My Peninsula 2007

Chapter 438 Private Meeting
If the focus of our work is on anti-corruption, then a new question arises: how to fight corruption, who to target, or in other words, who should be the primary target?

This goal was not chosen arbitrarily. Li Minbo had to ensure that this anti-corruption work could create a sensation in the short term. Only in this way could it divert public attention and regain public support.

So, if An Rusong were in Li Minbo's position, what would he choose?

Choosing ordinary civil servants? That wouldn't create a sensation, nor would it help him regain public support. Choosing chaebols with questionable backgrounds? Targeting them might create a sensation, but it wouldn't be in Li Minbo's best interest, since as a president from a chaebol system, he has chaebols backing him. From a political standpoint, the best choice would naturally be a prominent figure from the progressive camp. Therefore, ultimately, Li Minbo's options are very limited.

As a reborn individual, An Rusong knew very well what choice Li Minbo would make next. That's right, as long as he chose to use anti-corruption to divert public attention, then President Lu, who had just stepped down from the presidency, would undoubtedly be the best target.

From this perspective, the randomness of history is actually quite subtle; it may seem random, but many things are actually predetermined.

The third news item that An Rusong was concerned about was the "further" investigation into the drug trafficking scandal involving US troops stationed in South Korea.

Yes, in the eyes of "insiders" like An Rusong, the drug trafficking incident involving US troops stationed in South Korea is actually a thing of the past. All the stakeholders who were involved in this scandal have either left the scene or reaped the rewards. Even Senator Elijah, who was in charge of investigating the scandal, returned to the United States yesterday.

However, for the public, this matter is still under "meticulous and orderly" investigation.

Today's front-page headline in the JoongAng Ilbo is about the South Korean military and the US Forces Korea establishing a joint investigation team to investigate US Forces Korea personnel involved in drug trafficking.

According to newspaper reports, after consultations with the U.S. Forces Korea Command, the Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of Korea finalized the formation of a joint investigation team. An investigation team composed of 12 South Korean military prosecutors has officially moved into Yongsan Air Base and intervened in the investigation of the case.

The newspaper's front page headline even listed the names and resumes of 12 South Korean military prosecutors, making it seem as if the Ministry of National Defense had actually secured some significant benefits from the US military in South Korea.

As the person involved in the whole incident, An Rusong was very clear about what this joint investigation team was all about. In the end, the South Korean military's investigation team did enter the Yongsan base, but they had no authority to intervene in the investigation.

Just as Kim Jung-tae had requested, the Yongsan base only provided the South Korean investigation team with a workspace and casually handed them some case files. All the investigation team could do was arrange a press release schedule and periodically publish the contents of the case files.

In terms of the nature of their work, they are not like an investigation team, but rather more like a group of spokespersons.

Even so, Kim Jong-tae was already very satisfied. After all, this time "American Daddy" was at least willing to cooperate with them in putting on a show. In the past, "American Daddy" was too lazy to even cooperate in putting on a show.

An Rusong carefully browsed through the entire newspaper, except for the headline news on the front page. He didn't pay much attention to the rest of the newspaper, mainly because the rest was mostly nonsense.

Similar to the second edition, which analyzed the US economic situation, the editor, after listing a large amount of data, solemnly declared that the subprime mortgage crisis affecting the world should have bottomed out, and that the global economic situation would improve after May. As a result, South Korea's domestic economic downturn would also end, and the Korean won was expected to strengthen in the short term.

An Rusong didn't know much about macroeconomics, but he preferred to believe the analyses of the guys in the "StockMavericks" group rather than the nonsense in the newspapers. According to the group's analysis, the crisis wouldn't improve until at least mid-September.

为什么这个预估的时间会定在9月中旬这个点上？很简单，因为按照群内伙计们透露的消息，美国将会在9月8号到9月15号之间，依次发行包括13周、26周、10年期等的国库券和公债。

In short, the US government will issue Treasury bonds in mid-September, but due to the current subprime mortgage crisis, the market is generally pessimistic about the prospects of this issuance. If the issuance fails, the crisis will not only fail to improve but will worsen further, with far-reaching consequences far exceeding the current situation.

Just as An Rusong finished reading a newspaper from beginning to end, Luo Minzhi drove his car into the underground parking garage of a high-rise building. As the light inside the car dimmed, An Rusong closed the newspaper in his hand, casually tossed it onto the seat next to him, and turned to look out of the car.

This is the underground parking garage of Building 105 in Sungwoo Residential Complex. In Seoul, Sungwoo Residential Complex isn't considered a high-end residential area; it's more of a mid-to-high-end neighborhood. Due to the subprime mortgage crisis, property prices here have fallen significantly. It was with this in mind that An Rusong bought two apartments here. One of them is in Building 103, which isn't far from here.

Luo Minzhi drove the car to the residential parking space and was about to get out to open the car door for An Rusong when the latter stopped him.

“I’ll go myself,” An Rusong said as he opened the car door, stopping Luo Minzhi who was about to get out. “Go find a place to rest first, and I’ll call you when I’m ready to leave.”

Luo Minzhi nodded. He knew that since his boss had told him this, it meant he would be spending the night there. As his boss's personal driver, he couldn't go back to the Renwang Mountain Villa tonight; he would have to find a hotel to stay in temporarily. After getting out of the car, An Rusong walked towards the elevator while taking out his phone from his pocket. He found Li Shiying's number and was about to dial it when his phone suddenly vibrated. It was an incoming call; the caller ID showed it was Han Meiyan calling.

Without stopping, An Rusong casually pressed the answer button.

"Hey, do you remember what day it is today?" Han Meiyan's voice came through the phone as soon as I put it to my ear.

An Rusong was stunned for a moment, and was about to ask the other party a question when he suddenly remembered what he had promised the other party before.

He had promised Han Mi-yeon just two days ago that he would have dinner with President Lee Byung-soon when she discussed the online copyright issues of her film and television works with SBS. The date they set seemed to be tonight.

"Hiss," An Rusong slapped his forehead, took a breath, and said, "What, did Ma Jijian call you?"

“Yes, I called him first thing this morning,” Han Mi-yeon said, her tone instantly softening. “He has already booked a table at the Shilla Hotel. Not only will President Lee Byung-soon be there, but Vice President Lee Nam-ki will also be attending.”

"Oh?" An Rusong responded vaguely.

He knew Lee Nam-ki; Lee had only recently been appointed vice president of SBS, but this appointment wasn't based on the Blue House's will, but rather on internal power struggles within the Grand National Party. Before becoming vice president of SBS, Lee was a key member of Miss Park's campaign committee.

"President Lee Boo-jin is also scheduled to attend," Han Mi-yeon added.

“Okay, I understand,” An Rusong said as he reached the elevator. He pressed the elevator button and asked, “Should we go together or go our separate ways?”

“Come pick me up before six o’clock,” Han Meiyan said happily.

“No problem, I’ll be there before six o’clock,” An Rusong said with a smile.

After hanging up the phone, An Rusong put his phone in his pocket, tilted his head slightly to look at the numbers flashing above the elevator, but his mind was on the "CieloTV" company.

According to An Rusong, the best window of opportunity to acquire the internet rights to various South Korean film and television works is this year.

During this year, Lee Min-bok, who has just taken over the Blue House, will target the three major television stations in South Korea and seize control of their key personnel. Taking advantage of this favorable period, Ahn Yeo-song can help CieloTV acquire the online rights to the film and television works owned by the three major television stations more smoothly.

In addition, considering that Lee Min-bok's policy strategy includes an important aspect of promoting the development of South Korea's internet economy, it is highly likely that legislation concerning the protection of internet copyrights for film and television works will be put on the agenda after "CieloTV" launches its internet video-on-demand platform.

By then, CieloTV, which will have acquired a large number of film and television copyrights, will have an absolute first-mover advantage. Considering the further expansion of the influence of the Korean Wave in the coming years, CieloTV may well be able to expand beyond the Korean Peninsula and into the whole of Asia.

Perhaps one day in the future, "CieloTV" can be integrated into NGN applications and become a component of the NGN platform.

"Ding!"

Just as An Rusong's thoughts were wandering, with a soft ding, the tightly closed elevator doors slowly opened, and two women, one tall and one short, appeared in front of him.

An Rusong didn't recognize the shorter woman; she guessed she was a resident of the building. The taller woman, however, was Min Xiujin.

As the elevator doors opened, the short woman glanced at An Rusong and walked straight past him. Min Xiujin, however, bowed slightly and said, "Mr. An."

(End of this chapter)