KNC International (4)

While I was taking a breather after the trading session and digging through the news, Seon-woo, who had just gotten off work, came rushing in, breathless.

"So there really was information."

"You didn't believe me?"

"How did you know about the cobalt mine?"

Because I had regressed, of course, but...

"I told you. I just happened to hear about it before I left the company."

It wasn’t all that unusual for securities firm employees to get caught up in a scheme, or to get tipped off in advance and buy before the rest of the market.

Of course, a nobody like me would never have the chance to hear something like that.

"If you were that certain, shouldn’t you have put it into futures and options?"

"I didn’t exactly ignore that possibility."

"Then why didn’t you buy?"

"How am I supposed to buy something that doesn’t exist?"

Futures and options were both derivatives, and something had to be issued somewhere for them to exist at all.

But a trash stock like this had too little value and stability as an underlying asset, and there was no demand for derivatives on it in the first place, so nothing got issued.

If they had actually issued call options on it, the issuer would have been the one taking the loss.

"So is it true? Is there really a million tons of cobalt buried in that mine?"

"As if."

Of course it was bullshit.

You only had to think about it for a second to realize how absurd it was.

If it were true, cobalt prices should have started falling immediately. GL Chemical, Yuseong ES, and even the world’s major battery makers would have been scrambling to contact KNC International and sign contracts.

And yet nothing of the sort was happening.

"The company that sold the mine wasn’t stupid. If there’d really been cobalt in the ground, they would’ve known long ago."

"No, then what was that announcement?"

"Estimates are just estimates."

And those estimates could be off by as little as ten times, or by as much as several hundred.

"Besides, you can’t just crack the mine open and show people. Until you actually dig it up, who knows how much is there?"

"I guess not."

"And even if it really is there, extracting it is a whole different problem."

Just because you could dig into the ground and expect dirt or rocks to come out didn’t mean a mine was guaranteed to contain anything of real value. The only thing that mattered was whether what was buried there was worth more than the cost of digging it out.

That was what people called profitability. If the numbers didn’t work out, the mine got shut down.

"On top of that, there’s the mining rights, the extraction period, relations with the local government and officials, labor relations with the local workers—there’s no end to the things you have to consider."

In other words, overseas resource development was not the sort of business a small or mid-sized company without experience in the field could just charge into casually. And once you looked into that report, there were plenty of odd details in it as well.

Before long, everyone would figure out it was nonsense.

When Seon-woo heard me say that, he looked genuinely startled.

"What? Then shouldn’t we sell right away?"

"But if a credible institution backs it up, that changes things."

"Like where?"

"For example, a government agency."

KNC International’s chairman, Cheon Deok-yu, had been running scams at home and abroad since he was young—loan-sharking, multi-level marketing, real-estate speculation schemes, all of it. Through that mess, he’d somehow sensed that his future lay in the stock market, and he had come back to Korea.

Using a connection he had made during his business in the Philippines, Cheon Deok-yu finally managed to arrange a difficult meeting with Jeong Hyeon-cheol, the Second Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs.

"You must be very busy with government duties, so thank you for making time to see me."

Jeong Hyeon-cheol replied with an arrogant air.

"You said it was important, so I had no choice but to come. Now then, what is it you wanted to say?"

"I understand you’ve taken a strong interest in overseas resources, especially eco-friendly energy."

"That’s part of the Foreign Ministry’s role."

Korea imported most of its resources from overseas.

That was why one of the Foreign Ministry’s important jobs was to maintain smooth relations with resource-rich countries and support domestic companies so they wouldn’t run into trouble securing those resources.

"Our company acquired a mine in Congo, and we’ve confirmed that it contains a large amount of cobalt."

At that, Jeong Hyeon-cheol showed interest.

"Is that really true?"

"Yes."

Cheon Deok-yu spread out the related photos, footage, reports, and other materials and began his explanation.

Jeong Hyeon-cheol, still only half convinced, asked, "Is this actually real?"

"It is. We’re already in the process of raising investment funds from overseas firms for extraction. We’re also discussing various forms of support with local companies and with the Congolese government. We’d like the Foreign Ministry’s help with this."

At that, Jeong Hyeon-cheol made no attempt to hide his displeasure.

"So you’re asking the Foreign Ministry to step in for your private business?"

Cheon Deok-yu waved a hand.

"That’s not what I meant. Just a word from the Foreign Ministry would make it much easier to move forward with local companies and the Congolese government. As you know, batteries are a major industry for Korea, and cobalt is the single most important resource in battery manufacturing. Securing this would be extremely important for the Korean economy, wouldn’t it?"

If the claim about securing the world’s largest cobalt mine were true, it would be easy enough to package it as a Foreign Ministry achievement.

"Before that, shouldn’t you conduct a proper due diligence review of the mine?"

If they did that, the lie would be exposed immediately.

But Cheon Deok-yu nodded as if it were only natural.

"Of course. But if we do that, it’ll take far too long. Since we’re still a small company, there’s also a chance the local government could walk back the contract."

"That isn’t something I can do anything about. And frankly, I don’t think this is the sort of thing we should be discussing at a gathering like this."

Jeong Hyeon-cheol fell silent, his expression sour. But Cheon Deok-yu didn’t worry.

Before coming here, he had already done enough ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠digging on the man.

Jeong Hyeon-cheol was greedy and hated losing out. Worse, word was that he had recently fallen into a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bit of debt after some bad stock investments.

And Cheon Deok-yu could solve that problem very easily.

"Are you perhaps interested in stock investing?"

"Stocks?"

Cheon Deok-yu lowered his voice and said, "If you are, how about buying some of our company’s stock?"

"KNC International stock?"

"Yes. What I’ve told you today is still something even our shareholders don’t know. Once this disclosure goes out, the price will surge."

Jeong Hyeon-cheol’s eyes gleamed.

"Really?"

"Yes. I’m confident it’ll rise at least tenfold. And if it doesn’t, I’ll take responsibility."

All he had to do was buy the stock and he could make ten times his money. Where else in the world was there such easy money?

He’ll obviously bite, right?

But Jeong Hyeon-cheol was even more shameless than Cheon Deok-yu had expected.

"Buying stocks sounds good. The only problem is, you need money to buy them, and lately I’ve been spending on this and that, so I’m short on cash. It’d be nice if I could borrow some from somewhere."

In other words, he was asking Cheon Deok-yu to hand over the money to buy the stock too.

You filthy bastard.

Cheon Deok-yu cursed inwardly, then nodded.

"Don’t worry about the money. I’ll lend it to you, and you can sell later and pay me back slowly."

This actually works out better.

Greedy people were easier to handle.

Jeong Hyeon-cheol burst out laughing.

"Haha! Works for me, though I hope I’m not taking too much advantage of you."

"Not at all. Advantage? I wouldn’t call it that."

The most important rule when giving a bribe was that both the giver and the receiver had to act as if it wasn’t a bribe.

"I’d appreciate it if you’d seriously review what I mentioned earlier. If the Foreign Ministry gets involved, the business will move much faster, and the stock will rise even more."

"Hmm. If it’s for the good of the country, I suppose I should lend a hand."

Maybe because the conversation had gone so smoothly, the atmosphere at the drinking table had become almost embarrassingly warm.

Cheon Deok-yu poured drinks with both hands, almost ceremoniously, and said, "I’ll be counting on you from here on out."

Jeong Hyeon-cheol drained his glass in one shot.

"Haha! I’ll be counting on you as well."

After the cobalt mine disclosure, KNC ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠International shot straight to the daily upper limit.

Park Geon-hwi thought to himself, Yeah. It’s probably just a coincidence. It only hit the ceiling once.

But what do you know?

From the next day on, it went into a full-on streak of consecutive limit-ups. The opening price hit the ceiling, and the closing price hit it too. Then the next day was the same.

When the stock’s abnormal movement triggered single-price trading and then a one-day trading suspension, it still hit the limit as soon as trading resumed.

The shares, which had been sitting around 3,000 won, broke through 10,000 won in barely seven trading days.

Not just the development team, but the entire company was suddenly buzzing with rumors about Kang Seon-woo.

No one knew the exact amount, but word spread that he had borrowed money and even used credit to pile in with a pretty hefty sum, so the employees couldn’t hide their envy.

"Seon-woo, that’s amazing."

"I always thought people were joking when they said they made several times their money in stocks, but I guess there really are people like that."

"I heard you bought in with borrowed money and margin too?"

"How much did you even make?"

"Got any more good tips?"

The coworkers who had been buying him meals and begging for stock picks were now crowding around Kang Seon-woo and peppering him with questions.

Even Cha Soo-yeon, who had claimed she had no interest in stocks, was suddenly curious.

"Would it still be okay to buy KNC International now?"

"Oh! You’re thinking of buying stocks?"

"Watching Seon-woo make money made me curious, I guess. I’m just going to buy a little."

Watching all that made my stomach turn.

Park Geon-hwi called his cousin, who worked at Future Investment Securities, and asked him about it.

"So that’s how it is, right?"

"Exactly, right?"

[He’s right. The KOSDAQ is full of people pulling stunts like this. Haven’t you seen it a hundred times? If you touch a manipulated stock wrong, you bleed for it.]

"Of course. I know that."

There were endless rumors in the securities industry.

They’d say a company had received massive investment, developed a new technology, entered a new industry, or landed a huge supply contract, and so on.

Stocks with small market caps and thin trading volumes could skyrocket on rumors alone.

KNC International, which had been trading around 3,000 won, hit the daily upper limit again and again after the disclosure, breaking past 10,000 won in less than a week.

But a stock that rose on rumors would eventually find its way back down to where it belonged.

KNC International’s share price, which had been soaring on expectations, was now beginning to sag as the rumor-driven atmosphere spread and the market gradually turned skeptical.