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CH91 | VOC
🕑 Added 2025-03-23 04:00:04 +0000 UTC“Hmm.”
Kim Min-soo smiled, looking around the ornately decorated office.
“I never thought I would rise to this position.”
He stroked the nameplate on his desk.
“Kim Min-soo, President of Hanho Savings Bank.”
Kim Min-soo had spent his entire career at Hanho Savings Bank.
He had been a manager for decades, a hardworking and loyal employee with an impeccable record.
Then, around July of last year, his desk disappeared.
No more work assignments, no desk, just standing around the office, a cruel tactic to pressure him into resigning.
He was treated like air, excluded from meetings. He was furious but remained silent, considering his family and the dire economic situation in Korea.
He endured the stares and the condescending glances from the executives, the resentment and anger at the futility of his decades of dedication to the bank.
The pressure intensified. He was forced to write daily reports about his idleness, but he persevered.
He watched as other employees, facing similar pressure, gave up and left the bank, but he remained.
He overheard employees gossiping in the restroom about him clinging to his job and draining the company’s resources, but he endured.
And then, when the bank was acquired by Joongang Investment Corporation, a Chinese company, the tables turned.
Joongang Investment, after replacing the entire executive team, offered him the position of president.
He was stunned, and the voice that came from the phone handed to him by the Chinese representative was still etched in his memory.
“This is Baek In-hwi. I’m impressed by your tenacity, your grit, your resilience. We don’t need a brilliant manager right now, we need an attack dog. How about the position of president?”
He accepted the offer and watched as the employees were shocked by the announcement of his appointment.
It was exhilarating.
The humiliation he had endured washed away, replaced by a sense of triumph.
He would never forget the feeling of fireworks exploding in his mind.
He could have gone without food, just watching the employees, who had once looked down on him, now cowering before him.
“All I have left is grit and resilience. A puppet president is still a president.”
He was just a puppet, following orders from Joongang Investment Corporation, but he still had authority over personnel decisions.
And his top priority was the survival of Hanho Savings Bank.
The government’s bailout and Joongang Investment’s acquisition had provided some relief, but the bank was still insolvent due to the massive bad debts.
Kim Min-soo’s eyes gleamed.
“I’ll do it thoroughly, just as you wish.”
[Why won’t you extend the payment deadline?!]
Kim Min-soo said to the shouting voice on the other end of the line with an indifferent expression,
“What’s the problem with enforcing the deadline?”
[We already reached an agreement with the creditors! They agreed to extend the deadline and roll over the debt! We’ll receive the payment in a week, so there won’t be any problems. Why are you doing this?]
“Creditors? That was before the acquisition. We don’t care about that. What if the situation worsens if we extend the deadline? We have to protect ourselves.”
[Does Jeonghwa Electronics look that unreliable to you? We’re just facing a temporary cash shortage. There are no problems!]
Jeonghwa Electronics was a mid-sized company based in Chungcheong Province, with annual sales of 500 billion won.
They were experiencing a liquidity crisis after overextending themselves to build a second factory in China last year, but they were a healthy company with growing sales.
The banks that formed the creditor group had agreed to adjust the payment schedule, believing there wouldn’t be any problems if they just gave them some time. But Hanho Savings Bank’s sudden hardline stance was driving the CEO of Jeonghwa Electronics crazy.
“I’ve heard that excuse countless times. ‘There are no problems, we’ll receive the payment soon.’ All those companies are bankrupt now.”
[We’re not like those failing companies! This is driving me crazy!]
“Anyway, you have to pay the 1.5 billion won bill by the day after tomorrow.”
[Are you serious? Do you think it’s beneficial for Hanho Savings Bank if we go bankrupt? You’re holding about 40 billion won of our debt. Do you want to lose it?]
It was a common tactic used by companies against banks.
“We owe you money, but if we go bankrupt, you won’t be able to recover it. You need us to be alive to get your money back. So cut us some slack, and maybe lend us some more money.”
Banks, lured by this tactic, would be dragged around by their debtors, despite being the creditors.
Kim Min-soo scoffed.
“That’s our problem, not yours. Goodbye.”
[Hey! Mr. President!]
Kim Min-soo hung up the phone, hummed, and made another call.
After a long ring, Baek In-hwi answered.
“CEO Baek, I’ve handled it as you instructed.”
[Good work.]
“But are you sure this is okay? The other banks will be furious if Jeonghwa Electronics defaults.”
If other banks that had lent money to Jeonghwa Electronics found out that Hanho Savings Bank’s actions had led to their bankruptcy and made it difficult for them to recover their loans, they wouldn’t stay silent.
[Let them be furious. They can’t do anything about it.]
Kim Min-soo thought for a moment.
“That’s true. We’re clean, we acquired the bank legally through the government, so there won’t be any problems.”
[Exactly. Why should we care about other banks? We just need to protect our investors’ money.]
Kim Min-soo smiled at Baek In-hwi’s reference to depositors as “investors.”
“I understand. I’ll take care of it.”
[If the government or the Financial Supervisory Service contacts you, just tell them you’re operating by the book. I’ll handle the rest.]
“Yes, sir.”
* * *
“These bastards are insane!”
The newly appointed Minister of Finance and Economy threw the documents on his desk, fuming.
Vice Minister Ahn Seok-gil, who was temporarily handling the Minister’s work as his successor hadn’t been appointed yet, wiped the sweat from his brow and said,
“Please calm down, Minister.”
“Calm down? Are you kidding me? Are those Chinese bastards crazy?”
The Minister slammed his fist on the table.
“We barely saved Jeonghwa Electronics, and now they’re causing trouble again?!”
Jeonghwa Electronics had barely managed to pay their bills with the help of other banks in the creditor group.
But the problem didn’t end there.
The cash shortage triggered by the IMF crisis was affecting every company in Korea, regardless of industry.
Companies that had a chance of survival were barely holding on with the help of the government and banks, but Hanho Savings Bank was throwing a wrench into the works.
The result was a chain of bankruptcies.
Other banks protested and condemned Hanho Savings Bank, but the new president remained unfazed, seizing assets from bankrupt companies as if he was insane.
And what infuriated the Minister even more was the loss compensation claim.
A mid-sized toy company had gone bankrupt because of Hanho Savings Bank, and Kim Min-soo had started seizing their assets.
The toy company had borrowed 20 billion won from Hanho Savings Bank, and after the seizure and asset valuation, Kim Min-soo claimed that only 10 billion won could be recovered, so he demanded the government compensate him for the remaining 10 billion won.
The problem was that the toy company had been a competitive and promising company, with improving export performance due to the rising exchange rate.
“Those bastards ruined a perfectly healthy company and are now demanding compensation? Why are they creating problems and then asking us to pay for it?!”
The Minister pulled his hair and shouted,
“I shouldn’t have agreed to the loss compensation clause!”
The sale of Hanho Savings Bank to Joongang Investment Corporation had been approved by both the previous and the current administration.
And the current Minister had also agreed to it when he was the Minister-designate.
“What happens if we don’t compensate them?”
“We’re legally obligated to compensate them according to the contract…”
“Damn it!”
“Joongang Investment Corporation only invested 100 billion won. If we don’t compensate them for the losses, they might lose all their capital…”
Ahn Seok-gil gulped and said,
“It could trigger another bank run.”
Who would have thought they would pull such a stunt after receiving nearly 3 trillion won in public funds?
“This is a nightmare. Let’s compensate them for now and figure out how to control these bastards. Is Baek In-hwi still unreachable?”
“Yes, he’s not answering our calls. He told us to contact the bank president directly. And the people at Joongang Investment Corporation are just parroting the same line, saying they don’t know anything.”
The Minister bit his lip and said to Ahn Seok-gil,
“Let’s have the other banks help Jeonghwa Electronics meet their payment deadlines for now.”
“But that would make it seem like the government is protecting Hanho Savings Bank. The other banks are already furious…”
“Do you want us to just stand by and watch those bastards ruin companies? We need time to come up with a solution. Gather the bank presidents. I’ll persuade them.”
The Minister sighed.
“The IMF crisis is already a headache, and now we have to deal with these Chinese bastards too. This is a nightmare.”
Meanwhile, I was visiting the bankrupt toy company, offering condolences and compensation as chairman of the Park Sol Foundation.
“Hello, everyone. I’m Park Sol.”
The employees’ faces were filled with despair.
“I know you’re all going through a difficult time. You probably thought, ‘It won’t happen to us.’ But it has happened. Due to the incompetence of the management, the company has gone bankrupt because of a mere 600 million won bill.”
I clenched my fist.
“How long are you going to endure this?!”
The union leader stood up with a frown.
“What’s the point of saying that? Do you want to see us suffer? We gathered here because we thought you were a good person. Why are you rubbing salt in our wounds?”
The other employees started murmuring, but I smiled gently.
“I’m here to offer you a solution. Please be patient.”
“Ugh.”
The union leader sat back down, and I shouted,
“We have to break this vicious cycle! Why should innocent employees suffer?”
I looked at the employees and said,
“It’s time for you to become the owners of this company!”
They looked at each other with puzzled expressions.
“The company will be under new ownership soon through receivership. But you all know that this company has potential. Why can’t you, the employees, be the new owners?!”
“What are you talking about? Are you asking us to buy the company?”
I nodded vigorously.
“Of course!”
The union leader said incredulously,
“If we had that kind of money, we wouldn’t be working here as employees.”
I thumped my chest.
“Don’t worry. I can lend you the money! If you all become shareholders and work with a sense of ownership, won’t the company thrive?”
