t watch American dramas? Cosplay on Halloween is a national rule.”

”What national rule...”

CEO Im Soo-mi chimed in with Taekgyu’s words.

”That’s right. Halloween costumes and outfits are the main focus of the Neverland festival.”

During Halloween week, a cosplay festival is said to be held not only at the theme park, but also in Itaewon, Hongdae, and Gangnam clubs.

Come to think of it, I think I’ve seen it on the news.

”So you’re going to have a cosplay party at home?”

”No. It’s a Halloween party, but the attire is just cosplay.”

”...”

Isn’t that the same thing?

At that moment, a thought occurred to me.

Could I use this as an excuse to get Ellie to wear ’that outfit’ once?

”Hmm, a Halloween party. That sounds good.”