The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 279



Only Noblemtl

279. Threats disguised as help (4)

A quiet villa near Gyeonggi-do.

Captain Kang was personally leading the staff and taking care of the security of the villa.

Because a meeting with Gyeonggi Province Governor Choi Jae-seok was scheduled, we had to pay more attention to security than usual.

“Congratulations on your inauguration as Chairman. It’s truly amazing that you are the head of a large company in your 30s. I don’t even remember what I did at that age.”

“I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth, so wouldn’t it have been possible?”

“Among the third generation of chaebols born into chaebol families, the majority are unable to even follow Chairman Kim’s footsteps. No matter how much you are born with a gold spoon in your mouth, you will never become chairman if you do not have the ability to change that spoon into gold bars.”

Today, Representative Choi Jae-seok gave excessive praise.

That’s why I was worried. Because it was clear that he would say something bad enough to lighten the mood.

“I was a little surprised that you suddenly asked to see me. Did something happen?”

“The political world is very noisy because of the Asian financial hub project being promoted by the Blue House and the ruling party.”

“Originally, Taewoo Group wanted to pursue this, but the Blue House wanted to pursue it, so they handed over the authority to announce it.”

The Blue House and the ruling party only make announcements.

It was a project carried out by Taewo Group from start to finish.

“I am well aware of this, but the problem is that the Blue House has taken the lead. As you know, the approval rating of this administration is very poor.”

“The approval rating dropped significantly in the aftermath of the Korea-US FTA.”

“Because the approval rating has dropped so much, we are opposing all projects promoted by the government.”

“There is absolutely no reason to oppose it, right? In the case of the Korea-US FTA, it is an issue in which stakeholders are complexly intertwined, but the financial hub is a project with a structure in which Korea unilaterally benefits.”

Opposition for the sake of opposition.

It was a strategy to prevent the opposing camp from doing anything.

This cannot be said to be a problem of the Korean political world, as not only Korea but most other countries’ political circles conduct politics in this way.

“In fact, it doesn’t matter what the project is. There are many people who are opposed to it simply because it is a project promoted by this administration. And the biggest problem is that they do not trust the government’s words.”

“Are you saying you don’t believe in the financial hub business itself?”

“That’s right. The majority of the people can’t believe that the Asian branch of the world’s leading financial company is coming to Korea. They just think that this administration is putting on a show to raise its approval ratings.”

Who should I blame?

The problem with the government failing to properly manage approval ratings due to lack of communication?

Or is it a problem of the opposition party discrediting the government?

Or it could have been a problem with the media, which was obsessed with creating issues.

“It has nothing to do with the Korea-U.S. FTA, and it is an agreement signed by a financial company to relocate its Asian base to Korea.”

“I am well aware of this. The government is promoting it on a large scale, so it is impossible not to know. However, public opinion is in the mood that the data presented by the government cannot be trusted. It seems that the aftereffects of the rally are still lingering.”

It had to be seen as an aftereffect of the mad cow disease incident.

A candlelight vigil that lasted several months.

Naturally, the government made efforts to prevent the situation from escalating further, and this action left behind the image that the people and the government were fighting.

“Hasn’t the mad cow disease situation been resolved? I understand that they announced that they will not import cows older than 30 months that are problematic and will conduct thorough quarantine to prevent problems from occurring.”

“However, the trust in the government has not yet been restored. In the current situation, if the National Economy Party sides with the government, we could be swept up in the aftermath.”

The National Economy Party was not the magic key.

Only in cases where there was a certain level of national consensus could it play a role in putting an end to the issue, but in a situation as divided as the present, there was nothing that could be done.

“Hmm, it’s a question of trust. Unless there is an event that the public can trust, we won’t be able to start a financial hub business.”

“Still, if the government pushes for it, it seems possible to get a high-rise building permit. However, the moment the government changes, there will be tremendous pressure.”

While returning, I made one decision.

Never send me and my family to jail.

Having watched my grandfather spend time in prison in his old age, I knew very well how difficult it was.

However, they said that if you push ahead with the financial hub, you could end up in jail.

“We will have to hold a large-scale event. We will hold an event on a scale that will be recognized not only by the opposition party but also by all citizens.”

“Is it possible? If you do so, the National Economy Party will actively support the financial hub project.”

“Wouldn’t it be a problem if the National Economy Party provided support for projects carried out by the government and the ruling party? It would be enough just to remain neutral.”

Representative Choi Jae-seok shook his head.

He looked at me with a determined expression and continued speaking.

“If we can make Korea into an Asian financial hub, it will be the driving force that can develop the Republic of Korea to the next level. How can we remain neutral when doing something like this?”

“Thank you for thinking that way. With that in mind, I also persuaded foreign financial companies to ask them to move their Asian base to Korea.”

“This is a project that must be accomplished for the development of the Republic of Korea. I am sorry for not being the first to take action, but I will move forward proactively once the atmosphere is created.”

Representative Choi Jae-seok bowed his head and said.

He should have taken an active role now for the sake of the Republic of Korea, but he was ashamed of himself for not being able to take action now considering public opinion.

“This is only the beginning. If you consume your emotions like this already, you won’t be able to go to the end.”

“I guess I got a little emotional. As I get older, my emotions start to swirl strangely. I will do my best in whatever I can from now on.”

“It is important to build a financial hub, but what is more important is to ease regulations and introduce a system that allows foreign financial companies to settle in Korea.”

I could have brought it with me.

However, whether to put down roots or move to another location depended on the judgment of the overseas financial company.

“If it is such a problem, the National Economy Party will actively take action to solve the problem.”

“And other regulations are also a problem. There are too many regulations to proceed with new businesses. Various regulations such as artificial intelligence, automobiles, and road traffic laws need to be relaxed or newly legislated. Because of too many regulations, new industries may be lost to foreign countries. .”

“We will work together with the Blue House and the ruling party to proceed with deregulation measures.”

In order to start the business I was envisioning, deregulation was essential.

Of course, it was possible to proceed with new business even without deregulation.

There were no problems even if we started in the United States or China instead of Korea.

However, Taewo Group was making such efforts because it was a Korean company.

“Then we will hold a big event soon. It won’t take that long.”

“We will make all preparations so that we can move the moment the event begins.”

In this case, there was no conflict with Rep. Choi Jae-seok.

Since it was also a diary for the development of the Republic of Korea, there was no need to persuade.

The Blue House, the ruling party, and the National Economy Party had all prepared, so all it had to do was make one big move.

* * *

A president hurriedly ran up to the chairman’s office.

It was running so fast that the floor shook.

“Chairman! It’s finally happened!”

“What do you mean it burst? Did you say that your button burst because you ate too much this Chuseok?”

“This is no time for jokes. Lehman Brothers is bankrupt!”

The last Chuseok holiday.

The employees were spending time with their families in their hometowns, and only a few executives, including me, had come to work.

Perhaps that’s why President Han’s voice was higher than usual.

Of course, anyone who works at a financial company would have had the same reaction as CEO Han when they heard that Lehman Brothers had gone bankrupt.

“I guess they ended up declaring bankruptcy because negotiations with the Korea Development Bank broke down.”

“Aren’t you surprised? I thought the U.S. government would save Lehman Brothers.”

“It was already too late to say that we were too big to fail. The scale of the debt was too large for the U.S. government to handle.”

Lehman Brothers, the fourth largest investment company in the United States.

Because of its size, it had enormous debt, and the government could not take on the debt exceeding 660 trillion won.

It was the world’s largest bankruptcy, enough to be listed in the Guinness Book of World Records.

“Wall Street is in turmoil. Even Lehman collapsed, so there is an atmosphere that it will not be surprising if some company goes bankrupt in the future.”

“Several more companies will collapse. And this incident will cause damages exceeding tens of trillions of dollars globally.”

“If you say tens of trillions of dollars, if you calculate it in Korean Won, it becomes gyeongin.”

It was not called the world’s greatest economic crisis for nothing.

It had such a ripple effect that even the unfamiliar unit ‘gyeong’ was used, and it was also the starting point that signaled the full-scale beginning of a global economic downturn.

“The Korean economy will not be easy starting this year. So we need to prepare well.”

“It must be said that it has already begun. Except for us, the rate of return of other financial companies was negative. It was a bull market until last year, so a lot of money has been poured into the fund.”

“Then, now we must begin the harvest season.”

“Are you talking about a 15 trillion won harvest? Now, the Korean financial sector needs to drop as quickly as the investment companies on Wall Street.”

KIKO Derivatives Insurance.

Korean financial companies sold large quantities of exchange rate hedging products to small and medium-sized businesses.

And we signed contracts with financial companies for insurance products worth 15 trillion won for exchange rate hedging products.

“How much has the exchange rate risen now?”

“The exchange rate, which was in the mid-900 range at the beginning of this year, has now exceeded 1,000 won.”

“Now that Lehman has exploded, the exchange rate will soar to 1,400 won by the end of this year.”

“Korean financial companies will soon get hot.”

“President Han’s cell phone will soon get hot. He’ll be getting a lot of calls from financial company representatives.”

Of course, there was no intention to accept the entire 15 trillion won.

I really wanted to do that, but due to various interests, the possibility of that happening was low.

After seeing Wall Street in chaos after Lehman collapsed, the Korean government was worried that Korean financial companies would collapse, so it may have had to accept something else instead of money.

“I can’t wait to see the CEOs of financial companies bowing down. Oh! And I got a call from David. He says this Wednesday is D-DAY.”

“The timing is perfect. We can start a new event before the aftermath of the big Lehman Brothers event wears off.”

A large-scale event that will persuade public opinion.

We made great preparations for this event and were confident that we would make a stir in Korea.