Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 355

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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355. It may already be too late for that.

The Female Secretary, dressed neatly in traditional Korean attire, set the dishes on the table.
There was crab meat and perilla seed mushroom porridge, nine-section dish, sea cucumber and shrimp in vinegar sauce, and wild ginseng—all nourishing foods meant to restore vigor and vitality.
Once the Female Secretary left, I took a spoonful of the perilla seed mushroom porridge and looked across at Minister Choi Jin-woo, who sat opposite me.

“It’s fragrant and smooth—quite delicious.”
“It suits my palate too.”

Minister Choi Jin-woo picked up the wild ginseng with his chopsticks, dipped it in honey, and spoke with a hint of dissatisfaction.

“The hotel course is fine in every way, but the food comes out slowly—it’s inconvenient. Having to eat each dish one by one like this is frustrating, I tell you.”

I smiled subtly and replied.

“I anticipated that, so I asked them to bring a shortened course in advance.”
“Ah, so that’s why the porridge and nine-section dish came out together.”
“Yes.”
“Well done. You truly have a sense for these things.”

Minister Choi Jin-woo broke into a satisfied smile.

“Though it’s a bit late, congratulations on becoming Minister of Commerce, Industry and Energy.”
“Thank you. But since I won’t even last a full year in this position before stepping down, it feels like I’m just moving into a temporary rental.”

Minister Choi Jin-woo answered matter-of-factly.
According to my original memories, he should have become Minister of Commerce, Industry and Energy in March of this year, but due to my existence, the timeline had shifted, and he received his appointment last month instead.

‘Still, he won’t last a full year before stepping down as Minister of Commerce, Industry and Energy and being hastily called up as Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economy. There’s nothing to worry about.’

I brushed aside the brief thought and opened my mouth with a gentle tone.

“The Blue House entrusted you with this important position precisely because your abilities are so desperately needed.”
“Ha ha. Even if it’s flattery, it feels good to hear it put that way.”

Minister Choi Jin-woo, wearing a blue silk necktie, let out a soft chuckle and smiled.
Just then, the Female Secretary knocked and entered, clearing away the empty plates before setting down three varieties of pan-fried dishes, abalone and shrimp steamed with sea mustard sauce, and grilled Korean beef sirloin on the table, then departed.

“This is quite lavish, isn’t it.”

Minister Choi Jin-woo, pleased with all the dishes presented, licked his lips and picked up his chopsticks.
The two of them then shared light conversation in a warm atmosphere, finishing the meal cleanly with the sinseollo and oxtail soup that followed.
When traditional tea arrived with fruit as the final dessert, Minister Choi Jin-woo patted his belly with one hand and exhaled a satisfied sigh.

“My, I seem to have overeaten without realizing it.”
“I have as well.”

After taking a sip of traditional tea and setting it down, Minister Choi Jin-woo looked at Seok-won before him with a serious expression.

“The reason I asked to see you today is that I have something to tell you.”
“Please, go ahead.”

Minister Choi Jin-woo then leaned forward and asked.

“Is it true that you’re on close terms with Kim Jae-chun, the chairman of the opposition New Era National Conference?”

Seok-won hesitated at the unexpected question and looked up as Minister Choi Jin-woo leaned back and spoke.

“Yesterday I went to the Blue House and met with Chief Secretary Gu Hyung-gi, and he said such things to me while showing signs of discomfort.”

Chief Secretary Gu Hyung-gi was a second-term congressman of the ruling Democratic Justice Party and a close aide to the president.

“He probably knew that I had briefly worked at the Daheung Group and was warning me indirectly.”

Minister Choi Jin-woo continued, subtly observing Seok-won’s expression.

“Ah, of course I’m not trying to interrogate you. Especially for a businessman like yourself, it’s only natural to meet various people and cultivate connections.”
“….”
“However, in such a sensitive period with the presidential election approaching, it would be wise to exercise restraint to avoid any misunderstandings and the troubles that might follow.”
“I apologize for causing you any inconvenience, Minister.”

Minister Choi Jin-woo waved one hand lightly as if to say there was no need to apologize.

“No, that’s not it. If Gu Hyung-gi is speaking of such matters, it’s certainly not something to brush aside lightly. At the very least, keep your distance from Kim Jae-chun until the presidential election concludes. His term may have less than a year remaining, but he still wields considerable power.”
“I will keep that in mind.”

As Choi Jin-woo offered his repeated counsel, Seok-won replied with a slightly stiffened expression.

“My apologies for broaching such uncomfortable matters after so long without seeing you.”
“Not at all.”
“I trust you understand sufficiently now. Let us set aside this difficult conversation and speak of other things.”

Minister Choi Jin-woo then asked, as if something had suddenly occurred to him.

“By the way, everyone’s been complaining lately about liquidity drying up. How is Daheung Group faring?”
“We’ve postponed the Gangnam Branch construction project and implemented austerity measures to reduce debt as much as possible early on. It’s difficult, but we’re not in dire straits.”
“That’s fortunate. The government is doing everything it can, but as you know, the economic situation isn’t favorable. On top of that, the fallout from the Southeast Asian currency crisis is causing exchange rates to fluctuate, making conditions even more challenging.”
“The Kichang Automobile situation seems quite serious lately. How do you think it will be handled?”

Minister Choi Jin-woo hesitated briefly before answering.

“This is confidential, so keep it to yourself.”
“You know my discretion is beyond question.”
“Indeed.”

Minister Choi Jin-woo moistened his throat with tea and lowered his voice slightly as he spoke.

“Very soon, Kichang Automobile and all eighteen affiliated companies of the Kichang Group will be designated as targets for debt moratorium agreements.”
“So that’s how it will unfold.”

Observing that Seok-won showed no great surprise, Minister Choi Jin-woo’s expression grew intrigued.

“You don’t seem particularly shocked. You must have anticipated this.”

Seok-won responded with an air of indifference.

“I heard that over the past two months, more than 500 billion won in Kichang Automobile loans have been hastily recalled from secondary financial institutions, including finance companies, due to fears of default. In such circumstances, there’s no other way to save the company, is there?”
“Exactly. You’ve assessed this correctly.”

Minister Choi Jin-woo nodded slightly.

“If we simply left it alone, the commercial banks—which are unable to recall loans due to government pressure—would be left holding the bag entirely. So we’re hastening to place it under a debt moratorium agreement.”

I clicked my tongue briefly, clearly displeased.

“The government is doing everything it can to overcome this difficult situation. It’s infuriating that they’re indiscriminately calling in loans.”
“That’s one way to look at it, but the finance companies and secondary financial institutions that borrowed short-term foreign debt are also suffering terribly right now due to the sharp spike in exchange rates.”

As I subtly pointed out the short-term foreign debt issue, Minister Choi Jin-woo furrowed his brow, clearly aware of the gravity of the situation.

“You’re right about that too. Things aren’t looking good there either.”

Then he turned to me with a renewed gleam in his eyes.

“Come to think of it, your foresight in pointing out the excessive short-term foreign debt problem multiple times already is quite remarkable.”
“The Minister and the bureaucrats at the Ministry of Finance and Economy are far more expert than I am. I feel embarrassed for overstepping my bounds.”

Minister Choi Jin-woo grasped his teacup and let out a small sigh.

“What good does knowing do? Even I didn’t take aggressive measures, thinking surely nothing serious would happen. If I’d known it would come to this, the Ministry of Finance and Economy would have imposed restrictions long ago and minimized short-term foreign debt as much as possible. I truly regret it.”

It was too late now to undo what had already been done, no matter how much he lamented.

“All we can do now is somehow extend the maturity dates of the short-term foreign debt as long as possible.”

Minister Choi Jin-woo’s expression grew frustrated at my words.

“I wish we could cleanly repay the short-term foreign debt, but if we did, the Bank of Korea’s foreign exchange reserves would be completely depleted. That’s our only option. The problem is that extending maturity dates isn’t easy due to the fallout from the Southeast Asian currency crisis.”

With Asian countries having similar economic structures to South Korea collapsing like dominoes, foreign financial institutions would be reluctant to extend loans.

‘Moreover, with rumors circulating that we’ll be the next target for currency speculators after Hong Kong, foreign financial institutions will be even more unwilling to extend maturity and will instead try to withdraw their investments.’

The recent weakness in the domestic stock market and the rapid outflow of foreign investment, causing the exchange rate to spike, were proof of exactly that.

“Still, it’s a relief that Daheung Group, which I was once affiliated with, is doing relatively well compared to others.”

Minister Choi Jin-woo murmured bitterly.
Then he finished the remaining tea in his cup and spoke.

“I’m sure you’ll handle things well, but because of the Kichang Automobile issue, liquidity problems will be difficult to resolve for some time. Please tell the Chairman that it would be wise to manage the group conservatively.”
“I will do so.”

Seok-won answered, his expression growing slightly rigid as he spoke.

“And this is something I’ve heard, but are you aware that the three major credit rating agencies are planning to reassess Korea’s credit rating?”
“Is that really true?”

Minister Choi Jin-woo’s eyes widened in surprise.
The sovereign credit ratings assigned by the world’s three major rating agencies—Moody’s, S&P, and Fitch—were critically important, as they not only evaluated a nation’s creditworthiness but also significantly impacted borrowing costs for both government and private sector overseas financing.
Particularly in a situation where the foreign exchange crisis was shaking Asia, the ripple effects were even more severe.
Seok-won nodded gravely and continued.

“I’ve heard that all three companies have placed Korea on their watch list and are reviewing its credit rating following the Hanwha Group incident.”
“Hmm.”

A low murmur escaped Minister Choi Jin-woo’s lips.
Though brief, his experience as president of Daehung Securities meant he knew Seok-won was not a man to speak carelessly, so this was not information he could simply dismiss.

“With domestic and international conditions already deteriorating, a downgrade in sovereign credit rating would truly be catastrophic.”

Minister Choi Jin-woo murmured, his expression darkening.
After continuing their conversation for some time, the two men finished lunch and parted ways.
Having seen Minister Choi Jin-woo off first, Seok-won climbed into the back seat of a waiting Mercedes-Benz sedan with Han Ji-sung, his attendant secretary.
As the car glided smoothly forward, Han Ji-sung, seated in the passenger’s seat, turned back and spoke.

“I’ll take you to the office.”

Seok-won answered with a slight nod.
As the car moved, I leaned back against the plush leather seat and gazed at the scenery flowing past the window, recalling what Minister Choi Jin-woo had told me at the Korean restaurant.

‘I never thought the Blue House would be unaware of my support for Governor Kim Jae-chun and the New Era National Conference, but I didn’t expect a warning quite like this.’

But it didn’t matter.
Following Minister Choi Jin-woo’s advice, I should be cautious since it was still living power, but soon an enormous tsunami would come crashing down, leaving me no energy to worry about such things.

‘The moment the IMF crisis hits, the current government will fall into a lame duck state. It only has two or three months of vitality left at most.’

More pressing was whether the Blue House and the Ministry of Finance and Economy would move quickly upon hearing the information I’d subtly leaked, and whether they could prevent the three major rating agencies from downgrading the credit rating.
If they succeeded, while it would be difficult to completely avoid the IMF crisis, they could at least reduce the damage somewhat.
If the sovereign credit rating were downgraded starting with S&P next month as history originally unfolded, that would be the moment we boarded the IMF express train.

“I’ve given them a hint, so they’ll find some way to respond… though it might already be too late for that.”

The wounds already festering on the body had become so infected that there was no way to touch them without lancing them open, and the storm approaching from outside was equally fierce and savage—far beyond what Korea alone could weather.
Seok-won, sensing the darkness that lay ahead, swallowed a sigh deep within his chest.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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