1953 Bare-handed Tycoon - Chapter 347



Only Noblemtl

347 – Two sides of a coin

On Monday, November 27, 1961, Kijo, who went to work at the Cheongsan headquarters, received Daeik’s report.

While I was in the US, the company went back without incident.

The business that Kijo had established continued to grow steadily even during the economic downturn that struck after 1959.

Even in a recession, people bought things they needed.

In particular, it was impressive that the bicycles of Kia Industries, which was acquired by Kijo, were consistently selling well.

New products made of chromoly steel were well-received in the market and were selling like hotcakes.

However, when Dae-ik, who had finished his report, talked about the rumors going around Myeong-dong, Gi-jo felt bad.

It was because it seemed like the dark side of the military government was slowly beginning to show.

“It is said that the government will soon announce measures to revitalize the stock market.”

Daeik continued speaking.

“Grandma Baek also said the same thing, that the actions of a man named Yoon Eung-sang are suspicious.”

“Are you Yoon Eung-sang?”

“Yes, he was originally an electrician in Sokcho, Gangwon-do, but he bought a US military generator and sold electricity. He closed down his electric company and came to Myeongdong in 1955 to start Hanil Securities.”

Daeik came and spoke with quite accurate information.

Yoon Eung-sang was the person who caused the ‘stock market shock’ with Kim Jong-pil and greatly ruined the Korean stock market.

“That guy is good at manipulation. He made a lot of money and lost it repeatedly, and his trading methods were too bold and reckless, Grandma Baek said.”

The keynote speaker nodded.

I felt uneasy.

If Chairman Park brought forward the general election as Kennedy demanded, the one who would be put on the spot was Kim Jong-pil.

He would try to raise funds to launch a Republican Party sooner than before in preparation for the election.

Even in the history of the Yuan Dynasty, an ‘operation’ was carried out using Yun Eung-sang to raise funds.

He raises a huge amount of money by making the stocks go up and down and uses it to fund the founding of the Republican Party.

I had a feeling that I wouldn’t be able to avoid the stock market crash this time either.

In the afternoon, Lee Man-ik of Cheongsan Construction visited.

Lee Man-ik was returning from inspecting the construction site of the Mapo Apartment Complex, which the revolutionary government had ambitiously begun on October 16, 1961.

“Are you adjusting well to the time difference?”

Kijo said yes and listened to Manik’s story.

“The apartments being built by the Korea Housing Corporation in Dohwa-dong are quite advanced. A friend named Jang Dong-woon, who was the commander of the engineering battalion under the 2nd Army Command, is building them, and Cheongsan Construction is also worth considering.”

It was a huge apartment complex at the time, with 1,500 households in 13 six-story buildings.

“There are three sizes: 9 pyeong, 12 pyeong, and 15 pyeong, and they are all rental apartments.”

It was a rather advanced apartment design. It had central heating, an elevator, and a toilet, which was considered a luxury item by today’s standards. In addition, it was planned to include a bathroom inside the 15-pyeong apartment.

They had the brilliant idea of ​​building such luxurious homes but not selling them but instead leasing them all for 20 years.

It was one of the projects promoted by pure-hearted soldiers in the early days of the revolutionary government.

“Originally, we were going to build it as a 10-story building, but the USOM guys rejected it, so we lowered it to 6 stories. They said it was impossible to have an elevator in a country with an income of $80. Since it was built with a small amount of money,

“I guess the meddling of American kids is quite something.”

Man-ik, who was from the military, had a detailed understanding of the revolutionary government’s situation.

Man-ik, who had finished talking about the Mapo apartment, spoke with a slightly worried expression.

“Sir, I heard something that smells a little bit bad.”

“What’s going on?”

“They say they are building a US military hotel in Gwangjang-ri (Gwangjang-dong), and they are requesting supplies, equipment, and troops from each military engineering office.”

“Um… Are you building a US military entertainment facility?”

“Yes, they’re building a hotel called ‘Walkerhill’ named after General Walker who died in the Korean War, and they’ll even put in pachinko machines so that American soldiers can spend the money they would otherwise spend in Japan in Korea.”

The news that Man-ik relayed was also a prelude to the ‘Walkerhill Incident’ that Kim Jong-pil would cause.

This was also an incident to raise funds for the founding of the Republican Party.

Kim Jong-pil embezzled money by taking government money under the pretext of building Walkerhill.

It was built with the labor of prisoners and soldiers, so there was almost no labor cost, and materials purchased from Japan were duty-free, so construction costs could be reduced by a quarter, but all of the money was processed as spent.

The keynote speech also saw this as an unavoidable event.

It was like two sides of a coin.

Instead of accepting the demands for a quick general election and a quick democratization, it seemed that Kim Jong-pil’s corruption would only get worse, not disappear.

One thing that was fortunate was that Kim Jong-pil did not embezzle the money personally.

In the early days of the revolution, Kim Jong-pil was truly a revolutionary.

He worked tirelessly to found the Republican Party for the success of Chairman Park, whom he had established.

And those who remember him from those days evaluated him as someone who truly worked to save the country and ensure the success of the revolution.

The keynote speech may have had that aspect, but I also think that Kim Jong-pil may have done so while looking ahead to the presidency after Chairman Park.

After finishing his conversation with Man-ik, Ki-jo smoked a cigarette alone in the CEO’s office.

The ‘stock market crash’ and the ‘Walkerhill incident’ were just small waves compared to the huge wave that will hit next year.

What Kijo was truly worried about was the that would take place in 1962.

It was the biggest mistake of the military government, which was still inexperienced in economics.

The origin of the currency reform was a man named Yu Won-sik.

When Kim Jong-pil moved into the house next door to Gijo’s, he was the one who sat directly across from Gijo and ate noodles.

He brings up the unconfirmed fact that overseas Chinese own one-third of South Korea’s currency, worth a total of 100 billion won, and suggests currency reform to Chairman Park.

The soldiers, who do not know much about economics and assume that the rich have their money hidden away somewhere, agree to the idea of ​​seizing the money and tying it up in banks.

Although I had hoped that the novel idea would have some positive effects, the result was a complete failure.

It was like detonating a nuclear bomb that almost wiped out small and medium-sized businesses in South Korea.

The large-scale illegal funds from overseas Chinese that Yu Won-sik brought about due to the need for currency reform did not exist.

No, it existed, but the amount was so small that even Chairman Park was embarrassed.

The keynote speech was concerned about the economic disaster that Chairman Park and the military, who were still inexperienced in economics, would cause.

Chairman Park and his staff lacked experience in many ways.

In this situation, if the political schedule is brought forward, there may be an even greater obsession with results and things may proceed hastily.

Chairman Park’s impatience was already extreme.

He was a man who realized that he was a leader who lacked legitimacy and tried to make up for his shortcomings with economic performance.

The keynote was that he hoped that small changes, like those during his visit to the United States, would lead him on the right path.

* * *

Since my visit to the United States, many things have changed rapidly.

On November 30, Lee Hu-rak was granted a special pardon as requested by Kijo.

Then, on the very next day, December 1, USOM announced that it would form the Korea International Steel Association (KISA).

After the promise to release Lee Hu-rak, which was promised to Pali, was fulfilled, USOM immediately pushed for KISA.

The keynote speech was surprising in that the new history, which was different from the original history, was progressing faster than expected.

The changes in the United States have had domino-like effects.

The way the keynote speaker is treated has also changed.

USOM issued an official pass to Kijo, and during his visit to the U.S., USOM Director Killen, who he had met with, called Kijo in for a private meeting.

USOM’s Director Killen was a person of higher rank than a minister in Korea.

Killen said that KISA would operate temporarily until the end of 1962 as Kijo had wanted, and that American companies such as US Steel and Corpus were sounding out the loan team to participate.

After the interview, Kijo went to see Frank.

As Keynote entered his office, Frank asked,

“What on earth did you do in America before you came back?”

Frank laughed heartily.

“Well, I only served as an interpreter for Chairman Park. And that was only for two days.”

Frank couldn’t stop laughing at the keynote speech.

Those two days caused chaos at the CIA’s Korean branch.

A CIA officer flew in from Japan to investigate who Lee Ki-jo was, how much influence he had on the revolutionary government, and what kind of business he was currently doing in Korea.

Frank had to spend the whole day narrating from beginning to end how he met Igijo and what they had done together up to that point.

Fortunately, however, the keynote did not go against American interests, so it passed without a hitch.

Rather, the evaluation of the keynote went up one level.

―I think we need to elevate Lee Ki-jo to a higher level. Treat him as a civilian channel for the military government, rather than as an important collaborator.

The CIA officer gave Frank these instructions and left for Japan.

Frank, who couldn’t tell Gijo exactly what had happened, asked him.

“Didn’t Mr. Houseman want to meet you?”

“You told me to come to Yongsan anyway.”

“Yes. You’ve become popular. Congratulations.”

Frank assumed that Houseman had also been interviewed by a CIA officer.

“By any chance, did you hear that they were giving us an office in the Supreme Council building?”

“Not at all.”

“I asked because the military government is sweeping up young talents like you to the Economic Planning Board.”

Frank laughed at the lame joke.

“Would you call me if I didn’t even have a college diploma?”

After talking with Frank, Kijo left USOM and headed to Yongsan to meet Houseman.

Houseman’s office was right next to the Eighth Army Commander’s office.

The location of his office revealed his status.

Although the commander of the 8th Army changed frequently, Hausmann remained in that position for several years.

And the location of the office would not change until he left Korea.

As Kijo entered the office, Hausmann asked the same question.

“Hey, what have you been doing in America?”

The keynote speaker had to repeat the same answer.

“Because the interpreter fell ill….”

Houseman joked, feeling good.

“You came back from America as a big shot. Next time we play golf together, bring Chairman Park along.”

At that time, the main social activities of the American soldiers were golf and poker, and the professional social activity of the Korean soldiers was the fairy club.

Houseman tried to invite Chairman Park to a golf meeting.

The keynote speaker said Chairman Park will learn golf starting next year.

Although he learned golf at the recommendation of those around him, Chairman Park keeps his golf lessons a secret.

Under the revolutionary government, golf was considered a social evil.

It seemed unlikely that Chairman Park would be playing golf with American soldiers for some time.

In response to Hausmann’s unreasonable demands, he mentioned a different person.

“How about working with Director Lee Hu-rak?”

“Oh, right. You said that person came out? Was he selected as the spokesperson for the Supreme Council?”

“Yes.”

“Yeah, he’s too good of a person to just throw away. Let’s all three of us meet up and go round first.”

Kijo wanted to meet with Lee Hu-rak and discuss Shin Kyuk-ho.

Moving him, who wanted to use the money he earned in Japan to build a steel mill and oil refinery in Korea, was the best thing Kijo could do at the time.

Lee Hu-rak was able to provide the bridge that would allow him to meet Shingyeokho.