A crisis meeting was called at Taewoo IT's headquarters.
As Vice Chairman, I was presiding over the meeting, with the Bitcoin project team and game company CEOs from our platform in attendance.
"I appreciate you all taking the time to come, especially during such a busy period."
[Not at all! Thanks to Taewoo Group, we successfully entered the Chinese market—we owe you.]
[Our revenue has increased fivefold since entering China!]
[We're also launching a new game soon, and we'd appreciate your support.]
The game company CEOs were all smiles.
In order for Korean game companies to enter China, they had to go through Taewoo Group to obtain a license.
This created a clear power dynamic, but we never abused it.
With our exclusive control, we could have demanded a bigger cut of their revenue.
But instead, we kept our commission lower than other game distributors.
So there was no reason for these CEOs to dislike us.
"Although it's not today's main topic, I'd like to ask—how are mobile-exclusive games performing?"
[Honestly, sales have exceeded all expectations. We should have put more effort into them.]
[Revenue is still lower than PC games, but as smartphone adoption grows, the future looks bright.]
We had complete control over iPhone-exclusive games as well.
Of course, this meant splitting revenue with Apple, so our commission was higher than on PC.
But game companies weren't complaining—they were making unexpected profits with minimal investment.
How could they?
I had funded the entire mobile game initiative and even lent them Taewoo IT engineers to develop their games.
"This is great news. Just remember—our game platform is here to help boost everyone's sales."
[Of course! Since joining the platform, our revenue has increased fivefold.]
[Other telecom companies are trying to create their own platforms, but we haven't even glanced their way.]
[We want to grow alongside Taewoo Group for the long haul.]
The atmosphere was great.
And now that the room was warmed up, it was time to get to the real agenda.
"To further increase revenue, we've created a new business model—a cryptocurrency that can be used across most games on our platform."
"A cryptocurrency? You mean like in-game currency?"
"Similar, but different. It's actually closer to real money—like the dollar."
"Wait… Are you saying this currency can be traded for cash? That's too risky."
In South Korea, real-money transactions (RMT) for in-game items weren't illegal.
But most game companies banned them internally.
The CEOs immediately voiced their concerns.
[If cash transactions become possible, politicians will try to label games as gambling and crack down on us.]
[This will attract hackers and cheat programs.]
[We'll see gold farmers and bot farms popping up.]
[This is no different from people trading gift cards for cash. We already ban gift card transactions in our games.]
Doubt and resistance filled the room.
Truthfully, integrating Bitcoin into gaming wasn't designed to benefit game companies immediately.
It was part of a bigger plan—to prove Bitcoin's practicality and boost its value.
"This is nothing like gift cards. Gift cards are designed as cash equivalents, but cryptocurrency is not legally classified as cash.
There are no legal issues, and we can avoid gambling concerns."
"But players would still have to buy this cryptocurrency with real money, right?"
"You can purchase it with money, but you can also mine it. The Bitcoin Project Team will explain the details."
With that, I passed the baton to Team Leader Hal Finney.
He launched into a passionate explanation, emphasizing the reliability and superiority of the Bitcoin system his team had developed.
He covered:
How mining works The benefits for game companies The bright future of Bitcoin
His presentation lasted over an hour.
Even after all that, the game company CEOs still looked bewildered.
So, I stepped in again.
"With Bitcoin, a portion of the currency will go directly to game companies.
Right now, Bitcoin might seem worthless.
But give it time—it could turn into gold."
"I don't know if it'll become gold or just a pile of garbage… But if you recommend it, we'll implement it in our games.]
[Just send us enough support staff to handle the integration.]
The CEOs reluctantly agreed, their compliance bordering on coercion.
For the first time, I was forcing something onto them.
They might feel disappointed or even resentful now.
But give it ten years—
And they'll be thanking me.
Bitcoin will make them millionaires.
Just don't come asking for more later.
*
One Month Later
It had been a month since Bitcoin launched.
Taewoo Group's Planning Division, with help from Taewoo Securities, had been analyzing the data.
Today, the Planning Director came in with their findings.
"Bitcoin has now been integrated into gaming platforms, Korea's version of Facebook, and music streaming sites.
But user adoption is still low.
Thankfully, with Foreign Exchange Bank allowing Bitcoin transactions, usage is slowly increasing."
"Just having a bank associated with it boosts credibility. Right now, people are hesitant because Bitcoin is still new, But once they get used to it, adoption will skyrocket."
Even in my previous life, Bitcoin wasn't popular at first.
It took time for people to realize its value.
But this time?
Things would move much faster.
Because I had directly integrated Bitcoin into games, social media, and more.
"To increase trust, we need to distribute our Bitcoin holdings. Right now, we own 30% of the total supply at launch. If people suspect we can manipulate Bitcoin's price, it'll damage credibility."
"We're already planning to transfer 10% to fintech banks. And we'll also distribute some to Apple, Google, Amazon, and Facebook."
To boost credibility, we needed trusted corporations to get involved.
By distributing Bitcoin to companies I controlled, we could solve the problem easily.
After all, even if I transferred Bitcoin to another company,
If I owned a major stake in that company…
It was just moving it from my left hand to my right.
"Wait… Are you giving Bitcoin to foreign companies just to expand international adoption?"
"That's one reason, yes. Even if every single Korean uses Bitcoin, that's only 50 million people. But if we expand to the U.S., the user base increases by at least sixfold.
Add Europe and China, and the demand will skyrocket even more."
Everything in the market operates on supply and demand.
If Bitcoin remains exclusive to Korea, its demand stays limited.
But if we release it to the global market, demand will explode.
"If Bitcoin's value keeps rising, we might see large-scale mining farms pop up."
"The Bitcoin Project Team is already monitoring that issue. We've capped the amount a single computer can mine per day. There's a yearly limit on total Bitcoin mining. We've even implemented regional mining restrictions to prevent abuse. So, no need to worry."
There was also a groundbreaking way to boost Bitcoin adoption:
Using celebrities to promote it.
That would cause its value to surge overnight.
But it wasn't the right time for that yet.
For now, I wanted Bitcoin to spread naturally for a few years before using such tactics.
"Oh! By the way, are politicians paying attention to Bitcoin yet?"
"No. Not a single politician has brought up Bitcoin. They're not even discussing the fintech policies we applied to CocoaTalk. The aftermath of the illegal campaign fund scandal is still consuming the political scene."
The government was too busy fighting amongst themselves.
They were desperate to expose each other's wrongdoings.
Thanks to that, our projects were running smoothly, without interference or regulations.
"That's a relief. By the way, how was CES this year? I've been so busy that I didn't have time to keep up."
"This year, there wasn't a standout product.
Samsung Electronics got some attention with its Matrix Phone. CL Electronics won multiple innovation awards for their home appliances."
"CL Electronics had a strong showing, then."
"They did. Their window-mounted air conditioners and newly designed feature phones were a hit. Among domestic companies, they received the most innovation awards."
No wonder people said, "When it comes to home appliances, CL Electronics is king."
Their accumulated technology was on another level.
And their parent group had been investing heavily in them.
"So, CL Electronics' market share will see a big jump?"
"In the first half of this year, they're expected to take the #1 spot in the global home appliance market. Meanwhile, Taewoo Electronics will likely remain in third place."
"Let's give CL Electronics the spotlight for the first half of the year. But things will change in the second half." We had intentionally abandoned the first half of the year.
Before a storm, the clouds must gather.
For Taewoo Electronics, the first half of the year was about building momentum.
*
Early Summer in Seoul
Was it just me, or was spring getting shorter every year?
By June, Seoul's temperature had already soared past 20°C.
So, I headed to San Francisco—where it was much cooler.
WWDC – Apple's Product Launch Event
Apple's WWDC was being held at Moscone Center in San Francisco.
"Is everything going according to plan?"
"Why are you just getting here now? We couldn't even rehearse properly without you!"
"What do you mean? Am I supposed to be on stage?"
"Of course! Did you really expect me to do it all by myself? That would be too selfish, don't you think?"
"That's not what I meant… But I'm not one of the engineers who actually developed the product.
I don't think I'm qualified for this."
I ran into Steve at the event venue.
I greeted him warmly, but he immediately scolded me, as if I had shown up late to an important meeting.
But I hadn't made any promises to be here on time.
In fact, I had no idea I'd be on stage at all when I flew to San Francisco.
"The script is already prepared, so it won't be too difficult. We just need to go over the stage movements—so hurry up and follow me."
"Do I really have to do this? There are plenty of people more qualified than me."
"Oh, so that's how it is? Then I won't go on stage either!"
Was Steve always like this?
His tone felt almost threatening.
I had no choice but to join the rehearsal.
Not that it was a bad situation.
If anything, this was a great opportunity.
For the sake of my future plans, I needed to increase my visibility—
both for Taewoo Group and for my own name.