Chapter 298 Good News
Chapter 298 Good News
"Haha, that's great." Jin Yadan moved his gaze away from An Rusong's face and turned to Bai Jinjun's face. After exchanging glances with the other party, he said, "President An, don't worry. I believe such an opportunity will come soon."
After that, she bowed slightly to Bai Jinjun, then bowed to An Rusong, and then said, "Okay, I won't delay Director Bai and President An for too long. If there is a chance, we can find another time to talk in detail."
Bai Jinjun smiled at her and said nothing.
An Rushong bowed to the other party in return, then watched him walk away with a smile.
After watching Jin Yadan turn into the entrance of the elevator, Bai Jinjun turned around and waved to Yu Yuanlong, indicating that he could leave. Then he smiled and said to An Rusong, "Come on, let's talk in the study."
An Rusong nodded, followed him into the study, and asked casually, "SK Telecom's overseas expansion has been stagnant for three years. From what Director Jin said just now, it seems that they are planning to restart it in the near future?"
Bai Jinjun's study is very spacious. I don't know if he really loves reading or just wants to show off. The four walls of the study are decorated in the style of bookshelves, and each shelf is full of books. Even the air in the study is filled with a strong smell of books. It is really elegant.
In the study, near the sunny French window, there is a large wooden desk that is nearly three meters long and one meter wide. Around the desk, there are six or seven single sofas. These sofas seem to be placed in a disorderly manner, but they do not give people a messy feeling. They are very consistent with the space layout. At first glance, it is clear that professionals have helped to design the placement.
Bai Jinjun did not answer An Rusong's question. He walked to a single sofa near the desk, put his hand on the table in front of him, and asked with a smile: "What would you like to drink?"
"Coffee?" An Rushong answered in a tentative tone.
"Young-sook, bring in two cups of coffee," Bai Jinjun moved his hands on the table and said at the same time.
Only then did An Rushong notice that there was a red button where the other party pressed his hand. It was probably a walkie-talkie or something connected to a room next door.
"Please sit down," Bai Jinjun pointed to the sofa beside him after ordering coffee and said with a smile, "I know what you want to ask. Yes, in Mr. Qingxi's opinion, SK Group's development strategy is directly related to the new growth point of South Korea's economy. Moreover, the accusation of Chairman Choi by the progressives was completely an irresponsible political persecution. The prosecutors who investigated the case were all guys who accepted bribes from Samsung. Therefore, the accusation of Chairman Choi by the Supreme Prosecutor's Office is difficult to convince the public. If nothing unexpected happens, Mr. Qingxi will issue a special pardon order in the near future to grant Chairman Choi amnesty."
An Rushong nodded, knowing in his heart that this was what was supposed to happen.
As mentioned before, in the Republic of Korea, where there are no good people in politics, neither progressives nor conservatives are good people. For An Rusong, if he completely stands on the identity position of a Chinese in his previous life, it seems that he can still stand slightly on the so-called "pro-China faction" in Korean politics.
But the reality is that there is no such thing as a "pro-China faction" in South Korean politics. How can the Republic of Korea, which is a "big" country, take China seriously? The progressive faction is pro-North because it wants to improve the relationship between North and South Korea, get rid of its dependence on the United States, and strive for more independence and autonomy. It has nothing to do with being pro-China.
The conservatives are pro-American because they want to follow the American daddy more loyally and, at the same time, recognize Japan as their half-brother. There is no pro-China idea in their foreign policy.
Therefore, in An Rusong's eyes, the progressive and conservative factions in South Korean politics are just two dogs, one yellow and one white. No matter who bites who, he will just watch it as a joke.
But then again, the progressives who advocate restricting the expansion of chaebols and limiting their influence on politics are more or less tougher than the conservatives in dealing with the issue of chaebols. This can be seen from the fact that President Lee Min-bok began preparing to pardon SK Chairman Choi just after winning the election.
"Isn't Mr. Qingxi's decision too hasty?" After hearing Bai Jinjun's words, An Rusong pretended to be thoughtful and said, "Such a hasty decision may cause criticism among the people."
The meaning of his words was very simple. The SK case three years ago was at least investigated by the Supreme Prosecutor's Office throughout the process. The trial of Choi Tae-won at that time triggered a heated discussion among the Korean people. The vast majority of people gave positive comments on the trial of this case. This was one of the few highlights of President Roh's administration.
If Lee Min-bo was wise enough, no matter what kind of secret connection he had with Chairman Choi Tae-won, he should not have issued a decree to pardon Choi Tae-won shortly after taking office, because that would directly arouse the resentment of a large number of people who were hostile to the chaebol, thus affecting his support rate.
Bai Jinjun obviously agreed with An Rusong's statement. He smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Mr. Qingxi is also under a lot of pressure. You have to know that those Five Republic elders are not so easy to deal with."
Hearing him say this, An Rusong understood what was going on. Yes, Choi Tae-won is the son-in-law of former President Roh Tae-woo, and former President Roh Tae-woo is the leader of the "Five Communist Party Elders". His influence in the military is also terrifyingly high. Most importantly, the reason why Lee Min-bo was able to defeat Miss Park in the Grand National Party was that former President Roh Tae-woo made great efforts. Therefore, it is reasonable for Lee Min-bo to pardon Choi Tae-won after taking office. However, looking at Bai Jinjun's answer, An Rusong also felt it was very interesting.
He was thinking that Lee Min-bo's pardon of Choi Tae-won as soon as he came to power might have an impact on his public support. And what was Bai Jinjun's answer? He said that Lee Min-bo was under pressure from the elders of the Fifth Republic, so he didn't care about public support.
Just from this point of view, we can see how much weight the so-called public opinion carries in the eyes and minds of these politicians.
The most interesting thing is that former President Lu Taiyu now seems to be uneasy in his position as the father-in-law of Chairman Cui Taiyuan. If An Rushong remembers correctly, Chairman Cui Taiyuan now has a new love, and he is preparing to kick former President Lu Taiyu's daughter out of the house.
"Okay, let's not talk about this anymore. Anyway, we can't make the decision for Mr. Qingxi." Obviously not wanting to say more about the issue of pardoning Cui Taiyuan, Bai Jinjun directly changed the subject and said, "The reason why I hurriedly called you here today is that I have good news to tell you."
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a knock on the study door.
"Come in," Bai Jinjun turned his gaze to the door and raised his voice.
The door was pushed open from the outside, and a young girl in a blue dress walked in carrying a tray.
The girl really has good looks and a good figure. Even in the middle of winter, she is wearing a skirt and stockings. She looks youthful, intellectual and full of sexual tension.
However, the lustful An Rusong only glanced at the other party and quickly retracted his gaze. He was lustful, but he was not the kind of bird man who was so hungry that he didn't care about anything. This girl was obviously Bai Jinjun's forbidden delicacy, and he might cause her displeasure if he looked at her for a second longer.
The girl walked to the desk with a tray and put down the two cups of coffee on the tray. Then she smiled at the two of them and turned and left.
Bai Jinjun stood up after the girl left. He walked to the inside of the desk and took out a yellow folder from a drawer. When he came back, he handed it to An Rusong and said, "Take a look at this."
An Rushong looked at him in confusion, then reached out to take the folder, put it on his knees, opened the folder, and carefully read the contents of the document inside.
The documents in the folder had a cover with "IT Korea Future Strategy" written in Korean.
He looked up at Bai Jinjun again, only to see that he was holding a cup of coffee, bringing it to his lips and blowing gently.
Opening the cover of the document, An Rushong began to browse the formal contents of the document.
This document is obviously a government industrial planning program to promote the development of South Korea's information industry and enhance its international competitiveness. Well, it is a draft that has not yet been formally completed.
This draft is not very thick, only about a dozen pages, but the content it discusses covers several fields such as information integration, software, broadcast communications, the Internet, etc. It also proposes to integrate the information industry with industries such as automobiles, shipbuilding, aviation, and education, and to establish a full industrial chain development plan with large enterprises as the main body and small and medium-sized enterprises as the auxiliary.
In a nutshell, President Lee Min-bo is preparing to vigorously develop South Korea's information industry, and the means of development is first and foremost investment, large amounts of investment.
According to the plan in this draft, during his four-year term, President Lee Min-bo will lead both government and private investments in the information industry. Government investment will be led by several departments, including the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Information and Communications, the Korea Communications Commission, and the Ministry of Knowledge Economy. The total fiscal allocation will be approximately 15 trillion won, which is about 10 billion U.S. dollars.
The private investment part will not be invested by private enterprises or ordinary people, but by various semi-official financial institutions and organizations in South Korea. This matter needs to be coordinated by President Lee Min-bo. The total investment amount is expected to be no less than 150 trillion won, which is about 100 billion US dollars when converted into US dollars.
Just by looking at this draft plan, An Rushong understood that someone in South Korea was going to make a fortune again, and this person might very well include himself and the NGN company he controlled.
(End of this chapter)