Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 433

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

433. These reckless fools never learn.

A few days later.
Seok-won stood before the mirror in his dressing room, dressed in a white dress shirt, fastening his necktie.
In his hands was a silk necktie bearing the Gucci logo—as always—and its smooth texture and refined design complemented him perfectly.
As I gazed at my reflection in the mirror and pulled the knot taut, my phone on the table began to vibrate.
I picked up the phone, checked the name displayed on the screen, and pressed the answer button.

“Landon Shore. What brings you to call at this hour?”
[I’m calling because I have news to report.]

I said, securing the necktie to my dress shirt with an elegant tie pin.

“Has the foreign debt maturity extension negotiation been concluded?”
[Yes. It was finalized late this afternoon.]

At the good news, I tightened my grip on the phone and asked.

“Tell me the specific details of the agreement.”
[First, we’ve agreed to convert approximately 25 billion dollars in short-term debt maturing this year into three types of medium to long-term bonds spanning one to three years, contingent on the Korean government’s payment guarantee. The interest rates applied will be LIBOR plus 2.25% for one-year bonds, 2.50% for two-year bonds, and 2.75% for three-year bonds respectively.]
“Given that the current six-month LIBOR rate is 5.6%, the rolled-over foreign debt will carry a maximum rate of 8.35% for the three-year maturity.”
[Correct. Additionally, a cap has been placed on one-year bonds with shorter repayment periods, limiting them to only 20% of the total converted debt—5 billion dollars.]

I nodded slightly, holding the phone to my ear.

“If all the debt were concentrated in one-year short-term bonds after such difficult negotiations with the creditor consortium, it would be meaningless.”
[That’s precisely why the Korean government set this limit.]
“The negotiations dragged on and the atmosphere seemed bleak, so I’m relieved it’s been concluded.”
[Many within the creditor consortium were skeptical about whether Korea could properly repay the extended foreign debt. But when they saw the people voluntarily organizing a gold collection campaign to pay off the debt, they changed their minds.]

While the delegation that had crossed the Pacific and negotiated around the clock in New York deserved credit, the fact that it was ultimately the people who swayed the creditors’ hearts left me with a bittersweet expression.

“With this, the international financial community’s concerns about short-term foreign currency liquidity shortages should be significantly alleviated. It might now be possible to borrow new foreign currency.”
[In fact, there’s talk that the Industrial Bank will attempt to issue dollar bonds again—something that fell through last time. Of course, we’ll have to offer very high interest rates.]
“It stings to have to offer such high interest, but at least new foreign debt issuance has become possible.”
[Exactly. Being unable to issue foreign debt is a world of difference from being able to.]
“Let me know immediately if any additional information comes in.”
[I will.]

After ending the call, Seok-won slipped his phone into the jacket pocket resting on the table.

“Once news of the negotiation settlement spreads, the exchange rate that had been creeping upward will plummet.”

Not only the exchange rate, but the stock market—which had bounced slightly before sinking back to the bottom—would erupt in celebration at the good news from New York, sending indices soaring.

Seok-won donned his jacket, made one final adjustment to his appearance, then turned and exited the dressing room.

***

“The market has opened!”

At Noh Hee-won’s cry, Manager Choi Ho-geun stared intently at the monitor before him with a tense expression.

[KOSPI : 327.23 (
24.32)]

“Yes, exactly this!”

As Manager Choi Ho-geun clenched his fist and shouted at the stock index rebounding strongly as expected, the other team members in the office erupted in cheers.

“This time it’s a real rebound, right?!”
“Haven’t you seen the news? Good news came out of New York—we need to stop wavering and start climbing.”
“Absolutely.”
“I really hope that’s the case.”

As the team members chattered excitedly, Manager Choi Ho-geun rose from his seat.

“What about the exchange rate?”

Deputy Manager Yu Seok-hyun quickly checked the price chart displayed on the monitor and answered.

“1,588 won per dollar.”
“That’s down 100 won from yesterday.”
“Yes.”

Witnessing both the rise in the stock index and the sharp decline in the exchange rate, Manager Choi Ho-geun became convinced that this was not a brief rebound but a genuine recovery building from the bottom.

“Every time I think about it, it’s truly remarkable, isn’t it?”
“What is?”

As Choi Ho-geun turned his head, he caught sight of Jung Hwan-yeop leaning back in his chair.

“The Chairman, sir. Last time during the rebound, he sold all the stocks he’d accumulated for profit, and then just a few days ago, he swept up the entire volume again and nailed the exact bottom.”
“That’s true.”

Choi Ho-geun shook his head inwardly as he recalled how the Chairman had generated nearly 69 billion won in profits through perfectly timed trades.
Though he prided himself on having deep roots in Yeouido’s financial circles, he couldn’t imagine having the confidence to time buy and sell points with such uncanny precision.

‘Who could have predicted the atmosphere would shift overnight like this?’

Until just yesterday, as the foreign debt maturity extension negotiations proceeding in New York faced difficulties, the market had been filled with pessimistic sentiment—that exchange rates would rise again and the stock market would plummet.
Yet the moment he swept up all the stocks from the bottom without heeding the panic, good news erupted as if it had been waiting, and the stock index surged so dramatically it gave me chills.

“When I saw that even after the new year, the chain of defaults continued without stopping—from Nasan Group to Geuk Yang Construction—I worried that this time the Chairman had moved in too hastily. But clearly, there was no need for such concern.”

Yu Seok-hyun, wearing a red tie as if to wish for rising stocks, spoke with a laugh.
Hong Jae-hee, who had adorned herself with a brooch purchased in New York, nodded brightly beside him.

“How is it possible to time it so perfectly? You must have anticipated all of this before making these trades, sir?”
“Otherwise, there’s no way I would push through such a massive transaction—over a trillion won—so recklessly.”

Jung Hwan-yeop spoke with his hands clasped behind his head, swinging his feet slightly.

“Over a trillion won in operating capital… We do manage money, but that’s an amount that truly takes my breath away.”

Yu Seok-hyun wore an expression of fresh amazement.
A trillion won was several times more than the entire capital that Daehung Securities’ PI (Private Investment) Department managed.
Manager Choi Ho-geun and his team members had never even dreamed they would be moving such enormous sums of money when they followed Seokwon to the new company.
Listening to his team members chatter away, Choi Ho-geun clapped his hands lightly to draw their attention.

“The Chairman is a heavyweight even recognized by those arrogant Wall Street types—there’s nothing surprising about that.”

The team members, who had gone to New York and witnessed firsthand the exploits of Seokwon and the Eldorado Fund he led, nodded in agreement.

“True. For the Chairman, profits like this would be pocket change.”

Jung Hwan-yeop shrugged his shoulders with a light tone.

“That’s true.”
“Once you experience playing in the big leagues like this, your mindset really does shift.”

In the past, I would have found this incredibly daunting, but now there wasn’t a trace of tension in my team members’ expressions.
Instead, they were in that perfect state of arousal—a blend of slight excitement and anticipation coursing through their bodies.
Choi Ho-geun placed his hands on his hips and surveyed his team members’ faces as he spoke.

“If the chairman’s prediction holds true, we’re about to enter a genuine bull market. Each of you should maximize your returns with your allocated capital. It’s not unreasonable to expect you’ll not only hit the target return rate but also exceed it by at least 50%, right?”
“Come on. The target return rate is already quite high, and now you want us to exceed it by 50%? Isn’t that a bit too ambitious?”

Jung Hwan-yeop made his usual complaint.
Yet despite his words, Jung Hwan-yeop was always the first to hit targets and deliver the best results, so Choi Ho-geun simply snorted in amusement.

“If the market rebounds like this and the stock index recovers even half its value, the return on the stocks the chairman had us bet on would easily double, wouldn’t it? Even if we can’t reach that, we should at least keep pace to save face.”
“Come on. You can’t compare us to the chairman.”

When I looked around, the other team members wore expressions of agreement, as if to say it was impossible.

“Come on! That’s how we’ll get a fat year-end bonus like last year.”
“Year-end bonus?”

Jung Hwan-yeop suddenly straightened his posture.

“Right. We should end this year as warmly as we did last year.”

As Jung Hwan-yeop and his team members recalled the thick year-end bonus envelopes filled with checks, their eyes ignited with fervent determination.

“The target return rate is just the baseline—of course we need to exceed it!”
“Exactly. Let’s give it a shot.”

Jung Hwan-yeop clenched his fist and shouted first, and Yu Seok-hyun beside him nodded enthusiastically in response.

“There’s a saying that you should dream big.”

Hong Jae-hee even tucked her hair behind her ear with a sly expression, displaying fierce determination.

“You asked me to organize the January Customs Bureau import-export trade statistics earlier, right? I’ll have it ready for you shortly, so just wait a moment!”

Noh Hee-won, who handled back-office operations, also brightened with excitement, rolling up her blouse sleeves and cradling a thick stack of files as she headed toward her desk.
Choi Ho-geun chuckled softly at the sudden surge of enthusiasm from his team members and shook his head.

“These people are impossible to stop.”

With that, Choi Ho-geun himself returned to his seat to begin the transaction.

***

Seok-won sat before an elegant wooden desk, fountain pen in one hand, meticulously reviewing the approval documents.
He paused for a moment, stroking his cleanly shaven jaw with his other hand, then finally signed his name in the approval section.
Just as he closed the stamp pad and set it aside, a soft beep sounded, and his secretary Na Seong-mi’s voice came through the intercom speaker.

[Yu Hyun-seok, the Department Head, has arrived.]

Seok-won reached out and pressed the button, speaking.

“Send him in.”
[Yes, understood.]

Moments later, a knock sounded, and Yu Hyun-seok, dressed in a gray suit, carefully opened the door and entered.
He approached the desk and bowed deeply.

“What is it?”

Yu Hyun-seok placed the approval pad he had brought onto the desk and spoke.

“I’ve completed the Goldbank investment contract you instructed me to finalize previously.”
“Is that so?”

Seok-won’s eyes gleamed with interest as he immediately opened the approval pad, and Yu Hyun-seok added his explanation.

“As stated in the contract, we’ve agreed to receive 200,000 shares of Goldbank at a par value of 5,000 won per share. That amounts to 1 billion won in total value.”
“So we’ve secured a 55% stake.”
“That’s correct.”

Seok-won raised his eyebrows slightly and asked.

“If we end up gaining management rights this way, would the other party really accept it so easily?”
“They were under such severe financial pressure that they couldn’t afford to be picky about such matters.”

Seok-won tilted his head in confusion.

“I heard that the number of registered members recently exceeded 100,000 and was growing rapidly. So that wasn’t the case?”
“When the IMF crisis struck, it drew even greater attention, and the number of registered members exploded in a short period, causing the company to expand rapidly. However, the resulting expenditures far exceeded initial projections, and their cash reserves were nearly depleted.”

Goldbank was a new type of internet advertising service company where users who accessed the Goldbank website and clicked on advertisements for specific businesses would receive a certain amount of payment.

“The increase in registered members was because as the foreign exchange crisis tightened people’s wallets, many sought to earn pocket money, even in small amounts.”
“I see.”

Seok-won nodded in understanding.

“If we hadn’t made an investment proposal this time, they were planning to raise funds by accepting public subscription applications from site members.”
“Since they haven’t gone public yet, they were trying to collect money from members to fill their empty coffers. That’s quite an innovative idea in its own way.”

Seok-won closed the approval document and handed it back to Yu Hyun-seok, the department head standing before him.

“You’ve worked hard.”
“Not at all.”
“If there’s nothing more to discuss, you’re free to go.”
“Yes.”

Yu Hyun-seok turned and left the office.
As the door closed, Seok-won leaned back against his chair and murmured to himself.

“Right now it’s just an ordinary venture company offering an unfamiliar service, but no one would ever guess it will soon become the catalyst for the KOSDAQ craze.”

Recalling Goldbank’s stock chart in his mind—one that would soar 55 times over and ignite the domestic KOSDAQ boom—Seok-won smiled deeply.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————