#86 Bring Fear to New York "You're saying Dreamhigh Investment's movements are strange?"
"Yes, Boss. They're suddenly buying up all the short positions on the market. Not just in America, but in Europe and Japan too. They're buying everything, regardless of the country."
George Soros, who had been focusing all his attention on the attack on Hong Kong, stopped what he was doing at his secretary's words and fell into thought. 'What are they thinking?' But no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't understand their actions.
Unless the world's stock markets all crashed at once, there was no way to profit from such an action. October 19, 1987, Black Monday. If an event like the one where the New York stock market plummeted by more than 20% overnight didn't happen again, it was no different from turning all their money into scraps of paper.
"Are they still proceeding with the attack on Hong Kong?"
"Yes. Their attack on the foreign exchange market is well-coordinated with ours."
After some thought, George Soros gave an order to his secretary.
"For now, let's follow Dreamhigh's lead."
"Dreamhigh is sweeping up all the stock index futures and options for a downturn on the market."
"Just get what you can without overdoing it. I want to see. I want to see what happens."
"I understand."
"From now on, don't worry about Hong Kong. Just monitor Dreamhigh's movements and report back to me."
George Soros decided to bet on his unease. But he was already a step too late.
— Mu-hyeok!
This is serious!
"......Why?"
A sense of anxiety washed over me at the urgency in Han Gyeong-yeong's voice. — Hong Kong...
Hong Kong...
They've done something crazy. They raised the short-term interest rate to 300%. It's all over the news here.
Is it quiet in Korea?
"Ha......"
It was a day later than in the original history, but in the end, Hong Kong abandoned its stock market. This happened just as speculative capital, believing the Hong Kong authorities would devalue the Hong Kong dollar unable to withstand the stock market decline, was launching its final all-out offensive. — The world's stock markets are reacting.
They're saying it's another Black Monday! It's insane, this is a miracle!
"Brother, let's talk later." — Hey!
Mu-hyeok!
I ignored Han Gyeong-yeong's desperate cries of my name and hung up the phone. I tossed my cell phone onto the bed and covered my face with both hands. 'I can't do this twice, seriously.'
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority gave up the stock market to defend its currency. A 300% hike in short-term interest rates. It was a choice no one had anticipated, not the elites of Wall Street, nor the economic leaders of any country.
Who could have possibly predicted that something like this would happen in Hong Kong of all places? After collecting my thoughts, I called Han Gyeong-yeong again. — Oh, Mu-hyeok. It's chaos over here.
"Brother, when the market opens next Monday, dump all the stocks you have."
Han Gyeong-yeong was silent again at my words, which came without any explanation.
"The morning session will probably be a lull. But the panic will start in the afternoon. It's going to be an unimaginable crash. It'll start with America, and Europe and Japan will follow." — ......
You had a plan all along? Ha, I thought you were crazy. The crash of the New York stock market was predictable.
But I intended to make the drop even bigger.
"Dump it all. If we don't have enough, borrow from other securities firms. Borrow and dump it all. Bring fear to New York."
Once engulfed in fear, fear eats away at a person's reason. A brain paralyzed by fear becomes incapable of proper thought. — Okay.
"Stop the attack on Hong Kong, too. We won't suffer much damage, but the other hedge funds are probably in mourning. They borrowed money to attack. Unless they used their own capital like us, a 300% interest rate is literally a death sentence."
That night, the Hang Seng Index fell by 10.4% before the market closed. Speculation was no different from gambling. Investors who lost their capital in an instant, not to mention those who suffered immense losses, were everywhere.
The stock market was in a panic. It wasn't just the hedge funds that were hurt by this extreme measure. American funds invested in the Hong Kong stock market also had to suffer enormous losses.
They ended up doing something they shouldn't have in order to pay back the colossal interest. And then, the long-awaited October 27th. Late at night, I stayed awake, on the phone with Han Gyeong-yeong, focusing all my attention on the US stock market.
The profits earned in Hong Kong were a drop in the bucket compared to the profits to be made in America. The difference in market size could never be ignored.
"Brother, let's begin. The moment the market opens, dump everything. It's okay to take a loss. The more losses we take, the bigger our gains will be. You explained it well to the staff, right?" — Yeah, everyone's completely fired up.
How many investment firms on Wall Street get to score a decisive victory against America itself? They said being a part of something like this will not only be great for their careers but will also go down in history.
"Keep dumping at the limit down price, no matter what. Induce a stock price drop." — Okay.
I checked the US stock market on the sluggish internet. I felt a great deal of inconvenience at times like this. 'Hoo... in just a few years, I'll be able to check it in near real-time, just like before.'
I cursed the still-slow internet and waited for Han Gyeong-yeong's call. The call came just before the morning session ended. — Trading has been halted. It's already down 150. Trading was halted for 30 minutes.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average had fallen by more than 150 points. It was much faster than before. The fear I had sown induced them to dump their stocks even faster.
When the Wall Street speculators who had been targeting Hong Kong started selling their US stocks, the retail investors were also swept up in the mob mentality. Everyone began to dump the US stocks they held.
"Good job. You dumped all the stocks, right?" — Yeah.
All sold.
"Start buying them back slowly from tomorrow." — Got it.
"In a few days, you'll be a Wall Street legend. Congratulations. The god of investment, James Han." — Hahaha.
Crazy. That's you.
With just the 1% stake Han Gyeong-yeong held, he would probably be called the richest man in the Republic of Korea. With every 1% drop in the stock index, our profits soared astronomically.
"I'll always be in the background." — The US government is going to start watching us.
Your identity will inevitably be exposed. How about you get US citizenship too? You were exempted from the military, right?
"I was thinking of doing that anyway. But not yet. I can't fool the US government, of course. But I still have things to do in Korea. It should be fine after a little more time has passed."
The world was now beginning to function as a single economy under the name of the global village. What happened in America, in New York, the center of global finance, was not just America's problem. An event that would have ended with a 7% drop turned into a 15% crash because of my intervention.
It was the first time such a thing had happened since the US stock market opened. In terms of the index drop, it was the largest ever, and in terms of the percentage decline, it was the second largest since Black Monday ten years ago. The New York stock market crash resulted in a simultaneous global stock market crash.
The profits we made in Hong Kong, America, Europe, and Japan were beyond imagination. It was possible because although we didn't invest all our capital, we had contracted every option we possibly could.
"Let's start liquidating." — Okay.
I was the winner of this gamble. This was just the beginning. With untouchable financial power as my weapon, I will exist above all others.
In the future I desire.
This victory was the event that made the Clinton administration notice the existence of Kim Mu-hyeok. In the White House, a discussion about the recent stock market crash was in full swing.
"Kim Mu-hyeok?"
"Yes, Mr. President. He is a twenty-four-year-old young businessman in Korea."
"Why do I need to know that name? He's just a businessman."
"He made a lot of money in this stock market crash. More than our entire US annual budget. You know what it means for an individual, not a nation, to possess that much money, don't you, Mr. President?"
At the mention of an amount exceeding the US annual budget, Clinton showed interest.
"Wow, what is he, Superman or something?"
Secretary of the Treasury Robert Rubin frowned at Clinton's playful reaction.
"Mr. President. This is a serious matter. It means that American wealth has flowed to a man in a small country on the outskirts of Asia."
"What's the problem with that? Was it illegal?"
"It wasn't, but......"
"Look, Rubin. Our country doesn't hold people accountable for things that happen within the confines of the law. If it were illegal, we could stop it, but we can't make an issue of it if he earned it through legitimate investment, can we?"
Rubin raised his voice in frustration.
"It's an amount that could bankrupt a nation's economy. And the person holding that money is not an American citizen, but a citizen of another country."
"Then we'll just have to make him an American."
Rubin clutched his chest at Clinton's easygoing remark. Of course, Rubin himself knew that he couldn't hold Kim Mu-hyeok responsible.
"I would like to proceed with the matter I mentioned before. The investors on Wall Street have been intimidated by this failure."
"You mean the matter concerning Korea?"
The actions Kim Mu-hyeok had taken simply to make money became the trigger that accelerated the Republic of Korea's foreign exchange crisis. America's actions were swift. Robert Rubin, former chairman of Goldman Sachs, immediately issued an order to all the investment banks on Wall Street.
At the news that they were to publish negative reports on Korea, the hyenas of Wall Street saw it as an opportunity to recover the losses they had suffered in Hong Kong. They withdrew all the funds invested in Korea at once.
Faster than expected, the economy of the Republic of Korea was collapsing. It was the result of my actions. — The US Treasury Department contacted me. They already know about you.
"So?" — They said they'll keep quiet for now.
But they asked me to let them know in advance if you're planning a large-scale capital flight from the US. In all my life, I've never seen someone from the Treasury Department be so deferential. It was no wonder the US Treasury Department was being so cautious.
"This is crazy. For now, you should come back to Korea quickly. You've set up the Korean branch, right?" — Yeah, I bought a small building and finished remodeling it.
"Let's buy a private jet while we're at it." — Huh, a private jet?
Really?
"We'll have to travel all over the world now. Place an order with Boeing for one and then come to Korea."
On the other end of the line, Han Gyeong-yeong chuckled. I let out a small laugh too.
"We don't have to worry about money, right? Order the best of everything." — That's what I'm good at.
I'll wrap things up here by next week and head over. I need someone to take charge in my place. I have someone I can trust.
"You've arranged it so all funds are disbursed only after your approval, right?" — Of course.
For now, I've told them to invest 10 billion dollars in stocks. Can't let people sit idle just because there's no major crisis right now.
"Good job. Let's meet when you get to Korea." — Okay.
In the end, the Republic of Korea surrendered to the IMF. The humiliating outcome of handing over economic sovereignty to the IMF did not change. No, the US government and the IMF made even more humiliating demands than before.
But the government of the Republic of Korea could not resist. The IMF demanded a firm commitment from the presidential candidates. They threw down the gauntlet, saying there would be no support without an answer from the three presidential candidates.
Just then, an unexpected challenger appeared. It was the unification of the Conservative Party's candidate, Seong Dae-gyu, and the Patriot Party's candidate, Choi Chang-geun. 'I didn't expect this.
To think that Seong Dae-gyu and Choi Chang-geun would join hands.' With Kim Hak-kwon, the Progressive Party candidate, as the likely winner, their unification became an event that would change the course of the presidential election.
< Bring Fear to New York. > End