Side Story 41. A Month Later - Kwon Seong-Il (2)

Side Story 41. A Month Later - Kwon Seong-Il (2)

「Title: South Korea’s stock market hits an all-time high... KOSPI surpasses 3,700 points. Are we entering the era of 4,000 and 5,000?

Today, the KOSPI has pierced through the 3,700 mark, setting a new, all-time high. Starting from last week, the KOSPI has been continually setting new records. It has been surging since it was announced that Iljoo Construction and Daehoo Construction were selected as the entering groups.

In particular, Daehoo Construction, an affiliate of Jeonil group, is currently hitting the upper limit of 29.99%, while Ilsung Electronics, which had raised high expectations, is unable to escape the lower limit of 29.99%.

Today, KOSPI showed a record-breaking ten percent surge, breaking through 3,775 and leading global stock markets.

Yesterday, Lee Dae-Jin, the head of the investment strategy team at Daehoo Securities, said, “We are on the verge of entering a new era for our civilization. The preference for risk assets in the global financial market is becoming clear.” He added, “We had anticipated the all-time high of 2,600 points within this year, but now any prediction seems meaningless."

According to the Korea Exchange, individual investors have net bought 'KODEX Leverage' worth fifteen trillion won since the boom began on November 12th. This ETF tracks twice the daily return of the KOSPI 200 futures index. If the KOSPI 200 futures index rises one percent in a day, this ETF rises by two percent.

Individual investors who have invested in this ETF have made a nearly 180% return in the past three weeks due to the index's surge. The all-time highs in global stock markets, not just the KOSPI, are believed to have stemmed from high expectations about the outer space venture following an agreement among the top ten global investment firms four days ago.

Comments:

└It's not too late. Considering the scale and level of civilization of Saint Dragorin, the venture has no choice but to expand.

└This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in human history. It's a blessing for all of us to live in this era. Isn't it time for the three pillars of God Odin?

└Goddin! Goddin! Goddin!

└Should I enter now as it keeps rising?

└I predict 5,000 points tomorrow. Hurry up and board! Surely no one is foolish enough to short the market now.

└I crave gains.

└The leader is not Daehoo Construction but Ilsung Electronics. Think about who the president of the World Awakened Association is. It's an obvious fact.

└Do you think the association president would be interested in the likes of Ilsung? Why would he care about a mere planet when he lives like an emperor? Anyway, I hope you don't jump into the Han River. You're not the only one invested in Ilsung, okay?

└The moment financial sanctions are announced, everyone here will collapse. They say sanctions are coming soon.

└If you're jealous, invest too. Just sell your soul to get more money. Why the negativity in this glorious era?

└Goddin! Goddin! Goddin! Let's break the upper limit of leverage tomorrow!

└King Association~ Please give us one more big win!

└There's no supply for Daehoo Construction. Give us a chance. Let's share the profits. It's unfair.

└It's too strong today. Go easy. We need to go long, right? It's not a one-time business.

└Yes! I entered at the opening and made a 15% profit. I only trust Him! KOSPI 10,000, let's gooo~

└Goddin! Goddin! Goddin! Amen. 」

...Damn, should I try it too?

As Seong-Il read the article, he became more anxious. While he was drowning in ever-increasing interest, everyone else seemed to be thriving.

I should've held back, even for Hera's sake.

Kim Ji-Hoon left for outer space urgently, claiming his neck disc had burst, and Hera left for another purpose. In the end, the loan repayment issue was not resolved at all.

However, the reason why he couldn't hold onto Hera was because of one fact that Kim Ji-Hoon had shared. How could Hera, just because of her name, have had such a massive amount of fifty billion dollars?

She had borrowed that money from the U.S. government. In return, Hera promised to pressurize the association so that a company designated by the U.S. government could venture into outer space.

That was why Hera's current location was the headquarters of the World Awakened Association.

Although I'm trapped, I'm still grateful.

He didn't know why she had shown such favor to him. But there was one unchanging truth in the world that there was no such thing as a free lunch apart from the interest.

<Just skip the 'as you know' part. If I want my money back, why all this talk? Do customers need to worry about the bank's situation? Just deposit my money quickly. Isn't that what banks are for?>

<...Mr. Caliber.>

<Oh, should I come over there myself? I assume you don't want to upset King of Hell.>

<We understand. But if you're looking for an investment, how about investing in the US stock market?>

<I'm Korean.>

A Korean should invest in Korea. Why would they invest elsewhere?

***

Jeonil Bank was in chaos because a whopping fifty billion dollars suddenly came in without any prior notification.

“What...what the heck is this fund?”

"It's from Mr. Kwon Seong-Il... Caliber's account."

"Was it reported? To the Financial Services Commission (FSC)?"

"Yes. The chairman of the FSC is currently visiting. The bank president is also in a frenzy because of this."

"Damn, this is driving me crazy. The FSC is one thing, but what about us? What does the foreign exchange team say? Huh?"

"What can they do?"

"...First, process it and then report. I'll contact Caliber."

"Okay, sir."

Having a large influx of foreign currency would generally strengthen our foreign exchange reserves, which would be a good thing. However, the problem was that this country was an exporting nation, not an importing one. In a country that relied on exports, a strong domestic currency could be fatal. Things were already turbulent due to this issue, and now Caliber added fuel to the fire.

Not just the FSC. The Blue House also directly sent official documents to all banks. The message was clear. They wanted to prevent foreign investors from coming in and exchanging their dollars for domestic currency. While Caliber wasn't a foreigner, the dollars that came into his account that day were unprecedented in scale. The only similar incident would be back during the IMF crisis when Jeonil Group, then known as Jeonil Investment, brought in hundreds of billions of dollars.

The deputy bank president hesitated several times before picking up his cell phone.

He has to pick up...

Just then, internal phones in the office began ringing all at once, and employees who had just left the room looked back in surprise. The deputy bank president stared at the monitor in shock.

As expected, the exchange rate had dropped significantly in the most recent announcement. Caliber was exchanging his dollars for the domestic currency.

「Exchange rate plummeting.」

「[Breaking News] Confirmed inflow of investment funds amounting to fifty billion dollars.」

「[Breaking News] KOSPI breaks the 3800 mark!」

***

At that moment, Gillian and Jessica were also facing the same issue.

"Fifty billion dollars have entered Korea. We can't know who's hot money it is, but we're certain it's not from us. Maybe it's from China? I can't think of such a fool. It's impossible to be that stupid."

"Hmm... What's clear is, as you said, once the fool joins in, there's no turning back. We're planning to make a profit, but what about you?"

"We feel the same. And we'd also like to teach that fool a lesson. When the fifty billion dollars waiting in Korea is put into action, we'll consider that D-day. Sort of a flare."

"Of course. Investing such a huge amount in this unprecedented bubble, even if that hot money loses, it's worth it. I'll contact Brian."

"He will surely think the same."

"Most likely."

Gillian began sorting out the documents. The surge was over. Now, it was time to prepare for the crash.