Chapter 25: Cobalt Gate (3)

[(Exclusive) KNC International's False Disclosure on Cobalt Mine Operation]

(Continued) It was confirmed that the International Resource Exploration Research Institute was a phantom institute with only a mailbox, and Professor Vincent van Horn, who wrote the report, was actually a literature professor not registered with the Geological Society.

The cobalt mine itself did not even exist.

Then, on what grounds did the Ministry of Foreign Affairs make this announcement?

According to an insider, Deputy Minister Jeong Hyun-chul of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reportedly bought about 900,000 shares of KNC International, including margin trading, just before the report was disclosed, under his wife's name.

There were even testimonies that he borrowed 20 billion won from Chairman Cheon Deok-yu to buy the shares.

This implies that Deputy Minister Jeong Hyun-chul received a bribe from a private company and participated in stock manipulation. When we inquired with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we received no substantial response.

When we tried to contact Deputy Minister Jeong directly, ...

Upon seeing the article posted by the Joongheung Economic News, Cheon Deok-yu was unable to hide his shock.

This was not just a matter of raising suspicions. It contained information that no one but an insider could have known.

"How the hell...?"

He couldn't understand it at all.

The fact that he had given shares as a bribe to Deputy Minister Jeong Hyun-chul was known to only a few people. The exact amount was known only to himself and Deputy Minister Jeong Hyun-chul.

But how did they find out?

While he was flustered, a call from Deputy Minister Jeong Hyun-chul came in.

As soon as he answered, he was met with a barrage of curses.

"Hey, you bastard!"

"Why are you doing this?"

"What? Why are you doing this? You're still talking after screwing me over?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Who do you think my brother-in-law is? Do you think I'll die alone? I won't let you off, you little bastard! I'll catch you and send you to jail!"

"No, no. I—"

"Son of a bitch! You've ruined my life! How are you going to take responsibility for this?"

Before he could respond, the curses continued.

He was equally flustered and confused.

Cheon Deok-yu shouted without realizing it.

"Shit! Why do you keep talking to me like I'm a kid? How old are you? Do you even have parents?"

"What, what?"

In reality, Cheon Deok-yu was over 10 years older.

"Let's talk later."

Cheon Deok-yu hung up the phone unilaterally.

This was not the time to be standing around. He needed to sell the stocks first.

He had mobilized 150 billion won for this operation, money borrowed from various sources.

If he couldn't pay it back, he didn't know what would happen to him.

'I have to sell them right now!'

But...

The buying momentum that had been there just a moment ago had vanished.

With the revelation that the cobalt mine was a lie, who would buy the stocks?

The sell orders piled up, but there were no buyers. The stock price, which had momentarily paused, plummeted to the lower limit as the bid prices disappeared.

'Just one more step... Just one more step away.'

It was an opportunity to turn worthless stocks into over 1 trillion won.

Even if he was indicted later, with this money, he could hire former judges as lawyers to defend him. Given the number of politicians and officials involved, he would likely get a suspended sentence at most.

But everything ended with this one article.

In the end, the person left holding the worthless stocks was none other than Cheon Deok-yu himself.

He screamed like a madman.

"Argh! Who the hell ruined a perfectly good meal by sprinkling ashes on it!?"

* * *

[(Exclusive) KNC International's False Disclosure on Cobalt Mine Operation]

KNC International's opening price was 39,600 won.

Just as it was about to break through 40,000 won, the article from Joongheung Economic News was posted, and the stock forum erupted.

-What's this? No cobalt mine?

-They're just trying to manipulate the market and screw over retail investors.

-That reporter is just writing trash because he couldn't buy the stock.

-What the hell is this?

-We should report Joongheung Economic News and reporter Min Hong-su for stock manipulation and spreading false information.

-I already filed a complaint with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs!

-We should send them to the cobalt mine!

-Let's all go to Joongheung Economic News and protest!

-Right! Let's show the power of shareholders!

Everyone was in disbelief.

This wasn't a dictatorship; in the 21st century, could it be true that a deputy minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs received stocks and participated in stock manipulation?

However, as time passed, other hesitant media outlets began to post their own articles.

[Deputy Minister Jeong Hyun-chul of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Disappears and Goes into Hiding]

[The Netherlands International Resource Exploration Research Institute is a Phantom Company.]

[Professor Vincent van Horn, the author of the report, has an unclear degree and is not registered with the Geological Society.]

[Is This a Grand Stock Manipulation Scam Involving the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?]

[Caution: KNC International, Individual Investors Beware!]

By then, the stock price had already hit the lower limit.

The operation forces were dumping their shares to sell, and the chaos was no different for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs employees who had participated in the speculation.

Cheon Deok-yu was supposed to inform them of the selling time, but the article broke before he could.

Reporters swarmed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with questions.

"Is it true that Deputy Minister Jeong Hyun-chul received stocks under his wife's name?"

The spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, sweating profusely, tried to explain.

"It is still under investigation. Deputy Minister Jeong did not come to work today."

"Is it true that the International Resource Exploration Research Institute is a phantom company with only a mailbox address, and Professor Vincent van Horn, who wrote the report, only lent his name?"

"Please contact KNC International for that."

"Has the cobalt mine in Congo been verified?"

"We simply posted the report we received from KNC International. The verification is still ongoing."

"What do you mean? Are you saying the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not verify the mine?"

"Verifying the mine is not the role of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We are not aware of the details."

The spokesperson seemed to be avoiding responsibility by repeatedly saying they were unaware.

This explanation was like pouring oil on a burning house.

In other words, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had made the disclosure without verifying the existence of the mine!

There were sell orders, but no buyers.

Hundreds of thousands of shares were piled up at the lower limit, but no transactions were taking place.

What had been a situation where people wanted to buy but couldn't, had now turned into a situation where people wanted to sell but couldn't. They could only watch as 30% of their wealth disappeared each day.

-What? They made the disclosure without verifying?

-So the Ministry of Foreign Affairs doesn't know if it's real or fake?

-Are these idiots really trying to justify this?

-Damn, so is there a cobalt mine or not?

-Hey, you bastards!!! You said there was a cobalt mine? ㅜㅜ

-LOL, you really love cobalt.

-I knew it was a scam from the moment they said 1 million tons.

-It's going to be delisted for sure!

-Let's go for delisting!

-Let's go to the Han River!

-What's the temperature of the Han River now?

-Maebong Bridge and Seogang Bridge are already congested. You have to wait 30 minutes to jump.

-Seongsan Bridge is clear~ Come quickly before the crowd arrives.

-The Han River meetup chat is open. Please join us via KakaoTalk.

-I'm here to pay respects.

-I had a good bowl of beef soup. Choke!

-What the hell were those people thinking? They're like lemmings.

-World's largest cobalt mine, lol. I'd be happy if there was any cobalt at all.

-It felt like a scam from the beginning.

-But why did the Ministry of Foreign Affairs make the disclosure?

-We need to investigate if the Ministry of Foreign Affairs employees bought KNC stocks!

-There's someone on the 38th floor~ Please help! ㅜㅜ

-Who bought at 38,000 won?

-LOL, you're a legend for buying at that price.

-You could have bought a hot bowl of rice soup with that money!

-Dinner tonight is rice soup!

Seon-woo shook his head as he read the posts on the forum.

"Did the retail investors just get fleeced while the big players made money?"

"That's about it."

While retail investors were victims, they were not entirely blameless.

Buying stocks without properly researching the company and just because the price was rising was a significant mistake. People who carefully research and buy a phone, but recklessly buy stocks, are common.

One of the differences between stock investing and gambling is that the results are determined by skill, not luck.

Some posts on the forum were so thoughtless that they were almost comical.

[Title: Why Can't I Get a Refund for the KNC International Stocks I Bought Yesterday?]

I just called the securities company, and they said I can't get a refund, which is so ridiculous. I'm going to the office to argue.

I heard that stocks take two trading days to settle, so I haven't received them yet. Since I haven't received them, I should be able to return them and get a refund, right?

Even a 1,000 won item from a mart can be returned within a week, so it's ridiculous that they won't refund hundreds of thousands of won worth of stocks.

If anyone wants to join me on a refund expedition, please send me a message.

-Whoa! I almost believed it!

-What do you even say to this?

-Stocks not settled yet, so refund ㄷㄷㄷ

-I've never seen such a ridiculous argument in 15 years of trading.

-I'm speechless.

-What the hell is this?

-Not bad. You can buy stocks with all your money, eat the profits if they rise, and get a refund from the securities company if they fall.

-100% successful investment!

-Aaron Baker would be amazed at this financial miracle!

-Refund! Refund! Refund!

-Refund expedition, go!

"Most people who bought the stocks probably didn't even know if the Congo mentioned in the article was the Republic of Congo or the Democratic Republic of Congo."

"What do you mean? What's the difference between the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo?"

"Turns out there are two countries called Congo."

The country north of the Congo River is the Republic of Congo, and the one south is the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The cobalt mine is in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Even the reporters were confused, mixing up the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo in their articles.

In fact, there were sufficient mechanisms to prevent speculation.

If the stock price rose abnormally, the system would issue a warning, enforce a single-price trading, and even halt trading for a period.

Yet, the buying frenzy did not stop.

Why?

Because the stock price kept rising.

Even if they knew the car was heading towards a cliff, people thought they could jump out at the last moment and kept piling in.

However, there was one blind spot.

Everyone else thought the same thing. No one expected to be the one left holding the bomb at the end.

I smiled bitterly.

"Everyone thinks they're smarter than others, but that's a big delusion."