"Did you say Modunet?"
Choi Ho-geun blinked and asked, and Seok-won nodded.
"That's right."
"Modunet is a high-speed internet service provider, isn't it?"
"You know it well."
"Our office internet is provided by Modunet."
"I didn't realize that."
It made perfect sense, though—after all, speed was the most important factor when it ca to
trading.
Conventional dial-up modems offered just 56 Kbps, and even ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network), which used telephone lines for high-speed connections, topped out at only 128 Kbps. In contrast, Modunet, which used a broadband cable TV network, boasted speeds of up to 10 Mbps.
That made dial-up completely obsolete, and even compared to ISDN, Modunet was nearly a
hundred tis faster. It was only natural to use it.
With a shrug of his shoulders, Seok-won said,
"I've said before—this is the age of the internet."
"Yes, sir."
"But in order to enter the internet era, what do you think is the most important thing?"
"I'm not sure…"
Resting one hand on the armrest of the sofa, Seok-won explained.
"If data is like cars, then the roads they travel on are communication networks. The roads have to be wide and smooth for the cars to zip along without traffic."
"You're saying Modunet is that road."
Choi Ho-geun quickly grasped the aning and nodded.
"Exactly. Every industrial transformation begins with infrastructure. You could say the success or failure of the internet era depends on who can provide faster communication speeds. No matter how good the data is, if it can't be exchanged quickly, its usefulness drops significantly. That's why, in the midst of the dot-com boom in the U.S., infrastructure stocks like Cisco and AT&T have been skyrocketing."
Choi Ho-geun's eyes sparkled. He leaned forward in his seat and asked,
"You're saying Modunet could beco Korea's Cisco or AT&T?"
With his legs crossed, Seok-won threw the question back.
"You're the one using it firsthand—so you should know best. How does it compare to other
internet services?"
Choi Ho-geun paused for a mont, thinking seriously, then replied.
"As the term 'high-speed internet' suggests, their connection speed is definitely faster than other providers. Of course, it's still in the trial phase, so we'll need to observe a bit longer."
With full comrcialization scheduled for next June, Modunet has been offering pilot services to select companies since last year.
Seok-won's lips curved into a faint smile.
"That's why this is our chance to buy in cheap. Once full service begins and it gains popularity, its value will surely skyrocket."
Indeed, Choi Ho-geun, who had experienced the service first-hand, also believed it had a high
chance of success.
"But there's one issue."
"What is it?"
"Modunet isn't listed on the stock market yet, so we can't trade its shares."
But Seok-won responded without much concern.
"I'm aware."
"..."
"Just because a stock is unlisted doesn't an it can't be traded."
"That's true."
"I looked into it. KEPCO holds 9%, and Millennium Computer owns 10%. The rest is split among more than thirty companies, each holding less than 5%."
Though Modunet was affiliated with Millennium Computer, the origins of the business actually lay with KEPCO.
It was KEPCO that initially conceived the idea of using high-bandwidth fiber-optic cables to
build a high-speed communication network.
Since electricity is an essential utility used everywhere, transmission towers and utility poles could be found even in the most remote rural areas of the country.
And starting in the 1990s, with the expansion of cable TV, hos had coaxial cables connected through these poles and towers.
'With infrastructure already in place, all that's needed is to add fiber-optic cables for internet—
simple, and cheap to implent.'
It was an extrely favorable setup for launching an internet business.
Unfortunately, the project was derailed right after it started.
The Ministry of Communications and Korea Telecom strongly opposed it.
'Their official argunt was that telecommunications didn't align with KEPCO's mission as an electric utility, but in reality, it was all about turf wars.'
Still, KEPCO couldn't give up so easily on a potentially lucrative internet business and decided to partner with a private company—that company was Millennium Computer.
That's how KEPCO and Millennium ended up as the two largest shareholders, with the rest of the shares divided among various private firms.
"Everyone knows the internet business has a bright future. Under normal circumstances, they
wouldn't sell their shares unless the offer was extrely favorable. But this is an unprecedented ergency."
Leaning back comfortably against the sofa, Seok-won bead, revealing his white teeth.
"Companies are going bankrupt one after another, liquidity has dried up, and everyone's
struggling to stay afloat. They can't afford to hold on to shares in a business that hasn't even
launched its comrcial service yet."
"Right now, firms are scrambling to sell off anything that can generate cash. So as you said, in tis like these, a deal is possible."
Choi Ho-geun agreed, clearly on the sa page.
"Start by reaching out to Woo-young Bank and Asia-Pacific Group—they're probably under the most liquidity pressure."
"Understood."
Choi Ho-geun gave a firm nod, then looked up slightly and asked,
"How much of Modunet's stake should we secure?"
"The more, the better. But if we're too greedy, KEPCO and Millennium might try to block us. So let's aim for about 9%."
"Yes, sir."
Seok-won let out a quiet, satisfied smile to himself.
He hadn't told Departnt Head Choi Ho-geun, but the reason he was so eager to acquire shares of Modunet was because it was destined to beco the first Korean company to go public directly on the NASDAQ.
'If I rember correctly, within just a month of listing, its stock price soared over 360%, and its market capitalization hit 4.5 billion dollars. I think that's right.'
That valuation was even higher than the combined worth of Hyunwoo Motors and TG
Electronics, showing just how inflated the bubble had been.
When Modunet was listed on NASDAQ, the ticker symbol they chose was actually "KOREA
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