August 23, 2001, 10:31 a.m.
Wearing a black suit, Bank of Korea Governor Gwak Youngjun entered his office with a visibly flushed expression.
Inside the spacious room were not only Bank of Korea officials, but also around twenty reporters from domestic and international media outlets, filling the space to capacity.
In front of a specially prepared round beige table, lights that had been set up in advance and cameras mounted on tripods were packed tightly together.
Taking a small breath in and then out to steady himself, Governor Gwak sat down in the chair his secretary pulled out for him.
At that moment, the title on the approval document placed before him burned itself into his eyes.
[Final Repayment of Outstanding IMF Credit]
This was the occasion marking the final repayment of the remaining IMF loan balance.
As he reflected on the fact that Korea was now graduating from the IMF regime, an ordeal that had left deep scars on the nation and was remembered as the greatest economic crisis since the country's founding, Governor Gwak was overcome with emotion.
"…Hoo."
He struggled to suppress the surge of feeling and maintain his composure.
Looking ahead, he saw Bank of Korea staff standing behind the reporters, their faces likewise filled with emotion.
Some even had tears welling up in their eyes, looking as though they might start crying at any moment.
After calming his breathing, Governor Gwak picked up the domestically produced fountain pen he had prepared.
The instant he signed his name on the approval line of the document laid out before him, camera flashes surged all at once like a crashing wave.
Flash!
The sudden financial crisis and economic turmoil that had struck at the end of 1997, followed by years of despair and hardship, had weighed heavily on the people.
All those efforts, including the nationwide gold-collection campaign that citizens had voluntarily undertaken to overcome the national crisis, were now becoming part of history.
Rising from his seat, Governor Gwak lifted the approval folder and held it forward so it could be clearly seen, then opened his mouth with a trembling voice.
"We have now fully repaid the IMF bailout. Given the immense pain we were forced to endure, this kind of suffering must never be repeated. And… to all the citizens who have endured these difficult times, I sincerely thank you for your perseverance."
The moment he finished his final words, a thunderous wave of camera shutters filled the room once again.
"Woooo!"
Clap, clap, clap!!
The reporters who had been snapping photos nonstop, and even the staff members who had been watching from behind, all burst into cheers as one.
As applause erupted without anyone needing to prompt it, Governor Gwak Youngjun finally felt his eyes grow moist.
After the signing ceremony, where tears and joy had mingled together, came to an end.
In one corner of the International Organizations Team office within the International Cooperation Department on the fifth floor of the Bank of Korea annex, a crowd had gathered.
Tap, tap.
Behind the employee typing at the keyboard, the team leader and several senior staff clustered together, staring intently at the text appearing on the monitor.
Their eyes were wide with intensity, as if they would not tolerate even a single typo. Under that pressure, the employee doing the typing felt cold sweat trickle down his back.
After pushing through the tension and finally finishing the document, the employee turned his head while still seated, his face showing clear relief.
"I've finished drafting it."
At that, the middle-aged man with the highest rank adjusted his glasses and spoke.
"This is an important document. There can be no mistakes. Check it once more."
"Yes."
Though the scrutiny might have seemed excessive, no one voiced any complaints.
The employee carefully reviewed the text again, line by line, then nodded.
"There are no issues."
The middle-aged man spoke in a tense voice.
"Then send the document."
"Yes."
Answering briefly, the employee pressed the Enter key with slightly trembling fingers.
At once, the telex machine installed beside the computer roared to life, noisily printing out the transmitted document.
Bzzzz—krrrk!
[We are pleased to inform you that the outstanding loan balance of 140 million dollars has been remitted to the central bank accounts designated by the IMF in Germany, France, Greece, Ireland, and Kuwait. The fund transfer has been…]
This was the official notification to the IMF and the five recipient central banks that the Bank of Korea had sent the final repayment.
When the telex finished printing the last line and fell silent, the employee pulled out the paper and handed it to the middle-aged man who had been waiting anxiously behind him.
Carefully checking each printed line for errors, the man let out a quiet sigh of relief once he was satisfied, then murmured with a face full of mixed emotions.
"So it's finally over."
On the night of the 23rd and into the early hours of the 24th, Korea time, the 140 million dollars that had been deposited in the Bank of Korea's account at Banker's Trust Company in New York was withdrawn and converted into euros through the Hong Kong and Singapore foreign exchange markets.
Those euros were then remitted to four European central banks, while the remaining balance owed to the Central Bank of Kuwait was repaid in U.S. dollars.
***
As the summer heat finally began to ease.
In the garden of the Hannam-dong estate, filled with blooming sunflowers, a family of cats had claimed a parasol table beneath the shade of a tree as if it were their own home, lazily sprawling about.
"Meow."
A cheese-colored kitten perked up its ears and swiped a paw at a butterfly fluttering past.
Thwack!
"Yow!"
The mother cat, accidentally struck in the face, hissed angrily, causing the cheese kitten to jump in fright and hide behind its sibling, who was busily licking its fur.
"Meow! Mrrrow!"
The mother scolded them, thumping the table with her tail, while the cheese kitten protested indignantly with repeated meows. In an instant, the once-quiet garden grew noisy.
"Heh heh. Looks like the family's having a good time."
Chairman Park Tae-hong, who had been watching the cats in the garden through the living room's floor-to-ceiling glass windows, smiled with quiet satisfaction.
If he had opened the window even slightly, he would have heard the mother cat and the cheese-colored kitten hissing and squabbling at each other, but unfortunately, the soundproofing was simply too good.
Casting one last warm glance at the cheese kitten throwing clumsy paw punches and the mother cat trying to pin it down by sheer size, Chairman Park Tae-hong turned and headed for his study.
As he opened the door and stepped inside, the first things that greeted him were the sunlight pouring in through the large window opposite him and the gentle, familiar scent of books.
Towering, antique bookshelves reaching all the way to the ceiling were packed with leather-bound volumes, hardcovers, and well-worn books bearing the marks of time. A plush carpet covered the floor.
Together with a reception set imported from Europe, the space exuded an atmosphere that was both luxurious and refined.
If asked to name his favorite place in the mansion, Chairman Park Tae-hong would not hesitate to say it was the study.
After inheriting the group, he had gone to work early every morning without fail, but it had been quite some time now since he stepped back from the front lines of management.
These days, he had entrusted almost all of the group's operations to his eldest son, Vice Chairman Park Jin-hyung, handling only major decisions and external affairs himself.
At first, staying home instead of going to the office had felt awkward, but he had now fully adjusted to his new routine.
More importantly, contrary to his initial worries, his eldest son was leading the group far better than he had expected, allowing him to delegate management with peace of mind.
Chairman Park Tae-hong ran his hand over the large mahogany desk, its surface polished smooth by the passage of years, then took a seat.
On the desk, a silver paper knife and fountain pen set gleamed in the sunlight from inside a wooden case, neatly arranged beside that morning's newspaper.
As his eyesight had gradually declined with age, Chairman Park put on his reading glasses and picked up the paper.
Immediately, a headline printed in bold letters caught his eye.
[IMF Loans Fully Repaid After 3 Years and 8 Months]
With the government repaying the final outstanding balance of 140 million dollars, Korea had fully paid back the 19.5 billion dollars it borrowed from the IMF following the 1997 foreign exchange crisis, in just three years and eight months.
Among the Asian countries that had endured the crisis together, Korea had become the first to graduate from the IMF program.
"Heh… At first, it felt impossible to know whether we could ever stand back up again. But in the end, we really did it."
Watching former President Kim Seong-gyu appear on television and announce, in a live broadcast before the entire nation, that Korea was requesting IMF bailout funds had felt like the sky was falling.
Starting with the Hanse Group, then Daegwang, Iseong, Hansan, and most recently even Hyundai, which had once ranked first among the conglomerates, one illustrious chaebol after another collapsed into bankruptcy. The sight of those giants crumbling so helplessly was a profound shock to Chairman Park Tae-hong.
It wasn't just that. Watching banks themselves topple one after another like sandcastles, unable to withstand the massive burden of bad loans, filled him with despair.
Thanks to the foresight of his second son, Chairman Park and the Daehung Group had barely managed to weather the brutal storm. Even so, no one could be certain whether the Korean economy, which had once surged forward fearlessly as one of the so-called Four Asian Tigers, would truly be able to overcome the ordeal and rise again.
Yet contrary to Chairman Park's grim expectations, Korea overcame the foreign exchange crisis in an astonishingly short period of time, surprising not only other Asian nations but even the IMF itself, which had provided the bailout.
Western countries that had mocked Korea for popping the champagne too early were soon forced to offer praise in the face of this recovery.
Still, knowing that Korea's rapid rebound had only been possible because its people endured immense suffering, including sweeping restructuring and mass layoffs, he couldn't simply celebrate without reservation.
"Hoo…"
Chairman Park Tae-hong set the newspaper down for a moment and lit a cigarette.
Exhaling a long stream of white smoke like a sigh, he muttered to himself,
"We overcame the crisis and got the Korean economy back on its feet, but the sacrifices were far too great."
Though the country had fully repaid its loans and finally escaped the IMF system, healing the deep pain and scars etched across Korean society over those years remained an unresolved task.
As he smoked with a troubled expression, the study door opened with a light knock, and Madam Jo Deok-rye stepped inside.
"Another cigarette?"
As she immediately frowned and covered her nose, Chairman Park quickly stubbed the cigarette out in the crystal ashtray on his desk.
"I just had something on my mind, so I lit one."
"If you're thinking, then just think. Why smoke something that's bad for your health?"
"I concentrate better when I have a cigarette in my mouth."
"Oh please. Always with the excuses."
Madam Jo Deok-rye shot him a look and set down the bowl she had brought in on a tray.
Seeing the dark-colored liquid giving off a musty smell, Chairman Park Tae-hong frowned and grumbled.
"Medicine again?"
"You should be grateful I'm right here making sure you take these tonics. With how much you smoke and drink every day, if it weren't for this, something would've gone wrong with your health a long time ago."
Chairman Park was about to say that he'd always been naturally healthy, but swallowed the words back down, knowing it would only earn him an even longer lecture.
"Come on. Drink it."
"Alright, alright."
Urged along, Chairman Park reluctantly picked up the bowl and gulped down the herbal tonic.
"Ugh. Why is this one so bitter?"
"Don't you know the saying? The more bitter it is, the better it is for you."
"Fine, fine. Just give me the candy you brought."
Part of her wanted to refuse, but he was still her husband. Clicking her tongue, Madam Jo handed him the candy she had prepared.
Only after unwrapping it and popping it into his mouth did the bitterness fade a little, and Chairman Park relaxed his expression.
"That stuff tastes like it'll shorten my lifespan if anything. Hard to believe that's supposed to be medicine."
"You're not young anymore, so really cut back on the cigarettes."
"Got it."
Replying half-heartedly, Chairman Park quickly changed the subject.
"Seok-won is coming to the family gathering this weekend too, right?"
Even though she knew he was deliberately changing the topic to avoid more nagging, Madam Jo let it slide.
"He called to say he won't be able to make it. He has to go abroad."
"Where to this time?"
"He said New York."
Rolling the candy around in his mouth, Chairman Park Tae-hong muttered with a hint of irritation.
"I told him not to skip family gatherings unless it was unavoidable. He missed the last one too, and now he's saying he can't make it again."
"It's not like Seok-won is going on a vacation," Madam Jo Deok-rye snapped back. "He's missing it because of work."
As she scolded him as if telling him not to nitpick, Chairman Park quietly averted his gaze.
"Well, I was just saying."
"Don't pester him when he's busy. Just leave him be."
With a dismissive snort, Madam Jo picked up the empty bowl and left the study.
"He just got back from the States not that long ago. What on earth could be keeping him this busy?"
Feeling slightly hurt, Chairman Park grumbled into the empty air, venting his frustration to no one in particular.