[With the presidential race for the 16th election now underway, the matchup between Choo Tae-guk and Choi Jong-gyeong has been confirmed.
Following the nomination of Minpyeong Party candidate Choi Jong-gyeong, former chairman Choo Tae-guk has also been confirmed as the Justice Party's presidential candidate, officially kicking off the 16th presidential election scheduled for December 19.
Although changes may occur depending on future political realignments, the race is highly likely to take shape as a two-way contest between the Justice Party, which is seeking to reclaim power after five years, and the Minpyeong Party, which is staking everything on retaining the presidency....]
"Former Chairman Choo Tae-guk has become the Justice Party's presidential candidate after all."
Chairman Park Tae-hong, who had come into the office for the first time in a while, set the newspaper down on the table with a firm motion as he spoke.
Across from Vice Chairman Park Jin-hyung, seated on opposite ends of the sofa, Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho opened his mouth with a worried expression.
"Now that both the ruling and opposition party candidates have been finalized, and with the nationwide local elections in June serving as a kind of preliminary battle, are you certain it's fine not to provide a single won in election funds?"
"What are you talking about? Didn't we agree to distribute donations evenly to both sides?"
At that, Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho leaned forward, a look of frustration spreading across his face.
"You know I'm referring to money beyond what we send within the legal limit."
Without replying, Chairman Park Tae-hong reached out and opened the wooden box on the table.
From among the neatly arranged cigarettes inside, he took one and placed it between his lips. Gil Seong-ho quickly flicked his lighter and held the flame up for him.
"Whoo...."
Chairman Park Tae-hong drew in a deep breath of the white cigarette smoke, then exhaled slowly as he spoke.
"As I said before, from now on our group will not make any political donations beyond the amount permitted by law."
The moment he heard that, Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho immediately voiced his concern.
"I understand that you're worried the heads of major conglomerates might once again face serious trouble over presidential campaign funds. But if every other group contributes election funds and we alone stay out of it, won't we end up earning their resentment and putting ourselves in a difficult position later?"
In reality, it was not an overreaction on Gil Seong-ho's part. There had been multiple instances where a group that fell out of favor with the Blue House suffered disadvantages, or even collapsed almost overnight.
Vice Chairman Park Jin-hyung, who had been quietly listening to the exchange, glanced at the others before cautiously joining in.
"I've heard that other groups are preparing to hand over anywhere from fifteen billion to five billion won in cash, depending on their rank among the conglomerates."
"I've heard that as well."
Chairman Park Tae-hong replied with the cigarette still held between his fingers.
Because talk could spread later about one group giving more and another giving less, potentially causing trouble, the Federation of Korean Industries chairmen had reached an unspoken agreement to contribute election funds up to a certain level according to each group's ranking.
"With the real-name financial system in place, they can't use bank accounts, so I'm told the group finance officers are sweeping through the Myeongdong private lending market, buying up bearer bonds and small-denomination checks that are easy to convert into cash."
At Gil Seong-ho's words, Park Tae-hong clicked his tongue in disapproval.
"After putting the real-name financial system in place to prevent illegal fund transactions, now they're the ones holding out their hands for money. And it's the innocent companies that end up suffering for it. I don't know what kind of comedy this is supposed to be."
"That's exactly it. In the past, it would've been easily handled by opening a few borrowed-name accounts and handing them over along with the seals. Now we have to prepare dozens of boxes stuffed with cash and bundles of checks. It's become a tremendous hassle."
As the one overseeing the practical side of things, Gil Seong-ho's voice carried deep frustration.
"Just as Seok-won said, no matter how careful we try to be, with this much cash changing hands, it's hard to believe the secret can be kept without any problems."
At his eldest son's words, Chairman Park Tae-hong gave a small nod.
"I feel the same way. They say birds hear what's spoken in the daytime and mice hear what's said at night. If we make this kind of racket, it may not cause trouble right away, but sooner or later something is bound to go wrong."
Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho shared the sentiment, but that did not mean they could simply sit back and do nothing.
"We've maintained a smooth relationship with the political circles all this time. I'm worried that because of this, we might end up on the wrong side of the new administration and be singled out as an example once it takes office."
Chairman Park Tae-hong furrowed his brow as if deep in thought.
"You said people were sent from both the ruling and opposition campaign camps, didn't you."
"That's correct."
"How much did they ask for?"
"They said they were asking for whatever we could offer in good faith, but it seemed they were hoping for one large note."
"One large note would mean ten billion won."
At the sight of his uneasy expression, Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho hurriedly added,
"Fortunately, the group has more than enough liquidity, so providing the money itself wouldn't be difficult. Of course, it would have to go through several rounds of laundering."
After a moment's thought, Chairman Park Tae-hong crushed the half-smoked cigarette into the crystal ashtray on the table and said,
"I'm sorry, but tell them it's not possible."
"Chairman."
With a stiff expression, Gil Seong-ho tried once more to persuade him.
"Would you consider thinking it over again?"
But Chairman Park Tae-hong, his resolve firmly set, instead showed open anger.
"How long are we supposed to keep playing the fool? They're the ones who come asking for money, and when trouble breaks out, they pretend they know nothing, drag the chairmen into hearings to humiliate them, and make them stand on the prosecutors' photo line!"
He did not hide his deep dissatisfaction with the political establishment, which exerted every kind of pressure to extract funds, only to cut ties and treat the conglomerate heads like criminals when problems arose.
"I also think it would be better to use this opportunity to sever the illegal election fund ties connecting us to the political world."
Vice Chairman Park Jin-hyung, who seemed to have grievances of his own, voiced his agreement without hesitation.
Between the two of them, only Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho remained visibly uneasy.
"That may be true, but there's no need for us to step forward first and end up like the protruding stone that gets hammered down."
But Chairman Park Tae-hong did not waver. His tone remained firm.
"If things go wrong and pressure comes down on us, Seok-won said he would take care of it. Let's trust him this once. We've never suffered a loss by listening to him so far."
"That's right. The reason we made it through the IMF crisis and the group has grown this much is all thanks to Seok-won, isn't it?"
With the owner and the heir apparent both so firmly decided, Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho finally gave up on further persuasion and smacked his lips in resignation.
He was genuinely worried that this might anger the new administration and bring serious trouble down on them. Yet at the same time, there was a certain relief in knowing they would no longer have to endure the political world stretching out its hands every election season as if the money were theirs by right.
Above all, there was Seok-won. If things truly came to a head, he was someone before whom ordinary lawmakers could barely present their business cards, and even the Blue House could not act lightly. With such a formidable figure to rely on, Gil Seong-ho believed the political circles would not dare make reckless moves against them.
***
Seok-won sat in the plush chair of his office, holding the briefing report sent by Lee Cheol-gyun as he reviewed it. Something seemed to trouble him, and his straight brow drew together in a slight frown.
"Hmm. The number of credit cards issued surpassed one hundred million in the first quarter of this year."
Considering that, as recently as 1990, the total number of credit cards issued had been only around ten million, the surge was staggering.
It far exceeded the total population of the country. Even excluding the elderly and children and counting only the economically active population, that meant each person effectively held about five credit cards on average.
"What's even more serious is the amount spent on credit cards. It was around sixty-three point six trillion won before 1998, and last year it exceeded six hundred twenty trillion won. That's nearly a tenfold increase in just four years."
In truth, this explosive surge in credit card usage had been heavily encouraged by the government behind the scenes.
After overcoming the IMF foreign exchange crisis, it had adopted policies aimed at stimulating frozen consumer spending in order to revive the weakened economy.
"The idea was that if domestic consumption increased, goods would sell better, production would rise, companies would expand hiring, and in turn people's incomes would grow, creating a virtuous cycle."
At first glance, it seemed like a perfectly sound and convincing plan.
"But the problem was choosing credit cards as the means to stimulate consumption."
Using credit cards ultimately meant taking on debt, so in effect, the government was encouraging the public to borrow.
Of course, the government was not foolish. There was a reason it chose this approach.
It was aiming for a twofold effect: increasing consumption through greater credit card use while also cracking down on tax evasion.
Unlike salaried workers, whose income was transparent, it was common for self-employed business owners to underreport sales and pay less in taxes.
However, as credit card usage increased, sales figures were automatically recorded through the card companies and exposed to the National Tax Service, making it far more difficult for small business owners to manipulate their reported revenue.
"It would have been fine if it had stopped there, but as competition among card companies overheated, it turned into a ticking time bomb threatening the Korean economy."
By definition, a credit card is a loan extended on the basis of the user's creditworthiness.
But in their rush to increase market share, card companies began issuing cards indiscriminately, even to people with no income and low credit scores, and the problem spiralled.
The result was the staggering figure of five credit cards per economically active person.
"If people used the cards wisely, within what they could actually afford, it wouldn't be an issue. But that's not what's happening, and that's what makes it serious."
If the data Lee Cheol-gyun had sent was accurate, the delinquency rate at major card companies had already reached eleven percent, and even more alarming was the fact that the number of credit defaulters had soared past two million.
"This is an unmistakable warning sign, no matter how you look at it."
As delinquency rates climbed, not only would users be affected, but the card companies themselves, which relied on borrowed funds to keep their capital flowing, would inevitably face a liquidity crisis.
Lightly tapping his fingertips against the desk as he organized his thoughts, Seok-won soon reached out and picked up the keyphone receiver.
After a few rings, Choi Ho-geun, who had been promoted to division head at the New Year's greeting ceremony, answered the call.
[Yes. This is Choi Ho-geun.]
"It's me."
Division Head Choi Ho-geun immediately recognized the voice and answered in a hurry.
[Ah, yes. Chairman. Please go ahead.]
"The portfolio managed by the Capital Management Division includes card companies, correct?"
[That's correct.]
"Sell all of the card company stocks and refrain from touching them for the time being."
[All of them, sir?]
"Yes. Exclude Samsung Electronics for now, but liquidate the rest, including shares of banks and groups that hold card companies."
If the card companies began to falter, their parent banks and affiliated groups would inevitably take a hit as well.
Momentarily flustered by the sudden instruction, Choi Ho-geun quickly recalled Seok-won's earlier concerns about the indiscriminate issuance of credit cards and promptly responded.
[Understood. I will carry out your instructions immediately.]
"Don't pull everything out at once. We could end up taking unnecessary losses. Sell over time. But don't drag it out either."
[You have my word. We'll exit with minimal losses.]
At the confident reply, a faint smile touched Seok-won's lips.
"Report back once everything has been cleared."
[Yes, sir.]
After hanging up, Seok-won looked down at the documents spread across his desk, filled with nothing but ominous signs.
"We've barely escaped the IMF foreign exchange crisis, and now another one is coming."
With a bitter expression, Seok-won stroked his chin.