A female staff member in a neatly arranged hanbok began setting the dishes down on the table.
The meal consisted of rich and nourishing dishes like king crab porridge with perilla seeds and mushrooms, nine delicacies platter (gujeolpan), sea cucumber and shrimp in vinegar sauce, and even wild ginseng—perfect for restoring strength and boosting vitality.
Once the staff member left, Seok-won took a spoonful of the creamy porridge and looked across the table at Minister Choi Jin-woo.
"It's savory and smooth—delicious."
"Suits my taste as well,"
Minister Choi replied, dipping a piece of wild ginseng in honey and popping it into his mouth. He added with a hint of complaint:
"These hotel courses are nice and all, but the way the food comes out so slowly is frustrating. Eating one dish at a time like this gets a bit tiresome."
Seok-won smiled faintly and responded:
"I thought you might feel that way, so I asked the kitchen to shorten the course and bring out multiple dishes at once."
"Ah, that's why the porridge and the gujeolpan came together."
"Yes."
"Well done. That's what I like about you—sharp and considerate."
Minister Choi laughed heartily, clearly pleased.
"A bit belated, but congratulations on becoming Minister of Trade and Industry."
"Thank you. But honestly, knowing I won't even hold the position for a full year makes it feel like I've just moved into a short-term rental,"
Choi said calmly.
Originally, he should've been appointed to the position in March—at least, according to Seok-won's memory from before—but perhaps due to Seok-won's interference, the timeline had shifted, and Choi had only received his appointment last month.
'Still, it won't matter much. Just like before, he'll have to resign within a year and be urgently tapped to serve as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economy. So no harm done.'
Clearing away that fleeting thought, Seok-won spoke again in a warm tone.
"It just goes to show how much the Blue House values your abilities, Minister. They needed someone they could truly rely on."
"Haha, even if you're just being polite, it's nice to hear."
Choi grinned beneath his blue silk necktie.
At that moment, the female staff member knocked and returned to clear the empty dishes. She then brought in the next course: a trio of traditional pancakes, steamed monkfish, abalone, and shrimp with seaweed sauce, and grilled Korean beef sirloin with scallops.
"Now this is a feast."
Pleased with the spread, Minister Choi eagerly picked up his chopsticks.
In that warm and friendly atmosphere, the two men continued their light conversation, eventually finishing the meal with sinsollo (royal hot pot) and ox knee bone soup (dogani gomtang).
For dessert, they were served fruit and traditional tea. Choi Jin-woo let out a satisfied sigh as he patted his belly with one hand.
"Goodness. I've overeaten without even realizing it."
"Same here," Seok-won replied.
After taking a sip of the traditional tea, Minister Choi Jin-woo set his cup down and looked seriously at Seok-won seated across from him.
"I asked to see you today because there's something I need to talk to you about."
"Please, go ahead."
Leaning forward slightly, Minister Choi asked:
"There are rumors going around that you're close with Kim Jae-choon, the leader of the opposition New Era National Council. Is that true?"
Caught off guard by the unexpected question, Seok-won paused and looked at him. Minister Choi leaned back and continued.
"I was at the Blue House yesterday and ran into Chief Presidential Secretary Koo Hyung-ki. He mentioned it and seemed rather displeased."
Koo Hyung-ki was a two-term lawmaker with the ruling Justice Party and a close aide to the president.
"He probably brought it up as a veiled warning, knowing I had once been affiliated with Daeheung Group."
Choi observed Seok-won's expression before continuing.
"Ah, don't get me wrong. I'm not interrogating you. Especially in your line of work—it's only natural for a businessman like you to form relationships with various people."
"…"
"But with the presidential election approaching and tensions running high, it's best to avoid any misunderstandings that could cause trouble. Staying cautious is wise."
"I apologize if I've caused you any discomfort, Minister."
Choi waved a hand lightly, as if to say the apology wasn't necessary.
"No, that's not the point. What matters is that if someone like Chief Koo is raising the issue, it's clearly not something to take lightly. At least until the election is over, you should keep your distance from Chairman Kim. The current administration may have less than a year left, but it's still very much in power."
"I understand. I'll be careful."
As Minister Choi repeated his advice, Seok-won replied with a slightly firm expression.
"Goodness. It's been a while since we last met, and I end up bringing up uncomfortable topics. My apologies."
"Not at all."
"Well, I've said what needed to be said. Let's put the heavy talk behind us and move on."
Minister Choi then suddenly asked, as if something had just occurred to him:
"By the way, with liquidity drying up everywhere and businesses struggling, how is Daeheung Group holding up?"
"It's not easy, but we're managing. We postponed the construction of the Gangnam branch and moved early into austerity mode to reduce debt as much as possible."
"That's a relief to hear. The government is doing all it can, but as you know, the economy isn't in great shape. The aftershocks of the Southeast Asian financial crisis have caused volatility in the exchange rate as well—it's been tough all around."
"I hear the situation with Gichang Motors is getting serious. How do you see that playing out?"
Minister Choi hesitated for a moment before responding.
"This is confidential, so keep it to yourself."
"Of course. You know I can keep a secret."
"That's true."
Minister Choi Jin-woo took a sip of his tea and, lowering his voice slightly, began to speak.
"Soon, all 18 affiliates of the Gichang Group, including its automotive division, will be designated under a debt workout agreement."
"So it's come to that."
Seeing that Seok-won didn't seem particularly surprised, Minister Choi raised an intrigued eyebrow.
"You don't seem shocked—looks like you saw this coming."
Seok-won responded nonchalantly.
"I heard that, over the past two months, more than 500 billion won in loans to Gichang Motors have been hastily recalled by investment trusts and secondary financial institutions. In a situation like that, what other option is there if they want to keep the company alive?"
"Exactly. That's an accurate assessment."
Minister Choi nodded slightly.
"If we let things continue as they are, the commercial banks—unable to act because of government pressure—would end up bearing all the losses. That's why we're rushing to bring the group under the debt workout program."
He then clicked his tongue briefly, a gesture of disapproval.
"The government is trying everything it can to navigate this crisis, and yet those lenders are indiscriminately calling in loans. It's outrageous."
"That's one way to see it, but with the spike in exchange rates, the short-term foreign debt burdens on investment trusts and secondary lenders must be eating them alive. They're probably panicking day by day."
When Seok-won subtly pointed out the issue of short-term foreign debt, Minister Choi furrowed his brow, clearly aware of the gravity of the situation.
"You're right. Their condition isn't great either."
Then, with a newfound gaze, he looked at Seok-won.
"Thinking back on it, your foresight in warning repeatedly about the dangers of excessive short-term foreign debt is truly impressive."
"There are more qualified experts in the Ministry of Finance and Economy than me, Minister. Looking back, I feel embarrassed to have voiced my thoughts so openly."
Minister Choi let out a soft sigh while holding his teacup.
"What good is knowing if we didn't act? Even I didn't think things would get this bad and failed to push for proper countermeasures. If I had known, we would've imposed restrictions and slashed short-term borrowing much earlier. I deeply regret it."
But regrets now were too little, too late.
"The only thing we can do at this point is try to extend the maturities of the short-term debt however we can."
Hearing Seok-won's assessment, Minister Choi's face showed his frustration.
"Ideally, we could just pay it all off at once, but doing that would drain the Bank of Korea's entire foreign reserves. So yes, extending maturities is all we've got. The problem is, because of the aftermath of the Southeast Asian financial crisis, even that's becoming difficult."
In a climate where Asian countries with similar economic structures were collapsing one after another like dominoes, foreign creditors were hesitant to agree to extensions. More likely, they were looking to pull their money out entirely.
And with rumors swirling that after Hong Kong, Korea is the next target of currency speculators, foreign financial institutions will be even more reluctant to extend maturities. Instead, they'll probably rush to withdraw their investments.
This was already evident in the domestic stock market's continued weakness and the rapid outflow of foreign capital, which in turn caused the exchange rate to spike.
"Still, I'm relieved to hear that Daeheung Group—where I once worked—is holding up better than others."
Minister Choi murmured, a trace of bitterness in his voice.
Then, he finished the last of the tea left in his cup.
"I'm sure the group will handle things wisely, but with the Gichang Motors situation, liquidity issues aren't likely to ease any time soon. Tell your chairman/father it would be best to run the group conservatively for the time being."
"I will."
Seok-won replied, then added with a slightly stiff expression:
"Also, this is something I've heard through the grapevine… but there are rumors that the three major credit rating agencies are planning to reassess South Korea's sovereign credit rating. Are you aware of this?"
"Is that true?"
Minister Choi Jin-woo's eyes widened in surprise.
The credit ratings provided by the three major global agencies—Moody's, S&P, and Fitch—are crucial. They not only impact the country's credibility but also affect the overseas borrowing costs for both the government and private sectors.
This was especially significant in the current situation, where the Asian financial crisis was shaking the region, amplifying the impact even further.
Seok-won nodded heavily and spoke.
"I've heard that all three agencies have placed Korea on their watch lists and are reviewing the country's credit rating after the Hanbo Group incident."
"Mm."
A mutter of discomfort escaped Minister Choi Jin-woo's lips.
It was a brief response, but based on his experience as the former CEO of Daehung Securities, Seok-won knew that this wasn't idle chatter. It was something he couldn't just ignore.
"With the domestic and international situation already not looking good, if the national credit rating is downgraded, it would really be a big problem."
Minister Choi Jin-woo muttered with a darkened complexion.
After a while, the two of them talked more before finishing their lunch and parting ways.
Seok-won, who saw off Minister Choi Jin-woo first, got into the back seat of the large Mercedes sedan, waiting with his secretary, Han Ji-sung, at the hotel entrance.
As the car smoothly started to move, Han Ji-sung, sitting in the passenger seat, turned to look behind and said,
"I'll take you to the company."
Seok-won nodded slightly in response, without saying anything.
As the car moved, Seok-won leaned back against the plush leather seat, gazing out the window at the passing scenery. He remembered what Minister Choi Jin-woo had said at the Korean restaurant.
'I didn't think the Blue House would be unaware of Governor Kim Jae-chun and the help he's giving the New Era National Meeting, but I never expected a warning like this.'
But it didn't matter.
As per Minister Choi Jin-woo's advice, though the power was still alive, Seok-won needed to be cautious, but the massive tsunami was coming soon, and he wouldn't have the luxury to pay attention to him.
'Once the IMF crisis hits, the current government will be in a lame-duck state. Its life span will only last at most two or three more months.'
What mattered more was whether, after Seok-won had subtly leaked the information, the Blue House and the Ministry of Finance would move quickly enough to prevent the credit rating agencies from downgrading the country's rating.
If that happened, while it would be impossible to completely avoid the IMF crisis, the impact could be minimized.
If, according to history, the credit rating started to be downgraded next month, starting with S&P, that would be the moment when Korea would board the IMF express train.
"Now that I've given them a hint, they'll try to respond... But maybe it's already too late for that."
The wounds on the body had already festered to the point where they could no longer be touched without bursting open, and the storm approaching from outside was too fierce and violent for Korea to handle alone.
Sensing the dark future ahead, Seok-won let out a sigh inwardly.