October 28, 1997, Government Complex 1, Gwanghwamun.
Choi Jin-woo, the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, sat anxiously, tapping the armrest of the sofa with his fingertips as he stared at the phone resting on the side table.
He rolled up his shirt sleeves to check his wristwatch and muttered to himself,
"It should have been deposited by now… I don't understand why there's no contact."
It was the day when the promised $10 billion transfer, agreed upon with Seok-won, was supposed to be completed.
A sudden ominous thought darkened Choi Jin-woo's expression as he said,
"I hope nothing has gone wrong."
There was a reason why Choi Jin-woo couldn't wait patiently and was restless.
Just yesterday, the foreign reserves had dropped below $10 billion, bringing the country to the brink of bankruptcy.
If Seok-won failed to transfer the $10 billion today, the government would have no choice but to surrender to the IMF, which made every passing second agonizingly tense.
Seeing how anxious he was, Vice Minister Shin Seung-gi spoke up to calm him.
"There's still about ten minutes left. Let's wait just a little longer."
But Choi Jin-woo looked again at his wristwatch and clicked his tongue.
"Tch. Today, time is moving especially slowly."
He then took a sip of coffee, his throat dry, before speaking in a low voice.
"As feared, the exchange rate has broken through 1,500 won today."
"As you know, since our foreign reserves are depleted, we can't properly defend the exchange rate. On top of that, Japanese financial firms are indiscriminately recalling loans, which is pushing the exchange rate sharply upward."
Vice Minister Shin Seung-gi replied grimly.
"It's really an unhelpful neighbor—Japan is causing trouble at the worst possible time."
Choi Jin-woo frowned deeply as he spoke, and Shin Seung-gi responded with grave concern.
"After the collapses of Takushoku Bank and Sanyo Securities, now Tokuyo City Bank has also failed. The fear of a domino effect of financial institution bankruptcies in Japan is growing."
Tokuyo City Bank was a regional small- to medium-sized bank operating mainly in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan.
Compared to the two banks that had already gone bankrupt, the scale was smaller, but the fact that three financial institutions collapsed within just one month sparked fears of a domino effect across the Japanese financial sector.
"Since the bubble burst, the problem of bad loans that remained like a ticking time bomb has finally come to light despite the Japanese government's efforts to conceal it,"
Deputy Prime Minister Choi Jin-woo said with a grimace, clicking his tongue.
"The real question is, why is this happening now, of all times?"
Vice Minister Shin Seung-gi sighed softly, also frustrated.
"Yes, the situation is really complicated and problematic."
Choi Jin-woo glanced at his wristwatch again out of habit and leaned back.
"How much do companies and banks still owe in loans drawn from Japan?"
"It's over $16 billion, as far as we know."
Upon hearing this, Choi Jin-woo immediately frowned deeply.
"I heard that more than $7 billion in foreign currency has already flowed out to Japan. Are you saying there's still that much left?"
"Due to geographic proximity and long-standing trade relations, most of the short-term foreign debts have been borrowed through financial institutions in Japan and Hong Kong."
Choi Jin-woo groaned with a troubled expression.
From the companies' perspective, it was easier and more convenient to raise foreign currency through Japan and Hong Kong rather than the U.S. or other Western countries.
But because the lending sources were not diversified and overly concentrated in certain countries, when the problem arose and loans were recalled all at once, it led to severe liquidity shortages and a sharp surge in the exchange rate.
"The situation in Japan is unlikely to improve quickly. Even if $10 billion is newly added this time, if more than half of the loans are recalled, we won't be able to hold out for long."
"That's very likely,"
Choi Jin-woo wiped his face with a dark expression.
"In the end, the only fundamental solution is to receive bailout funds from the IMF."
Vice Minister Shin Seung-gi nodded silently and gravely.
If IMF aid came through, not only would foreign currency flow in, but the country could assure neighboring nations and creditors that foreign reserves wouldn't run out and that it wouldn't fall into default, i.e., insolvency.
This reassurance would naturally calm anxiety and panic, stabilizing the exchange rate as well.
Choi Jin-woo, visibly exhausted, leaned back on the sofa and muttered,
"We have to make sure this $10 billion comes in, even if it means conceding something unfavorable in the negotiations."
Just then, as he was about to light a cigarette out of frustration, the phone suddenly rang.
Ring ring! Ring ring!
Choi Jin-woo sprang up and quickly grabbed the receiver.
"Hello?"
[This is Director Jung.]
At the familiar voice of Jung Ji-hoon, Director of Financial Policy, Choi Jin-woo's face tensed and he urgently asked,
"Has the dollar come in?"
[Yes. The $10 billion has just been deposited into the Bank of Korea.]
Hearing the awaited answer, Choi Jin-woo involuntarily sighed in relief while still holding the receiver.
Then, regaining composure, he said,
"Then go ahead and issue a press release as scheduled."
[Understood.]
After hanging up, Vice Minister Shin Seung-gi leaned forward anxiously and asked,
"So, the $10 billion has been deposited?"
"That's what I was told."
Hearing this, Vice Minister Shin Seung-gi's tense expression relaxed.
"That's truly a relief."
Seeing this, Deputy Prime Minister Choi Jin-woo spoke with a serious tone.
"We've caught our breath for now, but we can't hold out for too long with just this. Once we have a favorable card, we must do whatever it takes to wrap up the negotiations."
Vice Minister Shin Seung-gi responded with a determined look.
"I will do my best."
"Good. I'm counting on you."
[Ilhan and Hanseong Bank Merge to Create a Super Bank!
As the first signal of restructuring financially troubled institutions hit hard by the foreign exchange crisis, the Ministry of Finance and Economy today abruptly announced the merger of Ilhan and Hansung Banks.
Currently, the government has injected public funds totaling 1.2 trillion won into the two banks, but due to poor management, neither can survive independently.
Accordingly, the government decided to merge the two banks and combine them with Shinchang, Koryo, and Gyeongnam credit finance companies—which are currently suspended from operation due to massive debt—to launch a mega super bank with assets totaling 100 trillion won.
This newly created super bank's entire 50% government-owned stake will be acquired by the Eldorado Fund for 800 million dollars, approximately 1.2 trillion won at the current exchange rate, which will also take over management.
Additionally, the Eldorado Fund is expected to immediately execute a paid-in capital increase of 1 billion dollars to normalize the merged bank.
Deputy Minister Shin Seung-gi of the Ministry of Finance and Economy stated, "This measure aims to dispel fears of bank failures during negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and to promptly stabilize the financial market."
Meanwhile…]
Sitting on the sofa in the living room bathed in warm sunlight, Chairman Park Tae-hong flipped through the morning paper and let out a hollow laugh as he read the large headline on the front page.
"Huh. That kid actually went ahead and bought the banks."
Although he had heard the story in advance, seeing that his son had acquired two of the five major commercial banks at once still felt unreal.
"The owner of a mega bank with assets exceeding 100 trillion won…"
He knew Seok-won was no ordinary person, but he never imagined he would pull off something this big.
Without any outside help, he had somehow grown into a giant far beyond him, and Park Tae-hong looked down at the newspaper with a satisfied expression.
"That kid's better than me."
At that moment, his wife, Jo Deok-rye, approached and asked,
"What are you looking at so intently?"
Park Tae-hong looked up and responded as his wife sat down across from him on the sofa.
"There's an article about Seok-won."
"Oh my. What kind of article? Let me see."
Jo Deok-rye, holding a cup of tea with both hands, said with sparkling eyes.
When Park Tae-hong handed her the newspaper, she flipped through it for a long time but grew puzzled when she couldn't find their son's name anywhere.
"Where is the article about Seok-won?"
"It's right there on the front page, in big letters."
"There's only an article about the bank merger."
Jo Deok-rye tilted her head in confusion, and Park Tae-hong chuckled softly.
"That means you can't see it even if it's right there."
"What do you mean?"
"That thing on the front page. That's it."
Jo Deok-rye, with her smooth forehead—well cared for and free of wrinkles—frowned as she looked again, eventually losing her temper.
"You're joking, right? Our son's name isn't mentioned once!"
"Oh, no. I wouldn't say that and get scolded by Mrs. Jo."
"Then what is it?"
"The article says Ilhan and Hansung are merging to create a super bank, doesn't it?"
"But…"
Seeing her half-pouting face, Chairman Park Tae-hong smiled and gently tried to soothe her.
"The person who bought the super bank created by the merger is our son."
Jo Deok-rye blinked her big eyes in surprise, a question mark clearly on her face.
"What do you mean by that?"
"The article says that a fund called Eldorado is acquiring the bank's shares, right?"
"And…?"
Amused by his wife's confused reaction, Park Tae-hong casually said,
"The owner of that Eldorado Fund is Seok-won."
"Is that really true?"
Jo Deok-rye replied in disbelief, and Park Tae-hong answered,
"Do I look like someone who jokes about something like this?"
"No, of course not."
Jo Deok-rye exclaimed repeatedly in surprise, glaring fiercely at the newspaper.
Finding his wife's astonishment amusing, Park Tae-hong spoke as if it was nothing special.
"That kid even bought Gucci the other day, so why are you so surprised now?"
Jo Deok-rye, still with her mouth wide open, suddenly shot him a glare.
"Is that the same thing as this?"
Well, buying a luxury brand and buying a mega bank with assets exceeding 100 trillion won were on a totally different level.
"Yeah, the scale is a bit different."
"It's a huge difference."
Jo Deok-rye carefully reread the article she had already scanned and kept expressing her amazement.
"Wow. What on earth is going on?"
Watching her, Park Tae-hong said proudly,
"I knew he was special ever since he got accepted into Harvard—no donation admission, purely on his own brains."
Jo Deok-rye also smiled widely, her whole face lit up.
"That's right. Father-in-law even said that he had a prophetic dream of a giant golden carp coming into his skirt fold—said he was born with great fortune."
"He did say that."
Park Tae-hong closed his eyes for a moment and thought about his late father who was no longer with them.
"If he had lived just a little longer, he would have been really proud of Seok-won. I wonder what made him leave so soon."
Murmuring with regret, Jo Deok-rye comforted her husband.
"He's probably watching from above and is happy for him."
"He must be."