Saturday, April 13th
Since the stock market only opened for the morning session on Saturdays, brokerage halls were usually quiet on those days.
However, today was different. From early in the morning, investors had flocked in.
The reason was clearly stated in the newspaper headlines they held in their hands or were reading while seated in the brokerage hall.
[Daehung Group Strikes Back! Announces Acquisition of 18% Stake in Donghae Oil!]
[Donghae Group Files Injunction to Prevent Daehung Textile Stake Sale to Mido Department Store!]
[Donghae Group Acquires an Additional 13.24% Stake in Mido Department Store through Tender Offer!]
[Daehung Group Hints at Hostile Takeover by Further Accumulating Donghae Oil Shares!]
[Business Community Concerned as the Stock
Battle Between the Two Groups Turns into a Mudfight!]
[Federation of Korean Industries Urges Amicable Resolution and Calls for an End to Hostile Takeover Attempts!]
"Oh my! You're all here!"
A woman with permed hair, holding a brand-new luxury handbag—perhaps a reward from her profitable Mido Department Store trades—spotted two familiar faces near a trading terminal. One was a man named Lee Guk-sang, who was always around the brokerage hall, and the other was a middle-aged man. She approached them with a delighted expression.
"You both came in today, even though it's Saturday."
The middle-aged man, who had also made a considerable profit from Mido Department Store shares, burst into laughter.
"When there's a big game on the table, does the weekend even matter?"
"Haha, exactly!"
Lee Guk-sang, who had swapped his usual brown jacket with a fruit shop logo for a brand-new suit, chuckled as well.
"We have to make a big move this time too. Isn't that why you're here, madam?"
"Of course!"
The permed-haired woman glanced around cautiously before leaning in close to the middle-aged man and lowering her voice.
"You're buying Donghae Oil shares, aren't you?"
The middle-aged man gave a slight nod.
"Mido will still rise, but it's already climbed quite a bit. Donghae Oil seems to have more room for profit."
"As expected of Mr. Kim!"
She brightened up, as if she had been thinking the same thing.
"Have you both already placed your buy orders?"
"Of course. Once the market opens, it'll be a frenzy at the trading counters. If you want to buy in early, you have to be prepared in advance."
Lee Guk-sang puffed up his chest with pride and shrugged his shoulders, prompting a hint of urgency to appear on the woman's face.
"I'd better hurry and fill out my order form too. By the way, how much are you both buying?"
As the middle-aged man shook his head slightly, he spoke in a composed tone.
"That's something each person must decide for themselves. But if you're planning to buy, you should definitely place your bid at a price higher than yesterday's closing price."
"That makes sense."
The permed-haired woman hurried over to a table before it was too late and wrote down the price she had in mind on a buy order form.
[Buy Order Price: 35,000₩]
It was 1,480 won higher than the previous day's closing price.
However, she hesitated, worried that her order might not go through. Then, after a brief pause, she tore up the order slip and pulled out a fresh one to write a new price.
[Buy Order Price: 37,000₩]
"Everyone's going to be scrambling to buy Donghae Oil. This should be high enough to secure some shares."
It was an absurdly high price, but having already made a hefty profit from Midopa Department Store shares, she was convinced that the stock would soar again due to the M&A news.
Humming a tune, the permed-haired woman looked at the buy order form in her hands.
"This time, I won't be too greedy—just double my money and I'm out."
She had already bought a handbag, so now she was thinking about getting a matching outfit or a pair of shoes.
Or maybe even a diamond ring or bracelet.
Her face lit up with excitement as she folded the buy order form and carefully tucked it into her pocket.
She wasn't the only one. Everyone in the brokerage hall was filled with the same hope and greed, eager to take advantage of the fierce stock battle between the two conglomerates.
Even before the market opened, a long line of investors had formed in front of the trading counters. Having learned from past chaos, the brokerage firm deployed all available security guards and male staff to maintain order.
But the moment trading began, Donghae Oil's stock price shot up sharply, and even Mido Department Store, which had been stagnant for a while, surged again. As investors rushed forward to buy shares, the brokerage hall quickly descended into chaos once more.
"Don't push!"
"I was here first!"
"I've been standing at the front since earlier—what nonsense are you talking about?"
"Move aside!"
"Everyone, please stay in line!"
"Please don't come forward! Stay in line!"
The security guards and brokerage staff shouted at the top of their lungs, desperately trying to restore order, but it was useless.
Instead, as the large market display board showed the stock prices of Donghae Oil and Mido Department Store turning red and rising even higher, the shoving and yelling near the counters only intensified.
[Donghae Oil: 37,600]
+ 4,080]
"Whew, it's skyrocketing straight to the upper limit—it's like watching a fire pillar shoot up."
Jung Hwan-yeop shook his head as he stared at the stock chart on his monitor. Then, still seated, he sneaked a glance at Seok-won, who was standing behind him.
Despite the soaring stock prices, Seok-won remained calm and composed.
As always, he was dressed impeccably in a tailored suit, with a striking wristwatch on his wrist. But it wasn't just any watch—it was a Vacheron Constantin Mercator Yellow Gold Watch, an exquisite piece often referred to as a work of art rather than just a timepiece. It was also a brand that Seok-won had recently acquired for his personal investment portfolio, following his purchase of Gucci.
'Wow… how much would that even cost?'
Jung Hwan-yeop had initially meant to gauge Seok-won's reaction but instead found himself mesmerized by the watch.
He wasn't exactly sure how expensive it was, but he could tell it was worth a fortune—and it suited Seok-won perfectly.
Snapping out of his brief admiration, Jung shifted his gaze to the side.
Seok-won stood alongside Choi Ho-geun, and the rest of the staff were also watching the market. But unlike the frenzied chaos outside, they all remained relaxed, simply observing the soaring stock prices from their seats.
Watching as Donghae Oil's price edged past 38,000 won, Jung Hwan-yeop finally couldn't hold back any longer.
"If this keeps up, it'll break 40,000 won before the market closes. Are we really just going to sit back and do nothing?"
Unlike yesterday, when they had aggressively bought shares to drive up Donghae Oil's stock price, today, they hadn't placed a single buy order. Because of this, Yoo Seok-hyun and Hong Jae-hee exchanged puzzled glances, staring at Seok-won in confusion.
Director Choi Ho-geun, worried that Seok-won might take offense, quickly tried to scold Jung Hwan-yeop before things escalated.
"Just keep quiet and—"
"It doesn't matter if the stock soars. I have no intention of buying any more shares anyway."
At Seok-won's smiling remark, Choi Ho-geun abruptly turned his head.
The other two men were just as startled.
"What…?"
"What do you mean…?"
Since they had already disclosed that they had secured 18% of Donghae Oil's shares and had explicitly stated that their goal was to gain management control, everyone naturally assumed they would continue aggressively acquiring stocks.
But now, hearing that they had no intention of buying more Donghae Oil shares was nothing short of shocking.
Still blinking in confusion, Jung Hwan-yeop spoke up, his face asking the obvious question.
"Weren't you planning a reverse M&A by accumulating Donghae Oil's shares?"
"It was just bluffing—meant to throw them off balance."
"If that's the case…"
"I'll call for an extraordinary shareholders' meeting and propose a management replacement, but I have no real intention of taking over Donghae Group."
Other than Choi Ho-geun, who had already been briefed on the plan, the rest of the employees couldn't hide their surprise.
Seok-won shrugged nonchalantly and continued.
"It's not a bad acquisition target—after all, it dominates the cooking oil and animal feed markets, generating steady cash flow. But in just a little while, there's going to be a fire sale, and I'll be able to scoop up shares for next to nothing. There's no reason to buy at these inflated prices now."
At the mention of a fire sale, not only Jung Hwan-yeop and the other employees but even Choi Ho-geun looked perplexed.
It was true that the M&A speculation had inflated the stock price—but a fire sale? That was absurd.
No one in the room had any idea that by next year, the IMF crisis would sweep across South Korea like a massive tidal wave.
The IMF financial crisis would trigger a nationwide fire sale, where prized companies and valuable assets would be snatched up for pennies on the dollar.
But the ones who would ruthlessly strip away the nation's wealth were none other than Western hedge funds, led by Wall Street investors. That thought brought a bitter smile to Seok-won's lips.
"In history, they let foreign investors fleece them without a fight—but this time, I won't let that happen."
Meanwhile, Jung Hwan-yeop, still unable to wrap his head around the situation, leaned back in his chair and turned fully toward Seok-won.
"If that's the case, you might fool them for a while. But once they realize it was all just a bluff, won't they become even more furious and push harder to take over Mido Department Store?"
"Of course, they will. But before long, they'll lose the ability to continue their hostile takeover. So there's no need to worry."
"Huh…?"
Jung Hwan-yeop and the other employees tilted their heads, confused by what they had just heard.
When they turned to Choi Ho-geun with questioning looks, as if asking whether he knew something, he quickly averted his gaze.
Keeping such crucial information to himself—it felt like a bit of a betrayal.
Just then, Seok-won casually raised his arm to check the time.
"In a little while, rumors will start circulating. So, it doesn't matter if the employees hear about it now."
"Are you sure about that?"
Seok-won nodded as if it was no big deal.
"I'm dying of curiosity. Please, just tell us already."
Even Jung Hwan-yeop, looking utterly impatient, couldn't help but press for answers.
"You really are something else…"
Even the younger employees, Yoo Seok-hyun and Hong Jae-hee, were staying quiet—so why was a senior manager making such a fuss?
With a groan, Choi Ho-geun rubbed his forehead, while Seok-won, still smiling, spoke up.
"Since we need to be ahead of everyone else in responding to this, let's just show them."
"Understood."
Choi Ho-geun reached into his back pocket, pulled out a folded A4-sized document, and handed it to Jung Hwan-yeop.
"What is this…? Oh."
As soon as he read the contents, Jung Hwan-yeop's eyes widened in shock.
"This… is this real?"
"Yes. It's evidence that the head of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) and high-ranking officials systematically accepted bribes to cover up accounting fraud and corruption in newly listed companies like Osung Information & Communications, among others."
Jung Hwan-yeop's expression twisted in disbelief.
"I always suspected something was off, but overlooking companies that shouldn't have been listed in the first place? And ignoring official reports of corruption? This is beyond rotten."
By now, Yoo Seok-hyun and Hong Jae-hee, who had moved closer, also frowned as they skimmed the document in Jung Hwan-yeop's hands.
"This is serious."
"How could they? And of all places, the FSS?"
"Exactly. It's like putting a cat in charge of a fish market!"
Jung Hwan-yeop, cursing under his breath in frustration, suddenly turned toward Seok-won as a thought struck him.
"But what does this have to do with Donghae Group? Why would this stop them from continuing the shareholder battle?"
At that, Seok-won flashed a sharp grin.
"Take a closer look at which firm handled the IPOs for these problematic companies."
"Huh? Let's see… Oh."
Jung Hwan-yeop's eyes darted across the document again, and suddenly, he gasped.
"Donghae Peregrine Securities was the underwriter for all of them!"
"Exactly. And Donghae Peregrine Securities played a key role, facilitating the accounting fraud, stock price manipulation, and bribery cover-ups."
The unexpected connection left everyone stunned.
"Wow… I can't believe this."
"Incredible. I was wondering why the FSS was even brought up, but now it all makes sense."
"So that's why the boss—!"
With a calm, confident expression, Seok-won observed his employees.
"Now tell me—once this comes to light, do you think Donghae Group can still push forward with their hostile takeover?"
"That would be… extremely difficult."
Jung Hwan-yeop murmured in awe, unable to keep his mouth from hanging open.
Yoo Seok-hyun, similarly impressed, asked in an admiring tone,
"Did you plan all of this from the beginning?"
Rather than answering, Seok-won simply smiled—a deep, knowing grin.