1953 Bare-handed Tycoon - Chapter 374



Only Noblemtl

374 – Currency Reform

At 10 p.m. on June 9, 1962, an important announcement from the revolutionary government was broadcast over the radio.

It was said that the currency reform measures would be implemented starting on June 10th.

The government announced that it would exchange the existing won for the dollar at a rate of 10 to 1.

The purpose of the currency reform was to control inflation and meet the public’s demand for new currency.

The keynote speaker waited with bated breath, hoping that the deposit blockade, which had been in place since the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, might be announced.

―Accordingly, the government decided to ban the circulation of old currency of 100 Hwan or more starting June 10, and to allow small-value currency of 50 Hwan or less to be used alongside new currency until July 10.

The government announcement was the same as the previous policy. It was the same that only 5,000 won would be exchanged per person per day.

―All debts and payments from all financial institutions, including banks and securities firms, will also be temporarily suspended. The government plans to have the Bank of Korea provide loans outside the limit of 280 billion won to stabilize the financial market… .

This was the same too.

It was a measure to protect financial institutions that were cornered by the stock market crash.

―Deposits made in banks will be fully blocked if the source of funds of the holder is unclear after verifying their identity. The blocked funds will be converted into shares of the Industrial Development Corporation to be established and operated for 10 years.

‘It’s changed!’

Kijo clenched his fist.

The indiscriminate deposit blockade and mandatory stock conversion policy targeting all citizens were abolished, and instead, a policy similar to the real-name financial transaction system was implemented.

In an attempt to somehow raise funds for industrial development, they will likely implement a partial real-name financial transaction system as a last resort.

The keynote speech was a relief at Chairman Park’s decision to withdraw radical policies and take a few steps back.

The shock that hit the Korean economy was thus expected to end up as a storm in a teacup.

The next day, the morning papers were filled with articles about currency reform.

Kijo, who arrived at work early in the morning, held an emergency executive meeting.

Among the executives in attendance, Seo Gwang stood out.

Kim Seo-kwang, sitting in his seat, lowered his head and kept sighing deeply.

Hansoo, who was sitting next to Seogwang, held back laughter as he spoke.

“Brother, you said you weren’t the one who had the power… Didn’t you say that you had a firm grip on the economic power?”

“Be quiet. You should be married for a few more years. You’ll realize that you need a slush fund.”

“Explain to the government that it was a slush fund needed for married life. Then, they will lift the deposit blockade.”

The managers burst into laughter at Hansoo’s words.

Kijo also held back laughter and asked Seo-kwang.

“Manager Kim, in whose name did you deposit how much?”

“Ah… I buried about 40 thousand won in Youngbae’s name.”

“That’s great. Since the government pays a 15% dividend every year, I can withdraw 6,000 won a year. Oh, now that the currency has changed, I can spend 600 won.”

Everyone laughed at the keynote speech.

“What are you planning to do with that much money?”

Ma-ryang asked.

“I was going to save up money and buy a Odobanggu. The Odobanggu made by Kia was really great.”

“Since you’ve lost your motorcycle, why don’t you buy a Kia-made cart? They’re sturdy and come out really well. Wouldn’t you enjoy taking your family on a ride around Seoul?”

When Ma-ryang teased Seo-gwang, everyone burst into laughter.

Fortunately, the direct hit from the currency reform seemed to have only a slight impact and no one was harmed.

After a moment of laughter, Kijo opened his mouth to lighten the mood of the meeting.

“The currency reform may cause a temporary drop in company sales. Since only 500 won can be exchanged per day, consumer sentiment will temporarily freeze. Managers, please carefully check the ledgers your employees write to make sure there are no mistakes. It will be easy to habitually add an extra zero.”

The keynote speech also instructed that price tags on all liquidation stores across the country be replaced.

After the meeting, Kijo visited the Supreme Council building for the first time in a long while.

It was to meet Park Tae-jun, who had returned from his inspection tour of the United States.

Park Tae-jun was absorbed in his work at the office, forgetting even the fatigue of his overseas business trip.

After exchanging greetings, Kijo asked about the results of the business trip.

“Have you looked at the companies recommended by KISA?”

“Yes, I went to US Steel, but the results were not good.”

“What happened?”

Park Tae-jun made a face full of resentment at the keynote speech.

“These Americans are just plain thieves. The equipment that US Steel could provide was really old. It was so old that they wanted to tear it down and build a new steel mill. And they wanted to take the whole thing. And they did it for the price of building a new steel mill.”

Park Tae-jun said, suppressing his anger.

“I don’t think KISA should be run like this. The rich can’t afford to exploit poor countries like Korea because the rich can’t afford to do more. What are these so-called allies doing? They’re acting like thugs!”

The keynote speaker was not excited because he knew that KISA was originally operating that way and that American companies were not sincerely involved in the business.

The keynote presented an alternative.

“How about looking for a Japanese company?”

Kijo suggested a trip to Japan and recommended that he meet with President Nishiyama of Kawasaki Steel Works.

He was a very favorable person for building a steel mill in Korea.

“We’ll have to see. If the US offers the right price and technology, we’d like to buy American products, but if the US acts like that, there’s nothing we can do. We’ll also look into Japan.”

After finishing his conversation with Taejun, Kijo moved to the USOM building right next door.

I relayed Park Tae-jun’s complaints while meeting with Director Killen and talking to him.

Then Chief Killen said.

“It’s not necessarily the case that old equipment is bad. It’s equipment that has been proven over decades of steel production. What are you going to do if you bring in new equipment and then run into problems?”

It was just a rumor that was heard but not heard.

The United States had no intention of providing new equipment to Korea. It was planning to sell expensive items to an inexperienced Korea that would be disposed of in a hurry.

If it had been the Syngman Rhee government in the 1950s, it would have been possible to do so by providing a moderate amount of bribes to government officials, but not now.

When Kijo expressed his reluctance, Director Killen recommended another company.

“Among the American companies that have expressed interest in participating in KISA is a company called Koppers. This company is located in Pittsburgh and is very good at designing and building steel mills.”

Although Koppers was located in Pittsburgh, the steel capital of the United States, it was not a steel company.

It was engaged in various business fields such as aluminum, railroads, specialty chemicals, utilities, rubber, steel, and residential lumber, and was conducting global business by entering South America, Australia, and Europe early on.

Although I didn’t like the keynote, I accepted Killen’s offer.

First of all, it was important to have many companies participate in KISA.

The keynote speech ended with a satisfactory conversation with Director Killen.

In Won history, Killen is furious at Korea’s currency reform measures today and announces that he will cut off aid to Korea.

They get excited and even bring up ideological issues, claiming that the Korean government’s policies are undermining capitalism.

It was nice to see Killen still being so quiet.

The keynote came out of Killen’s office and went to Frank.

As he entered the office, Frank glanced at Kijo’s face and asked,

“What good thing happened? Your face is so bright.”

Having safely passed the currency reform, his face couldn’t help but be bright.

“Well, I guess it’s just because the weather is nice today.”

“On a nice day like this, why don’t you go play golf with Mr. Hausman? I heard you’re upset that Advisor Hausman doesn’t come by often these days.”

“These days, if you play golf, you’ll be looked down upon by the government. I’m on probation.”

He laughed and talked about it vaguely.

These days, Kijo has been deliberately keeping his distance from Hausmann.

It was because of the nature of the revolutionary forces. They were not anti-American, but they were wary of people who were too close to the United States.

Chairman Park himself was a person who had no connection to the US military.

The young officers who participated in the revolution were also part of the minority and not close to the American military.

They had one thing in common: they despised the incompetent and corrupt generals who had been promoted through their friendship with American soldiers.

The revolutionary forces with strong independent tendencies would respond by saying, “We are not your colony” whenever the United States interfered.

Such discontent even manifested itself in an incident where he grabbed Chief Killen by the collar and beat him.

I also thought that the United States would be dissatisfied with the revolutionary forces’ tendencies.

“I’m talking about the anti-American protests by college students that happened a while ago.”

Frank got lucky.

On June 6, there was an anti-American demonstration by 2,000 Korea University students.

The incident began with a Chosun Ilbo report in February 1962.

Early in the new year, a lumberjack in the Paju area was killed by gunfire from US troops while cutting down trees in a restricted area for US troops.

Such things have happened often since the 1950s, so it was difficult to make a topic of conversation.

But what was later revealed angered the Korean people.

When the deceased’s wife examined her dead husband’s clothes, there was not a single drop of blood on his pants or jacket.

Only the deceased’s underwear and panties were stained with blood, which was evidence that the US military had not shot the fleeing lumberjack, but had captured him, stripped him of his clothes, and executed him in the bitter cold.

The autopsy results were also shocking.

The results showed that they used hunting rifles, not carbines or M1 rifles used by the US military.

This made Koreans feel resentful that they were being hunted like animals.

Even after this incident was reported, the US military continued to shoot and assault Koreans.

In February, another American soldier shot and killed a Korean, a pregnant woman suffered a miscarriage after being assaulted by American soldiers, a princess was gang raped and had her hair shaved, and a US officer hung Koreans upside down from telephone poles and beat them after a theft incident occurred within the base. Crimes by US soldiers continued to occur.

A few days ago, there was a news report about an incident where a middle-aged man was wandering near a US military base, and was caught by US soldiers, dragged into the base, stripped of his clothes, hung upside down, and beaten.

On June 8, 1,000 Seoul National University students took to the streets and marched, holding placards that read, “We are human too!”

Students demanded that the government not allow Korean sovereignty to be violated by the United States.

It was an expression of dissatisfaction with the government’s lukewarm response to US military crimes since the 1950s.

The revolutionary government understands the students’ feelings, but warns that they will respond sternly and refrain from expressing their opinions through illegal means.

But the government did not respond so harshly. They did arrest some of the student protesters, but they did not suppress them violently.

They ended up building a wall with Jeeps to protect the American embassy from the students.

Frank seemed to have to report on the anti-American tendencies of the revolutionary forces and the anti-American movements of the university students.

“College students aside, I’m dissatisfied with the way the Chosun Ilbo is changing. I’m curious about the personality of the owner of the Chosun Ilbo. Have you met him in person?”

The keynote was that Frank found it confusing.

The Chosun Ilbo, which was the first to report in depth on US military crimes in 1962 and spark anti-American sentiment, suddenly changed its stance after the demonstrations by students at Korea University.

『The human kindness that American citizens and soldiers have voluntarily shown to this land and Koreans since the Korean War is immeasurable.』

The Chosun Ilbo then went on to say this:

『If such an unfortunate incident damages the friendship between Korea and the United States, the communist bloc will use it as propaganda to destroy the unity of the free world.』

The keynote speech was that the Chosun Ilbo’s change in attitude would continue in the future.

But there would be consistency.

The Chosun Ilbo continues to move in the direction of becoming friendly with those in power.

As the owner of the Chosun Ilbo becomes closer to Chairman Park, he will increase the number of editorials and articles favorable to Chairman Park.

And it is becoming more and more pro-American.

In the memory of the keynote speaker, it was seen that the Chosun Ilbo had changed drastically since the Fifth Republic.

The Chosun Ilbo, which stood on the side of workers by publishing articles on the labor movement in the 1970s, changed 180 degrees after 1980.

The keynote spoke to Frank based on experience.

“The owner of the Chosun Ilbo is quite pro-American. And he’s also very capitalist, so you don’t have to worry.”

Frank laughed after hearing the keynote speech.

“I guess I have good friends. When did you become such a big shot? Weren’t you originally a small businessman from the countryside? Now you’re the owner of a newspaper, giving advice and growing up in a dazzling way.”

The keynote spoke to Frank, who was pleased with the information he had provided.

“As I grow, Korea will grow too. Trust Korea. If you had invested in the Korean stock market, you would have become rich.”

Frank laughed at the joke, recalling the Korean stock market bubble bursting not long ago.

“If I had invested in Korean stocks, I would have gone broke. I probably wouldn’t have been satisfied with a 100x return and would have continued to hold onto the stocks. I’m also secretly greedy.”

Frank, who had been laughing heartily, smacked his lips.

“But it’s a shame. Even if I only put in one month’s salary, I could earn 100 months’ salary if I do well… How much is 100 months? Is it roughly 8 years’ salary?”

The keynote speaker smiled and nodded.

“But anyway, I feel like I’ve suddenly become poor because Korea reformed its currency. When I exchanged dollars for won, I felt like I was quite rich, but now when I exchanged them for won, I’d only get one-tenth of that.”

“You’ll get used to it soon, Frank.”

The keynote speaker smiled and consoled Frank, who was unable to ride the Korean stock market’s all-time bubble and whose perceived exchange rate had been significantly reduced due to the currency reform.

The tone was happy.

I wondered where we could joke around like this on the first day of currency reform.

The month immediately following the currency reform that I saw in my previous life was a crucible of chaos.

The country was too poor to be greatly affected by the currency reform, but the fear of those who had their savings taken away was great.

Some people said that if things continued like this, they would lose all their assets to the country like in North Korea, and many people said that they would never deposit money in a bank again.

Most of them were angry, calling the government thieves, saying they would never get back the money it had taken.

But this currency reform was moderate and the streets were calm.

As he walked out of USOM and passed the bank, he saw a long line of people standing in the hot sun.

Although they were all annoyed and bored, they didn’t look scared.

On the other hand, people who came out of the bank after exchanging their money for new currency had bright faces.

I looked at the crisp bills in the sunlight and was amazed and satisfied by the fact that the banknotes had no face of Syngman Rhee.