Chapter 7Presidential Visit
The meeting between Ambassador Hong-choo Hyun and Dick Blum took place in San Francisco on May 24, 1999. My partner Dan Carroll and our advisor Bob Barnum also participated. Blum enjoyed meeting Ambassador Hyun and took an instant liking to him. To our surprise, the ambassador proposed, on behalf of Chairman Lee, a “summit meeting” between Lee and both Blum and Bonderman in June. He insisted the meeting should take place outside of Korea, and Hong Kong seemed to be the most logical and convenient location. I felt encouraged by this request. Ambassador Hyun would not have made the offer unless Chairman Lee was serious about wanting to do a deal with us.
Meanwhile, back in Seoul, Noh requested a meeting with Kunho Cho, the Lehman Brothers chief representative. It seemed that the FSC, having allowed its deadline to lapse, needed some graceful way to come back to us. Instead of communicating directly, however, it sent messages through advisors.
The messages, as per usual, were confusing and conflicted. On one hand, Noh expressed a firm desire to do a deal with Newbridge. “There hadn't been any talks with any other potential bidders” he said. The FSC wanted “to give it a last push before changing the course of action,” Cho told me afterward. “It wants to cross the bridge.”
On the other hand, Noh was dismissive of our latest proposal and said that it still showed a lack of understanding of how business is conducted in Korea. The FSC's biggest concern, ...
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