Chapter 1591: A Brave Sacrifice

Zhao Fusheng remembered the phrase "Miracle on the Han River" vividly mainly because in his previous life he had seen a movie called Gangnam 1970. Set in Seoul in the 1970s, the film told the story of politicians colluding with gangsters to profit from real estate development in the Gangnam district during its early boom.

Although he had watched the movie for the beautiful female lead, that didn't stop many of its details from leaving an impression on Zhao Fusheng's mind.

South Korea launched its first five-year economic development plan in 1962, opened the Gyeongbu Expressway—the nation's main artery—and built steel mills and multipurpose dams on a large scale, laying a solid foundation for economic growth.

Thanks to this, in 1977 South Korea achieved the goal of $10 billion in exports, bringing epoch-making changes to society. Over thirty years, the average annual economic growth rate exceeded 8%, and per capita national income, once less than $100, rose to over $13,000. Thus, South Korea created the "Miracle on the Han River."

Behind this lay collusion between officials and businessmen, as government officials sought their own backers and formed interest groups. Correspondingly, ordinary people's lives did not improve much; even if wages rose, the bottom of society still endured extreme hardship.

Therefore, Zhao Fusheng did not believe a word of what South Koreans boasted about.

During the 1998 Asian financial crisis, the Chinese chose to unite and face it together, while the South Korean government chose to conceal the situation, allowing the chaebols to cash out first, ultimately leaving ordinary people with nothing.

They were a bunch of real vampires!

When such people insisted that the current downturn in the real estate market was temporary, Zhao Fusheng would never believe it even if it killed him.

However, what he knew was not necessarily known to others.

Take Liang Jingyu, for example.

After hearing the news conveyed by Park Sun-young, Liang Jingyu was stunned. He hurried from the company to Zhao Fusheng's residence.

"Chairman, you're not joking, are you?"

Looking at Zhao Fusheng, Liang Jingyu asked bluntly, "Do you know that if we sell all the land we hold, we'll be giving up a huge profit?"

This was true. Because of the strategy Zhao Fusheng had previously set, Hanxing Investment's development in South Korea was mainly low-key. Apart from the cooperation plan with Future Films, Liang Jingyu had mostly been investing in film and television projects and buying land.

"How huge?"

Zhao Fusheng smiled and asked Liang Jingyu.

After a moment of thought, Liang Jingyu slowly said, "At least nearly 500 billion won."

"How much?"

Hearing this, even Zhao Fusheng could no longer stay calm. He looked at Liang Jingyu in surprise.

With a wry smile, Liang Jingyu explained to Zhao Fusheng, "You told me to be careful here and not provoke the Korean chaebols. After much thought, besides the entertainment industry, real estate was the safest bet. So I invested most of the company's funds in real estate, continuously buying land, then taking out bank loans to buy more land. Repeating this cycle, we've accumulated a batch of land. Preliminary estimates show that if we sell now, our profit could reach 500 billion won. If housing prices return to last year's levels, our profit will double..."

Zhao Fusheng was dumbfounded.

He really hadn't expected that Liang Jingyu, without making a sound, had pulled off such a big feat in South Korea.

Even if the current exchange rate of won to renminbi was unfavorable, 500 billion won still meant nearly 3 billion yuan in profit.

"Hey, how did you manage to get so many loans?"

Zhao Fusheng blinked and after a long while asked Liang Jingyu curiously.

Although this amount was nothing compared to the chaebols, it alone made Liang Jingyu a prominent figure in the South Korean real estate industry.

"Just loans."

Liang Jingyu shrugged. "You know, in South Korea, as long as you're willing to spend money, there's nothing you can't accomplish."

Zhao Fusheng was taken aback. He recalled that he himself had said those words to Liang Jingyu. He hadn't expected Liang Jingyu not only remembered but also put them into practice.

"In South Korea, whether it's judicial or financial institutions, as long as you can find connections and spend money, they dare to do anything."

Liang Jingyu said to Zhao Fusheng with a bitter smile. "To be honest, Chairman, sometimes I can't believe it myself. Those people's audacity is beyond measure!"

Zhao Fusheng was silent for a moment, wanting to refute but not knowing where to start, because he knew Liang Jingyu was right. That was exactly how South Korean officials were.

As long as you were willing to pay, they would do anything for you. The phrase "corruption and bribery" was no longer news in South Korean officialdom. It would be strange if a high-ranking official didn't have ties to some big company or chaebol.

Why did many South Korean officials become senior advisors to large enterprises and companies after retirement? The reason lay in the so-called "former official courtesy."

What was "former official courtesy"?

So-called former official courtesy referred to an unwritten rule in South Korea's legal circles: judges, prosecutors, and high-ranking government officials, after retiring, would switch careers to become lawyers or advisors for law firms or large corporations, enjoying treatment equivalent to their time in office.

An important reason why major South Korean law firms and financial institutions were willing to hire these advisors at high prices was that these retired high officials could still exert influence in their former areas of jurisdiction, obtaining major national projects from government departments or having officials they had promoted solve problems.

Former high officials could even act as shields to prevent supervision from prosecutorial, tax, and financial regulatory bodies. Some large law firms, besides hiring former judges and prosecutors, would also hire former military generals and high-ranking police officers as advisors. They possessed powerful lobbying abilities and were even called a shadow government.

Under these circumstances, as long as he used money as a club and didn't actively provoke the chaebols, Zhao Fusheng really couldn't think of any difficulties Liang Jingyu would encounter.

"You really are..."

Zhao Fusheng shook his head helplessly and said to Liang Jingyu, "This is too risky."

After all, it was like walking a tightrope. If something went wrong, it would be very troublesome.

"Everyone does it. I had no choice."

Liang Jingyu said with a wry smile.

At first, he had been hesitant, but later he found that everyone was doing it, so he just went with the flow.

"Clean up the loose ends and transfer all the land."

Zhao Fusheng thought for a moment and said to Liang Jingyu, "Don't believe what the South Korean government says. Go check: are any of the Korean chaebols still acquiring land recently?"

Liang Jingyu was startled, then went out to make a phone call. When he returned a moment later, his expression was very serious, clearly having received some news.

"What's the situation?"

Seeing Liang Jingyu's expression, Zhao Fusheng smiled slightly and asked.

Liang Jingyu's expression was bitter. "Yes, they've already started quietly selling off their land."

At that moment, he finally understood why Zhao Fusheng was richer than him.