Dear Comrade the Leader Episode 174
“… … There is no guarantee that the Blue House will go to the IMF. I’m not a financial expert, but I don’t think the situation is that serious yet… … .”
“You really think so? It’s breaking news that just came out in America, let’s see if we can think of it that way.”
When Jeonghwan smiled and put a piece of paper down on the desk in the secretary’s office, Park Se-hwang’s eyes were all on it.
The contents of the paper, which looked like a newspaper article had just been printed, were all in English, but Park Se-hwang-do was able to read the alphabets used for college grades without difficulty.
-US credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) downgraded Korea’s short-term national credit rating from A1+ to A1. Other credit rating agencies are likely to downgrade soon.
“Master Park Se-hwang, the international financial market is like a living organism. Very sensitive to anxiety and fear. I assure you, what the South Korean people, including you, have seen so far is a trailer. A true hell will soon unfold. At that time, you will think that we should have taken the hand of our republic.”
“… … Do I have a veto?”
“here? no But it’s up to you to go down to the south and say what the Blue House says. Because I don’t even know how to actually convey my words to President Park Yi-sam there. I just trust that you will know how to judge what it is like to do something for the country and the people.”
At Jeonghwan’s quiet words, Park Se-hwang reflected on his current situation.
As the general secretary said, there was virtually no veto right for him now.
Besides, he’s not making decisions anyway, and he’s not acting as a messenger.
Since his identity has already been revealed, his role as a fixed spy is good-bye, and in the end, the best he could do for now was to return home as soon as possible to inform the upper management of this fact and see the faces of his family.
When he reached that point, Se-hwang Park let out a long sigh and nodded his head.
“… … Okay. I am in a situation where I should be grateful just for keeping me alive without shooting me up until now.”
“It is a wise decision. Then, as a leader of the republic, I should give a small gift to a guest who leaves with the important task of the country and nation.”
When Jeonghwan signaled, the door to the secretary’s room opened again and someone came in.
As soon as Park Se-hwang recognized the person, he couldn’t help but wince without realizing it.
The person who entered the secretariat was Ri Jong-su, director of the Reconnaissance General Bureau, a man who had no choice but to be a grim reaper to a South Korean spy like him.
However, Jong-su Ri, who came in, only glanced at Park Se-hwang, and then, without a word, handed the item in his hand to him.
The thing that was in the hands of the Director General of Reconnaissance of the People’s Republic of Korea, who said that the mountains and trees were trembling, was a shoe box.
As Park Se-hwang looked at the brown leather shoes in the box with a bewildered face, Jung-hwan shrugged and added a word.
“For reference, these are handmade cowhide shoes produced directly at the shoe factory of the Republic of Korea. I think you’ll need sturdy, good shoes for a long trip. Now, let me tell you the specific terms of the loan.”
* * *
While Park Se-hwang was spending his last days in Pyongyang, Seoul was rapidly turning day by day.
The stock index collapsed at the 500 line, and foreign investment banks were now remitting the profits they had remitted to the headquarters every month on a daily basis.
As everyone now senses that disaster is approaching, gas stations in Seoul are full of car owners who have come to stock up on oil.
“Give me the oil! Oil! If the country is falling apart, we need fuel to get in the car and run away!”
“Don’t scratch! Don’t cut it!”
Meanwhile, the Haitai Group collapsed, and the exchange rate soared like crazy, and the foreign exchange market had to close as soon as it opened again.
The most precious thing, whether private or bank, was the US dollar.
An opinion was raised that there should be a dollar-collecting campaign to bring out the sleeping dollars in the closet.
A thorough government audit was carried out for those who spent more than $5,000 abroad.
After a year passed in confusion and anxiety about the future, the 7 o’clock news anchors, who seemed to be trying to pretend to be calm, also played the news of corporate bankruptcy and exchange rate hikes as if they had turned on a recorder.
The end of the world, which was said to come as the 21st century approaches, felt like I had visited Korea three years earlier.
I can’t live, let’s change!
Read at noblemtl.com
No matter who came first, old slogans began to come out of people’s mouths.The joy of joining the OECD was short-lived, but the economic pain made everyone yearn for the presidential election a month after the election of a new leader and new government.
At least as a better person than the rebel Park Yi-sam, who is responsible for everything from the collapse of the Seongsu Bridge to this riot.
There were even people on the street arguing that this all happened because civilians took power, and that a powerful and smart military leader like His Excellency Park Chung-hee should regain power and lead the country, with angry voices on the streets.
And there were people who watched the whole process while pondering the insults and waited for the opportunity.
“Is that true?”
“That’s right. President Kim. This is solid information just from the Oval Office. An emergency meeting was held with President Park applying for a bailout to the IMF and another case.”
“Another thing? The IMF was already slowly coming out of the press, but… … What else?”
President of the Democratic and Freedom Federation, President Kim Jun-pil, who recently offered to unite with Yoo Min-jung, but was rejected, paid more attention to the voices on the phone.
The caller was an informant planted among the Blue House aides, in a word, his own ear.
It is a fact that Park Yi-sam would be furious if he found out, but since he was once a member of the same party, it was not surprising that there was a person in Park Yi-sam’s aide who was in contact with Kim Jun-pil.
“Yeah, that’s… … I can’t give you a definitive answer because it’s still in the middle of a meeting, but it seems to be a North Korean issue. I don’t know who it is, but someone came down from the north.”
“North Korea, North Korea. no way… … I hope that Park Yi-sam… … .”
“President? What are you talking about?”
“No, I’m just going to quit. I wish you all the best in the future. I will pay you back later.”
Junpil Kim, who hung up the phone due to dryness, sat down on the expensive leather sofa at home and quickly shook his head.
From his point of view, who has been living the life of the second in power all his life, there was only one thing that people would come down from the North and a top-secret meeting would be held at the Blue House, and that there was only one thing to discuss along with the bailout proposal.
I can’t believe it, but if even one of those things is true, this Korea will be turned upside down.
“haha… … How did the Republic of Korea established by your Excellency get to this point… … .”
Even as he kicked his tongue like that with his mouth, Junpil Kim was quickly calculating how the huge variable thrown at the end of this presidential race could benefit him.
It was clear that the issue currently being discussed at the Blue House was a loan and bailout that North Korea had proposed to South Korea.
It is still unclear how Park Yi-sam will respond to the North Korean general secretary’s proposal, but he thought in his heart that it could be a good thing for Kim Jun-pil himself, regardless of the impact it would have on the country.
There were two main things he had to consider now.
First, the loan conditions of North Korea and the IMF.
‘I don’t know, but it must have a much milder taste than the IMF. Because there is no way that a kid who seems to be the general secretary of North Korea even sends a special envoy to Park Yi-sam’s proposal that he was sure to reject.’
As capitalism was introduced in North Korea nearly a decade ago, North Korea’s General Secretary Kim Jeong-hwan, party officials under him, and the South would not be so stupid to predict that they would turn to the IMF for help.
There is no way North Korea will lend you a loan, and the proposal of a bailout in this situation would be to gain influence on the South Korean economy and gain a stake in a rogue company.
Kim Jun-pil thought that he might have considered it positively if the presidential election had not been around the corner.
If the conditions on the North side are too harsh, it can be eased with the guts of just holding the hand of the IMF, which has allies.
Besides, how many times in the future will there be a chance to make a dollar out of North Korea and not anyone else?
The problem is the IMF, and Kim Jun-pil already knew that he had a rich history of quacking out a country’s economy by operating on the country’s economy as if it had provided bailout money.
In addition, the recently inaugurated US President Al Gore and his subordinate US Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin are desperate to open the Korean financial market, which has been afflicted by government finance and government regulations, to US capital through the IMF.
So, here we have to think about the second issue, Park Yi-sam’s response, who can exercise his decision-making power as head of state by December of this year.
Is Seungnyang North Korea or Tiger IMF?
However, Park Yi-sam, who was nearing retirement, had a third option.
It was just a bystander named Decision Reservation.
‘Park Yi-Sam is already the president of the plant, then all that’s left is Yu Min-Jung and Lee Hyun-Chang… … .’
Kim Jun-pil was convinced that if he were Park Yi-sam, he would defer the decision of this century to the next president-elect, even in order to feel better in his later years.
It’s not even in the middle of his term, and the next presidential election is already a month away, so what are you going to do to make another job where you will be subjected to swearing and threats until you die?
In fact, he is already eating enough swearing, but it was clear that if he accepted even one of the North Korean loans, he would suffer from swearing and even death threats after leaving office.
If Park Yi-sam delays his decision, the ball goes to the current presidential candidates, and as soon as this fact is revealed to the media, the topic of the 15th presidential election is not only the economy nor military service, but the ideological debate again.
Lee Hyun-chang is likely to reject North Korea’s offer at any rate, whether based on his support base or whatever, and then all that’s left is a single opposition candidate, Yumin… … .
Even if Yu Min-jung is a loser in the opposition, if he expresses his opinion that he will receive a bailout from North Korea instead of the IMF, it will be a fatal blow to the presidential election.
But obviously, it is true that North Korea’s proposal is softer, so if the situation goes on for a long time and a sharp conclusion is not reached by the day of the election, both candidates will have a departure vote.
And it was clear that the one with the most dropout votes among the two candidates was Minjoong Yoo.
‘That’s why you should have accepted my offer, you idiot Yoo Min-jung. He kicked the presidency with his own feet. Tttttttt… … .’
Conservative candidate Lee Hyeon-chang. If you reject the North Korean vice minister proposal, you may have fewer votes, or you may be able to gather more votes as an opportunity to show that you are not yielding to North Korea. enough to fill.
However, the opposition progressive Yu Min-jung camp has a problem whether to accept it or reject it.
And among them, some hard-line progressive supporters who view ‘foreign forces’ such as the United States and international organizations as demons and North Korea as the Korean people and the object of unification will rage that the more the economic suffering of the people intensifies, the more likely it is that Yu Min-jung should have accepted the North Korean bailout. did.
In the end, no matter what Yoo Min-joong answers, he is bound to lose far more votes than Lee Hyun-chang.
“And when that time comes, Kim Jun-pil will get a call.”
Thinking like that, Junpil Kim laughed out loud.
South Korea’s security pay has been weakening since the beginning of North Korea’s market economy, but this was an opportunity for revival for them and Kim Jun-pil.
Due to the IMF crisis, in which the civilian government failed in its entirety, the chaebols will return to the conservatives again, and the people who have been humiliated by North Korea even offer a loan will fall in love with the nostalgia of a tough military leader again.
And when that happens, Kim Jun-pil’s own ransom value, which can be said to be a symbol of the Yushin era, will reach its maximum.
“I should go to Lee Hyun-chang after checking the atmosphere in moderation. They also need my image to overcome the controversy over their son’s military service.”
After putting Lee Hyun-chang in the presidency like that, Kim Jun-pil laughed happily alone, saying that he could take over as prime minister at an appropriate time, transition to a cabinet system, and return to the prime minister.
Around the time I was immersed in the idea of such a bright future, a unique possibility rose from the corner of my mind.
However, Kim Jun-pil quickly erased that possibility from his mind.
It was because he thought it was absurd.
* * *
Meanwhile, while politicians, businesses, and the common people were trying to survive, an emergency meeting was held in a gloomy atmosphere at the Blue House Women’s House.
As Kim Jun-pil had already guessed, the content was whose dollar was accepted.
There was not much difference in the amount of both, but the meaning they had and the things that changed accordingly were all different.
“Sir President… … .”
“I heard that the IMF working group had already arrived in Seoul. Are you saying that the will of Governor Kangdeche remains the same?”
“That’s right. If we can’t find foreign currency anywhere else, we will visit Korea soon and explain… … .”
“Unless we raise interest rates to 30%, strengthen regulations on banks’ equity ratio, lift the limit on foreign investment, and unconditionally carry out intensive corporate restructuring, we can’t provide bailouts… … Comparing it with the North’s proposal, it’s like this.”
Park Yi-sam, who was staring into the air, muttered to himself like that.
After making the three-party unity decision, he thought he would never face a more difficult decision in his life, but he was wrong.
“Are you insulted and even suffered or are you just insulted and finished… … But the problem is that some insults are harder to bear than the pain of death. What should I do?”