Yale'sNovember 17, 4 p.m.
The devaluation of the Korean won has reached its highest point in history.
The exchange rate of the Korean won to the US dollar fell to a record low of 1008:1, which means that 1008 Korean won can be exchanged for 1 US dollar.
On this day, both Kyle's Gale Capital and a group of international speculators who shorted the Korean won had a good meal.
Putting aside the fact that Kyle's Gale Capital earned more than 10 million US dollars, Merrill Lynch, one of the five largest investment banks on Wall Street, is the most powerful player today.
"Boss, according to reliable sources, Merrill Lynch sold off $9 billion worth of Korean won futures contracts in just a few hours today, directly crashing the Korean won foreign exchange market!"
Henry said in a deep voice.
"Hiss~!"
Instantly, Kyle gasped.
"In just a few hours, they shorted $9 billion worth of Korean won futures contracts. This was definitely planned by Merrill Lynch!"
Kyle said solemnly, "According to intelligence, South Korea's foreign exchange reserves are less than $7 billion. This means the South Korean government is completely powerless to resist."
Henry Jugenburg also nodded.
In terms of foreign exchange reserves, South Korea really can't catch up with the Japanese.
The Japanese private capital and the government can come up with at least $200 billion in foreign exchange reserves, which can help them hold out for a while; however, the Koreans only have a mere $7 billion, and they can't even struggle.
Before the international speculators could even make a move, Merrill Lynch alone had brought down the Korean foreign exchange market.
It's just a stick, nothing to worry about.
....
At the same time.
The South Korean government held an emergency meeting at the Blue House.
"Where's the money?!"
One lawmaker directly criticised the Ministry of Finance officials: "Our Republic of Korea's foreign exchange reserves don't even have $7 billion. What are we going to do next? We have to pay with our heads!"
Before he finished speaking, a group of other congressmen also launched attacks on the Ministry of Finance and relevant government agencies, and even cursed the president without any hesitation.
"The main officials of the Ministry of Finance must resign!"
"Yes, they are primarily responsible for this financial crisis."
"Everyone, Samsung, Daewoo, CJ Group and other large chaebols are all waiting for financial support from the government. After all, if they collapse, our financial market will be finished."
Extremely noisy sounds came one after another.
The noise continued to echo in the conference room. How could the members of parliament and high-ranking officials, who were usually well-dressed, be polite at this moment?
Especially when the major chaebol groups were mentioned, some people's expressions were moved.
From another perspective, South Korea's politics is also called chaebol politics.
From the moment you are born, hospital medical care, housing, cars, jobs, insurance, banks, clothing, alcohol, cemeteries, and even something as small as a piece of toilet paper, are all controlled by chaebols.
Many members of parliament in South Korea are spokesmen for chaebols.
The representatives of these chaebols have a clear purpose in today's meeting, which is to get the government to support the chaebol groups to the greatest extent possible.
What?
You said that all the money was given to the chaebol companies, but do you not care about the life and death of small and medium-sized companies?
In fact, the South Korean government itself is in a difficult situation and cannot save itself.
After the meeting, the South Korean spokesperson immediately made the famous "lose three and save seven" statement on TV.
"Lose the jobs of 30% of workers and keep the jobs of 70% of workers."
...
The consequences of this statement,
You can imagine.
Many companies went bankrupt one after another, triggering a wave of unemployment, and many Korean people began to question the measures taken by the government.
As for Kyle's Gale Capital and a group of international speculators, why would they care about you?
They began to short the Korean won in large quantities.
From the 18th to the 20th, for three consecutive days, the Korean won foreign exchange market showed a continuous decline, with no signs of recovery at all.
Not to mention the countless small and medium-sized enterprises that have gone bankrupt in South Korea, even the major chaebol giants have suffered heavy losses.
The most serious one is the Daewoo Group!
As South Korea's former second-largest company, it was undoubtedly massive. Its business scope encompassed foreign trade, shipbuilding, heavy equipment, automobiles, electronics, communications, construction, chemicals, and finance. It operated 29 subsidiaries, over 30 overseas branches, and employed 260,000 people. Before the crisis, it was unrivalled in its strength.
However...
Just days after the outbreak of the Korean financial crisis, Daewoo Group's high debt ratio had resulted in a massive debt burden, and declining profits had led to a drop in its stock price. Despite a series of cuts, Daewoo Group was unable to recover, and the myth of "Daewoo's immortality" was finally shattered.
Ah Xi~!
"How is this possible? We are a world-class power, how could we be so vulnerable?"
"It's fake, everything is fake!"
"I also think this is fake. Our government and the chaebols must have been caught off guard. By the time they recover, Wall Street's investment banks will be nothing!"
Unemployed Korean people took to the streets and kept shouting - they believed that the government would definitely solve the problem!
....
Gale Capital.
Kyle was in his office, watching the TV news coming from South Korea, and couldn't help but laugh.
Still believe it?
"Your government and chaebols are not thinking about saving you at all now, but are considering how to reduce their own losses." Kyle sneered.
Sure enough, not long after, Kyle saw another piece of news.
South Korea's Ministry of Finance officials immediately announced: "We are unable to reverse the economic downturn and have decided to seek assistance from the International Monetary Fund!"
One stone can cause a thousand ripples!
As soon as the news came out, it caused an uproar in South Korea.
The people who had firmly believed that their country was a world power just a second ago were completely dumbfounded at this moment.
The dream of becoming a great world power is shattered!
Of course, there are still a large number of citizens who are ecstatic: "Great, with the help of the International Monetary Fund, we will definitely be able to survive this difficult time."
Kyle was even more disdainful of such remarks.
International Monetary Fund, you think you are a charity!
To put it bluntly: "The United States is behind the International Monetary Fund. It is a vicious wolf that hunts for food everywhere. It kills without blinking an eye and eats people without adding salt."
A few days later, the International Monetary Fund and the South Korean government signed a package of rescue plans.
Main content:
The International Monetary Fund provides a loan worth US$57 billion to the South Korean government!
"Wow, it seems quite generous. I guess there are a lot of additional conditions." Kyle looked at the news and laughed in his heart.
In fact, Kyle guessed right.
The several additional conditions proposed by the International Monetary Fund are completely aimed at cutting South Korea's flesh and dismembering its domestic financial order.
1. [Request the South Korean government to immediately close down commercial banks that have close ties with chaebols.]
You must know that in the past few decades, no commercial bank has ever been closed in South Korea. Once these commercial banks that are closely linked to the chaebols are closed, it means cutting off the chaebols' right to borrow money from some banks, which is bound to have an impact on the chaebol companies.
2. [Request South Korea to raise interest rates to 30%]
On the surface, it will be able to attract more foreign capital into South Korea, but the forced implementation of high interest rates will inevitably send many chaebols and companies into bankruptcy.
3. Fully open the financial market to foreign investors.
It has to be said that this is the most ruthless and poisonous clause among dozens of clauses.
This means that foreign capital can fully control South Korean banks, directly control South Korea's financial market, and completely turn it into an undefended battlefield for international speculators.
Tsk tsk tsk!
America's purpose is obvious: to dismember South Korea and further turn it into its own backyard.
"Boss, here comes the opportunity!"
"How can it be so easy to get aid from the International Monetary Fund?"
"While South Korea's acceptance of aid will stabilize the financial markets, it will also put a dent, in the domestic financial system for many of its chaebol giants. Even if they don't go bankrupt, they'll certainly suffer significant losses!"
Henry showed his professionalism to Kyle step by step in an excited tone.
Kyle certainly believed in his judgment, and of course the foresight of the time traveler was also indispensable.
...
The International Monetary Fund intervened and temporarily controlled the crisis, but the big capitalists suffered huge losses and were dismembered by Wall Street and investment institutions around the world.
Daewoo Group, the second richest company in South Korea, was nearly dismembered and declared bankruptcy, losing 80% of its assets.
The investment banks that profited from this period made millions, tens of millions, hundreds of millions, and even billions of dollars. South Korea's domestic resources, finance, and valuable projects were all snatched up by many large investment banks.
Kyle, who was relatively cautious, made a profit of over 700 million US dollars in the Korean market in a short period of time, which was even greater than his profit in Japan.
"Haha, cleaning up the sticks, I just feel good and satisfied!"
At this moment, Kyle exclaimed that this was so cool.