Dear Comrade

Dear Comrade Leader, Episode 172

Chapter 62. Time of sweat, tears and pain

Hanbo Co., Ltd. goes bankrupt! Declaring the largest bankruptcy in history with a total debt of 5 trillion won… … .

Hanbo Chairman Jeong Tae-soo, ‘I know the money problem, the master knows it’ Hearing remarks, arousing public outrage… … .

Ugly illegal loans that are directly related to the power of the government are exposed to the public. ‘Hanbo List’ is full of waves… … .

From January 1997, from the beginning of the year, Korea was noisy due to the largest corporate bankruptcy ever and the political and economic collusion that was discovered in the process.

The chronic problems that have been hidden in the shadow of high growth, the habits of companies that grow their businesses with debt and economic ties represented by apple boxes, and the serious moral hazard of their owners have been revealed in 100 days.

A few months ago, Republican President George Herbert Walker Bush, who ended the Cold War and won the Gulf War, handed over the presidency to Democrat Al Gore at the end of an eight-year term, but South Koreans were all on the same page.

Soon, the Hanbo Group went into court management, and many people, including Hanbo Chairman Jeong Tae-soo, stood at the hearings of the National Assembly.

However, up to this point, few people had an intuition that this ‘Hanbo incident’ was the starting point of a financial crisis, a huge crisis that will determine the fate of the nation and many individuals over the next 20 years.

Following Hanbo, when Jinroga, Sammiga, and Hanshin Public Service Group collapsed, most people said, ‘It will still be okay… … ‘ was thinking.

However, the core of Yeouido, businessmen and politicians, who were always quicker to information than ordinary people and ants, were already feeling that a storm was approaching.

But no one has spoken about it yet.

In a situation where the fundamentals of the Korean economy are ‘determined’ to be strong, I didn’t want to hear criticisms that it just created a sense of crisis, and I was busy with calculating my own profit and loss for corporations and politicians.

In the case of politics, in particular, the situation was more complicated than in business, because the 15th presidential election in Korea was held at the end of that year.

* * *

“therefore… … How did you come to find me?”

The president of the National Assembly, Yu Min-jung, thought that a troubled person had come to a troubled state.

Read at readwn.com

Not long ago, until about a year ago, it was a party that had the name of the Democratic Party, but

These days, regardless of the party’s name, the name of the political party is changing day by day.

The only thing I was more concerned about, and more heartbreaking than that, was that it was not until the name of the party was changed that it was impossible to deny the public’s accusation that ‘the political version is a haven for opportunists and migratory birds, both conservative and progressive’. .

However, the most embarrassing thing was that he could not say that he was not responsible for bringing up the democratization movement in such a real politics, and that it was difficult for Min-jung Yu himself to deny it.

However, the person sitting right in front of him right now was also a person who contributed insignificantly to the mess.

“Hmmmm, President Yoo, are you reading the newspaper these days? What is this country trying to become… … .”

“If you are talking about the collective bankruptcy of companies following the Hanbo Group crisis at the beginning of this year, would you not know? It is truly deplorable.”

“Then it would be easy to say. I came here today to discuss the future of this Republic of Korea with President Yu Min-jung of the National Assembly.”

Looking at the guests in front of them who were giving their fortunes from the start, Minjoong Yu kept her mouth shut.

Guest, President Kim Jun-pil, president of the Federation for Democratic Freedom and once called the real prime minister under President Park Chung-hee, was a famous person for talking round.

Seeing that he came to himself with a very different political orientation and foretells the future of the country, it must not have been that he came to eat together today.

And with the experience of going through prenatal battles, Yoo Min-joong was able to guess what Kim Jun-pil was inside.

“As you may know, President Park Yi-sam’s Blue House and the ruling party are now at the brink of a cliff. Right now, from the Hanbo incident, which is the starting point of this series of incidents, companies have been lobbying influential figures, including the president’s son, to obtain illegal loans and have reached this point, so even President Park cannot avoid responsibility.”

“… … The Korea Daily seems to have completely turned its back on it. Since the last Team Spirit training was canceled, I have been trying to turn my back on President Park, so it’s not very surprising… … .”

“What is more serious, is not this Hanbo incident not ending as a single incident, but a chain of corporate bankruptcies, that is, the fuse of the overall insolvency of the Korean economy? Sammie, Jinroe, and not long ago, Kia Group… … In a word, the air is very bad.”

What Kim Jun-pil said was true.

Read at readwn.com

Not long ago, the bankruptcy agreement of Kia Motors, one of the top ten companies in the business world, was signed, shocking everyone.

If relatively medium-sized companies such as Daenong and Sammi went bankrupt, the fact that the first self-accredited conglomerate actually declared bankruptcy made everyone feel like they were pouring cold water from the top of their heads.

Read at readwn.com

No, no one knows how many more bombs not only Kia, but also chaebol companies have hidden in their account books.

Min-joong Yoo himself has long criticized Korea’s economic structure, which is overly dependent on chaebols, and the political circles that are deeply colluded with them.

In the end, it has come.

“They say that they will receive court management and go to hearings, but from my point of view, this Park Yi-sam administration is already over. After his tenure, the basic public trust in the government has completely disappeared. So, governor. Shouldn’t the governor and I make the decision to save the country?”

“… … What do you want to say?”

The decision to save the country, the words he had heard a lot somewhere made Yu Min-jung uncomfortable, so he raised his voice slightly without realizing it.

Unsurprisingly, the suggestion that came out of Junpil Kim’s mouth was exactly what he had already expected.

“Come with us. In this 15th presidential election, if President Yoo’s National Assembly and our Democratic and Freedom Alliance unite and the Honam and Chungcheong votes work together, we can definitely defeat Lee Hyun-chang.”

“… … .”

“And when you become president after unification, you acknowledge our stake, make me Prime Minister, and change the constitution to move to a cabinet system. This is an issue that has already been discussed within our party. What do you think?”

“… … Can I think for a moment and give you an answer?”

Minjoong Yu was in a conflict.

To be sure, even now, even in the passport, current President Park Yi-sam was almost like a discarded hand, and the opposition parties were already almost united among the refugees for regime change.

In the original history, his approval rating, which had to be crushed by the offensive of ‘the patient with the president’s disease’ due to the declaration of retirement from politics and overturning following the defeat in the 14th presidential election, has been preserved.

In addition, when it became known that Min-jung Yoo was stubbornly opposed to the resumption of training as the opposition leader at the time when the Team Spirit training was canceled, even some conservative and centrist voters gathered for him.

With rumors circulating that Rep. Lee Im-je, a competitor who lost to Lee Hyun-chang in the ruling party primary, which ended a few days ago due to a gold medal, is rumored to form a new party and run alone, in a situation where the conservative vote is even more divided, Kim Jun-pil’s Chungcheong-do vote will achieve an almost perfect victory. it was obvious

Perhaps Kim Jun-pil also came after completing all the calculations that the place where he could receive the best treatment was Yoo Min-jung, who has no chance of running alone.

“President Yoo. Think about it. Of course, he is still the loser of the opposition, but Lee Hyun-chang’s three friends are scary. And the media support… … No matter who the president is, if we want to solve this crisis, we need to take a look at Yeouido, and for that, shouldn’t we receive support from both the right and the left?”

“… … .”

Feeling that Kim Jun-pil was trying to convince him, Yoo Min-jung thought of his current strongest competitor, Lee Hyun-chang, leader of the ruling party.

After graduating from Gyeonggi High School and Seoul National University Law School, he served as chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection and Prime Minister during the Park Yi-sam administration.

Criticism of being an elitist steeped in electoral ideology is also heard by some, but the best hidden card of the current ruling party, which is currently gaining a certain amount of support even in the progressive-centre camp, by pioneering the image of a reformist conservative that draws a line from the corrupt vested interests of the Board of Audit and Inspection. That was him.

Certainly, he will be able to stand up to Min-jung Yoo, who has solidified his position as a representative of the current opposition and is even said to be ‘someday he will become president’.

If so, is it the answer to unite with Junpil Kim in front of you?

Just as Park Yi-sam, a lifelong rival and comrade, through a three-party coalition, endured criticism of the opposition and purged the new military forces, should Yu Min-jung himself compromise?

At that time, a meeting with Park Yi-sam about a year ago about resuming the team spirit passed through Yu Min-joong’s mind.

“President Yoo, no longer can any politician win anything by fighting with a headband on the street anymore. I am an elected politician, and politicians in real life are sensitive to self-support and support-based management, that is, votes. Only ivory-tower visionaries who have never put mud on their bodies, and who have said that politics is dirty, are the only ones who deny this.”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t accept that offer.”

“… … Are you serious?”

Short if it’s short, if it’s long If it’s long After a long deliberation, Junpil Kim asked with a contorted face to the answer that Minjoong Yoo gave.

But Minjoong’s answer was the same.

“Yes, I am sorry that you came all the way here, but I have no intention of accepting President Kim’s offer.”

“then… … Let me ask you one thing. President Yu. Perhaps the reason for the refusal was that I once worked with the former President Park Chung-hee under that so-called military coup d’etat?”

“… … .”

“Heh heh… … So, President Yoo is a fighter who fought against the dictatorship for democratization, and I am a military dog who took power while serving as prime minister under him, does that mean? If it’s because you still had personal grudges at that time, I can only say that I’m sorry that the incident was like that at the time… … .”

“Is that possible? It’s just that I remember what President Lee Sam Park said about a year ago. I just made a profit and loss calculation as a very realistic politician according to those words.”

“… … ?”

To President Kim Jun-pil, who looked like he did not understand the English language, Min-jung Yoo explained the reason for refusing the union proposal in a calm voice.

“He said something like this. We are not ideal ivory tower beings, we are real politicians. In order to do politics in reality, you have to take care of your own support base, manage votes, do things you don’t want to do, and work with people you don’t want to work with.”

“… … ? That’s right. So now, forgetting the salvation of the past and uniting with us is on the way to the presidential election… … .”

“No, in my analysis, I, who is a real politician, and the support base of presidential candidate Yoo Min-jung, will strongly oppose joining hands with President Kim Jun-pil. Criticism of the act of violating faith and supporters will be heard of course, and perhaps even more insults than President Park Yi-sam’s three-party unity could lead to a phenomenon of departure from the support group.”

“… … .”

Yu Min-joong’s voice was calm, but Kim Jun-pil’s face turned red as if he had been insulted.

It was a rare sight, but anyone could tell that he was extremely angry at the rejection he had been faced with in this way.

“I don’t know if I am in a situation where I have to unify with other candidates as soon as possible because I have a lower approval rating than Representative Lee Hyun-chang, but now I am supported by the entire opposition. Therefore, there is a high probability that the alliance with President Kim Jun-pil has more to lose than gain. This is my conclusion as a real politician. sorry.”

‘Governor Yoo, no longer can any politician win anything by fighting with a headband on the street anymore. In reality, politicians are inevitably sensitive to self-support and support-based management, that is, votes. Only ivory-tower visionaries who have never put mud on their bodies and who say politics is dirty are the only ivory-towers who deny this.’

Yu Min-joong thought that the voice of Park Yi-sam, who once again reminded him of this fact that he had forgotten, seemed to be heard vividly in his head again.

In this economic crisis, he will be facing more conflicts and anguish than he is outside.

How would you feel if you knew you had made this decision?

Regardless of Yu Min-joong’s thoughts, Kim Jun-pil, who was unexpectedly rejected, stiffened his face and jumped up from his seat.

“… … I understand what you mean well. I’ll just go.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t give you the answer you were looking for.”

With an expression that did not feel the comfort of Yu Min-joong at all, Kim Jun-pil turned his back in a cold wind and walked to the doorway and disappeared.

Looking at the back, Minjoong let out a small sigh.

It was because I had a strong feeling that the former prime minister would not stand still after receiving such bad treatment.

Even in the midst of these regrouping and gathering of Korean politicians, the real crisis has already begun not in Korea, but in a completely different place, abroad, in Southeast Asia.

* * *

In May 1997, the capital controls announced by Thailand, which raised the issue of the growing foreign exchange deficit, aggravated the anxiety of foreign investors.

And soon, the sentiment that ‘they may not be able to get the money back’ spread like an epidemic among investors, and the money invested not only in Thailand, but also in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia began to flow out like an ebb.

This led to the collapse of the baht, and Korean general financial institutions, which re-loaned short-term funds borrowed from foreign countries at low interest rates in Southeast Asia, experienced a dollar shortage in an instant.

And finally, starting in July, the value of the won began to plummet slowly, but at an unprecedented speed.

Read at readwn.com

Now, a strong and violent wind, no, a typhoon called the foreign exchange crisis began to blow in earnest.

And North Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), thanks to their abundant oil money and dollar reserves, were ignoring the huge typhoon blowing from the south across the river.

Finally, in October of that year, in Seoul, a few weeks after the foreign exchange market stopped trading within 40 minutes of opening due to a mad won depreciation, another meeting was taking place in the North following the meeting of two South Korean politicians.

“It’s the first time, but we’re tired, so let’s stop holding each other. Park Se-hwang.”

“… … yes?”

Jeonghwan had just been summoned to the secretary’s office, so he and the arrogant Park Se-hwang hit the wedge before even picking up their first greeting.

“Park Se-hwang No, can I call you Black Venus? I want you to go to the South and tell South Korean President Park Yi-sam a word of mine.”