[KOSPI: 373.73 (▼29.43)]
“The circuit breaker just triggered!”
At Yoo Seok-hyun’s shout, Jung Hwan-yeop, who had been seated, turned his gaze toward the large market status board displaying the KOSPI index and spoke.
“This drop is brutal.”
“No kidding.”
Choi Ho-geun, standing with both hands on his hips, turned his head toward Hong Jae-hee and asked:
“What’s the exchange rate?”
Hong Jae-hee checked her mon...
Hannam-dong, Seoul.
Late at night, Chairman Park Tae-hong had called his two sons to the main family house after hearing the news that Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Lee Eun-hyung would be holding an emergency press conference. Together, they watched the live broadcast in the study.
[…An initial inflow of 5.5 billion dollars will be made available through the IMF’s liquidity support funds, with further assistance and its conditions to be deci...
October 7, 1997
[KOSPI: 427.98 (▼13.42)]
The KOSPI, which had appeared to find a bottom and was showing signs of rebounding over the past few days, took another sharp dive. Jung Hwan-yeop shook his head in dismay.
“I had a sliver of hope, but yep—it was just a dead cat bounce.”
Trying to quickly adapt to the team and pull her weight, Noh Hee-won—who had been diligently studying the stock market lately—leaned over to Hon...
[Donghae Group, Drowning in Debt Due to Reckless Management and Aggressive Mergers & Acquisitions]
The Seoul District Court has approved the debt workout application of Donghae Group, best known for its flagship brand, “XX Cooking Oil.”
With this decision, all debt repayments for eleven Donghae Group subsidiaries—including the parent company Donghae Oil, Donghae Peregrine Securities, Donghae Peregrine Investment Trust Management, and Donghae Mutual Cre...
September 29, 1997.
As autumn rain drizzled steadily outside the window, the atmosphere inside the spacious presidential office, with its dark carpet, was heavy and tense.
“So, you're saying that U.S. Treasury Secretary Frank called you and offered to arrange a meeting with the IMF Managing Director, who's currently touring Southeast Asia?”
At President Kim Sung-gyu’s question from the head of the table, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Le...
The next day.
As soon as the foreign exchange market opened, a torrent of massive sell orders for the won flooded in, and the won-dollar exchange rate instantly surged past the 1,000-won mark again.
The efforts of the government and the Bank of Korea to pour out their foreign reserves and drag the rate back down had all been for nothing—it was as if none of it had ever happened.
Phones were ringing off the hook from every direction, and traders were sho...
September 18, 1997.
In a small conference room inside Japan's Ministry of Finance building located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Deputy Minister Shin Seung-ki and four other officials from South Korea’s Ministry of Finance and Economy sat in a row on one side of a long table, visibly tense.
Rolling up his sleeves, Deputy Minister Shin checked his wristwatch, then reached for the teacup in front of him and took a sip of green tea, perhaps to ease his parched throat.
September 15, 1997.
It was the Chuseok holiday, so Seok-won was staying home. With an ice-filled glass of whiskey in one hand, he stood in front of the large living room window, gazing at the night view while talking on the phone with Landon in New York.
[Did you see the headline about Korea in today’s Bloomberg report?]
“You mean the one that said, Leave Seoul immediately?”
[So you did see it.]
“It claimed that non-performing lo...
2025-08-30 14:44:32 +0000 UTC View PostFriday, September 12, 1997.
It was the day before the Chuseok holiday. Normally, it would be a time when people looked forward to going back to their hometowns to reunite with family and relatives. But this year was different.
Due to a wave of bankruptcies that had been unfolding since the beginning of the year, the country was flooded with unemployed people who had suddenly lost their jobs. The stock market had collapsed, wiping out investments and leaving coun...
Thanks to Seok-won’s advice and the group’s early preparation, Daeheung Group managed to weather the crisis well. But most companies were struggling like sailboats caught in a raging storm, barely making it through each day.
Donghae Group was no exception. They had overreached by attempting a hostile takeover of Mido Department Store, and after the deal fell through, they had recklessly taken on foreign debt to clean up the aftermath—only to find themselves shackled by it.
Chairman Park Tae-hong's eyes flew wide open in shock, prompting Chief Secretary Gil Sung-ho, standing beside him, to call out urgently.
“Chairman! What’s the matter?”
“Are you alright?”
President Park Jin-hyung, the eldest son, and Executive Director Cho Yoon-won also looked at Chairman Park with concerned expressions.
“Whew…”
Chairman Park, who had even forgotten to breathe, finally let out a deflating breath and slowly lifted his head.
...
The next day, with the won-dollar exchange rate still hovering above 1,000 won per dollar and the foreign exchange market in extreme turmoil, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Lee Eun-hyung and Bank of Korea Governor Noh Kang-woong were summoned to the Blue House by the President.
Outside the large window on one side of the office, dark, ominous clouds hung thick in the sky, reflecting the tense atmosphere surrounding the nation.
President Kim Sung-gyu, seated at the ce...
September 8, 1997.
Early morning.
While most people were just waking up, Na Un-hak—now in his fourth year as a foreign exchange trader—arrived early at the headquarters in Euljiro 2-ga.
"Korea Exchange Bank: Making Customers’ Dreams Come True."
Passing through the lobby where this year’s company slogan hung in large letters, he took the elevator up to the fourth floor and stepped onto the trading floor. The staff who had arrived before him greeted ...
September 3, 1997, Gwacheon Government Complex.
In the office of the Minister of Finance and Economy, Vice Prime Minister of Economy Lee Eun-hyung sat on the sofa, flanked by Vice Minister Shin Seung-gi and Financial Policy Director Jung Ji-hoon on either side.
The atmosphere in the room was heavy, reflecting the worsening situation in the foreign exchange market—contrary to their hopes.
Lee Eun-hyung ground out his half-smoked cigarette in a crystal as...
September 1, 1997
The morning chatter of sparrows perched on the branches of the cherry blossom tree in the garden stirred Chairman Park Tae-hong from his sleep.
Still dressed in his pajamas, Park Tae-hong propped himself up and glanced at the clock on the nightstand beside his bed. It had just passed 6 a.m.
He threw off the sheets, got out of bed, and shuffled toward the bathroom in his slippers.
A few minutes later, after a light wash, he emerged...
As soon as Deputy Secretary Liu Shangfu saw Seok-won, he stood up. Wang Yongwei greeted him with a cheerful smile.
“Ah, I see you arrived before us.”
Liu glanced briefly at Seok-won before turning away and replying coolly, “The earlier meeting wrapped up sooner than expected, so I got here a bit early.”
Naturally, the exchange was in Chinese.
Wang, mindful that Seok-won didn’t speak the language, smoothly brought him into the conversation so he wouldn't f...
The Gulfstream IV private jet touched down smoothly and taxied slowly along the tarmac until it came to a stop at a designated apron area on one side of the expansive airport.
Moments later, the airstairs descended, and Seok-won emerged from the aircraft, dressed casually in an open-collar shirt accentuated by a blue silk handkerchief. He was accompanied by his executive assistant, Han Ji-sung.
Awaiting them was a stout middle-aged man in his mid-forties, flanked by two subordin...
August 19, 1997.
Yoon Ki-hoon, an executive at Daehung Investment, had lunch with the president of a company he had invested in and returned to the office.
After taking off his jacket and hanging it on the coat rack, he sat down in a plush chair, leaned back, and closed his eyes for a moment, feeling the drowsiness from the meal.
Just as he was about to fall asleep, a knock sounded from outside.
"Oh. What's going on?"
Yoon Ki-hoon opened his...
August 14, 1997.
Dark clouds hung heavily over the slopes of Inwang Mountain outside the window, making it seem like rain could pour down at any moment.
Sitting on the leather sofa in the spacious office with plush carpeting, President Kim Seong-gyu spoke with an expression of discomfort.
"So, are you saying that you won't extend the grace period for Gi-chang Group's debt moratorium, which ends next week, and will let it expire as scheduled?"
Minis...
August 11, 1997.
After a weekend break, Seok-won returned to the office and sat with one leg crossed on the plush leather sofa in his CEO suite, watching CNN's satellite broadcast on the large TV across from him.
On the big screen, Henry Woo, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, appeared, passionately addressing reporters with an impassioned expression.
"Our Hong Kong government has successfully defended against the massive ...
As the sun rose outside and the dim light of dawn broke through, Seok-won, who had stayed up all night, sat at his desk in front of several monitors.
[HKD: 7.80 (▼0.12)]
The fierce battle over the Hong Kong dollar exchange rate, where both sides had poured in astronomical sums without yielding an inch, had finally come to an end.
There had been several perilous moments when the exchange rate band was on the verge of breaking under the relentless assault...
As soon as the New York forex market opened, Quantum Fund went all in, dumping massive blocks of Hong Kong dollars like it was determined to end the battle tonight.
“Jesus! Quantum’s already sold over a billion dollars’ worth of Hong Kong dollars just in New York!”
“They were unloading like crazy in London, too.”
“Add what they dumped in Tokyo and Hong Kong, and they’ve offloaded more than four billion dollars today alone.”
“Holy shit!”
"Bought 20 at 7.85!"
"Okay. Done!"
"Goldman just put out a sell order for 50 at 7.87."
"Damn it. Buy them up, now!"
"Order filled."
"Lehman just listed 60 for sale at 7.87!"
At the frontlines of defending the Hong Kong dollar, the trading center of the foreign exchange reserves hadn’t gone dark for a single day since the speculative attack began. It was running 24/7 without a moment's pause.
As the relentless wave of Hong Kong dollar dumping ...
Central and Western District, Hong Kong — August 6, 1997.
“We've been releasing dollars to barely maintain the upper limit of the currency band, but the offensive is so fierce… honestly, I can't guarantee how much longer we can hold out.”
Jo-gang, the Director of the Foreign Reserves Bureau, looked noticeably gaunt after a month of battling against speculative attacks. His grim report caused the others gathered on the sofas to let out heavy sighs, their ...
August 5, 1997 — Wall Street, New York.
More than a month had passed since hedge funds began their assault on the Hong Kong dollar. As George Soros arrived at Quantum Fund's headquarters on 7th Avenue in Manhattan, he summoned Rodney, the CIO, and Ian, the chief manager, into his office.
The three men gathered around the leather sofa at the back of the room. Sitting at the head of the group, George Soros began speaking in a slightly subdued tone.
"There...
The Next Morning
As usual, Seok-won arrived at the office and sat down at his desk. In front of him lay a report from Goldman Sachs about Korea, faxed the night before by Landon from New York.
Though only about twenty pages long, the report’s contents were anything but light.
Its implications were grave. The moment Seok-won began reading, his face hardened—because what lay within had the potential to become the very trigger that would push Korea, already teetering ...
A few days later.
Seok-won was touring an electronics factory in Bupyeong Industrial Complex, Incheon, accompanied by his executive assistant Han Ji-sung, and guided by Ahn Byung-seok, CEO of Digital Wave.
“This is the factory where we signed the OEM production contract for New Wave,” said Seok-won as he looked around, the loud hum of machinery filling the air.
“It’s larger than I expected,” he remarked.
“We needed a facility with solid infrastructure t...
By the afternoon, the New York stock market had completely turned into a bear market, with panic selling pouring in from all directions.
RING! RING!
“Sell 2,000 shares of Microsoft? I’ll put the order in, but with the market this bad, I can’t guarantee it’ll sell at that price!”
“Let’s sell 3,000 shares of AT&T at $22.30!”
“What? Say that again!”
“Sell 3,000 shares of AT&T at $22.30!”
“ExxonM...
July 14, 1997.
Dressed in a roomy shirt and thin cotton pants, Seok-won opened the fridge, took out a round ice cube, and dropped it into an old-fashioned glass.
He then selected his favorite bottle of Johnny Walker Pure Malt 15-Year-Old from the display, poured it into the glass, and checked the Rolex on his wrist. It was just past 9 PM.
With an old-fashioned glass in one hand, Seok-won left the kitchen and walked across the spacious living room toward t...
Quantum Fund Headquarters, 7th Avenue, Manhattan, New York.
In the spacious office, George Soros sat in the center of a large sofa, flanked by Rodney, the CIO, and Ian, the Chief Manager. The three were engaged in conversation.
“I thought they’d focus all their energy on defending the currency, but now they’re propping up the stock market too. Looks like they underestimated us,” George Soros’s voice was low and steady.
Rodney, glancing cautiousl...