Chapter 85: The Financial Gambit

“Yes, yes, understood,”

Lee Yong-hyun, chairman of the Cheongpung Group, held the phone politely as he conversed with someone.

After a moment, he hung up and sank into serious thought.

“Chairman, Candidate Choi Chang-geun has arrived,”

“Really? Let him in,”

The door opened, revealing one of the presidential candidates, Choi Chang-geun.

He approached Lee Yong-hyun and performed a deep bow.

“Chairman, how have you been?”

“It’s been a while. How’s the preparation for the presidential race?”

“Thanks to you, Chairman, I’ve had a great opportunity. I sincerely appreciate it once again.”

It was Lee Yong-hyun who had taken Choi Chang-geun, ousted from the ruling party primaries, and helped him form a new party to run for president.

“Chairman, Candidate Seong Dae-kyu has arrived,”

Choi Chang-geun lifted his head upon hearing Seong Dae-kyu’s name, looking at Lee Yong-hyun’s face.

Lee Yong-hyun paid no mind to Choi Chang-geun’s gaze.

“Tell him to come in,”

“Yes,”

The door opened again, and in walked Seong Dae-kyu, the candidate from the ruling Conservative Party.

Unlike Choi Chang-geun, he didn’t bow but lowered his head in respect.

“Elder, it’s been a while since we last met.”

“Ha ha ha, I never thought you’d become a presidential candidate. Sit here, Chang-geun, you should come up too.”

Lee Yong-hyun took the seat of honor, with Choi Chang-geun on his left and Seong Dae-kyu on his right.

Choi Chang-geun and Seong Dae-kyu glared at each other with hostility.

Watching them, Lee Yong-hyun slowly opened his mouth.

“Enough with the glares, listen to this old man for a moment.”

“Yes, Chairman,”

“Yes, Elder,”

The two focused on Lee Yong-hyun’s words as if they had never glared at each other.

“So you’ve become the presidential candidate for the Conservative Party, but you say there’s no support from the president?”

“…”

Seong Dae-kyu remained silent, his expression showing discontent as Lee Yong-hyun chuckled softly.

“Ha ha, do you really think I called you here just to talk nonsense? Chang-geun, your approval ratings aren’t rising easily, are they?”

“No…”

Lee Yong-hyun clicked his tongue while observing the two.

“If you two keep fighting, the Progressive Party will be the one to benefit. You know that, right?”

Neither Seong Dae-kyu nor Choi Chang-geun responded.

“The Progressive Party candidate was leading in the approval ratings. If the regime changes unexpectedly, you’ll be the laughingstock for the rest of your lives. What you’re doing is no different from what we did as the opposition during the 5th Republic.”

It was Lee Yong-hyun who had uprooted the lawmakers and delegates from the ruling party to create a new party and nominate Choi Chang-geun as the presidential candidate.

Both Seong Dae-kyu and Choi Chang-geun were well aware of this fact.

Yet, no one dared to point it out.

“Let’s unify the candidates.”

“Chairman!”

Choi Chang-geun raised his voice without realizing it.

“Did you just shout at me?”

“N-no, that’s not it…”

“Ha ha ha, it seems we’ve got a long way to go,”

Lee Yong-hyun smiled, but his gaze was icy, causing Choi Chang-geun to bow his head.

“Chairman, I’ve committed a grave sin.”

“No, when you grow old, you have to die, right?”

“I apologize.”

Choi Chang-geun stood and knelt before him.

“Get up. How can someone who wishes to be president kneel so easily?”

“Please forgive me.”

“Alright, alright.”

“Thank you, Chairman.”

Choi Chang-geun, looking chastened, returned to his seat.

“Seong Dae-kyu, what’s your opinion?”

“I’m not sure what the elder thinks.”

“What I think doesn’t matter; what you think is what’s important. If there’s no support from the president, you should at least receive my backing, don’t you think?”

“…What do you want from me?”

“Give the next election to that fellow, and just do a few favors for me to help you get a step closer to the presidency. Surely, that’s something you can manage?”

At Lee Yong-hyun’s words, Seong Dae-kyu glanced at Choi Chang-geun before lowering his head.

“Understood. I will follow the elder’s wishes.”

“Ha ha ha, thank you.”

No one cared about Choi Chang-geun’s opinion; Lee Yong-hyun continued as if the unification had already been decided.

“The economy is in a dire state; you know that, right?”

“Yes, Elder.”

“From next month, all the funds from Japan will likely be withdrawn. That’ll be a fatal blow to our country. The president has been too confrontational with Japan; it’s foolish to think Korea can beat Japan.”

As Lee Yong-hyun stated, the current administration had taken a staunch anti-Japan stance.

They were pursuing a historical rectification, tracking down the assets of pro-Japanese figures, and even demolishing the former General Government Building.

The Prime Minister of Japan’s remarks about Dokdo during a press conference had only added fuel to the fire.

‘With this remark from Japan, it feels like I’ve made thirty blunders since the founding of the nation. We must correct Japan’s arrogance. This government needs to demonstrate its moral standing, unlike the military regime.’

Following this press conference, Korea-Japan relations deteriorated rapidly.

“If you become president, you’ll be able to borrow a massive amount of dollars from Japan. You’ll be known as the president who saved Korea’s economy. You’ll restore the economy that the current president has ruined—just thinking about it makes me feel good, doesn’t it?”

“Thank you, Elder.”

Seong Dae-kyu spoke respectfully, causing Lee Yong-hyun to burst into laughter.

“Ha ha ha, what is there to thank me for? You should be thanking Japan. Don’t provoke them; just pretend to be confrontational enough for the public to understand.”

“Yes, Elder, I will keep that in mind.”

“Yes, for now, let’s not spread rumors. Once the atmosphere of the election heats up, we can use the unification card then.”

“Understood.”

“You go ahead; I need to talk more with this rascal, Chang-geun.”

“Yes, Elder. I will come to see you again next time.”

Seong Dae-kyu stood, bowed once more, and left.

Once the door closed, Lee Yong-hyun looked at Choi Chang-geun, who was bowing deeply.

“Even if you have complaints, you must swallow them. If it’s what Japan wants, what can I do? Would I want to give up on you?”

“But…”

“Yes, I understand your feelings. You’ve already received a promise for the next election. After the unification, you can return to the Conservative Party and take control. I’ll support you then.”

“Understood.”

“You’ll be the next one. Trust me. When have I ever spoken nonsense?”

“I will trust you, Chairman.”

Kim Mu-hyeok felt the future he new was shifting. The small changes he initiated were turning into an unpredictable storm coming his way.

* * *

Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia all fell to the hedge fund coalition.

Malaysia’s Prime Minister, Mahathir, pointed a finger at ‘George Soros’ as the mastermind behind the speculators.

Thailand eventually requested urgent financial assistance from the IMF, and the economic crisis in East Asia became a nuclear bomb that dropped on Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

― Hey, the U.S. stock market is crashing too?

“I know; it’s fine. It will recover.”

― The drop is larger than expected.

“Why are you so worried all of a sudden?”

― Because the employees are anxious.

“Don’t let fear consume you. Investors must overcome fear. Just prepare to send everyone to Hong Kong; don’t worry about the stocks.”

― Okay.

In August 1997, the hedge fund coalition was preparing an attack on Hong Kong.

― This time they want us to participate too?

“Of course, we have to participate.”

― How much?

“Just $10 billion.”

― Only that much?

He was momentarily speechless, unable to comprehend.

“$10 billion is just the beginning, not ‘only’.”

― Sorry, these days $10 billion is easy to toss around; I’ve lost my sense of money.

“Be careful; you might end up broke and find yourself at the Han River.”

“Got it. Let’s say we’re putting in 10 billion dollars for now.”

“Yeah, let’s monitor the situation and move accordingly.”

History had a way of being ironic.

Though unrelated, the collapse of the Thai Baht, which marked the start of the Asian financial crisis, happened just 24 hours after Hong Kong was handed back to China.

Hong Kong’s inflation rate was significantly higher than that of the U.S., constantly under pressure from speculative capital.

The fixed exchange rate in Hong Kong was a double-edged sword.

“All set. We start the attack tomorrow.”

“Instruct the staff to act in sync with the hedge fund’s moves. Let’s place our bets on the market crash together.”

“Okay, hold on a moment.”

Through the receiver, I could hear Han Gyeong-yeong giving instructions in English.

“Everyone should give up on going home for a few days. Stay at the office and wait it out. Once this is over, sweet vacations and money will be waiting for you. Just hang in there a bit longer.”

Amid the chaos, I heard either screams or replies. I couldn’t help but smile at the sight of Han Gyeong-yeong skillfully managing his team.

“This is just the beginning. Even if we incur losses, we keep betting on a decline. Don’t panic if we lose every cent in the corporation.”

“Your words are scarier. You mean we’re going in knowing we might lose?”

“Exactly, but in the end, it’ll bring us great gains.”

If history ran its course, Hong Kong would abandon its stock market and focus entirely on foreign exchange defense.

But since I was involved, how history would change was beyond my knowledge.

So, I planned to pour all the funds from the ghost company while leaving the capital in the U.S. corporation untouched.

Before long, the hedge fund alliance and global speculators launched their attack on the Hong Kong dollar.

The Hong Kong government, trusting in China, mobilized all its resources for foreign exchange defense.

“Ugh… this is driving me crazy.”

“Don’t worry, it’s not over yet.”

From August to October, our bets against the Hong Kong stock market had already racked up losses exceeding 30 billion dollars.

The market was slowly declining, but that wasn’t the extent of our bets.

We were gradually inducing stock price declines by borrowing shares from global brokerages for short selling, which helped minimize our losses.

If history was to be believed, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority should start taking action soon.

I didn’t say anything to avoid alarming Han Gyeong-yeong, but I too felt a gnawing anxiety.

‘Is the timeline being altered because of me?’

But now, giving up was not an option.

“What should we do? Keep going?”

“Let me think for a moment.”

Thanks to holding strong foreign currency reserves, we were still managing, but that wouldn’t last much longer.

The goal of the hedge funds and global speculators was simple.

Invest in the futures market anticipating a fall in the Hong Kong dollar, and flood the market with large amounts of Hong Kong dollars to force the Monetary Authority to abandon the fixed exchange rate and devalue the currency.

Hong Kong operated under a slightly different monetary system compared to other countries.

When U.S. dollars flowed in, they adjusted the interest rates to maintain a stable value for the Hong Kong dollar.

And when interest rates rise, it’s basic financial knowledge that stock prices and bonds fall.

“Bro, bet all the funds in the U.S. corporation on the crash of the U.S., Japan, and European markets.”

“What?”

“Don’t make me repeat myself. Bet on the stock price declines across all countries.”

“…Are you crazy?”

“It’s an order. I’ve decided everything. Don’t forget our promise.”

Han Gyeong-yeong remained silent.

“Bro?”

“Yeah, I’m not sure anymore either.”

If this gamble fails? We’d just start from scratch. I still had 10 billion dollars in slush funds and another 30 billion bet on Korea’s collapse.

Han Gyeong-yeong faithfully followed my orders.

Despite the employees’ protests, he took full responsibility.

October 23rd, according to the original timeline, was today.

Nothing was coming together.

I sat quietly on my bed, passing the time.

Then my phone rang.

A wave of anxiety washed over me.

“Hello, this is Kim Mu-hyeok.”

“Mu-hyeok! This is bad!”

It was a call from Han Gyeong-yeong.