Chapter 12: The Premus Incident (1)

Park Tae-il, the CEO of Premus Asset Management, was known as the Midas touch of the bond market. As his reputation suggested, he achieved great success with every investment he touched and eventually founded his own company.

People willingly trusted him with their money, and he delivered returns to his investors. As his success continued, his greed began to grow.

The returns from investing in high-stability bonds had their limits. So, he turned his attention to private bonds issued by companies with low credit ratings.

Private bonds were almost unregulated compared to public bonds. The interest rates were high, and in the case of CBs and BWs, it was possible to gain several times the profit if the company went public.

Sometimes, he achieved returns of over 30%, but since he had publicly stated that he only invested in AAA-rated assets, he only needed to pay 5-6% to investors.

The remaining money was siphoned off using various methods.

After a few successful investments, he became complacent. However, the promise of high returns also meant the risk of significant losses.

When market conditions changed, profits quickly turned into losses.

The only way to recover the losses was to make even more aggressive investments, and he began to venture into mezzanine investments of unlisted companies.

No matter how much the losses increased, he manipulated the management reports submitted to the sales companies and regulatory agencies, so on the surface, everything seemed fine.

However, a redemption request from an institutional investor came out of the blue.

To meet the redemption request, he needed to sell the bonds he held. But at this point, even if he sold all his assets, it would be impossible to meet the redemption.

So, he opened additional funds and accepted investments from individual investors. He planned to use the money from individuals to cover the institutional investors, much like a credit card debt cycle.

‘After all, investment is a one-shot deal. The market conditions have just been bad so far. If I succeed once, the losses can be easily recovered.’

Fortunately, private funds were in a regulatory blind spot, and no one suspected the problems with the Premus funds. As long as the fund money kept coming in, there would be no immediate issues.

However, such thoughts shattered the moment he saw the breaking news.

[(Breaking News) DA Securities issues an investment caution report on the fund it exclusively sells!]

[DA Securities analyst raises questions about Premus Fund's asset acquisition history]

[Suspected of heavily investing in private bonds of troubled companies, contrary to the explanation that it only invests in public agency receivables]

“Who the hell is this guy!”

Park Tae-il read the report.

‘Han Miru?’

He knew most of the analysts at DA Securities. He had even had drinks with the head of the research department several times.

But a new employee, whom he had never heard of, had posted such a report!

Moreover, the points raised were all true, as if the new employee had seen the asset details. This was information that a new employee shouldn't have been able to uncover.

‘How did this guy find out? Could he have been instructed from above?’

Does that mean DA Securities has already started an investigation into the Premus funds?

His vision blurred, and his hands and feet trembled. At that moment, a call came from Executive Yang Jeong-wook.

‘What should I do?’

Park Tae-il pressed the call button with trembling hands.

[Have you seen the news?]

“Sir, Executive, what’s going on here...”

Before he could start making excuses, Executive Yang Jeong-wook spoke first.

[Sorry, Mr. Park.]

“...What?”

[It seems one of the research department employees posted the report without permission. I’m on my way back to the office, shocked by what I just heard. I have nothing to say to you, Mr. Park.]

‘A sudden action by an employee? Could it be that the higher-ups didn’t notice?’

To hide his desperation, Park Tae-il shouted back.

“Ah, no, can a sales company just post a defamatory report like this? You know I chose DA Securities for exclusive sales, turning down offers from other large securities firms out of our relationship. How can we continue to work together like this? I will take strong action against this incident!”

[Really sorry. I will confirm the details and take immediate action.]

Even after receiving the apology, his mind was not at ease.

If an investigation starts, everything will be exposed. He had to do whatever it takes to prevent that from happening.

Exposing a company’s problems is a common occurrence. But most of these exposures are buried.

‘So far, it’s just a suspicion without evidence.’

The assets of the Premus Fund are perfect on paper. The problem is that the assets listed on paper don’t actually exist.

‘As long as I avoid an asset audit, I’ll be fine.’

Verifying transaction records and conducting an asset audit is a time-consuming and complex process.

From what he heard, Executive Yang Jeong-wook had no idea what was going on. Since he would also be held responsible if the situation blew up, he wouldn’t initiate an investigation.

They say that even if you’re caught in a tiger’s den, you can survive if you keep your wits about you.

Park Tae-il wiped the cold sweat from his face and said,

“If you need any documents, I can send them to you. Please cancel the report and issue a correction.”

[Understood. Don’t worry.]

* * *

[DA Securities announces that the Premus Fund’s assets are 100% safe!]

[The report was a personal mistake by an employee. We will take disciplinary action according to procedure.]

[DA Securities requests the media to issue a correction.]

[Premus Asset Management will take legal action against baseless suspicions!]

[Related companies deny the allegations...]

DA Securities was in chaos due to the sudden events at lunchtime.

As news articles flooded in, DA Securities’ stock, which had been stable, suddenly dropped by over 5%.

DA Securities quickly deleted the report from their website, but it had already been reported by the media and was being reproduced on stock forums.

Calls came in from all directions, and everyone was sweating as they explained to customers.

“It was a mistake by an employee. The fund is fine.”

“Of course. It’s safe as long as the US or Europe doesn’t collapse. Think about it. If Korea collapses, will the US or Europe collapse?”

“Fund problems? No way! There’s no safer financial product than the Premus Fund.”

“You know, I explained to you when you joined that it’s the safest fund in the world.”

“It seems the employee confused this fund with another one and posted the wrong report.”

The PR team contacted the media to request the removal of the articles and drew a line, stating that the report was a personal mistake by an employee.

With the entire company in turmoil, the research department, which had caused the incident, was the target of criticism.

Yoon Young-cheol, the head of the research department, who was out for a lunch meeting with a large company’s PR team, was shocked when he received a call from Executive Yang Jeong-wook.

“I’m sorry, sir. I’ll write another report immediately and take steps to ensure there are no further issues.”

Leaving his lunch unfinished, Yoon Young-cheol rushed back to the office and shouted in anger.

“Where’s Han Miru? Find him immediately!”

* * *

I uploaded the report just before lunch and went out to eat.

Since the location is Yeouido, everyone was talking about stocks, funds, real estate, and exchange rates while eating lunch.

I had turned off my phone and didn’t look for any news, but I had a rough idea of what was happening.

I wasn’t particularly hungry but forced myself to eat. If I wanted to do something, I needed to fill my stomach first.

“I never would have imagined this if I were my old self.”

Back then, I was a well-behaved employee who just followed orders. That’s how things turned out.

But this time, it’s different.

I leisurely drank coffee and returned to the office just before the end of lunch. As I passed through the main gate, I could feel the change in the atmosphere.

The mood was completely different from when I went out for lunch. As I headed to the research department, employees who recognized me whispered in surprise.

I ignored them and returned to my department. I saw a scene I had never seen since joining the company.

All the department members were lined up as if they were being scolded, and in front of them stood Yoon Young-cheol, his face red with anger.

“Where’s Han Miru?”

Senior Dong-ho, fidgeting, said,

“I’m sorry. It seems he turned off his phone.”

“Then go out and find him!”

“Huh?”

“Go to any place he might be and bring him back by the collar!”

“Ah, I understand... Ah!”

When Senior Dong-ho saw me, he looked surprised, and everyone turned their heads toward me.

Yoon Young-cheol’s eyes widened when he saw me. He looked like he was about to slap me, so I quickly bowed.

“I’m sorry, sir.”

“Sorry? Do you even know what you’ve done?”

“Yes. The report should have been approved before posting, but I judged it was urgent, so I posted it first. I’ll make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

The head of the department looked flabbergasted.

“S, so that’s all you have to say for being wrong?”

I blinked and asked,

“Is there something else I did wrong?”

“The content is the problem, the content! What was that report about!?”

I calmly replied,

“Oh! That? It’s exactly what I reported before.”

“What?”

“There are serious problems with the Premus Fund. We need to stop selling it immediately and conduct an audit.”

“You, you...”

As Yoon Young-cheol was about to shout, a middle-aged, robust man appeared. He walked confidently toward me.

It was none other than Executive Yang Jeong-wook.

He was usually casual and friendly, popular even among regular employees, but now he had a cold expression I had never seen before.

No one spoke at his sudden appearance.

He said to Yoon Young-cheol,

“You need to manage your employees better, sir. If you can’t manage one subordinate, how can you handle bigger tasks?”

The head of the department bowed deeply, looking like he was about to cry.

“I’m sorry, sir!”

Executive Yang Jeong-wook looked at me with a stern expression and cold eyes, similar to how he looked at employees demanding compensation and bereaved families. This must be his true nature.

“You didn’t make this decision on your own. Who gave you the order?”

The report I wrote couldn’t have been thought up by a new employee alone. Posting it without permission was also not something a new employee could do.

So, it’s reasonable to suspect that someone was behind it.

“I followed orders. I did what you told me to do, sir.”

“You told you to do it?”

I nodded.

“Yes. You said that when the company’s interests conflict with the customers’ interests, the customers’ interests should be prioritized. You said that securities companies have the responsibility to protect customers’ assets and manage them with integrity. Following your advice, even if there’s a short-term loss, it will benefit the company in the long run.”

“...”