#84 A Government Already Dead.
Mirae Building.
On the 1,000 pyeong of land in Daechi District taken from Chairman Jeong of Hyeonbo, a single building was constructed instead of the originally planned two.
I had intended for Han Gyeong-yeong to use it when he came to Korea, but I changed my mind, thinking it would be better to get a small office to play the part of a good guy. In the end, this place was to become Eva’s base.
“I’ve decorated the top floor like a hotel. You can stay there.”
“When can I see it?”
“The end of this year. What do you think, do you like it? My gift.”
“GOOD!”
Eva, looking genuinely pleased, kept gazing up at the Mirae Building with the biggest smile on her face.
“For now, stay in a hotel suite and get ready.”
“You said it doesn’t matter who I recruit, right?”
“Yeah. Do you have anyone in mind?”
“Not yet. I need to start meeting people. I have to prepare in advance to start work at the end of the year. I’ll be very busy. But you’ll stay with me today, won’t you?”
Eva sent me a seductive glance.
“Hahaha. I didn’t make any other plans for today. I’ll show you around Seoul. It’s your first time here as an adult, right?”
“Yes. First, let’s eat something spicy.”
I took Eva to a restaurant I had booked. It was a traditional Korean restaurant that foreigners often visited. We ate while discussing the preparation process, and on the way to drop Eva off at her hotel.
“The night view of Seoul is as good as Hong Kong’s.” “It’s developed a lot, hasn’t it?”
“Yes. I didn’t know it would be like this.”
Eva murmured, looking out the window.
“Is a country like this really going to fall into a crisis?”
“You saw Thailand.”
“The economies of Thailand and Korea are on completely different scales.”
What Eva said was true. Thailand and Korea were incomparable in terms of economic scale. The second country in Asia to join the OECD.
On the surface, the Republic of Korea was an economic powerhouse that had created the miracle on the Han River. But it was an empty shell, a sandcastle built on debt.
“Indonesia, Taiwan, and Hong Kong won’t be safe either. The hyenas of Wall Street don’t care who they go after. Their final target will probably be Korea.”
Originally, the Republic of Korea was not in their plans, but seeing Korea stumble due to the Southeast Asian economic crisis, they decided to attack. Backed by America, they would move the IMF to continuously force conditions favorable to them upon Korea.
“I believe you, Boss. A crisis for them will be an opportunity for me. Thank you for including me in this event.”
Soon, the car slowly came to a stop at the hotel’s main entrance.
“Let’s go in. Let’s have a drink in the room you’ll be staying in for a while.”
Eva nodded and got out of the car with a chic expression. Her looks were enough to draw people’s attention. Eva came up beside me, linked her arm in mine, and said, “This is the last day, so this much is okay, right?”
As Eva said, once today passed and she made her official debut in the political and financial worlds, it would be difficult for us to meet like this.
“Alright, let’s go.”
The next day. I left the hotel early in the morning.
“What’s on the schedule for today?”
“There are no other appointments except for a dinner engagement with Young Lady Cheon Ji-young.”
“Then please take me to Myeon District.”
In Myeon District, Hyeon-seong was learning about the private loan business, starting from the basics of reading ledgers under Twin Blades’ guidance. According to Twin Blades, he was learning faster than expected.
“You’ve arrived, Boss.”
When I reached the office, Twin Blades Kim Ho-sik was the first to come out and greet me.
“You’re looking well too, Boss Kim.”
“Hahaha, I’ve been lazing around with nothing to do lately. The other loan sharks are having a field day, though.”
When the economy struggled and money stopped flowing, the first place to react was Myeon District. With banks and trust companies holding onto their money, the only place for ordinary people to turn to was the private loan market. Small and medium-sized businesses and self-employed people, in particular, were knocking on the doors of Myeon District in their desperation.
They didn’t know it was a shortcut to ruin.
“Boss Kim, you need to launder your identity now too. If you lend money now, it’ll be hard to collect later, which will make it difficult to operate in the light.”
“I know. I was just saying.”
As I entered the office while talking with Twin Blades, I saw Hyeon-seong sitting at a desk, looking at documents.
“Hey, how’s it going?”
Hyeon-seong lifted his head at the sound of my voice.
“Yeah.”
It seemed his blunt personality hadn’t changed at all, even after coming to the private loan market. I went behind Hyeon-seong and looked at the documents. They were all loan applications.
“Are you used to it now?”
“More or less. It’s difficult, though.”
“You just need to know the basic concepts. You won’t be working in the field yourself, so you don’t need to know as much as an expert.”
“No, I need to know. Why else would I be here? If I’m going to do it, I have to do it right, don’t I?”
This was a moment that showed Hyeon-seong’s steadfast character.
“Alright, do as you please. Let’s go get something to eat.”
Hyeon-seong checked the clock on the office wall and tilted his head.
“It’s not even noon yet.”
“So what? Let’s go.”
“Alright. I’ll just quickly wrap this up.”
While Hyeon-seong finished up the documents he was looking at, I sat on the sofa in the center of the office and talked with Twin Blades.
“We’ll start establishing the lending companies next year. Set up reliable people as figurehead bosses. You’ll have to help Hyeon-seong and take care of all the practical work, Boss.”
“Thank you for the opportunity.”
“Don’t betray me. There are only two of you left now.”
“I know.”
Twin Blades would know better than anyone how Hammer and Bandit had been dealt with. It was a relief that he was a man who understood things quickly.
“You will be rewarded for your hard work.”
“Yes.”
“It’s natural to get some dough on your hands when you’re kneading dough. I’ll tolerate it up to a certain point, but don’t cross the line.”
“I understand.”
Just as my warning to Twin Blades ended, Hyeon-seong got up from his seat.
“I’m done.”
“Yeah? Then let’s go. Boss Kim, I’ll see you again next time.”
“Yes, Boss. Take care on your way out.”
We went into a shabby-looking restaurant nearby. For the first time in a while, I ate in a restaurant bustling with people.
“Things are going to get busy starting next year.”
“Yeah.”
Myeong-soo was fulfilling his military duty as a military judge advocate, and he was scheduled to enter the Public Prosecutor’s Office after his service was over. Hyeon-seong had been granted an exemption after that accident, so he didn’t have to go to the military.
“Thanks for helping out.”
“Forget it. I’m more thankful.”
With Hyeon-seong, who had been a sore spot for me, somewhat settled and adapting to his new place, I was able to relieve some of the burden on my mind. I didn’t talk much with Hyeon-seong. Whether it was for my own satisfaction or for Hyeon-seong’s future.
I just prayed that this was a good choice. After parting with Hyeon-seong, I arrived in Pyeongchang District. When I stopped by the study to say hello, my grandfather spoke first.
“You stayed out last night.”
“Yes, I had something to take care of.”
“Sit down, I have something to say.”
“Yes.”
My grandfather’s expression was quite serious. As I sat down, my grandfather, who seemed to hesitate for a moment, opened his mouth heavily.
“The government contacted me. They asked me to release my dollars into the market.”
This is faster than I expected. The government was reassuring the public by saying they were maintaining $30 billion in foreign reserves annually, while at the same time, they announced a financial reform law, raised the personal foreign currency holding limit to $500,000, and took the bold step of not questioning its source.
Thanks to that, they were maintaining the $30 billion in foreign reserves.
“What are your thoughts, Grandfather?”
“If the economic crisis can be averted by pouring in my dollars, I’d be putting the government in my debt, but what would it be other than peeing on a frozen foot?”
It was true. Even if all of my grandfather’s dollars were poured in, it wouldn’t make a dent. It was better to hold onto them until the end and lend them to corporations in exchange for much more.
“Yes, then you should refuse.”
“Won’t that be a problem? Nothing good comes from being on bad terms with the administration.”
“Don’t worry. It’s a government that’s already dead. The Prosecutor General has a good relationship with us, and the head of the National Tax Service is your old friend, isn’t he?”
The heads of the two investigative agencies that could threaten my grandfather had deep ties with us.
“The foolish government made a very political decision. They ignored the Bank of Korea’s warnings in a pointless power struggle, and now they’re thoroughly ignoring the reports from front-line civil servants. And that man is the Minister of Finance.”
This administration had bet everything on joining the OECD and achieving a per capita national income of $10,000. All for a single political reason. The government had no proper grasp of the current situation where trust companies were borrowing short-term foreign debt from places like America and Japan and then lending that money back to Southeast Asian and domestic companies.
Due to the rise in US interest rates and the economic crisis in Southeast Asia, a portion of the massive funds that had flooded into Asia was now flowing back to America. The end of the time bomb was drawing nearer and nearer.
“Are you getting calls from the large corporations too?”
“There have been no calls from the top 10 corporations yet.”
“Has there been no contact from Asin either?”
My grandfather gave a slight nod.
“Asin doesn’t have a single owner. Who would come to me as a representative?”
“That’s true. By the way, who from the government contacted you?”
“The Minister of Finance contacted me directly. He had an intimidating attitude, saying it was an order from the VIP… Foolish man. With a man like that driving the economy of a country, it’s no wonder things like this happen.”
Thailand’s surrender was only the beginning. The attack on the Indonesian rupiah caused it to plummet as well. Starting with Indonesia, the attacks on various Southeast Asian countries like Taiwan and the Philippines began in earnest.
“In just a few months, the large corporations will be lining up to see you.”
“Is there something you want?”
“You can just do as you’ve always done, Grandfather. Take the shares of their core companies as collateral or have them issue convertible bonds.”
“Hoho, I understand. I don’t know what you want, but I’ll do it properly for you.”
“In particular, I hope we can secure as many Ilseong Electronics shares as possible. The absolute maximum.”
“Ilseong Electronics?”
I smiled at my grandfather’s puzzled expression.
“Yes, because it’s the core of Ilseong Group.”
“I’ll try my best.”
“Thank you.”
After finishing my conversation with my grandfather and going up to my room, Section Chief Ma reported to me.
“They said preparations for establishing the PMC are complete. The corporation itself will be established by next month, and I received word that weapon purchases will begin next spring.”
“Is that so? What about the Korean branch?”
“They said they’ll create it next spring. They’ll send a team composed of ace former Navy SEALs.”
“Eric is doing a good job.”
The money that had already gone into establishing the PMC was over $2 billion. Weapon purchases hadn’t even begun, yet the amount of money already spent was staggering.
“The amount of money is no joke.”
“Well, it is the business of creating a private army. But if we can get commissions from the US government, it won’t take long to recoup it.”
“That’s true. And it’s not like the money is the important thing. For now, tell them to continue as planned.”
“I understand.”
After dismissing Section Chief Ma, I called Han Gyeong-yeong. — Hello. Han Gyeong-yeong’s voice was hoarse, as if he had just woken up.
“Were you sleeping?” — Ah… is that you, Mu-hyeok?
“If you’re going to sleep, I’ll call later.” — No. Just a moment.
I could hear Han Gyeong-yeong bustling around on the other end of the line. — Hyaaawn… what’s up?
“Hyung. How much is in the Bermuda corporation?” — Black Mouse?
“Yeah.” — It should be a little over 30 billion dollars.
“Okay. We’re investing that in Korea. As soon as the market opens tomorrow, let’s bet on the exchange rate going over 1,800 won and the stock index dropping below 400 by the January expiration.” — …
What?
Wow, that woke me right up.
“1,800 won, stock index 400.” Han Gyeong-yeong was silent for a long time.
“You understand, right?” — Yeah, I understand… but it’s uncertain if we can bet 30 billion.
I’ll go to work in the morning and check as soon as the market opens.
“Yeah, please do.” — Is Southeast Asia over now?
“No, Hong Kong is still left. We still have time, so bet 30 billion dollars on Korea’s collapse.”
Korea did not collapse because of Wall Street’s attack. A bomb that had been inside a long time exploded all at once, leading to self-destruction. If I were to give up on the Korean market just because it was my own country, another hedge fund would surely devour it.
I recalled what Chairman Song had said before.
‘Then of course you must seize the opportunity. If you don’t, someone else will make money from that opportunity. That’s economics.’
Right, it’s better for me to eat it than to give it to someone else. Han Gyeong-yeong, hiding his identity, began to buy up all the available futures, options, and other derivative products on the market under the name of the shell company in Bermuda.
The hedge funds that had been touring Southeast Asia were now preparing their attack on Hong Kong, the financial hub of Asia. The opportunity to make the most money from the Asian financial crisis had arrived.
< A Government Already Dead. > End