Chapter 329 Protest

   Sit and wait!

   This is the true portrayal of Park Hee Rae's current environment. If the Bank of Korea had such a little independence in its monetary policy and actual operations before, it is now rumored in the market that even the only independence of intervening in the foreign exchange market will soon be removed.

   It is rumored that the South Korean government is about to announce a series of measures to boost the current investor confidence and improve the financial environment. These measures include write-off of bad debts, mergers and acquisitions of financial institutions, introduction of more foreign funds to stabilize the Korean won, etc.

   It should be said that these measures or the provisions of the bill will undoubtedly greatly inspire the Korean economy, which is already suffering from a severe situation, and it is also possible that South Korea will tide over the difficulties. At least on the bright side, no one with a little common sense and foresight will reject the passage of these clauses and bills.

  But Park Hee Lai didn't think so. Not only did he not think so, but he also hated the original intention of these bills deep down in his heart.

  There is no other reason, it is because these bills have seriously damaged the independent status of the Bank of Korea!

Before the end of the 1980s, the entire Bank of Korea was the government's attachment and puppet. Later, with the gradual opening of the economy and the growth of exports, the role of the Bank of Korea in regulating the balance of international trade became more and more important. In this situation Under pressure from a strong trade surplus and international trading partners, the South Korean government was forced to gradually open up the currency market while strengthening the independence of the Bank of Korea. In the generation of Park Hee-rae, although the Bank of Korea is still under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance of South Korea, the candidate for the president is no longer concurrently held by the Minister of Finance. At the same time, the implementation of various policies only needs to be filed with the Ministry of Finance of South Korea. It can be said that, except that it has not really been divided into a department, the Bank of Korea has already had a preliminary independent prototype.

   But now, it is rumored that the terms and bills requested by the South Korean government not only did not expand the authority of the Bank of Korea, but instead contracted this hard-won power, which made the ambitious Park Hee-rae unbearable.

In fact, the entire Bank of Korea is undercurrents at this time, and most of the staff are in panic all day long, thinking that the Bank of Korea will lose its independence again, and they will be under the jurisdiction of the government again. Although they are also civil servants, the Central Bank It is not easy to lay off staff, and government departments have no scruples in this regard.

  The situation is very critical!

"Go well, don't send off!" After seeing off another visitor, Park Xilai was exhausted physically and mentally, and slumped on the sofa chair in the conference room, frowning and staring blankly at the calligraphy and painting on the opposite wall. Huaxia's landscape paintings outline the distant landscape with a few strokes, and under the thick ink and colors nearby, an old man in ancient clothes is stumbling forward alone with a stick. Although the painting is not far-reaching, the charm is is full.

  Pu Xilai felt like that old man, walking alone in the jungle of power, and if he was not careful, he would be smashed to pieces.

The people who came to visit him in the past two days include members of the Korean National Assembly and colleagues from abroad. These people either persuaded him to support the government's bills, or asked him to oppose these bills. . At this time, Park Xilai was indecisive, in a dilemma.

  If you want to maintain the independence of the central bank and choose to oppose this bill, I am afraid that you will have to stop intervening in the foreign exchange market. Some people have already blown the relevant wind to him. Because the intervention in the foreign exchange market consumes too much money, it is almost approaching the red line required by the International Monetary Fund to maintain US dollar foreign exchange reserves for three months. If you choose to lose your independence, Although these clauses were ignored, the status he and a group of his men had finally insisted on was easily lost.

   "President, are you thinking about what we should do?" In a daze, Xu Youtian walked in quietly. As soon as he saw Park Xilai's appearance, he knew what the president was worried about.

As Park Xilai's most loyal subordinate, Xu Youtian didn't only rely on nepotism and flattery to get into the position, he was very shrewd, knew how to guess Shangfeng's mind, and knew how to distinguish between the important and the important. A master's degree in economics is indeed a rare "talent"!

After hearing the words, Park Xilai lazily opened his eyes and found that it was his winning horse. He frowned and closed his eyes, and said weakly: "Yeah, I still felt helpless before, but now I have a choice and it's still a dilemma." The situation is really a headache!"

Xu Youtian walked quickly in front of Park Xilai, first sighed, looked at Park Xilai's expression, there was no change in the slightest, and said boldly: "President, in fact, we only have one way to choose, there is no other way at all. possibility."

"what?"

Park Xilai, who was still lazy at first, woke up suddenly, sat up straight suddenly, stared at Xu Youtian in a daze, and asked in a deep voice: "What are you talking about? What are you talking about?" Choice? Say, what the **** do you know?"

Facing Park Xilai's gaze, Xu Youtian was obviously a little flustered, subconsciously avoided Park Xilai's gaze, and said falteringly: "President, in fact, all the employees in the bank are aware of the predicament you are in now, but Due to the limited level, we can't play a big role. But I want to ask you, if you choose to support the government's opinion, even if the independence is damaged, will the international currency speculators not attack the Korean won? "

  He was a little hesitant when he spoke at first, but the more he spoke, the more confident he became, and even at the end, he was already a little stern.

"yes!"

Park Xilai's face turned blue and white, and it changed for a long time. He suddenly stood up, and after walking back and forth in the meeting room for a few times, he suddenly clapped his hands and shouted: "Even if we, the Bank of Korea, do our best to rescue , I’m afraid it won’t last long. The foreign exchange market will not be closed for a while, this is a basic national policy.”

Since the international trade balance needs to balance the accounts, the opening of the foreign exchange market has become inevitable. The focus of the problem now is not that the Bank of Korea needs to support or oppose the government's bills, but that even if these bills can be passed, the international speculative funds Still won't give up on the South Korean currency anytime soon.

   The arrow is on the string, I have to send it! We must know that international speculative funds have built a lot of short positions in Korean won during this period. If they withdraw at this time, coupled with the support of the Bank of Korea and their buying and covering positions, it will be no wonder that they will not lose money!

  Xu Youtian’s logic is: Since choosing to lose independence will not keep the Korean won, it is better to maintain independence and choose to give up the open operation of the foreign exchange market!

   I have to say that his words hit Park Hee Lai's vitals, making Park Hee Lai, who was in the midst of the situation and surrounded by fog, suddenly see another world.

"That's right!" Xu Youtian struck while the iron was hot, "Also, President, it doesn't matter if you make a decision, but you must not chill the hearts of the people below. You must know that most of them now rely on your breath to survive, and these people strongly support you. If If you choose a bill that loses independence, then they will definitely be chilled, and they may do things in a way that is obedient to others, and then you will be completely excluded!"

This time, Park Hee Lai didn't react too radically, instead he stopped, looked at Xu Youtian meaningfully, and after pondering for a moment, he suddenly said: "Yes, I am not fighting alone now, I have to take care of the people below. Those who follow me!"

   This sentence was spoken abruptly, as if speaking to Xu Youtian, but also as if talking to himself.

Xu Youtian, who has long been familiar with Park Xilai's psychology, didn't understand, and immediately nodded in agreement, and said: "The president is still wise, knowing that the people under us usually work hard to support their families. If it weren't for this stable job and meager income Salary, I don’t know what we are all messing up now!”

   "It's just that I'm in this position, so it's really not easy to offend people!" After being silent for a long time, Park Xilai suddenly said another inexplicable sentence.

Xu Youtian, who had already understood Park Xilai's choice, immediately understood, patted his chest and said, "Mr. They are quietly plotting to go to the Blue House (Presidential Office) to demonstrate and fully express their dissatisfaction!"

"It's so big?" Park Xilai's face changed, but it didn't take long before he laughed again, "Hey, even as the president of the Bank of Korea, I don't have the right to prevent others from expressing their opinions. The constitution grants us the rights of citizens!"

After he finished speaking, he thought about it again, and then waved his hand unsatisfactorily, and added: "Since we are going, it can't just be the staff of our central bank. , it couldn't be better."

   "Understood!" Xu Youtian lowered his head, with a faint smile on his face, facing Park Xilai and slowly exited the meeting room.

  Pu Xilai was very satisfied. The dilemma that had entangled him for several days was so easily solved, which made him feel relieved. No, not relieved, but really let go of a heavy burden.

   It's just that he didn't expect that Xu Youtian, who was respectful in front of him, changed his face soon after he went out. Taking advantage of the spare time in the bathroom, Xu Youtian quietly walked to an empty corner, dialed a certain number, and said in fluent English: "The matter has been settled, please quickly transfer the remaining cash to my Swiss bank account !"

  That number, if anyone is able to see it, they will find out that it is an American number. If they can continue to trace it, they will find that it is a phone number registered in New York.

  After hanging up the phone, Xu Youtian thought about it again, and then dialed a Hong Kong number.

  …

   On November 14, the Asian currency market was flat, and the exchange rates of various currencies fluctuated little. The Bank of Korea sold the U.S. dollar at a price of 987 after the opening of the market, and made the Korean won finally freeze at this position.

   On this day, small-scale protests broke out in South Korea. Originally, this kind of protest broke out once in three days in South Korea, and a small one broke out every day. It is no longer news, but this time is unusual because the identity of the protester is an employee of the Bank of Korea (central bank).

More than 2,000 employees of the Bank of Korea and two employees of the financial industry supervision department took to the streets on this day to protest the government's upcoming financial reform bill submitted to Congress. The reason for the protest is that the bill severely limits the scope of the central bank's operations , harming its already limited independence.

   Witnesses told the media that during the protests, dozens of employees of the Bank of Korea even tried to break into the Congress, but they were naturally detained by the security police.

A demonstrator at the scene said: "These vicious plans will deprive the Bank of Korea of ​​its independence and turn the Ministry of Economy and Finance, which has unlimited power, into an uncontrollable department. Possibly coerced by the department. For the sake of the citizens and the future of the Republic of Korea, they have to stand up and defend the interests of this country."

The most astonishing thing was that a middle-aged male demonstrator with a bandage on his head, a steel knife in his hand, and tears all over his face appeared at the scene. He committed suicide in the stomach, but was rescued by the quick-sighted police and other demonstrators. Although he didn't really commit suicide by breaking his abdomen, this scene was faithfully captured by the TV!

   Thanks to book friend Huang Tianlong for voting for monthly support!

  

  

  (end of this chapter)