Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 52

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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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52. Investment Team 4’s members must be absolutely thrilled.

Monday morning, the lobby of Daheung Group Headquarters.
A large clock mounted on one wall indicated 8:30 AM as the expansive lobby, its floor laid with artificial marble, bustled with arriving employees.
Despite it being a day returning from the weekend, both male and female staff members passed through the lobby with uniformly exhausted expressions.
As if a thick fog of Monday blues had settled over them, not a trace of enthusiasm for work could be found.
Choi Gang-uk, a deputy manager of Investment Team 1, was no exception.
His shoulder bag felt as heavy as if someone had secretly placed dumbbells inside, and as he wondered if his body ached here and there, his mood grew increasingly somber.
As he trudged forward with heavy sighs, someone tapped him lightly on the back with an open palm.

“Hey, Deputy Manager Choi.”

When Choi Gang-uk turned his head, his direct supervisor, Manager Song Jong-geun, and Shin Young-hee, a female colleague from the same team, stood side by side.

“Good morning, Manager.”

As Choi Gang-uk bowed in greeting, Manager Song Jong-geun grumbled.

“We have to come in for another week starting today—what’s so good about the morning?”
“You feel the same way, don’t you, Manager? I thought I’d die rather than leave my blanket.”

As they headed toward the elevator together, Shin Young-hee chimed in.

“Still, it’s better than last week, which felt like a nightmare.”

At that, both Choi Gang-uk and Shin Young-hee let out a sharp cry of dismay.

“Manager! Why are you bringing up such unpleasant memories?”
“Ugh, please don’t mention it. It really felt like riding a roller coaster all week long, swinging between hell and heaven.”
“Ugh. Thank goodness the index bounced back. It was truly unbearable.”

Beside Choi Gang-uk, who shook his head, Shin Young-hee trembled as if horrified.
When the stock index plummeted by over 60 points in just two days, the losses for Investment Team 1 were equally catastrophic.
Without a moment to escape, watching the index plummet helplessly, the terror and shock that Manager Song Jong-geun and his team members felt were beyond description.
Just when it seemed all was lost, a dramatic reversal occurred—the market that had been falling sharply hit bottom and surged upward.
Though the dizzying roller coaster market conditions left them vertiginous, because the market quickly recovered from the shock, they were able to minimize losses and everyone heaved sighs of relief.

“Looking at it that way, Investment Team 4 really came through for us this time.”

At Choi Gang-uk’s remark, Shin Young-hee asked a question.

“What do you mean?”
“Just days before the Real Name Financial Transaction System was implemented, Investment Team 4 took over the Korea Electric Power and Sasung Electronics stocks we were holding.”
“Oh, that’s right.”
“What would have happened if we’d still been holding them when this crash hit?”

Only then did Shin Young-hee grasp the full meaning, her expression darkening slightly.

“Ugh. Just thinking about it makes me dizzy.”
“If that had actually happened, it wouldn’t have ended there—it would’ve been pure despair. We probably would’ve dumped our stocks at the lower limit price trying to minimize losses any way we could.”

Since Investment Team 1 had indeed hastily cut losses on their holdings during those two days of collapse, Shin Young-hee nodded in agreement.

“You’re right—without Investment Team 4, we could’ve been in serious trouble.”

Song Jong-geun also seemed to share the sentiment, nodding quietly.
The thought of what might have happened if our holdings hadn’t been reduced thanks to Investment Team 4 acquiring large quantities of top-market-cap stocks like Korea Electric Power sent a chill down his spine.

“I heard they made huge profits by buying stocks when everyone at the bottom was paralyzed with fear. You’ve heard about that too, haven’t you, Manager?”

When Choi Gang-uk asked, Song Jong-geun replied flatly.

“Is there anyone in this company who hasn’t heard that story?”
“At first, I thought he was some golden parachute type who landed here, but seeing him hit a home run on his first swing, that doesn’t seem to be the case.”

Choi Gang-uk scratched his head with an embarrassed expression.
Song Jong-geun had also completely shed his initial dismissal of him as a greenhorn because of this incident, so he quietly agreed.

“Indeed.”

Meanwhile, Shin Young-hee, like most of the female employees, had been favorably disposed toward me from the start, so she spoke with sparkling eyes and a bright voice.

“I heard you graduated from Harvard University—you really are different. Aren’t you?”
“Just because someone’s a top student in school doesn’t mean they’ll be one in society… Ah, never mind.”

Song Jong-geun started to respond, then paused, swallowing his words.
With the tangible results I had demonstrated before their eyes, there was no point in saying anything more.

“How about we all grab a vending machine coffee before we start work?”

As I smoothly changed the subject, Choi Gang-uk eagerly seized the opportunity.

“Are you treating us, sir?”
“Ugh, you really want to squeeze me dry, don’t you? Fine, I’ll buy.”

Choi Gang-uk immediately stepped forward and stretched out one arm, pointing down the left side of the corridor.

“I’ve been waiting for this. Let’s go right away.”
“Haha! Sir, that’s hilarious.”

Shin Young-hee burst out laughing at his antics, and the three of them walked together toward the break room.
The break room at the end of the corridor was furnished with two vending machines and a sofa, designed as a place where employees could rest briefly.
As the three of them rounded the corner and entered the break room, they were startled to find me already there, drawing coffee from the vending machine, and they came to an abrupt halt.
Though they hadn’t been gossiping, it was still impossible not to be taken aback when the very subject of their recent conversation suddenly appeared before them.

“Good morning, Team Leader.”

Song Jong-geun greeted me first, and the other two followed suit, bowing their heads.

“Ah, good morning.”

I stood holding a paper cup and acknowledged their greeting with a question.

“Did you come for coffee?”
“Yes.”

I then pulled some bills from my pocket, inserted them into the vending machine, and gestured.

“Go ahead, pick whatever you like and have some.”
“Oh, no… you don’t have to do that.”
“It’s not expensive, just vending machine coffee. What’s the big deal?”

Song Jong-geun, flustered, hastily declined, but I brushed it off as nothing.

“I’ll head out first then.”

Watching Seok-won’s cool departure, Choi Gang-uk and Shin Young-hee hastily bowed in gratitude.

“We’ll enjoy it!”
“Thank you!”

At their successive thanks, he raised one hand slightly in acknowledgment and headed toward the office.

“Wow. I thought the chairman’s son would be arrogant, but he seems like such a good person, doesn’t he?”
“Right. He definitely has that smart vibe from Harvard.”

Choi Gang-uk stood before the vending machine, responding with a grin spreading across his face.

“The manager saved some money today.”

Song Jong-geun murmured to himself, still gazing down the corridor where Seok-won had disappeared.

“He’s definitely not some reckless chaebol heir.”

Just as opinions about Seok-won were beginning to shift, today’s encounter cemented a completely favorable impression of him.
The Seok-won I actually met was nothing like an arrogant or immature brat.
His neat appearance and refined demeanor.
And that air of composure radiating from him was something no one else could possibly emulate.

“Manager, what would you like?”

Song Jong-geun straightened his head at Choi Gang-uk’s question and spoke matter-of-factly.

“Cream coffee.”
“Oh, so you’re going for the expensive one.”
“I’ll have cream coffee too, sir.”
“Shin Young-hee, weren’t you a barley tea person?”
“Even so, I should follow the trend at times like this.”
“Got it.”

Choi Gang-uk hummed cheerfully and pressed the premium coffee button on the top row of the three rows of buttons.

* * *

The office of President Choi Jin-woo on the 10th Floor of Daeheung Securities Headquarters.
In the spacious room, with President Choi Jin-woo in the center, Director Go Young-il and I sat across from each other on opposite sofas, engaged in conversation.
As President Choi Jin-woo set down the report in his hands, he gazed at me with an expression of admiration.

“To think you’ve surpassed a 12% profit margin in just a few days—truly remarkable.”
“Indeed. It’s difficult to find anyone who didn’t suffer losses in this crash, yet you’ve achieved such results alone. It’s nothing short of astonishing.”

Director Go Young-il, who had harbored doubts about my actions mere days ago, was now busy lavishing praise, practically spitting out words in his enthusiasm.
Given such results, it would have been strange not to acknowledge them.
With an ordinary employee, there might have been a hint of wariness, but since I was directly connected to the owner, such feelings were absent.
Rather, it was evident that he was eager to make a favorable impression on me, someone whose place in the group’s future was now assured.
One might expect me to become conceited with such achievements, but I maintained a humble demeanor instead.

“The high profit margin was simply due to the magnitude of the decline.”

At that, President Choi Jin-woo smiled faintly and spoke.

“There’s no need to be so modest. You prepared in advance, seized the opportunity that came your way, and grasped it firmly—that’s how you achieved these results. Isn’t that right?”

As he looked at me as if seeking agreement, Director Go Young-il immediately chimed in.

“Exactly right. Even if one thinks the decline is excessive, timing the purchase is no easy feat without considerable courage and skill.”
“Indeed.”

Under the weight of such relentless praise, I sat quietly, offering an awkward smile.
President Choi Jin-woo leaned forward toward me and lowered his voice to ask a question.

“But did you know in advance that the real-name financial system would be implemented when you sold those stocks?”

Director Go Young-il had also been curious about this point, so he perked up his ears and watched me intently.
He had found it strange when I suddenly sold stocks during a period of continued strong gains, and just days later, the real-name financial system was abruptly implemented—such suspicion was understandable.
I couldn’t tell them the truth, and even if I did, they wouldn’t believe me anyway.
So I calmly responded with the explanation I had prepared beforehand.

“How could I have known in advance about something the Blue House was conducting in secret, without even the knowledge of government officials?”
….
“I simply anticipated that the index, which had been rising sharply, would reach a point where it needed to consolidate. By fortunate timing, that moment arrived sooner than expected.”
“Hmm. Is that truly all there is to it?”
“Yes.”

The timing was far too precise to be mere coincidence, and President Choi Jin-woo’s expression grew clouded with suspicion.
However, since he seemed reluctant to elaborate, I decided not to press further and let the matter drop.

“Setting that aside—the index has rebounded sharply, surpassing its previous highs and continuing its upward momentum. Didn’t you sell the stocks a bit too hastily?”
“We’ve already achieved a satisfactory profit margin, and more importantly, while the index did rebound, I anticipated that mixed trading conditions would persist for some time.”

At that, Director Go Young-il, seated across from me, stiffened slightly and interjected.

“You’re saying the index will fall again?”
“The market rose on bargain-hunting and expectations for government stimulus measures, but it will take more time to fully absorb the aftermath of the real-name financial system implementation.”
“Hmm.”
“There won’t be another crash as severe as this one, but there will be considerable volatility until things stabilize.”

President Choi Jin-woo stroked his chin thoughtfully, digesting my analysis, then nodded slightly.

“You’re right—it’s too massive to settle down quickly.”
“Fortunately, the stock market has recovered, but with the real-name system’s impact, the bond market is frozen and capital isn’t circulating. There’s a high probability of continued chaos for some time.”

When Director Go Young-il agreed with the assessment, President Choi Jin-woo’s expression hardened.

“Given the volatility Park will bring, we should prepare an investment strategy in advance.”
“Understood.”

Then, a thought suddenly occurred to President Choi Jin-woo, and he turned to look at me.

“By the way, why did you keep some stocks instead of selling everything?”
“The 5 billion won we invested in O-Gwang Industries is long-term capital, so I left it alone. As you know, the rest is short-term investment funds that can’t be held indefinitely.”

Recalling that the owner of the 15 billion won was Chairman Park Tae-hong, President Choi Jin-woo nodded in understanding.

“I see. Since it’s short-term capital, it’s better to lock in profits before greed tempts us to hold longer and we suffer losses.”
“Well said.”

Besides, I had never intended to sell O-Gwang Industries stock from the beginning.

‘This stock will become a ten-bagger. There’s no way I’m selling now.’

As I suppressed an inner smile, President Choi Jin-woo lifted the teacup before him and took a sip.

“So you’re returning the 15 billion won to the chairman?”
“Since the investment is complete, that’s my intention for now.”

It wasn’t money I’d committed for long anyway, so I felt no regret parting with it.

“Seeing such excellent results, the chairman will be delighted.”

Choi Jin-woo nodded slightly as he spoke.
Rather than the money itself, he would be thoroughly satisfied that his second son had succeeded spectacularly in his first investment, contrary to his concerns.
Moreover, Park Tae-hong’s trust in Choi Jin-woo, who had enabled such results, would deepen considerably, and I found myself smiling naturally.

“Since we’re on the subject, didn’t we agree to receive 30% of the investment returns as a bonus?”
“Ah, that’s right.”

With 15 billion won generating 1.9 billion in profits, I would receive 570 million won—30% of that—as a bonus.

“To generate such returns in less than a month… it’s astounding even thinking about it again.”

Choi Jin-woo spoke with genuine admiration.

“Come to think of it, half of the trading profits go to Park. That’s incredibly enviable.”
“Indeed it is.”

Go Young-il nodded with an expression suggesting he hadn’t expected things to turn out this way.
I had secured not only the authority to make independent investments but also a clause granting me half of the operational returns as a bonus.

‘I need to claim what’s mine.’

Considering this was an era when incentive systems hadn’t yet taken root in Korea, it was an extraordinary privilege that only the chairman’s son could obtain.
That’s why Go Young-il was gazing at me with such envious eyes.

“I’m thinking of sharing part of my bonus with my team members. Would that be acceptable?”
“What?”

Caught completely off guard, both Choi Jin-woo and Go Young-il wore expressions of surprise.

“You’re saying you’ll share the bonus?”
“Yes. Since this was our first trade together as a team, distributing the bonus will foster motivation and strengthen our sense of unity.”

Choi Jin-woo let out a soft exclamation of admiration.

“Not a bad idea. Still, given the magnitude of the results, the company will likely provide a separate performance bonus anyway. Do we really need to split your incentive?”
“The company’s performance bonus would certainly be appreciated, but receiving such an unexpected bonus would make the sense of achievement even greater, wouldn’t it?”
“Well, there’s no reason it can’t be done.”

Choi Jin-woo thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

“It’s your money anyway, so if that’s what you want, do as you see fit.”
“Thank you.”
“Ha, the Investment Team 4 members must be thrilled.”

As Choi Jin-woo spoke with a smile, Go Young-il chimed in.

“Indeed. The other employees must be incredibly envious.”
“If they’re envious, tell them to produce results like Investment Team 4 does.”

As Choi Jin-woo tilted his teacup, something occurred to him.

“By the way, there’s one thing I’d like to ask you.”
“Please, go ahead.”
“You received 20 billion won worth of stocks in the company’s top five market-cap holdings and sold them all before the crash, correct?”
“Yes.”
“You didn’t use credit margin loans for short selling or anything like that, so there was no real need. Why did you deliberately take on such a risk?”

Since I hadn’t engaged in short selling, there would be no profit for me even if the stock price fell.
Conversely, if the stock price had continued to rise, while I wouldn’t have suffered losses, the other teams would surely have resented me for forcing them to hand over their stocks.
I could have simply held onto the money and waited, then scooped up the crashed stocks. Yet I had complicated matters unnecessarily.

“Upon investigation, I found that the company’s holdings in top market-cap stocks were quite substantial.”

I spoke in a matter-of-fact tone.

“That’s inevitable when you’re trying to track the index with your investments.”

Choi Jin-woo nodded at Go Young-il’s words.
Other securities companies typically invested the same way, so it wasn’t unusual.

“I could see signs of a decline, and if we’d simply left things as they were, the company’s losses during the crash would have been substantial. I was trying to minimize that.”

In the market crash, not only individual investors but also securities companies suffered considerable losses as they dumped declining stocks.
However, Daeheung Securities was able to minimize losses and weather the storm thanks to Seok-won taking a significant portion of their holdings and selling them off beforehand.
While Investment Team 4, led by Seok-won, generated substantial profits, it was also thanks to him that President Choi Jin-woo and Director Go Young-il could converse with such ease and satisfaction.
President Choi Jin-woo, who had only belatedly discovered the arrangements Seok-won had made without his immediate awareness, let out an exclamation of admiration.

“I had no idea you were thinking of such things.”
“Certainly, without Park Team Leader, the trading department’s losses would have been substantial.”

Director Go Young-il also acknowledged Seok-won’s assistance with a look of surprise on his face.
In essence, Daeheung Securities itself had overcome the crisis without great difficulty thanks to Seok-won.
President Choi Jin-woo gazed at Seok-won with fresh eyes and became inwardly convinced.

‘He denies it, but he must have known about the implementation of the real-name financial system in advance and acted accordingly.’

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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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