"Take care."
With his wife seeing him off at the door, Oh Chang-il, a department manager in his 8th year at Hanseong Bank, stepped outside.
After walking for about ten minutes along a sloping road lined with various multi-family homes, he arrived at the subway station.
The spacious platform was already packed with office workers and students trying to get to work.
Oh Chang-il queued up and barely managed to squeeze into the second arriving train.
It was the morning rush hour, and standing amidst the crush of people packed in like sardines made it feel hard to breathe.
At least it was winter—tolerable. In summer, the combined body heat and sweat turned the place into a furnace. A true hell on rails.
After four stations, a group of students got off, finally allowing a little room to breathe.
Manager Oh moved closer to the window side and grabbed a handrail for support.
Going through this every morning drained him before the day had even begun. His shoulders
slumped from exhaustion.
As he sighed, his eyes fell—almost unconsciously—on the newspaper held by a businessman in his late thirties sitting in front of him.
[Mass Layoffs Announced for Failing Financial Institutions]
Oh Chang-il couldn't take his eyes off the bold headline printed in large type.
Until recently, Korea hadn't known such a thing as layoffs.
Once someone graduated and joined a company, it was expected they'd stay until retirement. That was the norm.
But the financial crisis had changed everything.
At the demand of the IMF, policies like financial sector reform, legalizing layoffs, and introducing temporary worker dispatch laws had been implemented.
News of this had shaken not only Oh Chang-il but every employee in the banking industry.
At first, people thought, No way. But once the layoff law passed the National Assembly, the fear of losing one's job became very real.
Hanseong Bank, where Oh worked, was already in a tense state due to its merger with Ilhan Bank brought on by the crisis.
Now with rumors of layoffs circulating, it was harder than ever to concentrate on work.
There were whispers that a layoff list had already been created and that the number of people to be let go would run into the thousands. Everyone was secretly anxious they might be on it.
Each time those rumors reached his ears, Oh Chang-il felt a cold chill of anxiety inside.
He hadn't even finished paying off the mortgage on their apartment, and with the economy in
such bad shape, finding a new job wouldn't be easy. If he really did get laid off… he had no idea what he'd do.
He thought of his wife's bright, innocent face as she had waved him off, unaware of any of this—
and a heavy sigh escaped his lips.
Sigh…
Just then, the subway arrived at his destination, Euljiro Station.
Grabbing his briefcase, he stepped off before the doors closed.
He exited the station at a brisk pace and headed up to the corporate headquarters, where he
worked in the Personal Loan Screening Department.
It was just past 8:10 a.m., but most of the staff had already arrived.
"Good morning, sir."
"Good morning."
Nodding back at the greeting, Oh Chang-il made his way to his desk, set his briefcase down, and removed both his coat and jacket, hanging them on the rack behind him.
As he sat down, a voice called out from over the partition wall. It was Deputy Manager Hwang Ju-hyung, with thick eyebrows and a slightly receding hairline.
"Sir, did you hear the news?"
"What news?"
Oh responded half-heartedly while opening the document file he'd been working on yesterday.
"They say the branches in Hyochang-dong and Sinsa-dong are closing."
Oh Chang-il paused, then slowly looked up at Deputy Manager Hwang.
"Is that true?"
Catching his gaze, Hwang nodded.
"Yeah. I had drinks with some of my intake buddies yesterday. One of them's in the Planning Office. He said it's happening."
"I see…"
Oh Chang-il let out a low hum.
He had worked at the Hyochang-dong branch for two years as a junior employee. It was one of Hanseong Bank's oldest and most prestigious branches.
It always ranked among the top 30 in performance. The idea of such a branch being shut down was shocking.
"What reason did they give?"
Suppressing his shock, Oh Chang-il asked for the reason behind the closures, and Deputy Manager Hwang Ju-hyung answered right away.
"Both of those branches are near Ilhan Bank branches—the ones we're merging with. There's no need to run two locations in the same area, so they're consolidating all the overlapping branches."
"I see… so that's how it is."
Manager Oh understood the necessity of eliminating redundant branches for efficient
management—it was something he had anticipated to some extent.
But now that the closures were actually beginning, he felt a tight, choking sensation inside, as if something was stuck in his chest.
"Both of our branches are larger and in better locations than the Ilhan ones. Shouldn't they be the ones to close?"
Deputy Manager Hwang pursed his lips and grumbled in frustration.
Oh Chang-il felt the same, but as a mid-level manager, he couldn't very well complain about
upper management, so he gave a vague, noncommittal reply.
"I'm sure the higher-ups have their reasons."
"Well, the thing is…"
Hwang looked around carefully, then lowered his voice.
"There's a rumor they're going to lay off over 5,000 people before Christmas. If this is
happening, maybe that rumor's true."
"Don't talk nonsense. Just get back to work."
Oh Chang-il frowned and cut him off.
"Did you finish the proposal I told you to have ready yesterday? Bring it to me before lunch."
"A-a-almost finished, sir!"
Hwang quickly replied and ducked back below the partition.
Seeing that, Oh clicked his tongue and turned back to the documents spread on his desk.
But no matter how hard he tried, the words wouldn't sink in. His mind was still tangled in
thoughts about the layoffs.
They said everyone with five years or more experience would be considered. Even if they started with the underperformers, laying off 5,000 people meant he could easily be on that list, too.
The anxiety just wouldn't go away.
Sigh…
Eventually, Oh let out a quiet sigh and closed the file folder.
He thought about heading to the break room for a smoke, but then he remembered the morning briefing was about to start, so he just sat there, smacking his lips in frustration.
Just then, Department Head Im Su-ho entered the office, a slight belly sticking out and a bright expression as if something good had happened yesterday.
Rather than heading straight to his desk, he clapped his hands twice in the middle of the room.
Clap! Clap!
"Alright, everyone! Attention, please!"
The staff, including Oh Chang-il, looked up from their desks.
Raising his voice slightly, Im Su-ho continued.
"You all know that the layoff legislation passed in the National Assembly, right?"
"…Yes."
"Yes, sir."
As soon as Department Head Im Su-ho uttered the word "layoffs"—a term people had been
avoiding—all the employees looked as if the inevitable had finally arrived.
The atmosphere in the office grew heavy in an instant, but Im Su-ho continued speaking, unfazed.
"You're probably all worried your name might show up on the list. I was, too."
If layoffs were to happen, those most at risk were the senior-level staff who received higher
salaries and weren't union members—like many mid-level managers.
"But now, you can all rest easy. Not a single person in our bank will be laid off."
The employees, who had worn grim expressions just moments ago, now gasped in surprise at the unexpected news and began murmuring among themselves.
Amid the confused chatter, Manager Oh Chang-il stood up and asked,
"Sir… Is that really true?"
"It is."
With a broad smile across his face, Im Su-ho nodded confidently.
Looking around at the team, he explained further.
"I heard it directly from the Executive Director. The Eldorado Fund, which took over
management, promised to maintain 100% of our current staff—no layoffs. Instead, they'll be
reassigning surplus staff and providing training for new roles."
Although there would be transfers and training involved, the employees were overjoyed just
knowing they wouldn't be forced to leave the company during such a difficult time.
"I've been so worried about getting fired—now I can finally breathe."
"Same here. I couldn't even talk to my wife about it. I've been quietly suffering this whole time."
"I thought an American fund would be ruthless, but I guess I was wrong."
"Thank goodness…"
Seeing the relieved and cheerful faces of his colleagues, Department Head Im Su-ho smiled
warmly and added generously,
"The notice will be posted by this morning at the latest. So just keep calm and get back to work!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Got it!"
With faces full of relief, the employees responded with renewed energy.
Im Su-ho, now visibly more relaxed himself, gave them one last smile and headed into his private office.
The employees—who had been living in quiet dread over the looming threat of layoffs—now
chatted animatedly, thrilled by the sudden good news.
Oh Chang-il also felt the weight in his chest lift entirely.
'I'll bring home some fried chicken—my wife's favorite—after work today.'
Feeling genuinely uplifted, he found himself humming softly as he returned to his tasks with a much lighter heart.
Just as Im Su-ho had said, an official announcement was posted on the company bulletin board and sent to all branch offices that morning. It confirmed the 100% employment retention, along with notices about staff reassignment and training.
Employees not only from Hansung and Ilhan Bank but also from the four other investment firms involved in the merger cheered in celebration at the news.
***
With a knock, Choi Ho-geun entered the room, walked up to the desk, and bowed politely before straightening up.
"You called for me, sir."
"Come in. Please wait just a moment."
Seok-won signed a document with his fountain pen and then rose from his seat, gesturing toward the sofa in the center of the president's office.
"Let's have our talk over there."
"Yes, sir."
As Seok-won stepped around his desk and took the seat at the head of the sofa, Choi Ho-geun
naturally settled into the seat on his right.
"The investment results look quite good."
Choi Ho-geun offered a slight smile as Seok-won crossed one leg and continued.
"Just as you said, the previously surging exchange rate has begun to decline gradually, and now the stock market seems to be looking for a rebound."
"But the exchange rate hasn't fully stabilized yet, and more companies are still going bankrupt. Things will continue to be volatile until the end of the year."
"I agree completely."
"Still, starting next year, the market will likely bottom out and begin recovering. So continue
holding our current positions."
At the optimistic outlook, Choi Ho-geun's eyes lit up as he asked,
"How far up do you think it'll go?"
In response to his expectant gaze, Seok-won smiled softly.
"Since the drop was steep, the rebound will be just as sharp and high. If foreign capital returns, I believe we'll easily break past the previous highs."
"You're saying a major bull market is coming."
"Exactly."
With Seok-won's confident expression, Choi Ho-geun replied with an excited look on his face.
"Hearing that from you, sir, makes me eager to see how high the market can go."
Seeing how elated he looked, Seok-won thought to himself, "He really is a true stock guy." Then he spoke.
"I called you here despite your busy schedule because there's a stock I want to add to our buy
portfolio."
"What stock is it?"
"Modunet."