TITLE: Chapter 411
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Oh Hyunjoo, Head of Golden Gate Korea.
She was recently ranked 7th on Time's list of most influential women. Considering that first place went to Jürgens, the IMF Managing Director, second to Meissner, the German Chancellor, and third to Garen, the EU President, it was an incredibly high ranking.
While she was 7th on the list of influential women, she proudly ranked 1st on the list of wealthiest women.
This was because she owned a 3 percent stake in OTK Company. The value of the shares, which her younger brother had practically foisted on her, had at some point soared past 30 billion dollars.
Although she had more money than she could spend in a lifetime of leisure, she never neglected her actual job. Except for her maternity leave, she never took a break from work, personally handling tasks and meetings.
Golden Gate Korea was bustling ahead of the market open. The same was true for other securities firms, as a major event was expected today.
The KOSPI index, which had once earned the infamous nickname "Box-spi" for being stuck around the 2,000-point level, had been rising steadily and surpassed 2,700 early this year.
It was a steep rise, even among emerging markets.
The debate over whether the Korean market had peaked continued, and experts predicted a major correction was imminent. Indeed, with the global economy faltering, it seemed unsustainable for the Korean market alone to forge ahead.
Anticipating this, some institutional investors sold off their holdings and increased their short positions. But right at that moment, the Saemangeum Development Plan was suddenly announced.
This was a huge boon for stocks and small to medium-sized enterprises that had been left out of the bull market so far. The rally, initially ignited by IT, spread through sector rotation to construction, machinery, travel, hotels, and materials, allowing the KOSPI to continue its strong performance.
Yesterday, the KOSPI closed at 2,986 points.
A rise of just 14 points, or 0.47 percent, would finally break through the formidable 3,000-point mark.
Due to the announcement of positive US economic indicators yesterday, global markets had rallied, and so everyone expected the KOSPI to break 3,000 today.
The market, which had already shown an upward trend in the opening call auction, opened at 9 a.m. with a starting price of 3,019 points, up more than 1 percent.
The Korea Exchange set off the celebratory cannons they had prepared, and figures like Lee Hyun-rak, Chairman of the Korea Exchange, and Yoon Sung-mo, Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, were on-site, celebrating with the staff.
It was the first time in history that the stock price index had broken the 3,000-point barrier.
It was truly a historic event.
News channels all ran breaking news reports, and broadcast networks displayed tickers during other programs. Even in the middle of a morning soap opera, a massive banner appeared at the bottom of the screen: "The KOSPI 3000 Era Begins!"
There isn't an investor alive who doesn't rejoice in a Bull Market.
Online stock forums were in an uproar.
- Holy shit! Did that KOSPI 3000 banner really just pop up while the main character was getting slapped with kimchi? For real?
- LOL I was wondering what that was all of a sudden.
- To think I'd live to see the KOSPI hit 3,000!
- All the stock junkies must be thrilled today~
- The index can go up all it wants. Doesn't mean shit if my stocks don't move. Jerome Tech, let's gooo~
- That thing's getting delisted soon. Get out while you can.
- Ah, damn it ㅜㅜ I listened to that analyst who said a correction was coming and sold everything a few days ago ㅜㅜ
- Every past president promised the KOSPI would hit 3,000, but it was Kang Jinhoo who actually delivered on that promise.
- To all my fellow stock traders, let's always live with a heart full of gratitude for Kang Jinhoo.
- LOL fr fr.
The employees at Golden Gate Korea all rose to their feet and applauded.
While other securities firms were selling stocks and shorting the market, Golden Gate had continued to buy up Korean stocks. Thanks to this, their returns were overwhelmingly number one among all firms.
Hyunjoo watched the news and shook her head.
“I never thought I'd see the day the Korean market hit 3,000.”
Ellie smiled brightly.
“Isn't it all thanks to Jinhoo and Taekgyu?”
Hyunjoo gave a wry smile and nodded.
“True. If it weren't for those two, we might still be stuck at the 2,000-point level.”
***
Waking up, Hyunjoo reached for the glasses on her nightstand.
After putting them on, her eyes fell on her husband sleeping beside her. Her son was asleep in the crib next to him.
Seeing the two of them sleeping side by side, the reality of her marriage felt new again.
She had always thought her work came first, but she had met someone she loved and even had a child. Just a few years ago, could she ever have imagined a life like this?
Hyunjoo put on a robe, went out to the living room, and took a bottle of wine from the cellar. As she was uncorking it to drink alone, her husband, Henry, came out.
“What are you doing?”
“I couldn't sleep.”
“Mind if I join you?”
“Of course.”
Henry brought over a glass and poured some wine. They lightly clinked their glasses.
“Are you still very busy these days?”
“You know how it is. I barely know how the days go by.”
Hyunjoo swept back a stray strand of hair. It suddenly occurred to her that she'd woken up and hadn't even washed up yet. In front of others, she was always perfectly composed… but it was probably only in front of her husband that she could show this side of herself.
Hyunjoo said, as if making an excuse, “I-I'm trying my best to leave work on time, though. I want to have dinner with my family, too.”
Henry quietly pulled her into a hug.
“I know you're trying. You don't have to push yourself so hard.”
“Thank you.”
She felt a sense of reassurance.
“It feels strange sometimes. I never imagined a Korean branch would be established, let alone that I’d become its head.”
When she first joined Golden Gate and worked in New York and Hong Kong, she was just one of many employees.
Looking back, it was all because of the proposal her brother and his friend made that day. If she had refused it, she would never have become the head of the branch, nor would she have met Henry.
Hearing this, Henry smiled.
“It's thanks to those two that we met.”
Hyunjoo nodded.
“And we met our lovely Oh Geon, too.”
She couldn't even imagine a life without the two of them now.
Henry took a sip of wine and said, “The Saemangeum New City plan seems to be progressing well. I suppose we’ll have to move to Saemangeum, too?”
“Those two are definitely going, so I guess we’ll have to.”
OTK Company was Golden Gate's top client. The fact that OTK Company was moving to Saemangeum was reason enough for the firm to relocate. Besides, the Korean branch had grown so large that they were feeling the need to expand anyway.
In Korea, the saying "Seoul is Korea" reflects the severe concentration in the capital. When people and capital flock to one place, it creates synergy. But there's a limit; the current level of concentration in Seoul was actually becoming a negative.
“The Saemangeum New City will be a new growth engine for Korea.”
Various new industries were already stirring in Korea. This, too, could be called the OTK effect.
Hyunjoo was astounded.
“It's still so hard to believe how they even came up with such an idea.”
In truth, anyone can have an idea. But investing the money to make that idea a reality is something not just anyone can do.
“Jinhoo has something that other people don’t. What should I call it? An investor’s inspiration? A talent?”
Henry immediately understood what she meant.
“If you try to determine whether a 100-mile-per-hour pitch is a fastball or a changeup just by looking at it, the ball will already be in the catcher's mitt. A great hitter doesn't use logical deduction; they instinctively identify the pitch and swing the bat. While that kind of instinct can be honed through training, some people are just born with it.”
“Exactly. It makes me jealous.”
It was, quite literally, a matter of talent, not effort. For someone who had worked hard her entire life, it was something to be envied.
This was true in any field. Not everyone who puts in the effort gets the same results.
In any case, Kang Jinhoo's talent for investing had placed him among the world's wealthiest people. It was now impossible to speak of the global economy without mentioning him.
“Do you know the term ‘sekai-kei’?”
Henry tilted his head.
“I don't think so. Is it Japanese?”
“Yes. It's from a story Taekgyu told me when he was really into anime. It's about an ordinary boy and girl in a world on the brink of ruin, and the fate of the world depends on their choices. You know how when you're a teenager, you sometimes have these fantasies that you're different from everyone else, that you're actually a very important person?”
And yet, those middle schoolers had truly become the most important people in the world.
The higher one's position and the more money one has, the greater one's influence on the world becomes.
The actions of a single individual can hardly have a major impact on society, but the policies set forth by a president can determine the lives of the people.
Henry nodded in understanding.
“The Big One was a perfect example of that.”
The Big One had devastated Silicon Valley, the cradle of America's high-tech industry. If they hadn't prepared for it in advance, the future course of world history would have been vastly different.
“And now there’s this Saemangeum New City.”
It took the Chinese central government over twenty years to develop Pudong.
But when Kang Jinhoo took on the Saemangeum development, global capital followed, and now the entire Saemangeum area has turned into a massive construction site.
“Your help was a big part of their success, Hyunjoo.”
“The help I gave was something anyone could have done. They would have managed just fine even without me.”
Hyunjoo recalled the first time she met Kang Jinhoo. Back then, she was a university student, and her brother and his friend were just carefree middle schoolers.
“Jinhoo said he wanted to get into Korea University, so I tutored him on a few things. And now those kids have grown up so much. They've made a lot of money, too. But in my eyes, they're still just kids. The only thing I can do is worry.”
Henry smiled gently.
“They probably want you to do just that.”
Hyunjoo chuckled.
“Don't you think they just see me as a nag?”
“My grandfather used to say that even when all is well, someone must always be worrying and doubting.”
Hyunjoo finished her wine and said, “I wonder what kind of future those two will create.”
Henry seemed to know what she was worried about.
A murderer with a gun or a knife can kill dozens, but a dictator, even with good intentions, can kill tens of millions.
If the two of them were to misuse the capital they possessed, a great many people could get hurt.
Henry gently wrapped his arm around her shoulder.
“Those two will surely lead things in a good direction. Because you'll be right there next to them, nagging them, just like now.”
At his words, Hyunjoo smiled.
“Let's go back to bed. For some reason, I think I'll be able to sleep soundly tonight.”
***
The Saemangeum development proceeded at a tremendous speed.
Aside from companies related to OTK Company, the biggest investor was, as expected, Seosung Group.
Even with the market caps of all its affiliates combined, it couldn't match OTK Company, but its influence within Korea was arguably greater. The semiconductor super-cycle continued thanks to the spread of autonomous vehicles, and Seosung Electronics' cash reserves reached 500 trillion won.
Seosung Electronics decided to pour 180 trillion won of this into a semiconductor cluster to be built in the Saemangeum New City. This included not only memory semiconductors but also an expansion of non-memory semiconductor facilities.
Seosung SB decided to invest 70 trillion won to build the nation's largest OTK battery factory, while Ceylon Hotel planned to invest 5 trillion won in an integrated resort and 3 trillion won in a silver town linked to Seosung Hospital.
Chairman Im Jinyong oversaw the related matters.
“Saemangeum is the future of the Republic of Korea and the future of our Seosung Group.”
Following Seosung Group's aggressive investments, other large corporations, as well as related small and medium-sized enterprises, also began to move.
But in the midst of this, an event no one could have predicted occurred.
[(Breaking News) A Whistleblower’s Confession from Inside Seosung Group!]
[Chairman Im Jinyong Had Prior Knowledge of Low-Price Convertible Bond Issuance]
[Directly Ordered Accounting Fraud at Seosung Bio. Audio Recording Submitted as Evidence]
[Internal Documents on Seosung Group's Illegal Succession Process Obtained!]
[Civic Group for Chaebol Reform Files Complaint Against Chairman Im Jinyong with Prosecutors]
[If Evidence Submitted to Prosecutors is True, Arrest Will Be Hard to Avoid!]
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