The Hidden Hand and the Reckoning
Kim Chang-wan was thoroughly enjoying life these days. All thanks to his exceptionally accomplished nephew. Until a few years ago, his eldest sister's son had been an ordinary boy—one who loved playing, loved games, and hated studying. Every time his sister came home, she would say the boy reminded her of herself, which might have been why she doted on him even more. In truth, the nephew had inherited only the best traits from both his mother and father, so he would have been adorable regardless.
Because of that, Kim Chang-wan had often split his modest salary to give the boy pocket money and treats. Then, suddenly, everything changed. He still remembered the strangeness of that New Year's Day in 1990. It was nothing like the previous Chuseok in 1989. The boy had grown calm, and even his eyes had changed. He no longer came running to his uncle, declaring that he liked his maternal uncle best. It wasn't just his demeanor that had shifted. He had become a genius, winning the Minister of Communications Award at a computer competition. Then the boy announced he was starting a business, and before long he was supplying products to major corporations and even expanding into the United States. The news pouring out of newspapers and television every day was almost impossible to believe. The scale of the transformation was so immense that it affected Kim Chang-wan as well.
When his nephew founded ID Investment, he suggested that his uncle invest as well. Kim Chang-wan had felt a slight burden. His usual principle regarding money was simple: never conduct financial transactions with family if it risked damaging relationships. If money became an issue, he preferred to help only up to an amount he would never expect to receive back. Yet refusing his nephew's offer was difficult. Watching how dramatically his sister's and brother-in-law's households had improved, he knew the boy's abilities were genuine.
After much deliberation, he decided to invest. The amount was three million won—money he had saved for over two years as a wedding fund. Among the investments made by Yoo Jae-won's maternal relatives, Kim Chang-wan's three million won ranked second, right behind their grandfather's ten million won. The aunts had invested around one million or five hundred thousand won each.
Remarkably, that three million won returned as two hundred and sixty-four million won. The money had been invested in oil futures, an unfamiliar commodity, yielding an eighty-eightfold return. After taxes and fees, he actually received a little over two hundred million won, with sixty million won deducted. Still, it was a sum he could never have touched in his entire lifetime of work, and he felt as though he were flying.
With this money, Kim Chang-wan could finally escape the countryside, just as he had always dreamed. He could leave Deokjin-ri, filled with the smell of cow and chicken droppings, and live in Seoul. He would proudly enter the dazzling Seoul he had only seen on television. Though his parents tried to dissuade him, insisting that "a pine caterpillar must eat pine needles," his nephew Jae-won supported his move to Seoul. Jae-won even pointed out Dogok-dong as the ideal location. He planned to build the ID Group headquarters there soon and knew land and property values would rise accordingly, so the suggestion was a gesture of goodwill.
Thanks to Yoo Jae-won's support—the family member with the greatest influence—their grandfather could no longer oppose Kim Chang-wan's move. Then, last year, ID Investment announced its second round of investor recruitment. Having already tasted success, Kim Chang-wan invested all his remaining funds after purchasing a house—roughly over thirty million won, ten times what he had invested the first time. If he hadn't bought the house, he could have invested another hundred million won, but the purchase had reduced his available capital.
Now all that remained was to wait for the investment to conclude successfully. But as soon as 1992 began, articles about ID Group's dividends appeared. They claimed that because the dividends had decreased significantly, ID Investment's investments must have failed. Kim Chang-wan had seen the articles but did not believe them. He was one of the people who had witnessed firsthand just how brilliant his nephew was, so he assumed the newspapers were up to their usual mischief again.
Moreover, if he called the ID Investment branch and provided his account number and verification code, he could immediately check his investment returns. If he felt uneasy, he could simply make the call. A few days later, two men claiming to be ID Investment employees visited him. They said the investment situation was poor and advised him to avoid the coming storm. When he asked if his nephew had sent them, they confirmed it. If his nephew had gone so far as to dispatch people, the situation must be dire indeed.
Still, just to be sure, Kim Chang-wan picked up the phone and called the ID Investment Seoul branch. Coincidentally, the line was dead. Meticulous when it came to money despite his otherwise easygoing nature, he then tried calling ID Technology. He could ask Chief of Staff Choi Kang-wook, the man who looked after the family when his nephew was busy. Unfortunately, that line was also busy. Ever since the first articles about ID Investment's supposed failure had appeared, investor inquiry calls had been flooding in nonstop.
Only then did Kim Chang-wan realize the gravity of the situation. The last option was to call his nephew directly, but he hesitated. To a nephew handling trillions of won, a few tens of millions must seem like pocket change. With so many employees under him, the company's affairs were surely overwhelming. Besides, the fact that his nephew had already sent two people meant he had done what he could. The men promised to help Kim Chang-wan and the other maternal relatives with the withdrawal process and to preserve the principal.
In the end, Kim Chang-wan began the withdrawal procedure. He handed over his investment certificate, seal, and verification code, and the money appeared in his account the next day. His original thirty million won plus fifteen million won in profits totaled forty-five million won. Seeing the amount, Kim Chang-wan nodded with a satisfied expression, thinking, That's my nephew for you.
"What? I sent people?"
—Yes. Kim Chang-wan was under that impression. Judging by your reaction, Chairman, it appears you did not.
"Of course not. The returns are solid. Why would anyone recommend withdrawal?"
—I thought the same. This is clearly suspicious. Audit Team Leader Im Eun-kyung agrees.
"Are you investigating?"
—Yes. We dispatched the audit team two days ago. We've named this incident the ID Investment Smear Case.
As expected, Choi Kang-wook was reliable. Yoo Jae-won fully agreed with the name "ID Investment Smear Case." One look was enough to understand. Someone had approached his uncle and deliberately recommended withdrawal. He did not yet know who, but he had a strong suspicion. The most likely culprit was Ilseong.
At the Kim & Jung Law Firm opening ceremony, he and Chairman Choi Hyun-hee had clearly established their opposing positions. Choi Hyun-hee had even suggested fair play while declaring that if he broke the rules, Yoo Jae-won could do the same without hesitation. This ID Investment smear was undoubtedly connected. From the outside, ID Investment appeared to be ID Group's most reliable source of funds. To cut off that lifeline, they needed to damage ID Investment's reputation.
The sudden flood of articles claiming that reduced corporate taxes meant ID Investment's investments had failed had already seemed odd. Now it appeared they had also tried to strike at his family's morality by approaching his uncle first, attempting to create the impression that he was protecting his own relatives while leaving countless other investors to fail.
Yoo Jae-won would have bet money that the media was preparing such articles. But those articles never materialized because the investments had not failed. Though investors had withdrawn expecting principal loss, they received an additional fifty percent return. When they confirmed the amount, their eyes widened. The mass withdrawal began because the ID Investment branch lines had been dead when they called. There had been countless scam artists who shut down offices and fled when something went wrong, and investors assumed ID Investment was doing the same. In reality, the lines were simply overwhelmed by the sheer volume of inquiries.
—There is also evidence that hundreds of agitators were mobilized to simultaneously request withdrawals at the branches.
So that scene had been artificially manufactured as well. With the branches paralyzed, normal operations became impossible. Seeing other investors demanding withdrawals created herd mentality, drawing in even those who had not originally intended to withdraw. In such chaos, ID Investment's press releases stating that returns remained solid had little effect that day.
"I see."
After hearing Choi Kang-wook's report, Yoo Jae-won realized how much could happen when communication was limited. In the twenty-first century, this would have been impossible. With smartphones or computers and HTS, investors could check returns in real time and would not have been swayed by shoddy articles. He wanted to link with Nextcom immediately so customers could check returns and purchase investment products freely, but that was not yet feasible. Negotiations with the government for an HTS system were underway, but bureaucratic lack of understanding of IT technology made rapid progress impossible.
"They've caused this much trouble, so they must have left traces. The faster the counterattack, the better. Please find out who orchestrated this as quickly as possible."
Yoo Jae-won did not mention "Ilseong," the name he most strongly suspected. Even after reconsidering several times, Ilseong remained the prime suspect, but he did not want to plant preconceptions in Choi Kang-wook or Audit Team Leader Im Eun-kyung. The real culprit had to be identified and struck precisely so they would never again consider such schemes.
—Yes, we will do our best.
Hearing Choi Kang-wook's firm reply, Yoo Jae-won ended the one-on-one chat. Time passed, and early March arrived. The mainstream media's coverage of ID Investment vanished as if it had never existed. All attention turned to the March 24 general election for the 14th National Assembly. The unprecedented three-way contest made the election atmosphere even more heated. Though not quite reaching the fervor of the 1987 Yeouido rally, whenever the leaders of each party held support rallies, massive crowds gathered, causing severe congestion. Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae-jung commanded enormous personal popularity. Adding the formidable presence of Kim Jong-pil, the era was dubbed the "Three Kims Era," with each party wielding its own solid influence.
There was also a rising star: Honorary Chairman Jeon Myeong-heon. Though he held no party position in the Tongil National Party and was merely a proportional representative candidate, his presence was no less than that of the Three Kims. When Honorary Chairman Jeon Myeong-heon campaigned for the party's district candidates, the venues filled to capacity. To Yoo Jae-won, it was remarkable. Even if money were spent on mobilization, such numbers and enthusiasm could never be matched. Comparing him to Ilseong made it even more striking.
While a powerful rivalry existed between Mirae and Ilseong—balanced enough that asking who was Korea's top chaebol would not tilt decisively to one side—Honorary Chairman Jeon Myeong-heon's national popularity was exceptionally high, whereas Ilseong's Chairman Choi Hyun-hee did not enjoy the same level of public favor. The age difference and the disparity in time spent in the public eye naturally created a gap in popularity, but the actual difference was far greater. Consequently, no one had yet asked Yoo Jae-won to campaign on their behalf.
At the Tongil National Party's election headquarters, voices naturally suggested requesting Yoo Jae-won's help. Public opinion polls showed the party's support rising steadily but losing momentum. There was growing concern that voters might swing back to established parties on election day, and calls to request Yoo Jae-won's campaign support were growing louder. The person holding back was Jeon Myeong-heon himself. He insisted it was still too early and quelled his staff's requests. His aides could not help but feel uneasy. With only days left until the vote, how could it not be time yet? Their anxiety only grew. Though Honorary Chairman Jeon Myeong-heon was an unparalleled expert in economics, this was his first election. The notion that the election novice was making a grave mistake with his stubbornness spread.
Then, in the second week of March, the Tongil National Party staff finally understood what Jeon Myeong-heon had meant by "the right time." Mid-March brought acceptance letters from prestigious universities to Yoo Jae-won's Old Palo Alto address. Starting with nearby Stanford, even schools on the opposite coast like MIT sent thick, carefully prepared envelopes via express delivery. He had been accepted to every school he applied to.
—Proof of Genius!
—ID Group Chairman Yoo Jae-won Sweeps Admissions to America's Elite Universities!
—Accepted to All Eight Ivy League Schools, Plus MIT, Caltech, Stanford, and a Total of Eleven Universities!
Thanks to this, sensational articles flooded the Nextcom news pages. It was the first time anything besides election news had dominated the headlines to this extent. Having prepared since his previous life, receiving rejections would have been stranger. Fully aware of his own efforts, Yoo Jae-won felt no anxiety whatsoever. His parents and relatives, however, were a different story. When the flood of acceptance letters began, reactions from those around him were extraordinary. Not only his Korean acquaintances but his American contacts reacted the same way. Yoo Jae-won had to make numerous calls to those who had written recommendation letters to express his gratitude.
The recommenders congratulated him while subtly suggesting he attend the schools for which they had written letters. The person who wrote for MIT urged him to go to MIT, while the Harvard recommender asked, as if it were obvious, whether he would naturally choose Harvard. Of course, Yoo Jae-won had decided on Stanford from the beginning, and that decision remained unchanged.
Media interest was intense. The three characters of Yoo Jae-won's name had become a subject of national attention in Korea. Combined with the story that stimulated Korea's already fervent educational enthusiasm, the press could not remain idle. Fearing they would fly to America if left alone, he prepared and distributed a detailed press release. Worried that a text-only document might seem dull, he attached a photograph—one of himself surrounded by acceptance letters spread across the mantelpiece and table. He had genuinely not wanted to take such a photo, but his parents, visiting America after a long time, had insisted.
As expected, no newspaper or broadcasting station failed to use the photo distributed in the press materials. It seemed destined to become an image that would always appear in searches for him later.
—Just as expected. The publicity effect is quite good, isn't it?
Honorary Chairman Jeon Myeong-heon's call came around that time.
"Yes. Thanks to you, it feels like I've done a global advertisement without spending any money. It's all thanks to Grandfather."
Yoo Jae-won's sweep of elite university acceptances had not only caused a stir in Korea. Even though the American admissions system allowed multiple applications, no one had ever applied to eleven elite universities and received acceptances from all of them.
—It has nothing to do with me. It's because you're smart. Anyway, it seems the time has come.
"I'm fully prepared as well."
—Good. Let's endure just three days of hardship. I'll make the welcome ceremony grand, so be mentally prepared.
In other words, Honorary Chairman Jeon Myeong-heon was finally requesting Yoo Jae-won's campaign support. He must have been waiting for the elite university sweep. Yoo Jae-won could not guess how significant it would be, but elections in this era were purely about numbers, so an enormous crowd would surely be mobilized.
"Yes, then I'll see you in Korea the day after tomorrow."
The call with Honorary Chairman Jeon Myeong-heon ended with plans to meet the day after tomorrow. Yoo Jae-won could have gone to Korea immediately, but he had delayed by one day because he needed to receive the investigation report on the mastermind behind the ID Investment crisis rumors and the approach to his uncle. That day was today. After receiving the report, he needed time to consider countermeasures and execute them.
Shortly afterward, an ID Talk notification sounded. Yoo Jae-won immediately invited two people into his chat room: Chief of Staff Choi Kang-wook and Audit Team Leader Im Eun-kyung. After brief greetings, he moved straight to the main topic.
"Has the investigation into the ID Investment smear case concluded?"
—Yes. There were some complications, but through cross-verification, we identified the mastermind.
—It is Kim Hyuk-soo.
Choi Kang-wook and Im Eun-kyung's reports came almost simultaneously. Kim Hyuk-soo. Chairman Choi Hyun-hee's right-hand man. Until the early 2000s, he would be the man who, like Choi Hyun-hee's alter ego, wielded control over Korean politics and economy.
"Just as I thought."
It was exactly as Yoo Jae-won had expected.
—However, determining whether it was under Chairman Choi Hyun-hee's direct orders or Kim Hyuk-soo's independent action is difficult at this stage.
Yoo Jae-won nodded at the follow-up report as well. With almost no CCTV and no smartphones, recording calls or taking photos was difficult in this era. The fact that they had identified Kim Hyuk-soo as the one behind it under these conditions demonstrated Audit Team Leader Im Eun-kyung's considerable ability. Still, she regretted that stronger evidence would be needed to legally pressure Ilseong.
"It doesn't matter. Whether it was Chairman Choi Hyun-hee's order or a voluntary act born of loyalty, it's still Ilseong."
—That's correct. We never intended to take this matter to court in the first place.
"Let's see."
Yoo Jae-won closed his eyes and considered what he could return to Ilseong. A soft exclamation escaped him. There were so many vulnerabilities that he could not decide where to strike first. Still, far from indecisive, he selected two cases that would hurt Chairman Choi Hyun-hee and Kim Hyuk-soo the most. Why two? Because returning one blow for one received was not Yoo Jae-won's way. Adding one hundred percent interest on top—that was his basic arithmetic.