New Employees With an Annual Salary of 1 Trillion Won - Chapter 86

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 86. To Korea (1)

 

The General Manager moved really quickly.

 

Just three days after handing over the WorldCom and Tyco materials, the research specialized subsidiary under Tiger Fund Headquarters released a short selling report.

 

Song Branch Manager and I carefully read through the short selling report.

 

It was packed with not only the evidence we had found, but also evidence secured at the headquarters level.

 

“The short selling report is filled with highly credible content.”

 

“Actually, credibility isn’t that important. All of Wall Street knows that we led the Enron short selling, and the market has no choice but to move just from rumors that we’re proceeding with WorldCom and Tyco short selling.”

 

“But using a subsidiary instead of Tiger Fund Headquarters to release the report – is that because of legal issues?”

 

Considering the impact, it would have been right for headquarters to move.

 

But deliberately using a subsidiary seemed to be for minimizing risk.

 

“That’s right. Even if the content of the short selling report is 100% true, it could draw suspicion from financial authorities, and if there are any incorrect parts, it could even lead to legal problems, so we often use subsidiaries to be safe.”

 

“As long as the content of the short selling report is factual, there shouldn’t be any problems at all.”

 

“Actually, isn’t that something to worry about later? Right now the market’s reaction is more important.”

 

The timing of the short selling report’s release was quite coincidental.

 

It was released 30 minutes before the US stock market opened.

 

The moment the stock market opened, the short selling report demonstrated tremendous explosive power.

 

“WorldCom and Tyco’s stock prices are plummeting.”

 

“Maybe because there’s the precedent of Enron, everyone is dumping their shares. Actually, even if they dump shares now, there’s no one to buy them, so it’s useless.”

 

“It seems like other market forces have joined in besides us.”

 

“Rumors have started circulating on Wall Street that stocks we short sell will definitely fall. There are even stories that some financial companies have created dedicated teams just to track our movements.”

 

We had made good profits from short selling several times.

 

We had been generating large profits from the IT bubble until now, and with the Enron short selling, we were raking in money by the bucketload.

 

“It feels like all of Wall Street is attacking WorldCom and Tyco.”

 

“It’s not just Wall Street.”

 

The Branch Manager showed me several internet articles.

 

[Tyco, Suspicions of Slush Fund Formation!]

 

[Are WorldCom’s Sales All Fabricated?]

 

[IT Companies Stained with Accounting Manipulation]

 

Major media companies had started covering this incident.

 

Every time an article broke, stock prices fell even faster.

 

“Thanks to the article, the stock price has already plummeted over 10%.”

 

“This is just the beginning. Once radio and TV media join in, it could fall more than 30-40% by today. And political circles have started taking interest in this matter too.”

 

American politicians had tasted success with the Enron hearings.

 

Perhaps because the presidential election wasn’t far off, they moved even more aggressively, and accounting fraud companies were excellent prey for raising politicians’ recognition.

 

“Will there be hearings this time too?”

 

“The possibility is very high. And judging by the news that the SEC has already started moving, there’s a chance hearings could be held within this week.”

 

“I don’t understand what they were thinking when they manipulated their accounting. In fact, even if we hadn’t exposed it, this problem would have exploded within 1-2 years anyway.”

 

Accounting manipulation was bound to be exposed eventually.

 

Of course, there could be cases where companies voluntarily reported and corrected it as a mistake rather than manipulation.

 

But for that to be possible, they would need to achieve performance that exceeded the accounting errors.

 

“Maybe they did it because they didn’t know the IT bubble would burst?”

 

“I think they did it because they mistakenly believed the company would continue growing.”

 

“That’s very likely. They might have been thinking of maximizing the company’s value to sell it. But the IT bubble would have ruined all their plans.”

 

“Plans made without considering variables are bound to collapse.”

 

Korea was the same.

 

There were several companies that had problems with accounting fraud due to the IMF crisis.

 

“Oh! And please make some time today. Accountant Kim Do-yoon is scheduled to start work at Tiger Fund today. We should at least exchange greetings, shouldn’t we?”

 

“You mean the person who was at Andersen Accounting Firm.”

 

“Since he was also a key player in the Enron short selling, you two would have a lot to talk about, wouldn’t you?”

 

Before long, a staff member came in bringing Accountant Kim Do-yoon.

 

He entered with a skeletal face, as if he had suffered greatly in the United States.

 

“Nice to meet you. I’m Kim Do-yoon.”

 

“You must have had a hard time coming such a long way. I’m Song Sang-yeon, serving as Branch Manager at the Korean Branch. And next to me is Deputy Manager Lee Jung-hoo.”

 

“Nice to meet you. I’m Lee Jung-hoo. Your performance at the hearings was truly impressive.”

 

We exchanged handshakes with each other.

 

At that moment, I began to see Accountant Kim Do-yoon’s gear teeth.

 

And I could feel that his gear teeth and mine were a perfect match in specifications.

 

“Such a young person has risen to Deputy Manager. I heard a lot about this Deputy Manager from General Manager Kang Dong-ju. Please take good care of me going forward.”

 

“I should be the one asking you to take good care of me.”

 

He said he’s an accountant?

 

He was a talent who would be of great help in analyzing accounting data and gathering evidence.

 

Strangely, I liked Kim Do-yoon very much from the moment I first saw him.

 

Of course, he was more than 15 years older than me, but what did age matter?

 

Useful gear teeth should be collected first and then utilized.

 

From the moment I first saw Kim Do-yoon, I accepted him as part of my structure.

 

***

 

General Manager Kang Dong-ju couldn’t help but laugh while watching TV.

 

Chairman Robertson, who was watching TV with him, also shook his head and enjoyed the situation.

 

“I wonder what such a cowardly person was thinking when they committed embezzlement.”

 

“I never thought they’d confess to embezzlement because they were scared to attend the hearing.”

 

The management of WorldCom and Tyco confessed almost simultaneously.

 

They held press conferences to admit accounting mistakes and even announced they would hire multiple accounting firms to correct them.

 

But who would believe it was just accounting mistakes?

 

In WorldCom’s case, the scale of accounting manipulation already revealed exceeded 4 billion dollars.

 

For Tyco, it was revealed that they had filled a privately owned island with expensive artworks and yachts, not to mention the management’s wife’s birthday party.

 

“They’ll hit rock bottom tomorrow. Shouldn’t we start liquidating soon?”

 

“I’ve already ordered liquidation. And we’ve already finished liquidating Enron.”

 

“The return rate should be quite good, what percentage did we hit?”

 

“We achieved exactly 90%. WorldCom and Tyco are also expected to have similar return rates.”

 

Chairman Robertson still had excellent numerical sense.

 

Like someone who had worked in funds his entire life, he instantly calculated the return rate and profits from this short selling operation.

 

“The total short selling scale is 10 billion dollars, right? With 5x leverage, the return rate would be 450%, and the profit would reach 9 billion dollars.”

 

“That’s correct. Even after deducting lobbying costs, prime broker fees, and various other expenses, we’re expecting 9 billion dollars in profit.”

 

“Hehehe, earning 9 billion dollars in just one month. I really think it was right to put you in the general manager position. You might be able to achieve your promised pledge within the first half of the year.”

 

Tiger Fund’s operating capital before the IT bubble was 22 billion dollars.

 

However, headquarters’ funds had shrunk to 6 billion dollars, and thanks to the Korean branch earning 6 billion dollars, the operating capital could reach 12 billion dollars.

 

But if we earned 9 billion dollars from this short selling operation.

 

Tiger Fund’s total operating capital could be restored to 21 billion dollars.

 

“With the profits from short selling IT companies as well, we can fill our operating capital up to 22 billion dollars within this month.”

 

“You’ve recovered all the money those idiots lost.”

 

“But we’re still far from there. My pledge was to achieve 16 billion dollars in profit by this year. We still need to earn another 6 billion dollars before I can confidently maintain my position as General Manager, don’t you think?”

 

It was a profit rate that no financial company on Wall Street had ever achieved.

 

An annual return of 30-50% is considered satisfactory profit.

 

But General Manager Kang Dong-ju couldn’t be satisfied with just that level of profit, and wanted to raise Tiger Fund’s managed assets to Wall Street’s highest level.

 

“If you’re too greedy, you might take a big fall.”

 

“I don’t think this level is greedy at all. I want to be recorded not as one of Wall Street’s Top 3 Hedge Funds, but as the overwhelmingly number one fund.”

 

“Haha, that sounds good just hearing it. But don’t push yourself too hard. What you’ve already accomplished is more than enough.”

 

“Still, it’s not enough yet.”

 

Life returned to Chairman Robertson’s face.

 

Though he had even considered dissolving Tiger Fund, thanks to General Manager Kang Dong-ju and Deputy Manager Lee Jung-hoo, he had regained his former reputation.

 

All the burdens on his mind had been lifted.

 

Now he felt like traveling around with peace of mind.

 

“So when are you going to Korea?”

 

“The liquidation of WorldCom and Tyco short selling profits should be completed within this week. I plan to return to Korea then.”

 

“Then I’ll go to Korea with you at that time. I’d like to observe Deputy Branch Manager Mr. Lee up close.”

 

“I’ll take good care of you.”

 

Even while they were having their conversation, stock prices were plummeting.

 

Not only WorldCom and Tyco, but all IT technology stocks were crashing simultaneously.

 

Thanks to this, Tiger Fund’s profit rate was rising steeply.

 

***

 

I received word that the General Manager had returned to Korea.

 

I hurried to the Fund Office and encountered Chairman Robertson, whom I had never expected to see.

 

“It’s an honor to see you again!”

 

“Your eyes are still full of spirit. It’s like looking at myself in my younger days. Hahaha. Mike General Manager isn’t giving you a hard time, is he?”

 

“I’m very satisfied with my current environment.”

 

The Chairman’s appearance froze the entire Korean Branch.

 

Among the Korean Branch staff, quite a few were seeing the Chairman in person for the first time, and everyone held their breath while focusing on the Chairman’s voice.

 

At least I was a bit better off.

 

I had already met him once before, and General Manager Kang Dong-ju was standing beside me with a very pleased smile.

 

“I heard you led this short selling operation. You must have worked very hard.”

 

“It was a result made possible because the General Manager and all the staff worked together.”

 

“You sure know how to speak nicely. You’re definitely different from those idiots at headquarters. So, have you decided on the next investment target?”

 

“We’re still looking into it.”

 

Finding companies with accounting manipulation was never an easy task.

 

Even running the corporate credit system hadn’t yielded any suitable companies yet, and I hadn’t focused on searching for investment targets since I was concentrating on patent development.

 

“Well, you can’t easily find investment targets like this one. Alright, everyone get back to work. Just treat me like I’m not here.”

 

How could we treat him like he wasn’t there?

 

All the Korean Branch employees were hesitating and just watching the Chairman’s reactions.

 

Just then, one of the office phones rang loudly without any sense of timing.

 

“Answer the phone. Why are you all being so cautious?”

 

Since all the staff were frozen, I answered the phone.

 

Through the handset came the voice of Manager Kim, who was number one in the company for having no sense of timing.

 

[Employee Lee! Apple contacted us. They say they want to send working staff to Korea for discussions? You need to call them back.]

 

“What kind of discussions does Apple want to have?”

 

[They said they want to talk about that with you, Employee Lee. It seems you need to make the call.]

 

“Understood. I’ll return to the office and contact Apple.”

 

I had been the main point of contact with Apple’s working staff.

 

But was there something that required them to come all the way to Korea for discussions?

 

While I was lost in thought for a moment, the Chairman quietly approached me.

 

“What was that call about? I heard something about Apple?”

 

“Apple contacted us saying they have something to discuss and asked me to call them back.”

 

“Really? Contact them right now.”

 

I had planned to return to Nexpin to communicate.

 

But since the Chairman was looking at me with expectant eyes, I had no choice but to make the call from here.

 

But the Chairman’s expression seemed unusual.

 

He was even giving off an atmosphere like he was about to do something unplanned.

 

Annual Salary 1 Trillion New Employee Chapter 86

 

E-book Publication Date | 2025.11.27

 

Author | Seo Oh

 

Publishers | Heo Heung-beom, Park Geon-won

 

Published by | Poten

 

Address | [04783] 10th Floor, 8 Yeonmujang 11-gil, Seongdong-gu, Seoul

 

Phone | 02-6320-8500

 

Fax | 02-6320-8585

 

ISBN | 9791175305892

 

Price | 100 won

 

ⓒ Seo Oh 2025

 

This e-book is a copyrighted work protected by copyright law.

 

This e-book is published under contract with the author, and unauthorized reproduction, copying, distribution, and sharing are prohibited without written consent from both parties.

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