Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 44

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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44. We’re going to sell the market.

The next morning.
Seok-won sat at his desk in the private office, reading through documents, when a knock sounded at the door. He lifted his head and spoke.

“Come in.”

As Choi Ho-geun carefully opened the door and entered, Seok-won leaned back in his chair and asked.

“What is it?”
“The meeting preparations are complete.”

Choi Ho-geun approached and answered with his hands clasped respectfully before him.
Ever since he’d learned that Seok-won had been in the elevator while he was gossiping, Choi Ho-geun had been anxious, watching his expression carefully each time.
True to form, even now he was fidgeting, constantly studying Seok-won’s face.
Though I felt an inward smirk rising, I maintained an expressionless face as I spoke.

“Understood. Let’s go right away.”
“….”
“Do you have something else to say?”

I raised an eyebrow slightly at Choi Ho-geun, who remained standing hesitantly instead of leaving.
At that, Choi Ho-geun squeezed his eyes shut and bowed his head deeply in apology.

“I’m sorry.”

I stared at him quietly for a moment before asking.

“Is this because of what happened in the elevator yesterday?”
“I was just casually chatting with a colleague without thinking, and I really didn’t know you were there, sir.”

Choi Ho-geun bowed deeply once more, apologizing.
Though I hadn’t been particularly bothered, I had no intention of appearing weak either. I spoke coldly with a stern expression.

“So you’re saying it’s acceptable to gossip about me as long as I’m not within earshot?”
“N-no, that’s not what I meant….”

Choi Ho-geun seemed to realize his mistake, stammering out his words with an embarrassed expression.
With his face flushed crimson and clearly flustered, I spoke in a curt tone as if granting him this one reprieve.

“There’s no malice behind it, so I’ll let it slide this time, but be more careful going forward.”
“Thank you so much! I promise it won’t happen again.”

Choi Ho-geun, quite literally given a second lease on life, bowed repeatedly.
His palms were drenched with cold sweat from the tension he’d endured.

“Everyone’s waiting, so let’s head to the Conference Room.”
“Yes.”

Choi Ho-geun immediately straightened and led the way.

Moments later, as I entered the Conference Room with Choi Ho-geun, the team members already seated around the long table rose in unison.

“Everyone, please sit.”

I gave a light nod and took my seat at the head of the table. Once the team members settled back into their chairs, I turned my attention to Choi Ho-geun, seated to my right.
As the team members sat back down in their chairs, Seok-won glanced at Choi Ho-geun, who was sitting to his right.

“Let’s begin.”
“Yes.”

Choi Ho-geun replied briefly and spread out the documents he’d brought.

“As of this morning’s close, the composite stock index stands at 749.27. Since hitting its year-high on the 9th, the market has entered a phase of mild consolidation. Nevertheless, we’re maintaining an upward trajectory with a gain of 7.44% year-to-date.”
“Is this being driven by foreign capital inflows?”

Choi Ho-geun responded immediately to my question.

“Precisely. In just the first half of this year, foreign investors purchased 3.1395 trillion won in stocks and sold 1.1187 trillion, resulting in net purchases of 2.0208 trillion won. Considering that foreign investors’ net purchases for all of last year totaled 1.5083 trillion won, the first half’s performance alone far exceeds that.”
“We’ll need to see how things develop through year-end, but this is certainly a positive signal for the market.”
“Exactly. Furthermore, domestic capital has been flowing heavily into the market on expectations of rising stock prices and economic recovery. Last month, customer deposits at our firm reached 3.2455 trillion won, an increase of 962.9 billion won compared to last year.”

Customer deposits represented the funds clients entrusted to the securities company to purchase stocks.
The increase meant that capital in the market was increasingly concentrating in the stock market.

“If money keeps flowing in, it’s only natural that prices will rise.”
“While most sectors have outperformed the composite stock index, the financial and construction industries haven’t fallen behind, but they’re showing relatively sluggish performance.”
“The construction sector must be struggling due to defective construction issues.”
“Yes. The impact from several major disasters that occurred recently has been significant.”
“The government announced a crackdown on subcontracting fraud not long ago.”
“Yes. Because of that, construction stocks are having an even harder time.”

I nodded slightly and spoke.

“It seems best to avoid construction stocks for a while.”
“I agree with that assessment.”
“Korea Electric Power is currently ranked first by market cap, correct?”

Jung Hwan-yeop, seated to my left, answered.

“Yes. With a market capitalization of 10.2 trillion won, it has maintained an overwhelming first place for years, followed by Pohang Steel, Sasung Electronics, and Hyunwoo Automobiles.”

As he explained, Jung Hwan-yeop handed me a market cap ranking table he had prepared in advance.
I accepted the ranking table, scanned it, and looked up again.

“There’s quite a large gap between first and second place.”

While Korea Electric Power, in first place, had a valuation exceeding 10 trillion won, Pohang Steel, directly below it, had a market capitalization of only 1.95 trillion won.
Though they were only one rank apart, the market cap was barely one-fifth of the leader’s.
Jung Hwan-yeop, receiving my gaze, explained the reason.

“It’s because Korea Electric Power not only monopolizes the domestic power market but is also expected to see revenue and profits increase sharply due to growing electricity demand from economic growth.”

I listened with my arms crossed, my expression turning skeptical.

“Doesn’t Pohang Steel, ranked second, also enjoy a monopolistic position?”
“….”
“And as electricity demand increases, they’ll need to borrow massive capital and keep building power plants to meet that demand. But since electricity rates are fixed as public utilities, they can’t pass all costs on to consumers.”

At my sharp observation, Choi Ho-geun and the team members found themselves nodding involuntarily.

“In contrast, Pohang Steel directly benefits from the government’s heavy industry promotion policy, and with supply unable to keep pace with demand, the business outlook is excellent. Moreover, with such substantial margins, shouldn’t it actually command a higher valuation than Korea Electric Power?”

Indeed, purchasing department staff lined up day and night in front of Pohang Steel’s factories, waiting to snatch up steel products the moment they emerged from the blast furnaces—such was the shortage of supply relative to demand.

‘How desperate must the situation have been for there to be a joke among Pohang Steel’s sales department staff that their job was simply receiving inquiries about when steel would be available and handing out queue numbers?’

Due to this shortage of steel products, Hanwha Group had launched construction of a massive steel mill, only to go bankrupt and collapse, becoming the trigger that sparked the IMF crisis.
As fleeting thoughts crossed my mind, Choi Ho-geun cautiously opened his mouth.

“Are you saying that Korea Electric Power’s stock price is overvalued, sir?”
“Exactly. In a country like Korea that survives on exports, as I mentioned earlier, it’s only natural that export companies earning foreign currency abroad command higher valuations than power companies with limited growth potential, wouldn’t you agree?”

I answered without hesitation.
Choi Ho-geun and the team leaders couldn’t offer any rebuttal to such logically sound reasoning, their expressions betraying genuine surprise.
They had assumed that while someone from Harvard University would naturally be intelligent, a newcomer lacking practical experience and unfamiliar with domestic conditions would be naive—yet here I displayed the sharp insight of a seasoned veteran who had navigated this industry for years.

‘That’s impressive!’
‘I thought he was some parachute hire born with a silver spoon, blessed with good parents, but apparently not.’
‘Wow… he’s no ordinary person.’

In an instant, the team members’ eyes lit up at this unexpected display.
Moreover, Hong Jae-hee, the only woman on the team, seemed to have taken a shine to me, her eyes now sparkling with interest.
Of course, the most surprised of all was Choi Ho-geun.

‘I thought I’d be cleaning up after the young master, but it seems he’s not completely incompetent.’

Based on what had happened in the office earlier, I sensed he wasn’t ordinary, but I never expected him to understand the domestic market this thoroughly.
While everyone regarded me with fresh eyes, I continued speaking with an unflustered expression.

“From the perspective of ordinary investors, it’s understandable that obtaining and grasping detailed information about such corporate fundamentals isn’t easy.”

I set down the documents in my hand on the table and looked around at the team members.

“Moreover, with its monopolistic business position, high growth rate, stable profits, and the government rolling out various support measures for power infrastructure expansion, it’s the company where investors can most easily put their money in with peace of mind.”

It was the same reason why, in the future, people would recommend Sasung Electronics first when discussing stock investments.
Leaning back in my seat, I turned my head to look at Choi Ho-geun.

“The approved operating capital is 5 billion won, correct?”
“Yes. The funds have been deposited in a separately established account and are available for use at any time.”
“So I can operate with complete discretion without separate management guidelines.”
“…Yes. Those were my instructions.”

At his clarifying question, Choi Ho-geun felt an inexplicable unease, his eyes betraying his anxiety as he regarded him.

“Since these are top-tier companies by market cap, Daehung Securities must hold a considerable volume. What do you think?”
“Investors favor them and trading volume is high, so that’s likely the case.”

As Choi Ho-geun hesitated in his response, I bared my teeth in a grin.

“Perfect.”

It was like watching a mischievous child just before committing some grand misdeed—Choi Ho-geun’s heart suddenly lurched without his knowing why.

‘What is this? Why do I feel so uneasy?’

Then I leisurely opened my mouth to ask.

“Since we’re the same company, there must be an incentive to set lower margin requirements for margin trading, correct?”

While Choi Ho-geun and his team members wore expressions of bewilderment, I withdrew an expensive-looking fountain pen from my inner pocket.
Then, circling companies ranked first through fifth on the market capitalization chart before me, I dropped a bombshell.

“Let’s go all-in with 5 billion and short these five stocks.”
“…!”

Since the securities lending system for exchange-listed stocks hadn’t yet been implemented, shorting required depositing a certain margin and borrowing the remainder from the securities firm to sell—a financing arrangement.
At first, Choi Ho-geun and his team members, not immediately grasping the meaning, wore confused expressions, but soon they understood what I intended and their eyes widened in shock.

“D-did you just say short selling?”

Choi Ho-geun asked again, wondering if he’d misheard, but my response was unwavering.

“That’s right.”

Watching Choi Ho-geun’s pupils dilate and his team members unable to hide their bewilderment, I spoke again with absolute conviction.

“We’re going to sell the market.”

Since we were selling the top five stocks that represented the Korean securities market and comprised a substantial portion of its market cap, it was no exaggeration to say we were literally selling the market itself.
Choi Ho-geun, whose ominous premonition had proven all too accurate, nearly crumpled his face as he cried out internally.

‘This guy is absolutely insane!’

If I could, I would’ve torn my hair out in frustration.
Just moments ago, I had been acknowledging Seok-won’s competence, thinking there was something different about someone who graduated from Harvard University, but that sentiment completely evaporated the moment I heard what he just said.
The other team members seemed to share my sentiment—their faces had hardened into expressions of utter dismay.
And for good reason. Foreign capital was pouring in, driving the stock to new highs day after day, maintaining an upward momentum. For him to suggest short-selling in this environment was nothing short of madness.
Choi Ho-geun and the team members stared at him with expressions of disbelief and incredulity, but Seok-won’s face remained remarkably composed, as if he either didn’t notice or didn’t care.

‘This isn’t just a parachute—it’s a parachute with a bomb attached!’

Choi Ho-geun silently slapped his forehead repeatedly, screaming without sound.

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