Inside the Blue House presidential office, with the steep cliffs of Inwangsan visible through the window, President Kim Jae-chun looked up from the large wooden desk at Chief Secretary Woo Chun-il, who was standing before him.
"So, the Daehung Group wants to acquire the Gimpo reclaimed land and Korea Express?"
"That's correct. These are massive deals, totaling 1.2094 trillion won and 1.5 trillion won, respectively."
Hearing the amounts, President Kim's expression flickered with slight surprise.
"Altogether, that's over 2.7 trillion won. Does the Daehung Group even have that kind of capital?"
Then he remembered who Park Tae-hong, the second son of the Daehung Group chairman, was, and shrugged.
"Ah, right. They should have plenty of money."
Chief Secretary Woo added, his expression serious.
"If they proceed with the acquisitions, they intend to deposit the full amount in cash at once."
"Wow…"
President Kim leaned back, letting out an impressed exclamation.
"That's a considerable sum, but they're impressively bold. True to the reputation of a Wall Street heavyweight. I suppose it's Park from Daehung Ventures who's spearheading this?"
"That's what I understand."
"Of course."
President Kim Jae-chun nodded slightly, as if confirming what he already expected.
"Even though we've passed the worst of it, the financial crisis is still ongoing. And in this situation, the only person bold enough to push through a deal of this magnitude would be President Park."
Observing President Kim's continued favorable attitude toward Seok-won, Chief Secretary Woo Chun-il added,
"If the Daehung Group acquires the Gimpo reclaimed land and Korea Express, it would significantly aid in stabilizing the Asia-Pacific Group, which is burdened with nearly 5 trillion won in debt and currently under a workout program."
"Indeed."
President Kim, seated with his fingers interlaced, continued,
"Even putting Korea Express aside, paying over a trillion won for nothing but barren land at Gimpo—surely that's an investment made with the hope of development profits, right?"
"Most likely."
"This land was created for agricultural purposes, and the Ministry of Agriculture has taken a hardline stance, refusing any rezoning. I hope this doesn't become a headache later."
The Asia-Pacific Group had repeatedly attempted to change the land's designation to secure funds, only to be consistently blocked by the Ministry of Agriculture.
If the Daehung Group were to acquire the Gimpo reclaimed land and rezoning were immediately approved, allegations of favoritism would be inevitable.
But if we don't allow rezoning, we'd be turning down too much from President Park.
Furthermore, with Russia declaring a moratorium and the global economic slowdown, another foreign exchange crisis could erupt at any moment.
That made maintaining a good relationship with Seok-won, a Wall Street heavyweight, all the more essential.
Even after winning the presidential election and taking office, Seok-won remained an untouchable power.
As a longtime close aide, Chief Secretary Woo immediately recognized the President's dilemma and spoke up.
"There's precedent for rezoning a portion of the Gimpo reclaimed land to build a combined-cycle power plant and a wastewater treatment facility. It's not entirely impossible."
"That may be, but wouldn't the opposition and media use this as a pretext to accuse us of favoritism?"
President Kim crossed his arms, wearing a somewhat reluctant expression. Woo Chun-il, wearing a meaningful smile, proposed a solution.
"Perhaps anticipating that, President Park played a card that would silence both the opposition and the media."
"What card is that?"
President Kim Jae-chun straightened in his chair, showing keen interest, and Chief Secretary Woo Chun-il replied immediately.
"He's offering to pay the full acquisition price in U.S. dollars rather than won."
"...!"
Taken aback, President Kim widened his eyes and asked again.
"Really? He's going to pay the entire amount in dollars?"
"That's right."
Woo Chun-il continued with a confident expression.
"If the acquisition goes through, over $1.7647 billion in foreign currency will flow into the country."
A slow smile spread across President Kim's face.
"With the exchange rate already fluctuating and fears of a renewed foreign exchange crisis rising, that much dollar inflow would do a lot to ease the instability."
"With such justification, even granting more than just rezoning as a special privilege, the opposition or media wouldn't be able to criticize it."
"Exactly."
President Kim's face lit up with a broad, satisfied smile.
"Hahaha. I've been worried about the constantly rising exchange rate, and now President Park has helped us once again."
"Then we'll proceed with transferring the Gimpo reclaimed land and Korea Express to the Daehung Group and move forward with the sale."
Nodding, President Kim added one more comment.
"Still, just to avoid any later whispers, it would be wise to hold a formal bidding process, even if only as a formality."
Leaning back comfortably, he added,
"Not that anyone could possibly offer better terms than the Daehung Group anyway."
"They might bid higher, but no one else could pay entirely in dollars," Woo Chun-il said with a smile, prompting President Kim to laugh heartily.
"Hahaha! You're absolutely right."
***
September 29, 1998 — New York, USA
Through the large panoramic windows of the Eldorado Fund president's office, a magnificent cityscape stretched into the distance. Seok-won sat cross-legged on the sofa, exuding his usual calm authority.
On either side of him sat Landon and Andrew, all eyes fixed on the large television across the room, waiting for the press conference by the Federal Reserve Chairman to begin.
Seok-won took a sip of whiskey. As the ice clinked against the glass, Landon spoke.
"Looks like it's about to start."
Raising his head to look at the television, Seok-won saw the side door open. The Chairman, Monroe, in his mid-sixties and wearing black horn-rimmed glasses, stepped into view.
As always, Monroe's expression was impassive, his lips pressed tightly together. He carried a file of prepared remarks in one hand and walked steadily to the podium directly in front of him.
At that moment, the camera flashes exploded like lightning, drawing the focus of every journalist in the room toward the Fed Chairman.
Placing the thin file down, Monroe stood behind the podium adorned with the large Federal Reserve emblem. He extended one arm to adjust the microphone to a slightly higher position.
After surveying the seated journalists and the lenses aimed at him, he began to speak. His voice was calm but firm, measured yet authoritative.
[Good afternoon.]
In that instant, attention from not just the journalists in the room, but from Wall Street and financial professionals around the world, turned to Monroe's words.
Naturally, whatever Monroe said would ripple through the U.S. financial markets—and beyond.
[I understand that many of you are concerned about recent financial instability in various regions and signs of economic slowdown. Accordingly, my colleagues and I, at today's FOMC meeting, have unanimously decided to lower the target interest rate by 0.25%, from the current 5.5%.]
The unexpectedly modest rate cut drew murmurs of disappointment from the journalists.
But Monroe continued calmly, unbothered by the room's reaction.
[As I have previously stated, although external conditions are placing pressure on the economy, the long-term boom since 1991 has resulted in accumulated inflationary pressures. Therefore, the Federal Reserve believes that an abrupt rate cut could adversely affect the economy. Additionally…]
Landon, watching the press conference intently, let out a low, impressed breath.
"So, as you predicted, the cut was only 0.25%."
Andrew, sitting across from him, checked market reactions on the laptop resting on the table. He pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses and spoke.
"As soon as the 0.25% cut was announced, all three major indices, including the Dow, have dropped sharply."
Since this was expected, Seok-won asked calmly,
"And the bond market?"
Andrew moved the mouse to check, then looked up.
"Bonds are also reacting—spreads that had narrowed on rate cut expectations are widening again. U.S. and German bonds have turned bullish."
"The market response isn't looking good at all."
"That just shows how disappointed investors are," Landon said.
Seok-won responded with his usual composed demeanor.
"Right before the FOMC meeting, the Fed orchestrated a multi-billion-dollar bailout to prevent LTCM's collapse, so the market expected them to prioritize economic slowdown over inflation. That expectation was broken, so naturally, disappointment is high."
Landon's observation prompted Andrew to add his serious assessment.
"This also reveals that the Fed is more concerned about inflation than recession, contrary to market assumptions. So, additional rate cuts are unlikely."
"Exactly. That concern amplifies the market's downward momentum," Seok-won noted in his calm, detached tone.
Landon leaned forward cautiously.
"If the Fed only cuts 0.25% and stops there, wouldn't the situation get serious?"
Andrew, still monitoring the markets, wore a worried expression.
"Our short positions will profit further, but the risk is that the entire market could collapse into panic."
Seok-won set his whiskey glass on the table and spoke evenly.
"As I said before, the Fed isn't made up of idiots. After seeing the market's reaction, they'll realize they've underreacted. They'll scramble to roll out additional measures to stabilize things, that's guaranteed."
Quietly, he muttered to himself.
This time, they might overshoot and cut rates too aggressively, creating a massive bubble—but that's a problem for later.
Still, even fumbling repeatedly can be a skill in itself.
No wonder the Fed earned the sarcastic nickname "the shower-room fools."
Lost in thought for a moment, Andrew's expression relaxed slightly.
"That would be reassuring, but I still worry that the Fed might miss the timing due to their usual sluggishness."
Landon shrugged as if it didn't matter and looked at him.
"Either way, the Fed has created the perfect opportunity for us to liquidate our positions, having maximized profits thanks to the smaller-than-expected rate cut."
"That's right."
Seok-won smiled, revealing his white teeth.
"As I mentioned before, let's start unwinding our bets in order."
"Understood."
"And we've prepared everything so that we can immediately buy the stocks you highlighted once the positions are closed."
Seok-won nodded slightly, reassured by the confident response.
"I trust you'll handle it well."
Feeling his strong confidence, the two responded with expressions full of determination, clearly ready to rise to his expectations.
"So, are you returning to Korea tomorrow as planned?"
"There's nothing more to do here, so I should head back."
Landon smacked his lips with a trace of regret.
"I wish you could stay longer, but I understand you have your own work to do."
Andrew also looked disappointed, and Seok-won spoke with a smile.
"Even if I'm not here, I can leave because I trust both of you to run the fund well. I've always appreciated that."
The two were momentarily caught off guard by the unexpected praise but quickly couldn't hide their sense of pride.
Being recognized by their boss, Seok-won, made them sit up straighter and feel broader in the shoulders.