Chapter 24: Cobalt Gate (2)

Minhongsu immediately submitted a report to the head of the economic department upon his return.

Director Lee Yongmin looked at the materials he had organized and asked,

"So, you're saying that KNC International is the work of the operation forces."

"Yes. After a preliminary investigation, it turned out that the International Resource Exploration Research Institute was a non-existent entity, and when I inquired with the Geological Society, the Dutch professor who wrote the report was not on their list. The acquisition of the mine was merely securing a certain period of mining rights, and it seems they have no intention of mining."

"How do you know that?"

"I checked, and they haven't even ordered mining equipment or conducted geological surveys. I also contacted three cobalt processing companies, and they all said they had never heard of it."

"What about the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' announcement?"

"I'm not sure."

"Hmm, were they deceived too?"

Director Lee Yongmin skimmed through the materials again.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had consistently issued press releases, and the media had written articles without any particular suspicion. But if this was a conspiracy by forces to manipulate stock prices?

"Was there anything else noteworthy?"

"Yes, well."

"If it's good, it could be a scoop. Try writing it."

"Understood."

Minhongsu deliberately did not mention that Deputy Minister Jung Hyunchul was involved.

If it was known that a key figure in the current administration was involved, they would surely be instructed to verify the facts before publishing the article.

In that process, the forces would notice and destroy evidence while selling their stocks.

There might even be pressure to not write the article at all.

He was the type who had to write the articles he wanted to write to feel satisfied.

Minhongsu firmly resolved in his heart.

'Once the article is published, I'll get permission.'

Forgiveness is easier to obtain than permission.

* * *

Park Geonhwi felt a pang of envy every time he saw Kang Seonwoo.

He came from a well-off family. He had never really worried about money since he was young. He thought he was at least a silver spoon, if not a golden one.

He graduated from a good university, got a good job, and was in a better position than most people.

But the guy he thought was nothing special hit a windfall in just a few days.

'He bought it with a loan and even maxed out his credit, and it's already up five times. How much did he make? Could it be over 10 billion?'

Given that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had made an announcement, it was likely to be true, not just a rumor.

Park Geonhwi, flustered, called his cousin who worked at Mirae Investment Securities.

"Brother! What's going on here?"

[I don't know either. But with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs involved, it could be real.]

"Really!?"

[With this kind of good news, it could go up three to four times more.]

"Is that really true?"

If the cobalt mine is real, the stock price might just be starting to rise.

Riding this wave is an opportunity to make money.

He sold his shares in Yuseong Electronics and bought about 100 million won worth of KNC International shares at 20,000 won each. The stock was up 10% today.

Surprisingly, as soon as he finished buying, the stock price soared to the upper limit. In an instant, 100 million won became 120 million won.

Instead of being happy, he felt regret.

'Damn! I should have bought more.'

He couldn't take it anymore.

Park Geonhwi sold all his stocks and bought more on margin.

He even took a vacation to keep an eye on the stock. Fortunately, the stock price continued to rise. When some journalists and analysts raised questions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued several press releases.

[KNC International has submitted a comprehensive report detailing the reserves to the Congolese government as part of the development agreement. The Congolese government has reviewed the exploration process and results and confirmed that KNC International has been granted exclusive development rights.]

Chairman Cheon Deokyu expressed his ambitions to the media.

"We plan to start cobalt mining by the end of the year. We will also establish KNC Battery to manufacture batteries in-house and supply them to leading car manufacturers such as the BMW Group and the Volkswagen Group. KNC International will transform into a comprehensive energy company leading South Korea."

The announcement thrilled the shareholders.

- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it's true, so why don't some people believe it?

- Haha, they just didn't buy it and are saying they don't believe it.

- Put it down. That's why you can't make money when others do.

- How about suggesting a move to the KOSPI at the next shareholders' meeting?

- Good idea. The stock is undervalued on the KOSDAQ. It will rise five times more on the KOSPI.

- How about moving to NASDAQ?

- I'm all for it!

- Selling now would be a fool's move. This stock will go up ten times more.

- This is a stock to pass down to your children.

- Oh! If it had risen six days in a row last week, it would have hit a six-day high.

- Now we just need to start another rally!

- Let's push the stock price up today.

- Go!

- Fight!

- Go!

- Fight!

Park Geonhwi actively posted and commented, sharing his joy with other shareholders.

He was happy every day as he watched his balance grow.

'I've been a fool, buying only blue-chip stocks for long-term investment. I should have done this long ago.'

Life and stocks are all about one big hit, aren't they?

'Let's aim for 50,000 won. When it hits 50,000 won, I'll sell everything and exit!'

Park Geonhwi gathered all his strength and shouted,

"Great! Let's go!"

* * *

After meeting with journalist Minhongsu and passing on the information,

I immediately started selling my stocks. I thought no one would buy this garbage stock at this price, but it sold well at the market price.

After selling all my shares at an average cost of 36,300 won, I let out a sigh of relief.

Even after paying back the 812.6 million won I borrowed through margin trading and the interest, I still had about 1.305 billion won.

When Seonwoo came home from work and checked his account balance, he jumped around the room, shouting,

"Wow! Is this real? Is this for real?"

I calmly said,

"Stop jumping. The neighbors will come up."

So I had already run around the parking lot downstairs earlier.

"Seriously, making money is this easy?"

"That's what I'm saying."

I tried to act calm, but I was equally amazed.

500 million won turned into 1.305 billion won. It was a 20-fold increase.

I knew it would happen before I invested, but it was still shocking to see the money in my hands.

It would take a lifetime of working to earn this much salary. But it's possible with investments.

This experience gave me confidence.

If you know the future, making money is easy. The important thing is how much you can make.

Seonwoo was still in a daze.

"1.305 billion won... 1.305 billion won in my account."

"Snap out of it, man."

After a while, Seonwoo finally came to his senses and said,

"But it's still going up. Didn't we sell too early?"

As he said, the stock price continued to rise after I sold, closing at 38,200 won.

According to my memory, the stock price, which had risen to just under 40,000 won, started to decline when major shareholder Cheon Deokyu began selling.

However, it didn't plummet immediately and continued to trade above 30,000 won for a while.

During this time, Cheon Deokyu disposed of 80% of his shares.

But this time, it will be different.

"Now is the time to end it."

* * *

This operation was carefully designed by Cheon Deokyu, leveraging his experience in overseas business (or so he claimed).

First, he chose a struggling company on the KOSDAQ and merged with it to achieve a backdoor listing. Then, he started to push the stock price up.

While it appeared that trading volume was increasing in the market, it was actually self-trading, and he used overseas accounts to disguise it as foreign investment.

One strange thing was that the stock price rose faster than expected.

"The retail investors are getting hooked as the stock price rises."

Actually, raising the stock price is simple.

For stocks with low trading volume, the price goes up the more you buy. The problem is that the opposite happens when you sell.

When you sell, the price goes down the more you sell.

To keep the price up, you need a good reason.

So he came up with the grand idea of overseas resource exploration.

Resource exploration is like a lottery.

While the probability is extremely low, the potential for a huge payoff is enormous. If high-value minerals like gold or diamonds are found in an abandoned mine, it's like hitting the jackpot.

Of course, such things rarely happen in reality.

However, while it's difficult to make it happen, it's easy to make people believe it has.

He registered a plausible research institute, hired someone with a professor's title, and paid them to write a report.

He also hired analysts and journalists, bribing them with cash and gift cards to write convincing reports and articles.

It's impossible to verify the reality. Who would come all the way to Congo to inspect a cobalt mine?

However, there was a clear limit to how much the stock price could rise based on rumors alone.

Here, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs played a crucial role.

Deputy Minister Jung Hyunchul, who received the stock, faithfully performed his role. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced KNC International's report as is.

It was unprecedented for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to mention an individual company's report. When journalists inquired, the Ministry even issued an official press release.

With the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirming the reality of the cobalt mine, the stock price started to soar. A stock that was only 1,500 won last month is now over 30,000 won.

A stock that was buried somewhere at the bottom of the market capitalization ranking is now proudly listed in the top 100 on the KOSDAQ.

There were even talks among shareholders about moving to the KOSPI.

The atmosphere was better than ever.

'The moment for my efforts to bear fruit has arrived.'

He held 28.7% of KNC International's shares as the major shareholder. At the current market price, it was worth over 200 billion won.

However, selling it at the market price was not easy.

Generally, the sale by a major shareholder, especially the chairman, is considered bad news. It implies that there is a problem or the stock is overvalued.

Therefore, the moment his sale became known, the stock price would plummet.

To prevent this, Cheon Deokyu was already playing the media.

"I will invest the funds obtained from selling the stocks into battery development. The stock sale is solely for securing investment funds!"

Even if the cobalt mine were real, battery development is a completely different field.

It's a question whether even large corporations would invest trillions of won in it, but investors didn't doubt his words, and the journalists who received favors wrote them down verbatim.

[KNC International Enters Battery Business Directly]

[KNC Battery to Transform into Comprehensive Energy Company!]

[Considering Joint Ventures with Global Car Manufacturers!]

But such lies couldn't last long. Therefore, he needed to sell as much as possible as quickly as possible.

The current surge in trading volume was the perfect opportunity to sell.

'I should talk to Deputy Minister Jung Hyunchul soon.'

Just as he was about to start selling in earnest... something completely unexpected happened.