The city was a sea of light. From the City Hall to the Blue House, a river of candles flowed through the asphalt veins of Seoul. It was beautiful, terrifying, and undeniably powerful.
On the periphery of the square, a fleet of blue trucks was parked. [HERMES LOGISTICS: SUPPORTING THE CITIZENS]
The trucks weren't delivering parcels. Their side panels were open, serving hot tea, handing out heating packs, and offering portable charging stations for phones. The drivers, wearing blue Hermes vests, were being high-fived by protestors.
Kang Min-jun stood on the rooftop of the Koreana Hotel, looking down at the spectacle through binoculars. "Cost of operation?" he asked.
"50 Million Won for the supplies," Hong Ye-eun replied, standing beside him in a thick wool coat. "Another 20 Million for the overtime pay for drivers."
"70 Million Won," Min-jun lowered the binoculars. "To be the most loved brand in Korea. It's a bargain."
He pointed to a rival truck across the street. A Daegwang Retail convenience store truck. It was closed, dark, and covered in anti-government graffiti. "Look at them. Daegwang is paralyzed. They are terrified that if they support the protests, the Blue House will retaliate. If they don't, the people will boycott. So they do nothing. And in a revolution, neutrality is suicide."
"The Special Prosecutor was appointed today," Ye-eun checked her phone. "Park Young-soo. He’s known as the 'Chaebol Sniper'."
"He will go for the head," Min-jun said. "Samsung first. Then Lotte, SK. And Daegwang."
December 6, 2016. National Assembly. The Parliamentary Hearing.
The entire nation skipped work to watch TV. Nine heads of South Korea's largest conglomerates sat in a row, looking like scolded schoolchildren. Among them sat Chairman Jin Seok-hoon of Daegwang Group.
"Chairman Jin," a lawmaker shouted into the microphone. "Did you, or did you not, donate 5 billion won to the Mir Foundation in exchange for the National Pension Service's support of your construction merger?"
Chairman Jin, usually a tiger who made ministers tremble, looked frail. He coughed into a handkerchief. "It was... a voluntary contribution for the cultural enrichment of the nation. There was no quid pro quo."
"Lies!" The lawmaker held up a document. "We have the internal memo! The date of the deposit matches the date of the merger approval perfectly!"
Min-jun sat in his office, watching the livestream. He checked the stock ticker.
Daegwang Construction (000xxx): Price: 38,000 KRW -> 32,000 KRW (-15%).
His short position, opened back in July, was now printing money. The "Merger Premium" was evaporating. The market realized the merger might be unwound by the courts if it was proven to be a product of bribery.
"Hyuk-jae," Min-jun whispered to the screen. "Your coronation just became a criminal trial."
His phone rang. It was Jin Seo-yoon.
"You're watching?" she asked.
"I am. Your father looks tired."
"He is preparing to step down," Seo-yoon dropped the bomb. "He wants to announce his resignation to save the Group's image. He wants to hand over the Chairmanship to Hyuk-jae before the prosecutors indict him."
"If he does that, Hyuk-jae inherits a burning building."
"Hyuk-jae is panicking. He called me. He wants to sell the Hotel division to raise cash for a legal defense fund. He wants to liquidate my division."
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"Don't let him."
"I can't stop him. He has the voting rights."
"He has the voting rights for now," Min-jun corrected. "But the Special Prosecutor is issuing travel bans tomorrow. Hyuk-jae won't be able to leave the country. The banks will freeze his credit lines."
Min-jun leaned back. "Seo-yoon. It's time to pivot. The era of Construction and Heavy Industry is ending. The conservatives are done. The liberals are coming to power."
"So?"
"So we buy what the liberals love. Culture."
January 2017. Sector Rotation.
The impeachment motion had passed. The President was suspended. The "Cultural Blacklist" scandal had exploded. It revealed that the conservative government had secretly blacklisted thousands of artists, directors, and actors who were critical of the regime. Investment in movies and entertainment had been strangled for four years.
"CJ E&M," Min-jun said to Ye-eun in the Mirue Partners war room. "Studio Dragon."
"Media stocks?" Ye-eun frowned. "They've been dead money for years. China banned Hallyu. The domestic market is depressed."
"The Blacklist is the bottom," Min-jun explained. "When the new administration comes in, their first priority will be 'normalizing' the cultural sector. They will pour subsidies into movies, K-Pop, and dramas to distance themselves from the censorship of the past."
He pulled up the chart of CJ E&M. It was trading at historical lows.
"Also," Min-jun added. "Netflix."
"The American streaming site? They just launched in Korea. Nobody uses it."
"They will. And they need content. They are going to buy Korean dramas for prices that make domestic broadcasters look like paupers. Studio Dragon is the content factory. We buy the factory before the Americans sign the contracts."
Min-jun closed his Daegwang Construction short position. Profit: ~4 Billion KRW.
He deployed the capital immediately. Buy: CJ E&M. Buy: Studio Dragon (Pre-IPO / OTC). Buy: JYP Entertainment.
"We are building a 'K-Wave' portfolio," Min-jun declared. "While everyone is watching the political drama in the courtroom, we are buying the actual drama on the screen."
February 2017. The Bitcoin Awakening.
While Min-jun rotated his stock portfolio, his "Kimchi Pot" was starting to boil.
Bitcoin Price: $1,000. It had reclaimed the 2013 high. Ethereum Price: $15.
The crypto market was waking up from its three-year slumber. Min-jun sat in his Mapo apartment. He opened his safe. Remaining BTC: ~2,000. ETH Holdings: ~250,000.
"Grandpa," Min-jun called out.
Byung-ho walked in. He looked healthier now. The stress of poverty was gone. He played golf twice a week.
"What is it? Did Daegwang crash again?"
"No. It's the digital money. It's back to $1,000."
Byung-ho didn't panic this time. He smiled. "I told you. Diamond Hands."
Min-jun laughed. The old man had learned the lingo. "Grandpa. 2017 is going to be the year of madness. I need you to be ready. We are going to see numbers that don't make sense. We are going to see greed that makes the 2008 bubble look like a picnic."
"Are we selling?"
"No. We are riding the tsunami. But I need to move the coins. The kimchi pot isn't safe anymore."
Min-jun had bought a Ledger Nano S. He transferred the private keys from the paper wallets to the hardware device. He put the device in a bank safety deposit box in Yeouido.
"Why the bank?" Byung-ho asked.
"Because," Min-jun said, looking at the news ticker on TV. [Special Prosecutor Raids Daegwang Group HQ] [Arrest Warrant Requested for Jin Hyuk-jae]
"Because the safest place to hide treasure is right next to the people who are trying to steal it."
February 17, 2017. Seoul Detention Center.
Jin Hyuk-jae sat in a small holding cell. He was wearing a grey prison uniform, badge number 5032. He looked stripped. The expensive suit, the watch, the arrogance—all gone.
His lawyer sat across from him. "The warrant review is tomorrow, Director. We are arguing that you are not a flight risk."
"Who cares about flight risk!" Hyuk-jae snapped, though his voice was thin. "The stock! What is the stock doing?"
"Daegwang Construction is... stable. But there is a rumor."
"What rumor?"
"That an activist fund is accumulating shares. They are preparing a hostile takeover bid while you are... indisposed."
"Who? Elliott? KKR?"
"No. A Singaporean fund. Nemesis Capital."
Hyuk-jae froze. Nemesis. The voice on the phone. The student at the bar. Kang Min-jun.
"He's coming for the throne," Hyuk-jae whispered, gripping the metal table. "He put me in here so he could buy my company for pennies."
"We can stop him. We can trigger the poison pill."
"We have no poison pill!" Hyuk-jae screamed. "I removed it to facilitate the merger! I left the gate open!"
Hyuk-jae slumped back against the cold concrete wall. He realized the horror of his situation. He was locked in a cage. And the wolf was in his house, eating his dinner.
[TRANSACTION LOG]
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Date: Jan 2017
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Action: Close Short Position (Daegwang Construction).
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Entry: ~38,000 KRW.
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Exit: ~28,000 KRW.
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Profit: +26% on leverage. (~4 Billion KRW Net).
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Action: Sector Rotation (Media/Content).
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Asset: CJ E&M, Studio Dragon.