1953 Bare-handed Tycoon - Chapter 407
Only Krnovel
407 – Homework Meeting
The best pawn shop building in the back alley of Jongno 2-ga.
Two men were sitting in the president’s office on the third floor of .
Kijo and Jongpil, who had received instructions from Chairman Park to increase the colonial compensation, were smoking cigarettes and thinking about it.
“What do you mean by $800 million? I would like to receive $100 million per year for the 36 years of Japanese colonial rule, for a total of $3.6 billion. But isn’t that far beyond Japan’s capabilities?”
The keynote speaker nodded.
“The most realistic figure is $800 million. If we go a little higher, it could be $1 billion.”
Kijo also agreed with Kim Jong-pil’s words.
“If you get paid more than $800 million, but less than $1 billion, how about getting something that can’t be converted into money?”
“What are you talking about?”
“How about receiving a sincere apology and an admission of the mistake?”
“That would be nice too….”
Kim Jong-pil nodded, smacking his lips.
The keynote speech included an apology from the Japanese Prime Minister, recognition of Japan’s comfort women operation, and payment of unpaid wages to those who were drafted separately from compensation.
This time, I believe that unless the Japanese government clearly acknowledges the issue of past history, the issue of past history between Korea and Japan will not be resolved.
As time went on, Japan would show itself as a weakling.
Kijo frowned as he remembered that ugly sight.
Then, I suddenly became curious about the ‘Dokdo bombing theory’ that was spreading in the market.
Kijo knew that Kim Jong-pil had discussed Dokdo when negotiating with Ohira.
Kijo asked Jongpil in a subtle way.
“Did Japan make an unreasonable demand, promising $600 million plus more?”
“It was there.”
“What was your request?”
Kim Jong-pil exhaled smoke from his cigarette and said as if he was not hungry.
“We were exchanging notes and about 10 minutes before the negotiations were over, Ohira suddenly brought up the Dokdo issue. He asked me what I was going to do about the Dokdo issue. If it keeps becoming an issue between Japan and Korea, Japan is willing to take it to the International Court of Justice. That’s what he said.”
“So what did you say?”
“That issue is not on the agenda for today’s meeting,” he said, cutting it off.
The keynote speech gave the impression that something more was being said. After waiting, Kim Jong-pil continued speaking.
“Then he kept repeating the same thing. So I said, do whatever you want. We will never respond to the international court.”
Kim Jong-pil then talked about what he knew about the International Court of Justice.
“Japan is well-versed in international law, and there is a Japanese judge on the court, so Japan has an advantage. We should never participate in an international court trial. The International Court of Justice cannot conduct a trial unless the parties participate.”
The keynote speaker nodded.
“Later, he kept nagging at Dokdo so persistently that I had to say something.”
“No matter what you say and make a fuss about, Dokdo is under our effective control. We can blow up Dokdo, but we can’t hand it over to you. That’s what I said.”
“I see.”
The keynote speech remembered who came out of the mouth of the Dokdo bombing theory.
This became known in Korea when Kim Hyung-wook, who had defected to the United States, testified at a U.S. Congressional hearing that “Kim Jong-pil attempted to blow up Dokdo during the Korea-Japan summit.”
The rumor was distorted and spread that they were joining hands with Japan to blow up Dokdo.
The keynote speaker trusted Kim Jong-pil more than Kim Hyung-wook, who had betrayed those around him several times.
The words of a person who frequently commits betrayal were not to be trusted.
“I think so. After Ohira made a slip of the tongue saying he could give me about 500 million dollars, the compensation amount increased to 600 million dollars, so I think he wanted to receive Dokdo at least.”
Kim Jong-pil laughed as if he found it ridiculous.
“Do you think Japan could pull out the Dokdo card again? If we raise the compensation to 800 million dollars, I think they’ll talk about it again.”
“That may be the case. But since you used that card in front of me first, it is not a card that cannot be dealt with. If you bring up the Dokdo issue, we can say that we will not give in to the ‘peace line’ issue.”
The Peace Line was an ‘imaginary line’ established by Syngman Rhee between the seas of Korea and Japan.
Syngman Rhee personally ordered that if a Japanese ship crossed the line, which was unilaterally established by Korea, it would be immediately captured, or if it fled without responding to the capture, it would be fired upon.
Since President Syngman Rhee established the Peace Line in 1952, more than 300 Japanese ships have been seized, nearly 4,000 Japanese people have been detained, and more than 40 people have died in the process.
Every time a Japanese boat was seized and fishermen were detained on the Peace Line, Japan protested strongly, but the South Korean government ignored Japan’s protests, saying it was a natural exercise of sovereignty.
While talking to Kim Jong-pil, Kijo felt once again that he was not an easy person.
And I thought that there were some useful things among the legacies left behind by Syngman Rhee.
While I was talking with Kim Jong-pil, I got a phone call.
Kim Jong-pil’s voice brightened as he answered the phone.
“Representative Jang, what’s going on? Oh, really? Then come.”
Kim Jong-pil hung up the phone and said with a smile.
“This is Representative Jang Gi-young on the phone. He said he has something to discuss with you.”
After a while, Jang Gi-yeong came into the office, looked surprised at Ki-jo, and asked to shake his hand.
It seemed like Jang Gi-yeong had been here several times.
Jang Ki-young, who shook hands with Kim Jong-pil, sat down on the sofa, loosened his tie, and sighed.
“What happened?”
When Kim Jong-pil asked, Jang Ki-young responded in astonishment.
“I received a call from the Blue House this morning asking me to come in and see you. I went there because the Chairman said he had something to say, but out of nowhere he asked me to find a way to stabilize prices… … Right.”
Kijo and Jongpil laughed together.
It was because there was one more person in a similar situation to them.
The homework that Chairman Park gave to Jang Ki-young, an economic expert who served as the Deputy Governor of the Bank of Korea, was ‘price stability.’
“Prices are really high these days. No matter how hard you try to catch them, it’s not working.”
Kim Jong-pil said.
The revolutionary government tried to control prices through price controls and administrative crackdowns, but failed time and time again.
Immediately after May 16, the prices of major items were frozen at the prices of May 15, 1961 through Proclamation No. 6, and the Temporary Measures Act on Price Control was even enacted to try to stabilize the prices of daily necessities, but such measures were ineffective.
When merchants were told to sell their goods at a loss, distribution stopped. When distribution stopped, shortages occurred, and black market trading and double pricing became rampant.
Then, the government tried hard to control prices by lifting the price freeze and then tying it again when prices rose too much, but even a military government could not control the wildly running prices.
Jang Ki-young, who had been smoking a cigarette with a frown on his face, opened his mouth.
“The national economy is in bad shape right now. The dollar has risen from 130 won to 170 won per dollar. How can prices be controlled like this? In a country that imports just about everything.”
Jang Gi-yeong, looking hurt, smoked a cigarette and continued speaking.
“Foreign exchange reserves are on the verge of breaking the $100 million mark. If they fall below $90 million, we’ll be in real trouble.”
“Why would it be a big deal if it falls below $90 million?”
When Kim Jong-pil asked, Jang Ki-young responded as if he was frustrated.
“Next year, South Korea has a fixed debt of 90 billion dollars to repay. This means that the country will not be able to repay its debt. That is a foreign exchange crisis and the country will go bankrupt.”
The moment he heard that, Kim Jong-pil’s expression hardened, but then he nodded as if he realized something.
But the keynote was something I already knew.
This was the reason why Chairman Park wanted to receive compensation from Japan faster and in larger amounts.
It may have been due to anxiety that South Korea could go bankrupt next year.
Kijo decided to help Jang Gi-yeong, who was given a relatively easy homework assignment.
“Brother, what items are raising prices now?”
“Rice, briquettes, cement, wheat flour, and cotton yarn are the biggest problems.”
Among rice, briquettes, cement, wheat flour, and cotton yarn, Kijo chose wheat flour.
Rice crops had been poor for several years and were untouchable, and it was clear that the prices of briquettes and cement produced by Gijo could not be lowered any further. The same was true for imported cotton yarn.
At least there was room for wheat flour to lower its price, and if wheat flour was imported cheaply from overseas, the food shortage could be resolved immediately.
“Brother, how about changing the wheat flour import line?”
“Should we try importing flour from other countries?”
Jang Ki-young was surprised.
“I heard that Canadian wheat is cheaper than American wheat. I think it would be a good idea to import Canadian wheat flour.”
“Who doesn’t know that and can’t buy it? They can’t buy it because the US is blocking the transaction.”
The keynote speaker nodded.
The price of wheat in the United States should have plummeted because there was so much surplus agricultural produce.
However, the U.S. government bought at high prices to protect farmers and defended prices.
The U.S. government used the agricultural products it purchased for foreign aid, and instead of providing free wheat flour to Korea, it pressured Korea to buy more expensive domestic wheat flour if it wanted to purchase more.
Otherwise, they made a subtle threat to reduce the amount of flour supplied next year.
“We don’t have to buy it ourselves.”
The keynote speaker said with a smile.
“how?”
Jang Ki-young asked, “What are you talking about?”
“You can use a Japanese general trading company. You can buy wheat in Canada and bring the goods to Korea. When you bring Canadian wheat flour to Korea, you just have to change the product a little bit. A Japanese general trading company can do that well.”
“Money? I told you there are no dollars in the country.”
“You can buy it on credit in Japan. From what I’ve found in Japan, Japanese general trading companies are the most generous with private loans. However, the interest rate is a bit high.”
“The interest rate isn’t the problem right now. Food shortages and skyrocketing prices are coming at the same time, so shouldn’t we just live for today? When the economy gets better, we can pay it back then. Well… … .”
“Don’t be afraid of being indebted to Japan. It will work out fine.”
Then, Kijo looked at Jongpil.
Then Jongpil nodded as if he understood what Kijo was saying.
When negotiating the claims, the Korean government realized that the Japanese company had a general intention to ask for the debt to be forgiven.
“But what if America finds out? That we’re buying Canadian flour instead of our own.”
“We’ll have to think about that later. As you said earlier, isn’t this a time when food shortages and inflation are occurring at the same time? But I don’t think the US will be able to figure it out easily. If Japan imports it as industrial materials, I think they’ll be fooled.”
“Yeah, it’s a really good idea. I’ll have to report it to the chairman tomorrow.”
Jang Ki-young’s expression brightened.
“Which Japanese company do you think would be good to do business with? I think it would be good to find out about that too.”
“Ask President Cho Joong-hoon about that. Isn’t President Cho an expert on Japan? If you ask, he’ll use his connections in Japan to make sure you don’t get screwed.”
“Right. That’s right. Thanks for letting me know.”
Jang Ki-young laughed heartily as if he felt relieved.
Looking at that sight, Kijo thought that it would be nice if the homework he and Kim Jong-pil had been given could be solved that easily.
Jang Gi-yeong goes to meet Jo Joong-hoon, and only Ki-jo and Kim Jong-pil remain in the office.
“By the way, what should we do about our problem?”
Kim Jong-pil asked.
“First, we need to meet and talk with the Japanese side often to narrow our differences.”
The keynote speech was general, but several plans were already in mind.
Kim Jong-pil nodded at the keynote speech and said.
“In the end, I think I have no choice but to develop my own negotiating skills.”
“How do you say that?”
“I must make the chairman the president and take the position of the Democratic Republican Party leader. If I become the leader of the huge ruling party in South Korea, the Japanese will look at me differently. Every word I say will carry weight. The Japanese are secretly weak when it comes to status and connections.”
The keynote speech also seemed to make sense.
Kim Jong-pil’s future does not look so bright, but for now, I think it would be a good idea for him to become the Republican Party leader and gain a voice in the Korea-Japan claims negotiations.
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