Chapter 23: Cobalt Gate (1)

The investigation was only concluded three years later.

The executives who made hundreds of billions in profits from the stock price increase were found not guilty. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs employees who issued a press release and distributed a report without any verification were also found not guilty.

Worse still, there was no investigation into the higher-ups in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who were suspected of being involved in the operation.

Chairman Cheon Deok-yu was the only one to receive a two-year prison sentence, suspended for three years. There was no confiscation or recovery of the illicit gains.

But that's not the end of it.

As they say, a needle thief becomes a cattle thief. Now, he has grown into a more formidable fraudster and will later become the mastermind behind a major fraud that will shake the Republic of Korea.

KNC International's stock price plummeted repeatedly, eventually becoming a penny stock at 100 won, and was delisted four years after the incident.

I could have just sold and left, but...

"Wouldn't it be better to make a grand explosion?"

* * *

Min Hong-su.

A graduate of the Department of Journalism and Information at Korea University, he joined the largest economic newspaper in Korea, Jung-hung Economic News.

When he first became a journalist, he thought he could write whatever articles he wanted. But that was just his own illusion.

As an economic newspaper, he mainly wrote articles about the economy, and most of the articles related to the Korean economy were connected to the chaebols.

And Korean media companies were not free from the influence of the chaebol groups.

If he wrote articles criticizing the chaebols or pointing out their problems, protests would come in immediately, and advertisements would be pulled.

Therefore, most media companies only published favorable articles about the chaebols and either ignored negative content or mentioned it briefly.

Min Hong-su wrote articles about the issue of succession in management and the management abilities of the third generation of chaebols after the Premus incident, but they were all cut from above.

He didn't have a strong sense of mission to fight against the establishment. He just wanted to write the articles he wanted to write.

'But it's not that easy.'

Feeling frustrated, Min Hong-su went outside to clear his head and took out a cigarette.

Just as he was about to light it, his phone rang.

He looked at the name on the screen and answered the call.

"This is Min Hong-su."

[Hello, this is Han Miru. You contacted me before about an interview, right?]

It was the new employee who exposed the Premus incident.

"Ah! Hello."

[Can we meet now?]

The Premus incident had shaken the financial world, but he hadn't given any interviews to anyone. Min Hong-su was curious about many things regarding the incident.

Min Hong-su nodded immediately.

"Yes. Where are you now? I'll come to you."

* * *

I met a man at a café.

He introduced himself by handing me his business card.

"Hello, I'm Min Hong-su from Jung-hung Economic News."

"Pleased to meet you. I'm Han Miru."

I looked at him.

He was 33 years old, tall, and slender, wearing black horn-rimmed glasses. His sharp jaw and thick eyebrows made him look a bit stern.

In reality, he was a passionate journalist with a strong sense of justice, which is rare in today's world.

But as the saying goes, a protruding nail gets hammered down. Just like anywhere else, it's hard for a person with a strong sense of justice to survive.

Because he didn't listen to others and wrote many exposés, he became unpopular at the company and was eventually pushed to a less important position.

After that, he quit Jung-hung Economic News and moved to an internet media company called 'NewsTrigger.'

It was a small, common internet media company, incomparable to Jung-hung Economic News, but here he broke a major scoop that would shake the Republic of Korea.

I remember his name because of that.

Well, that's a story for later...

"Thank you for agreeing to the interview. Actually, I have many questions about the Premus Fund. I heard you quit the company. Was there any external pressure?"

"No, there wasn't."

It seemed he was also curious about what happened during the process.

"Let's take our time with the interview. Before that, I have something to tell you."

"What is it?"

I got straight to the point.

"Do you know a company called KNC International?"

He nodded readily.

"Yes. It's a stock that's been in the news lately."

As an economic journalist, he knew about it. This makes things easier.

"Do you know it's a manipulated stock?"

"I have a rough idea."

Min Hong-su asked curiously.

"But why are you interested in this? Stock manipulation isn't something new."

"That's true."

Stock manipulation is a daily occurrence in the stock market. But this time, it's different.

"How many of these manipulations involve the government?"

"That's..."

"This is corruption at the level of the administration."

He was shocked by my words.

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it. Isn't it strange that a government agency would get involved in a company's public disclosure?"

"There have been similar cases."

When a company wins a major contract or attracts large-scale investment, relevant departments or local representatives might mention it and even visit the company to congratulate them.

This incident could be one of those cases, but...

"Has anyone verified the existence of the cobalt mine in Congo? Has a Ministry of Foreign Affairs employee actually gone there to dig the ground? Do you really believe a few videos and photos, and the word of a professor from an unknown research institute whose work is also unknown?"

"Then why do you think the Ministry of Foreign Affairs got involved?"

I said, as if I had been waiting for this question.

"Because they received a bribe."

"Who?"

"Who do you think?"

"Surely not the employees who distributed the press release?"

"The employees were just following orders from above. Of course, many of them bought the stock during the process. If you dig deeper, you'll find many of them."

"Then, Director Oh Myung-ji?"

"Higher than that. How many people in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs can give such orders?"

Min Hong-su had a look of realization.

"Surely not..."

"Yes. Deputy Minister Jeong Hyun-cheol."

While not many people remember the names of deputy ministers, let alone the ministers...

"Isn't he the brother-in-law of Secretary Kim Han-su?"

Indeed, he's not just any journalist.

For reference, Secretary Kim Han-su is a close confidant of President Oh Young-hwan, known as the president's right-hand man.

After the cobalt mine was revealed to be a lie and the stock price plummeted, the prosecution and the Financial Services Commission launched an investigation. This included an investigation into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

But as the saying goes, a crab favors its own kind. The investigation into the government department was not thorough.

There was no search and seizure, no summons, no confrontation. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed they had only followed KNC International's statements, and all the involved employees were found not guilty.

No one was punished, and no one was identified as the person who gave the orders.

So, how do I know all this?

It was revealed in a completely unrelated way years later.

The current Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jeong Hyun-cheol, was appointed as the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the next government.

However, during the preparation for his confirmation hearing, there were suspicions that he had intentionally underreported his assets. Upon investigation, it was found that his wife's assets had increased by 42 billion won in just three years.

When they looked into how she had made such a huge amount of money in a short time, it turned out she had invested in KNC International.

She had made over 42 billion won from a manipulated stock that had caused many retail investors to lose their savings!

At the confirmation hearing, Jeong Hyun-cheol claimed it was a legitimate investment, but who would believe him?

Naturally, his appointment as minister was canceled, and an investigation by the prosecution followed.

He had bought the stock at 2,500 won before the public disclosure of the cobalt mine and sold it at 37,700 won, making a profit of over 14 times.

He had even borrowed the money to buy the stock from Chairman Cheon Deok-yu!

He made 42 billion won without spending a single penny of his own. It was a miracle of financial management.

Min Hong-su, hearing my story, was incredulous.

"Wait a minute. So you're saying Deputy Minister Jeong Hyun-cheol received the stock from Chairman Cheon Deok-yu and ordered the public disclosure and press release?"

"Exactly."

He asked, bewildered.

"Does that make sense?"

"It doesn't, which is why it's illegal."

In short, a deputy minister had received a bribe and participated in stock manipulation.

If he had just retired, he could have lived well with that money. But his desire for power led him to seek a ministerial position, only to be thoroughly investigated during the confirmation hearing.

Min Hong-su twirled his pen with his fingers, deep in thought.

After about 16 spins, he looked up and asked.

"But how do you know all this?"

"I received a tip from an insider."

"Who is it?"

I shrugged.

"The source doesn't want to be known."

"Then do you have any evidence?"

"It will come out if you trace the accounts."

"To write an article, I need evidence."

Of course, it would be hard to write an article based solely on my words without any concrete evidence. Besides, I'm not directly involved in the manipulation, and I'm just passing on the information I received.

Min Hong-su looked uncertain, wondering whether to believe me.

If someone else had said this, he might have dismissed it.

But I'm different.

Because I exposed the Premus Fund. If I could expose one fraud, why not another?

"I knew about this manipulation from the beginning. That's why I know who the involved parties are and how it will end. When the manipulation group sells, who buys the stock?"

"Individuals, I guess."

"Exactly. While individuals are losing their savings, the manipulation group is making money. Deputy Minister Jeong Hyun-cheol and the involved Ministry of Foreign Affairs employees are also profiting. If you dig deeper, you might find more people involved."

Min Hong-su's expression became serious.

He realized that if this were true, it would be a major issue.

"I don't have direct evidence, but I have circumstantial evidence."

"Circumstantial evidence?"

"I'll tell you if you promise to keep it confidential."

Min Hong-su nodded.

"I promise."

I showed him the account statement I had obtained from Seon-woo.

The name and account number were redacted, but the amounts were still visible. The balance had already exceeded 10 billion won.

The profit so far was over 900%.

Min Hong-su was shocked.

"Ten... billion..."

I said to him, his mouth still agape.

"Find out what the International Resource Exploration Research Institute does and who the professor is. If you plan to write an article, do it as soon as possible. The manipulation group is already preparing to escape."

After saying this much, he should be eager to write the article.

I stood up.

"Then I'll take my leave."

Min Hong-su, looking flustered, grabbed my arm.

"Wait a minute."

"What is it?"

"Aren't we going to do the Premus incident interview?"

Now that I think about it, that's why we met.

I said matter-of-factly.

"Ah! Let's see the article first."

"..."