Free Web NovelWhen I stopped and turned around, I saw an old man with white hair walking toward me.
“Who are you?”
His face seemed vaguely familiar, but I had never met him before.
As I tried to recall, the old man extended his hand first and introduced himself.
“I am Park Younggeun, newly appointed as Chairman of the Financial Supervisory Commission and Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service. Pleased to meet you.”
“Pleased to meet you. I am Kim Muhyuk. But why would the Chairman of the Financial Supervisory Commission seek me out?”
“Should I not at least greet the true owner of Taesan Finance? After all, this falls under my jurisdiction.”
As I released his hand, I frowned slightly. Park Younggeun smiled faintly and glanced toward where Ha Myeonghun and Baek Seongjin stood.
“I am not from the Ministry of Finance. I spent my entire career in the National Tax Service. And I am not MOFIA.”
After Kim Hakgwon became president, under IMF demands he reduced the Ministry of Finance’s power and demoted it to the Ministry of Finance and Economy.
Thus the Financial Supervisory Commission and Financial Supervisory Service were created.
At first, they had placed former Ministry of Finance officials in charge, but due to their cartel, real reform never took place.
So Kim Hakgwon chose the man standing before me.
Hearing his name, I remembered the information.
He would later become chairman of Dongseo Group and was capable enough to restore the stumbling conglomerate.
“So I will use all the authority I have to oversee and supervise Taesan Finance properly. I will permit no tricks or loopholes.”
It was practically a declaration of war, but I could not help but laugh.
When I suddenly burst out laughing, Park Younggeun looked at me with a puzzled face.
“Forgive me. It just struck me funny... Is it not comical that you must make the effort to tell me you will simply do what is natural for you?”
“That shows just how solid the cartel of Baek Seongjin and the Ministry of Finance men is.”
Again he looked over at Baek Seongjin, his expression hardening.
“Even now, the current chairman, once I was nominated as his successor, has refused to hand over duties or even come to work. And that man is sitting right there next to Baek Seongjin today.”
From both his words and his face, I could sense his deep resentment toward the MOFIA.
Still, beyond his hostility, I was curious why he had sought me out.
“But how did you know about me?”
“How could I not? You are the heir of Cheon Taesan, the Loan Shark King. And as I said, I know that you are the true owner of Taesan Finance.”
“I have no intention of interfering in Taesan Finance’s management. I will own, but management will be left entirely to Chairman Ha Myeonghun.”
I spoke with a crooked smile.
I had created it out of necessity, but Taesan Finance was, by all appearances, a solid financial company.
I was confident no matter how they dug, they would find not a speck of dust.
“So if you mean to issue warnings, they should go to Chairman Ha Myeonghun, not to me.”
“I merely wanted to see your face once. To know what kind of man conceived of establishing a financial holding company in Korea, something unheard of here—going so far as to push through the relevant legislation hastily to make it possible.”
Now that I thought of it, wasn’t it he who had first conceived the idea of financial holding companies?
Shaking his head slowly, Park Younggeun continued.
“I believe conglomerates must never own financial companies. Using the people’s money to defend their own management rights is absurd.”
At that moment, Ha Myeonghun finished greeting executives and the inauguration ended as he left the hall.
Before the place grew too crowded with people departing, I decided to leave as well.
“Rather than talk here, why don’t we share a meal? I would like to hear more from you.”
“Very well.”
“I know a good restaurant. If you brought a car, I can have my aide fetch it. Otherwise, come ride with me.”
“No, I came by subway.”
“Is that so?”
That he had come by subway instead of car surprised me. For an official of ministerial rank, it was a frugal act.
“Let’s go then. Allow me to host.”
Before getting into the car with him, I quietly gave an instruction, low enough that he would not hear.
“Manager Ma, contact Eva and tell her to come to the restaurant as well.”
The car carrying me and Park Younggeun soon arrived at the restaurant.
As he got out and looked at the building, he let out a quiet sigh, then turned to me.
“This place seems too expensive.”
“There is no other place nearby as good. And we can speak quietly here.”
“Still, I feel unworthy of such treatment. I should be the one paying.”
Park Younggeun was the very image of an upright public servant. Perhaps it had been too long since I had met such a man—he intrigued me even more.
“Let us go inside first. It would be rude to stand outside like this.”
He hesitated, then nodded. I led him in, and following the staff’s guidance, we entered a secluded room.
“Eva, CEO of Mirae Investment, will be here soon. That is fine with you?”
“Of course. I welcome meetings with financiers. I still lack much, so the chance for a good exchange with anyone is valuable.”
His willingness to admit his shortcomings and learn brought a natural smile to my lips. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
He was completely different from the bureaucrats I had dealt with until now.
“You are quite unlike other high-ranking officials. You are not authoritarian. And I was especially surprised you came by subway.”
“I have not even received my official appointment yet. I cannot use an official car. I already returned the one I had. And with two strong legs, what is there to fear?”
His sheepish smile bore the traces of age. The lines at the corners of his eyes showed he was a man who laughed often.
“Earlier you said conglomerates must not own financial companies. But isn’t that already blocked under financial-industrial separation? They cannot own banks.”
Financial-industrial separation.
It began in 1995, when the Banking Act was amended to prohibit companies from owning banks. Later, it even forbade financial firms from owning non-financial companies.
The only exception was the state-run Industrial Bank of Korea.
In the U.S., Jewish financiers and Wall Street elders had lobbied hard to repeal the Glass-Steagall Act, America’s version of separation. But Korea still applied strict separation.
“I still think it is insufficient. The law limits only banks. But what about life insurance and general insurance companies? They use customer money to defend management rights, and I believe that must be stopped as well.”
Despite his calm demeanor, his words were radical.
“Conglomerates know only how to enjoy privileges without bearing responsibility. Banks become their dogs, lending to them. The people scrape together their savings, and the conglomerates borrow it without a shred of accountability.”
His voice was heavy with bitterness.
After years of seeing bureaucrats steal taxes, meeting one who genuinely thought of the people was striking.
“And so the foreign exchange crisis came. Whose fault was it? The government, the financial sector, the conglomerates—all caused the disaster, but the ones who suffered were the people.”
He poured water into his glass and drained it in one go.
“From the gold-collecting campaign onward, the people tightened their belts to overcome the crisis. But the conglomerates shamelessly returned to debt-driven management.”
Though the crisis came from reliance on foreign capital, the conglomerates had learned nothing, again borrowing heavily from financial institutions and raising their debt ratios.
“Loans to ordinary people have only grown stricter. So they go to the loan market, borrow at high interest, and the vicious cycle repeats. That eats away at the national economy, yet no one acknowledges it. Or they pretend not to know.”
The faces of conglomerate chairmen who had once come begging my grandfather for loans flashed through my mind.
His mention of private loans made me uncomfortable, so I pushed back.
“If there were no loan companies, where would the common people have borrowed? It was not banks but private lenders who gave money to the jobless, those cast out on the streets, even if they might not be able to repay.”
Perhaps sensing my discomfort, he shook his head faintly.
“Of course, I know of the lending companies you own. Though management lies with another.”
“Yes. I blocked Japanese capital and conglomerate money from entering the loan market. That way I protected not only the lending market, but the economy of ordinary people. Was that wrong?”
At my challenging tone, his face stiffened briefly before he spoke again.
“Legal lending companies, though problematic, can still be handled through regulations. I am talking about the illegal loan market outside the system.”
“Without the shadows, the sunlight cannot exist.”
“I know that.”
He said he knew, yet his face betrayed his negative view of loan sharks.
As silence stretched, he poured another glass of water and drank, then spoke gravely.
“I want to reform the financial sector.”
Instead of replying, I lifted my own glass and drank.
“What do you think, President Kim Muhyuk?”
“About what?”
“Do you think our country’s financial sector is functioning properly?”
Setting the glass down, I shook my head. Money always sided with the powerful.
“Is that really only our country’s problem? The global financial market is the playground of the wealthy. Reforming finance is nothing but idealism.”
“That is precisely why the government must regulate strongly and monitor the sector.”
He was an upright man, but too radical. His theory was progressive, yet self-contradictory.
“Director, you do realize that contradicts itself? That is nothing but a call to return to government-controlled finance. And yet you despise MOFIA? It makes no sense. We privatized banks to stabilize the economy. Once privatized, you must leave it to the market.”
“I am not advocating government-controlled finance.”
“Strong regulation is government control. If finance must bow to politics, it will inevitably lead to corruption. In the end, your stance is mere idealism.”
At that moment, the door opened and Eva walked in. Our heated exchange came to a halt.
Seeing his face, she greeted him with a bright smile.
“Pleased to meet you, I am Eva Zhu.”
“I am Park Younggeun.”
Collecting himself, he rose and extended his hand.
After the greeting, Eva sat beside me.
“How was the inauguration?”
“Chairman Ha Myeonghun seems like he will do well. And Baek Seongjin’s faction?”
“Since he dropped a bomb, cracks will surely form. Do you think no bureaucrat has ever been passed over for promotion because of seniority?”
Eva spoke freely, regardless of Park Younggeun sitting across from her.
“Baek Seongjin may be old, but he is a fox. That is why he rose to lead MOFIA.”
With a slight curl of her lips, she finished. I nodded, recalling Ha Myeonghun’s display at the ceremony.
“Yes. We shall see. And Chairman Ha is not one to be toyed with, is he?”
At my words, Eva’s smile deepened. She clearly liked Ha Myeonghun.
“He is one who devours others, not one to be devoured. And he is cold-blooded enough to truly reform the group’s structure.”
“Right. Korea has stagnated too long. It is rotting, yet only they themselves refuse to see it. Or do they just pretend?”
As the one who exploited that blindness best grumbled, I could not help but chuckle.
Born in Hong Kong, raised between Britain and Hong Kong, Eva disliked the Korean way.
Yet when other foreign investors failed to adapt, she adapted faster than anyone.
That let her seize the advantageous position and use it to bring me what I wanted.
“Now that the foundation is set, all the corruption must be cut out. That is Chairman Ha’s work now. My role is done.”
When I patted her shoulder, proud, Eva beamed.
Perhaps feeling awkward just listening, Park Younggeun gave a small cough.
“Ah, my apologies.”
Speaking only between the two of us while he sat there was indeed impolite. I quickly apologized, but he shook his head.
“No, it is fine. I understand it was important. But this is my first time meeting Representative Eva. I have heard much about you.”
“I have also heard much about you, Director. Your very first act after being nominated was quite interesting, wasn’t it?”
Eva teased lightly, smiling.
“I heard you criticized the management of the National Pension Fund.”
“...How do you know that?”
His face stiffened instantly, wariness written all over it.
“Walls have ears. If one wants to know, nothing is impossible.”
“That is not something widely known.”
His frozen expression and Eva’s smiling eyes collided in the air.
In a meeting intended for good faith, there was no need for such a contest of wills.
“Eva.”
I called her name softly.
