[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.”
...
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 b...
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,...
[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, a...
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 me...
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 the...
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, visib...
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 ...
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 ...
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 attem...
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 a...
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.
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 t...
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 ...
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 nightstan...
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, ...
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...
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 cl...
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 ex...
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 ...
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 astr...
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 w...
"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 fo...
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 Direct...
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,...
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.
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 Wa...
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 guarante...
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 ...
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 ...