Chapter 169
Han Taesung’s low but confident voice carried to every corner of the conference room.
“Only the beginning?”
“Yes. Take a look at the next slide.”
At Han Taesung’s signal, the screen changed.
The words Network Flex appeared in large letters.
“Network Flex, an American streaming-service company, currently has seventy-five million paid subscribers worldwide.”
“There’s a strong possibility they’ll enter the Korean market before long.”
“Network Flex?”
Han Taesung began laying out the data he had spent the past year preparing.
Bankruptcy filings by American theater chains.
The collapse of DVD rental businesses.
And the way streaming had changed viewing habits.
“The data I just showed you isn’t an American problem alone.”
“It’s something Korea will face before long as well.”
“As I already explained, theaters are hardware.”
“You need to build facilities, maintain them, and employ people.”
“But an OTT platform built around streaming is a software business.”
“Once the system is built, it can be distributed anywhere in the world.”
Han Myunghee’s gaze changed.
For the first time, she began seriously studying the materials in front of her.
“So what you’re saying is that you want to sell Mega Cinema and invest the proceeds into this OTT business or whatever it’s called?”
“More precisely, I want to build a Korean OTT platform modeled after America’s Network Flex.”
“A service that goes beyond the physical limitations of movie theaters and delivers dramas and films through the internet and mobile devices.”
“Watching dramas and films through the internet and mobile devices...”
Han Myunghee repeated thoughtfully.
“Yes.”
Han Taesung continued.
“The person who first told me about this business said something interesting.”
“A theater has a limited number of screens.”
“But mobile has as many screens as there are people in Korea.”
“No.”
“As many screens as there are people in the world.”
“The person who told you about this business?”
“Yes.”
“A man named Min Kibaek.”
“He currently serves as Head of Production at Big Picture.”
Han Myunghee tapped her fingers lightly against the table, deep in thought.
Finally, she spoke.
“Taesung.”
“Yes, Chairwoman.”
“Business isn’t done with numbers alone.”
Her eyes sharpened.
“It’s about timing.”
“And guts.”
Han Taesung simply looked at her.
“All right.”
Han Myunghee leaned back.
“I’ll give you one more chance.”
“Proceed with the sale.”
The conference room immediately erupted into murmurs.
“Chairwoman! Are you seriously saying we should sell Mega Cinema?!”
“Chairwoman, this makes no sense!”
“Everything CEO Han has said is nothing more than speculation!”
“And you’re going to sell Mega Cinema based on that alone?!”
As the executives’ objections grew louder, Han Myunghee slammed the file in front of her against the table.
“Everyone, be quiet!”
“My sentence isn’t finished!”
The room immediately fell silent.
Han Myunghee turned back toward Han Taesung.
“But I have one condition.”
“Yes. Please tell me.”
“You will personally handle the sale negotiations.”
“And the price I want is seven hundred billion won.”
Han Taesung’s expression hardened instantly.
The number he had estimated for Mega Cinema’s sale was 550 billion won.
And even that was only possible because this was probably the best point in time to sell.
Seven hundred billion won?
“Chairwoman, Mega Cinema’s current value is...”
Han Myunghee cut him off immediately.
“What?”
“You think I don’t know how much Mega Cinema is worth?”
“You said it yourself.”
“Right now is the time when we can sell it for the highest price.”
She slowly continued.
“So if the price is even one won below seven hundred billion...”
“This entire deal is canceled.”
“And you’ll resign from every position you hold within the group and leave.”
Han Taesung’s face stiffened again.
Han Myunghee smiled faintly.
“What?”
“Not confident?”
“If you aren’t, then we can pretend this sale proposal never happened right now.”
The executives, who had been filled with anxiety and frustration only moments earlier, began looking noticeably brighter.
Han Taesung remained silent for a moment.
Then he slowly spoke.
“No.”
“Seven hundred billion won.”
“I’ll bring it back.”
Then he added,
“But I have a condition too.”
“A condition?”
Han Myunghee looked amused.
“If I sell Mega Cinema for seven hundred billion won, you will not interfere in any way with the OTT platform business I proposed.”
For the first time, Han Myunghee’s brow twitched.
She knew perfectly well that Mega Cinema would struggle to fetch more than 550 billion won under current conditions.
The reason she had demanded seven hundred billion was because she expected Han Taesung to surrender.
But...
He was saying he could actually get it?
“Fine.”
Han Myunghee nodded.
“We’ll do it your way.”
The siblings’ gazes collided across the table.
“I’ll bring you a number you’ll be satisfied with.”
Determination filled Han Taesung’s voice.
Han Myunghee smiled.
“Good.”
“Then let’s see what you’re really capable of.”
That evening, inside the CEO’s office at Hanshin Media.
“Chairwoman Han really approved the sale?”
Big Picture CEO Kim Eunkyung blinked in disbelief.
“If that’s true, that’s incredible.”
“I never thought she’d approve it this quickly...”
“There was a condition.”
Han Taesung’s expression remained dark.
Of course.
I knew there had to be something.
Even while delivering good news, his face had looked too troubled.
“What condition?”
Han Taesung slowly explained everything that had happened during the meeting.
“Seven hundred billion won?!”
Kim Eunkyung’s eyes widened.
Han Taesung only nodded grimly.
“I didn’t expect my sister to come at me like that.”
“But standing there, I couldn’t exactly say it was impossible and give up.”
I nodded in understanding.
Han Taesung turned toward me.
“The current buyer list is three major Korean conglomerates, two private equity funds, one American company, and one Japanese company, right?”
“Yes.”
“No Korean company will buy it for seven hundred billion.”
“At this point, we may have to give up on the domestic market and look harder overseas.”
He frowned.
“Maybe China too.”
