1953 Bare-handed Tycoon - Chapter 371



Only Noblemtl

371 – Securities Wave

When the stock market was booming, the entire street of Myeongdong was sparkling.

In front of the securities firm, there were shiny luxury cars parked, and the streets of Myeongdong were filled with gentlemen wearing expensive suits.

The teahouses, restaurants, and bars of Myeongdong were packed with customers, many of whom gave large tips.

People who made 2-3 times the profit couldn’t even hand out their business cards.

This was because there were many people who made profits more than 10 times their investment.

Low margins played a part in this. Many people made a lot of money by allowing customers to buy stocks with five times the amount of money they had.

There were no limits to the ups and downs of stock prices.

Since a 100% increase in a day was possible, lucky people would go to a brokerage in the morning, buy stocks, and sell them in the afternoon, making several times the money they had.

Myeongdong, which was overflowing with nouveau riche people, was enjoying its greatest prosperity since the founding of the Republic of Korea.

There were people who changed their fortunes without investing in stocks. There was even a pretty bar girl who met a money lender, paid off her debts, received a house, and became someone’s concubine.

But after the stock market crash, the street scene changed completely.

Luxury imported cars disappeared, and the faces of gentlemen who once had shiny faces became sallow.

The stores stayed open late at night with neon signs to attract customers, but the flow of customers suddenly stopped.

Public opinion on the crash was largely one of ridicule at investors who had rushed into stock speculation like moths to a flame.

There were even reports of people committing suicide by taking pills due to pessimism about failed investments, but no one received sympathy.

At that time, many people viewed stock investors as gamblers and the stock exchange as a gambling house for rich scoundrels.

Kijo collected rumors floating around Myeongdong through Daeik and reviewed the content reported by Hankook Ilbo reporters to monitor the development of the situation.

No one seemed to have thought that Kim Jong-pil of the Central Intelligence Agency had joined hands with Yoon Eung-sang to cause this situation.

Reports from reporters returning from Myeongdong became more pessimistic day by day.

“Sir, it seems that the current market is headed towards a state of insolvency from a capital settlement* shortage.”

*Capital settlement – the exchange of securities and cash on a date agreed upon by the seller and buyer.

“It is said that the outstanding funds of securities companies will amount to a whopping 300 billion won.”

The keynote speaker felt suffocated every time reporters brought him gloomy news.

300 billion won was about half of the national annual budget.

This was because a large amount of money that could have been used to develop the national economy was wiped out by the stock market crash.

The keynote speech was that Kim Jong-pil, who had carried out this enormous act, was resentful.

But what can I do?

What’s happened is what’s happened, and there’s nothing Keynote can do to stop it.

Fortunately, my sister-in-law, Sunyoung, was able to use the money she earned from investing in stocks for a good cause.

However, Kijo, who was wary of the saying that good things can lead to bad things, was careful about spending the money that Sunyoung gave him.

The first thing I did was to properly document and process the 400 million won that Soonyoung had given me.

The 100 million won to be used to help the underprivileged was delivered to Cheongsan Foods through the Hankook Ilbo, and the purpose of the donation and how it was used were also documented.

We put the 300 million won in the investment account for the construction of the steel mill and also prepared the investment documents properly.

He also gave careful advice to Sunyoung, who was planning to establish an orphanage.

“Sister-in-law, instead of running the orphanage with your own money, how about creating a foundation and running it?”

“Hey, brother-in-law, is it really necessary to do that?”

“I think that would be a good way to run an orphanage in the long term. You said you wanted to run a school too. If you want to build a school and hire teachers, you definitely need a foundation.”

“Okay, I’ll do as you say. When will you and I go look for an orphanage site?”

“Okay.”

Kijo willingly went with the couple Sunyoung and Maryang to look for land to build an orphanage.

As expected of a generous Sunyoung, he wanted to build a large orphanage. There was also a plan to build a school next to the orphanage.

As a result, Gangbuk, where land prices were high, quickly fell out of favor with Sunyoung.

“Hey, why is land price in Seoul so expensive!”

Sunyoung grumbled.

Kijo trusted Sunyoung’s choice and watched quietly.

Thinking that he might be a person born with great luck, Sunyoung turned her steps towards Gangnam.

The land that Sunyoung liked was in Gwangju-gun, Gyeonggi-do.

“This place is fine! Honey! How is it here? Isn’t the land wide and cool?”

The place that Sunyoung pointed to was a flat land on the eastern foot of Maebongsan Mountain.

“They say that the water here gets cold in the summer. Why build an orphanage in a place like this? It would be better to build an orphanage in Yeoncheon or Yangju.”

Ma-ryang kept complaining that he didn’t like the land.

Kijo approached Ma-ryang and whispered while poking him in the side.

“Do whatever your sister-in-law says.”

After hearing the keynote speech, Ma Liang coughed in vain and then said.

“Hmm, Sunyoung, do as you please. You can do whatever you want anyway, right?”

“You agree too, right? Great! I’ll buy all the land over there! I can buy several times more than I can buy in Seoul!”

Sunyoung smiled and liked it.

Kijo also looked at the land that Sunyoung had chosen with satisfaction.

Judging from the location of Maebongsan Mountain and Yangjae Stream, that place would later become Dogok-dong or Daechi-dong.

Kijo was once again amazed at Sunyoung’s luck.

* * *

A few days later, a dapper officer came to the Hankook Ilbo.

The reporters wondered what the soldier had to complain about that brought him to the newspaper office, but he actually came to meet with the chief of staff.

The officer who entered the president’s office said he was from the counterintelligence unit and politely made a request to Kijo.

“The chief of counterintelligence would like to see the president. Please give me some time.”

The officer took Kijo in a jeep and took him to the 506th Counterintelligence Unit across from the Chosun Hotel.

As we entered the captain’s office, the head of the counterintelligence unit, Kim Jae-chun, was waiting.

“Nice to meet you, President Lee Ki-jo.”

Kim Jae-chun shook hands with Ki-jo and sat down on the sofa facing him.

It was ironic that he met Kim Jae-chun in Unit 506, where those who had done their best to prevent the May 16 military coup worked.

Kim Jae-chun was the ‘number one contributor to the revolution’ who deceived and persuaded the military police dispatched to the 6th Army Command to prevent the arrest of Major General Park Chung-hee in order to make May 16 a success.

If it weren’t for him, Major General Park Chung-hee, who crossed the Han River Bridge and went to the 6th Army Corps headquarters, would have been arrested by the military police and disappeared into the back alleys of history.

Kijo was curious about what Kim Jae-chun was trying to say to him.

Kim Jae-chun, sitting across from me on the sofa, opened his mouth.

“I wanted to invite you to the counterintelligence unit and have a quiet talk. Could you keep what we talked about today a secret?”

The keynote speech was that it would be like that.

“First, let me tell you a difficult story.”

Kim Jae-chun asked for understanding.

“The Counterintelligence Service views this stock market crash as a major threat to national security. Do you agree, sir?”

“I see this as having a serious impact on the economy.”

Kim Jae-chun nodded at the keynote speech.

“The counterintelligence unit investigated people who made huge profits during the stock market crash. They found that the president’s family was among them. Ms. Yang Sun-young of Cheongsan Confectionery is the president’s sister-in-law, right?”

“Yes.”

“Can I ask how Mr. Yang Soon-young came to invest in Daejungju and how he was able to get out at such a good time and make a huge amount of money?”

Kim Jae-chun took a sharp look at the keynote.

It seemed suspicious that Cheongsan was connected to the operational forces that caused the stock market to soar and then crash.

The keynote speaker spoke calmly.

“I think I was just lucky. My sister-in-law is a lucky person.”

Kim Jae-chun laughed in vain at Kijo’s answer.

Kijo knew that Kim Jae-chun would not easily believe him, so he decided to present evidence.

“My sister-in-law made about 800 million won in profits from the stock market. She used 100 million won to donate ramen to the poor, and 300 million won to invest in a steel mill. She said she plans to use the remaining money after taxes to build an orphanage and for educational projects. She also established a foundation a while ago. If you look into my and my sister-in-law’s money flow, you will see it.”

When Kijo explained in a calm manner, Kim Jae-chun’s sharp momentum was dampened.

Kim Jae-chun asked with a gentle look in his eyes, as if asking for understanding.

“Can we look into your and your sister-in-law’s accounts?”

“You can do that as much as you want.”

The keynote speech was calm and confident, as there was nothing to be afraid of.

“Thank you for your cooperation. I thought it would be better to ask for the president’s understanding directly and then start work, so I invited you here. We investigate other people’s accounts without notice. However, this president has good relations with the government, and I wanted to meet him once, so I arranged this meeting.”

Kim Jae-chun spoke as if making excuses.

The keynote speaker saw that he was cautious because he knew that he was close to Chairman Park and Kim Jong-pil.

But why is the prosecution trying to investigate Kim Jae-chun by mobilizing the counterintelligence unit while it is investigating the securities scandal?

Kijo thought about it quietly.

Kim Jae-chun was Kim Jong-pil’s rival within the revolutionary government.

Kim Jong-pil, the representative of the 8th class of the Korea Military Academy, blew up a significant number of the 5th class of the Korea Military Academy within the revolutionary government along with Jang Do-young, but the 5th class still remained, and the representative of that 5th class was Kim Jae-chun.

He took a different path from Kim Jong-pil and later engaged in a power struggle.

It was unusual for him to quietly call me and ask me about stock investment.

I wondered if he suspected that this stock market crash was connected to Kim Jong-pil’s Central Intelligence Agency.

So, he must have suspected that he was close to Kim Jong-pil and received information and traded stocks under another person’s name.

Kijo had already neatly processed the money that Soonyoung had given him through the bank.

This would have proven that the money moved through the keynote speech did not go to Kim Jong-pil.

Kijo brought up to the surface of his memory the information he knew about Kim Jae-chun.

Kim Jae-chun was in sharp conflict with Kim Jong-pil over the direction of the current revolutionary government.

The cause was closely related to Kim Jong-pil’s founding work.

As it later became clear, he was an opponent of Chairman Park’s participation in civil affairs.

He believed that if the revolution was successful, the soldiers should return to the army.

Because he was such a person, he had no choice but to clash head-on with Kim Jong-pil, who was trying to make Chairman Park Chung-hee the president.

In addition, I had a strong personal antipathy toward my junior, Kim Jong-pil, who was like a snake and good at copying.

He was a person who did not get along well with Kim Jong-pil.

While Kijo was gathering his thoughts, Kim Jae-chun, with a cigarette in his mouth, asked.

“Shall I tell you something interesting?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“There is an author named Yoon Eung-sang who was arrested this time for the stock market crash. He is currently under arrest by the prosecution, and when the prosecutor asked him to tell the whole story of the stock market crash, he answered like this.”

“How much do you want to know, sir? It was like this… … .”

Kim Jae-chun blew out smoke and smiled bitterly as if he found it ridiculous.

The keynote speaker nodded.

Yoon Eung-sang subtly revealed that he had powerful people behind him, but did not reveal who took most of the money.

“While investigating this wave, I thought that there was a serious guy lurking behind it. When they were manipulating stock prices, they even mobilized Nonghyup and the Industrial Bank of Korea. They borrowed KEPCO stocks and Daejoong stocks owned by Nonghyup and bought and sold them. This is not something that a single securities company president could have done.”

Kim Jae-chun made a face that said he had lost his appetite.

He seemed convinced that Kim Jong-pil was behind this incident.

But although he had plenty of circumstantial evidence, he had no concrete evidence.

He spoke for several minutes about the social problems caused by the stock market crash and gave a message to Kijo.

“I beg you once again, please keep quiet about what we talked about today. Please.”

“Of course. If there is anyone who is causing chaos in the stock market, we should catch them.”

After finishing his first meeting with Kim Jae-chun, Kijo left the counterintelligence unit.

After refusing the counterintelligence unit’s car, Kijo walked towards Myeongdong.

It was to soothe my complicated feelings.

This stock market crash was not going to end as an economic shock.

In the end, the sword of investigation would be directed at Kim Jong-pil, who had raised funds for the party through illicit means, and the consequences would also reach Chairman Park.

Kijo, who arrived at Myeongdong with a heavy heart, saw that the streets were filled with people.

A police car slowly moved forward through the crowd, its siren blaring.

I could hear conversations between people trying to get out of the crowd and people trying to enter it out of curiosity.

“What happened?”

“Oh, if you’re not brave, don’t go.”

“Why did what happen?”

“A person fell from the roof of a building and died. It seems like he committed suicide. Since he fell from a building where a securities firm is located, it seems like he failed in stock investment.”

“Oh my, why did you die by investing in stocks? Tsk tsk.”

A person who was about to go in to see what was going on turned back.

The keynote speech also turned away from there.

The end of the stock market crash was disastrous and irreversible.