Chapter 288: Negotiations with Bank Presidents

“So, are you saying you’ll fill in the amount we need?”

“Why are you so surprised? I believe Soonyang Financial Group’s deposits are quite substantial, aren’t they?”

“That’s why I’m surprised. Our bank is grateful, of course, but….”

The president of Jinhan Bank shifted his gaze, trying to hide the suspicion in his eyes.

Individuals deposit money in banks hoping to earn interest, but corporations are different. Diversifying investments is the standard practice, so it’s natural to be suspicious of why they would deposit more money.

However, refusing is even more difficult.

To meet year-end performance targets and capital adequacy ratios, they have to bow even lower.

“I was under the impression things were difficult for you, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. You seem hesitant,” I remarked.

“Ah, no, Chief of staff. You know how dire our situation is, don’t you? Branches across the country are crying out in despair. While conglomerates like Soonyang have a solid foundation to weather this storm, small and medium-sized businesses are going bankrupt one after another. The bonds we’ll have to write off due to losses this year are piling up like mountains.”

The bank president, constantly glancing at me, whined for a while before cautiously speaking.

“Chief of staff, if there’s something you want from Jinhan Bank, please be frank. That way, I can comfortably tell you the number you want to hear.”

“I’ll mention it when the time comes. So, tell me the number you desperately want right now, President. Think about it later.”

The bank president’s eyes widened, clearly not expecting that response.

“We are corporations and banks. Our relationship isn’t one where favors are granted without conditions. If the request is reasonable and there’s a corresponding reward, it’s always okay to ask, isn’t it?”

“Well, yes, but….”

“Just because I’m helping you with your difficulties today doesn’t mean you’d risk your position as president to help me later, right? So, there’s no point in me telling you what I want in advance.”

The bank president showed a hint of displeasure but quickly reverted to his usual expression.

“I’ve been saying too much unnecessary stuff. Haha.”

After an awkward laugh, he stated the figures.

“Strictly speaking, 600 billion won, but if you have some leeway, about 800 billion won would be great.”

“I’ll send someone. They’ll take 800 billion won.”

The bank president bowed his head.

“Thank you, Chief of staff. And I will definitely remember that it’s for ‘later,’ not now.”

“Later…?”

“Didn’t you say ‘later’? I hope you’ll make your request within the bounds of me keeping my position as president. Haha.”

The bank president disappeared with a sly smile.

A sharp old man.

He’s the kind of person who knows how to bow his head before the wealthy, a banker to his core.

And I met with the top executives of the four major commercial banks one by one.

* * *

Barack Obama, the first African-American and Hawaiian-born president of the United States, railed against corrupt Wall Street throughout his election campaign.

“The greed of Wall Street and Washington, and their negligence, drove Americans into a financial crisis.”

However, President Barack Obama appointed Timothy Geithner, an alumnus of Goldman Sachs, as Treasury Secretary, and William Dudley, the chief economist at Goldman Sachs, as the new president of the Federal Reserve Bank.

In addition, most of the economic officials were filled with people from Goldman Sachs.

Whether his promise to reform Wall Street was sincere or not is debatable, but one thing is certain.

Washington is dominated by the American financial industry, just like the chaebols dominate Korea.

The new administration’s stance of ‘corporate-friendly’—a much more palatable term than overtly pro-chaebol policies—effectively gave wings to the conglomerates.

Just as the US Treasury Department loosened the shackles on Wall Street, the government eased all sorts of regulations, turning the entire country into a civil engineering site.

While the real economy was scraping the bottom, the construction industry enjoyed unprecedented prosperity.

“Before we can acquire Soonyang Construction, our HW Construction will become even bigger,” Chairman Lee Hak-jae chuckled in disbelief.

“Soonyang and Daehyun are all-in on Dubai, and Korea is just for name-lending. We’ve entered the OEM era of construction now.”

“It’s coming soon. Don’t you see Europe struggling with Germany’s strength?”

“The signs are already there. Daehyun Construction is definitely dipping into apartment pre-sale funds.”

“What? Daehyun?”

“Yeah. They kept delaying payments, so we pressed them hard. Isn’t payment to the construction company the top priority when the developer receives pre-sale funds? But they’ve delayed payments for pre-sale advertisements, design, even the fly-by-night promoters. All because they’re pouring money into Dubai.”

The stench of decay is starting to waft in.

“Doesn’t that mean the money that was supposed to come in from Dubai hasn’t arrived?”

“Exactly. The local atmosphere in Dubai is really grim. European companies seem to be at their breaking point, even willing to file lawsuits. Their own economies are a mess, and if they get stiffed in Dubai, it’s game over for them. Since those guys are fighting tooth and nail, Soonyang and Daehyun are just standing by and watching.”

Good news. We need to prepare for when the sandstorm in Dubai hits everyone hard.

“Chairman, make sure to secure the money owed to our construction company. I’ll prepare for the acquisition. I also need to ‘persuade’ some influential figures.”

“Can we even get paid? Will bankrupt Dubai pay us back?”

The amount is astronomical, so even the bold Chairman Lee Hak-jae couldn’t hide his unease.

“It will take time, but we’ll get it all. We might take a hit on domestic apartments, but we can handle that much.”

“Sigh…. I have no choice but to trust you now. If we don’t want HW to get caught in the sandstorm, we need plenty of ammunition.”

“Relax and trust me. I have plenty of money.”

Chairman Lee’s sigh subsided, and his expression brightened at my confident demeanor.

“Alright. Oh, right, I’ll send some interior decorators to renovate your house.”

What’s this about? Why renovate my house?

“Have you seen the new 50,000 won bill?”

“I have. Want to see it?”

As I pulled out my wallet, Chairman Lee laughed with a condescending look.

“Not the bills, you old man, the boxes. Hehehe.”

Still not understanding his words, I just blinked, so Chairman Lee took a stack of 50,000 won bills from his drawer and tossed them to me.

Crisp, new bills issued at the end of June this year.

“That’s a hundred bills. Eleven of those fit into a box of Vita 500. An apple box can hold up to 1.2 billion won. Amazing, right?”

He looked genuinely delighted.

After all, how many boxes filled with ten thousand won bills had he delivered? Now, a typical bribe is just a box of Vita 500… or rather, a package.

An apple box that could hold only 200 million won can now hold 1.2 billion won when packed tightly, and a 007 briefcase can hold over 300 million won.

I know it well. How many times have I handled them?

The number of times I’ve loaded car trunks with boxes full of 50,000 won bills is countless. For people like me, the 50,000 won bill was a gift from the government. The arduous task was reduced to one-fifth.

“What does that have to do with renovating my house?”

“About one trillion won worth of the first batch of 50,000 won bills were printed. I set some aside just in case. Keep it at home and use it when needed. You said there are many places to ‘persuade,’ right?”

He knows about the money in the slush fund account my grandfather left me. Why would he bother with such troublesome things?

Sensing my thoughts, he said,

“There’s been a lot of construction work this year, hasn’t there? Opportunities like this are rare. The more cash, the better. You hoard it when you can.”

“So, you’re saying I should renovate my house to create space to store cash?”

“Of course. You want to rent a warehouse? Your house is big. Take my advice.”

He’s the most experienced person in Korea in this regard, so I have no choice but to follow his advice.

“Yes. But how big should it be?”

“I’ve secured 50 boxes for now. I need to stockpile about 100 more.”

The word ‘for now’ was unsettling.

I also understood why it’s difficult to find 50,000 won bills in circulation.

“Then I’ll have nowhere to stay while my house is being renovated, so I’ll have to stay at a hotel.”

“It’ll be done in a day. You won’t need to vacate your house.”

“Let’s use that as an excuse to stay at a hotel in Dubai for a few days. Oh, and you too, Chairman.”

“What?”

“I’m not suggesting we share a room. I’ll arrange a special suite, so let’s go relax for a few days.”

It’s quite amusing to watch Chairman Lee’s bewildered expression.

* * *

The main conference room of Soonyang headquarters had been occupied by Soonyang Construction and the Dubai TFT for over a month. The increasingly dark complexions of its members weren’t solely due to accumulated fatigue.

“Vice-chairman, if things continue like this into the fourth quarter, everything will come to a stop.”

“Chairman Lee Hak-jae of HW also sensed the crisis and says further funding is difficult.”

Vice-chairman Jin Dong-gi was well aware of this. Red warning lights had been flashing incessantly from the beginning, but isn’t opportunity always found in crisis? One must navigate terrifying risks to discover caves filled with gold.

However, the situation in Dubai is alarming. European companies seem to have accepted the signs of crisis as reality. Should we abandon the treasure and escape before the cave collapses?

But the resources and effort invested so far are too valuable to lose. The bigger problem is that the amount we can recover is uncertain.

To accurately assess this uncertainty, we need to negotiate with Dubai World, the client, with daggers drawn.

Dubai World can’t afford the consequences of Soonyang Construction halting the project. Half-built structures are nothing more than monstrous concrete heaps. A world-class city was planned, but only a desolate scene reminiscent of a bombed battlefield would remain.

On the other hand, Soonyang Construction might lose all the resources and money invested so far. During the time it takes to get paid and resume construction, they would suffer severe financial difficulties.

But at this rate, we’ll soon face financial difficulties anyway. We’ll end up in the same situation, so negotiating won’t make things worse.

“Simulate the scenario if we halt construction now. And Tae-joon.”

“Yes.”

Jin Tae-joon was startled. His father had never called him by his given name at work.

How desperate must his father be to make such a mistake?

“You, make absolutely sure the cash flow is accurate. Not a single penny can be wrong.”

“Understood, Vice-chairman.”

Jin Dong-gi addressed everyone in the conference room.

“The construction president is in Dubai right now, isn’t he?”

“Yes.”

“Tell him to warn Dubai World. Tell them we can pull out at any time if they don’t pay up quickly.”

* * *

Dubai is a place where you can see what happens when someone with an unimaginable amount of money has impossible dreams.

During the ride from Dubai International Airport to the Burj Al Arab hotel, whose name means ‘Tower of the Arabs,’ the Dubai nightscape visible through the limousine window didn’t feel like a desert at all. This is paradise of the future.

Chairman Lee Hak-jae clicked his tongue, looking at me with pity as I stared wide-eyed at the night view.

“You’re so focused on numbers that you’ve become a country bumpkin. This right here is what happens when mere numbers turn into reality. It’s much better than hoarding digital figures, isn’t it?”

“You’re right. I may not have as much money as the oil dollars to build a city like this, but I can certainly build a tower. Once things here are settled, I’ll build one. HW Tower.”

Chairman Lee waved his hand dismissively at my serious expression.

“You talk big. I was just saying. Why waste money like that?”

“What’s wrong with that? It’s fun to spend money when you have it. And buildings remain, so it’s not a waste.”

The image of HW Tower was already forming in my mind.