1979, Manager Kim is Inheriting Dictatorship! - Chapter 86



Only Krnovel

Episode 86

January 1996.

“Yes, yes… yes. Okay. Then I will convey it like that.”

The man who hung up the phone approached Min Jeong-pal, the chairman of Sejun Financial, with a bewildered expression on his face and spoke.

“Mr. Chairman… The government says it will be difficult this time too.”

Chairman Min suddenly loses control of his anger and shouts, asking.

“No, shit! You’re saying it’s not possible again? What the hell is the reason!”

“I’m sorry. I can only say that it is a policy handed down from above, but I won’t give you a detailed reason.”

Minjeongpal, Chairman of Sejun Financial.

In recent years, he has been trying to transform Sejun Financial from a simple loan company to a comprehensive financial company in order to keep pace with the changing society.

The main reason he wanted to change to a financial institution at such a large cost was because the government strictly restricted lending interest rates, so the profits were not as high as expected before.

Because the economy there is so good, most people don’t go to loan companies to borrow money, so profits have really decreased in recent years compared to before.

Eventually, he mustered up his courage and decided to transform the company into a comprehensive financial company in order to diversify its revenue streams.

But for some reason, the government has not been issuing permits for two years without even giving a proper reason.

And it wasn’t just Sejun Financial.

There have been several companies that have wanted to become a corporation, but in recent years, not a single company has been approved to become a corporation.

Chairman Min takes a cigarette out of his pocket and smokes it, expressing his anger.

“No, if you’re going to block the Jonggeumsa like this, you should at least increase the loan interest rate limit! What are you really trying to do!”

“I’m sorry, Chairman… … .”

The man is at a loss and is at a loss.

This man is the one who has been in the position of managing director at Sejun Financial.

Although he was usually known in the industry for being very charismatic, he was just a docile lamb in front of Chairman Min Jeong-pal.

Chairman Min Jeong-pal asks the managing director while half-lying on the chair.

“Is this President Kim’s order again?”

“Yes. They don’t tell me the exact details, but since neither the minister nor the chief of staff are listening, it seems like the president’s instructions are clear.”

“Ha, what on earth is President Kim thinking! Does he really intend to kill all of our major companies?”

I have known this man, President Kim Jong-guk, for over 15 years, but he is still an inscrutable person.

Although the public and the media called him the greatest king in Korean history and he had an absurd approval rating, to Min Jeong-pal himself, he was a completely useless person who always blocked his own business.

Chairman Min Jeong-pal hurriedly puts out his cigarette on the desk, sighs, and speaks to the managing director.

“Whew, that won’t work. Try calling the Blue House. We need to talk about it.”

The only good thing was that phone calls were easy.

In the case of former President Lee Jung-hwan, for people like him who were in the private loan business, making a phone call was like trying to find a needle in a haystack, but in the case of President Kim, making a phone call was possible with most circumstances.

A little while later, the managing director who had contacted the Blue House made a phone call.

“Mr. Chairman, I have contacted the President.”

“Give it here.”

Chairman Min picks up the phone and speaks with a slightly raised voice.

“How have you been, Mr. President? This is Min Jeong-pal!”

“Oh, Chairman Min. It’s been a while. How’s business going these days?”

I feel sick at President Kim’s words asking if my business is going well, as if he is deliberately trying to irritate me.

“How could it possibly work out…? … I’m going to die these days because the government has capped the interest rates on loans.”

I tried to say it sarcastically, but President Kim accepted it with a smile.

“Hahaha. You’ve earned a lot of money through blood, sweat and tears. Shouldn’t you eat moderately now? But that’s fortunate. Sejun Financial has never received interest rates higher than the limit. Other companies have been suspended from business for several months because they received interest rates higher than the limit.”

The President smiled and spoke softly, but his words also implied that he would not let it go unpunished if anyone was caught receiving more than this interest rate.

“No, Mr. President. If you are going to continue to cap interest rates like this, at least let us create a financial institution!”

Chairman Min shouts and asks the President.

President Kim calmly asks Chairman Min without getting angry.

“You’ve already applied several times, so why do you want to create a Jonggeumsa Temple so badly?”

“Profits from our original business have decreased, so shouldn’t we at Sejun Financial also find a way to make a living? We are trying to expand our business areas little by little.”

The president listened to Chairman Min’s story until the end and then nodded, saying, “I understand.”

“Okay, fine. If that’s what you want to do, I won’t stop you any longer. But I hope you won’t blame me from now on.”

“Don’t complain. What do you mean… … ?”

“Well, what does that mean? I think you should experience it yourself. If you apply again, I will tell you to process it as soon as possible.”

Chairman Min suddenly began to feel uneasy because he was suddenly permitted to do something that had been blocked continuously.

President Kim seemed to know something, even telling us not to blame ourselves.

‘This person may make a silly joke sometimes, but he’s not the type of person to lie… … .’

Chairman Min Jeong-pal himself was a man who had risen from nothing to become the biggest player in Myeongdong, but he knew that this man named Kim Jeong-guk was on a different level.

Regardless of what he disliked, he acknowledged this person’s abilities.

If President Kim had started a company like his, it would have become the world’s best financial company by now.

But it was clear that there must have been a reason why he even brought up the idea of ​​wanting that person not to resent him.

“Then I guess I’ll hang up now.”

As President Kim tries to hang up the phone, Chairman Min urgently stops him.

“Mr. President, just a moment!”

“Yes? Do you have anything else to say?”

‘Whew, I guess I’ll just have to give up for the time being… … .’

His intuition, which comes from being in business for a long time, kicks in.

“Well… I’ll think about it a little more.”

The president’s voice brightens as he suggests that he will think about it some more.

“You’ve thought it through well. Shouldn’t you leave that large sum of money to your son?”

* * *

Most of the financial policies implemented since 1996 were policies to prevent another foreign exchange crisis, such as the IMF foreign exchange crisis that began in Southeast Asia.

The reason for not continuously issuing licenses to comprehensive financial companies, so-called ‘Jonggeumsa’, was also to prepare for the IMF.

One of the main causes of the IMF foreign exchange crisis was the proliferation of financial institutions at the time.

In addition, the policy focused mostly on protecting the current foreign exchange reserves.

If the past decade has been about investment, in recent years the policy has been more about protection than investment.

And one of them was to limit the extravagant borrowing practices of large corporations.

Commercial banks were instructed to be strict with lending to large corporations, effectively blocking their borrowing operations.

Although companies were secretly dissatisfied, there were no companies that could directly express their dissatisfaction because they had received so much technology from the government.

Mido Group, ranked 9th in the conglomerate, is a company that has enjoyed the benefits of debt management in the past.

However, in recent years, it has not been possible to manage debt.

The reason, of course, was that the government strictly restricted lending by commercial banks.

Mido, who already had a large amount of debt, was not given even a single won in loans.

“No, you’re saying it got blocked again this time?”

Kim Tae-seong, chairman of Mido Group, slams his desk when he hears that his loan has been rejected again.

“I’m sorry… Chairman. I tried to persuade you, but you just kept repeating that it wouldn’t work.”

The director just kept bowing his head and apologizing.

“No way. I have to meet the bank president myself and negotiate! Get the car ready!”

The chairman gets dressed and gets up from his seat.

The director looks troubled and tries to stop the chairman.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Chairman, but it will be of no use if you leave.”

“What are you talking about!”

“Banks also say that it is not easy for them because the government has given such strong orders to restrict lending. They say that there will be strong penalties for violating the regulations, whether they are a company or a bank.”

Chairman Kim yells at the director.

“That’s why I’m going to meet the bank president and have a discussion!”

“Actually… this is the President’s will, so meeting with the bank president, the chief economic advisor, the minister, or anyone else will be of no use… … .”

Chairman Kim grumbles and eventually sits back down.

“No, in this economic boom, we need to increase the size of companies by borrowing money, but what on earth is President Kim trying to do?!”

But there was nothing he could do other than shout like this alone.

Because he knew it too.

Although the current president is democratic, he is someone who wields enormous power.

There is not a single person in this Republic of Korea who can make it possible for the president to do what he says he cannot do.

In some ways, President Kim Jong-guk wielded more power than former President Lee Jung-hwan.

* * *

“Chief Economic Secretary, how much are your foreign exchange reserves at present?”

The chief economic advisor answers while handing over the data.

“As of the end of last month, it was $1.21 trillion.”

At $1.21 trillion, it was an overwhelmingly large figure compared to Korea in 2023, the original historical figure.

“Good. Manage it intensively so that it never falls below $1 trillion.”

“Yes, I understand. I will continue to manage it intensively as before.”

“Oh, but don’t stop buying gold. If nothing else, you have to keep buying gold.”

“Yes. We are continuing to purchase gold whenever the price drops slightly. We are also strictly restricting the export of gold.”

“Okay. Then next is… … .”

At that moment, the chief economic advisor hesitated for a moment and then made a suggestion to me.

“Mr. President, there has been a lot of talk among businesses recently about whether the government is being too tight. There are many complaints that the government is only trying to tighten and regulate during an economic boom.”

Lending restrictions, holding cash above a certain level, etc.

It was only natural that there would be complaints, as companies were continuously being forced to adopt various regulations recently.

However, this was also to prepare for the Southeast Asian foreign exchange crisis that would come a year later.

“You never know when a crisis will come. It could be next year or the year after. We need to be even more careful during this economic boom. Tell business leaders to stop unconditionally increasing their size, such as through borrowing.”

IMF foreign exchange crisis.

The worst history that destroyed the myth of the Han River in South Korea in one fell swoop.

The Southeast Asian foreign exchange crisis that started in Thailand in 1997 was a national crisis that spread to Korea.

Originally, in history, the Republic of Korea suffered a national bankruptcy due to this foreign exchange crisis, driving countless people to death.

In effect, the country left the economic control tower to the IMF for three years, and was unable to even function as a proper sovereign state.

Even in the original history, some people clearly pointed out that the causes of the IMF were the Southeast Asian financial crisis, the government’s poor management of foreign exchange reserves, and companies’ endless borrowing, but they often blamed the people for their excessive consumption and shifted the responsibility to them.

‘I won’t see that sight again this time.’

I was not originally from the generation that experienced the IMF in history.

But I knew from countless media outlets how miserable that time was.

That is why we must not allow this history to repeat itself.

Of course, even if such measures are not specifically put in place now, the current South Korean economy will not experience an IMF foreign exchange crisis because its basic weight is overwhelmingly higher than that of the original South Korean economy in history.

But it is clear that the Southeast Asian foreign exchange crisis will strike again.

And rather, it was necessary to use this to make South Korea an even more powerful country in this history.

And time passed slowly until the winter of 1996.

Before we knew it, strange signals were starting to emerge, one by one, starting from Thailand.

But in this history, China and Japan will bear the brunt of the damage.