I was working when Taek-gyu spoke up.
“Oh! You’re number 1 on the real-ti search rankings right now.”
“Huh?”
I couldn't count the number of tis I'd hit number 1 on the real-ti search rankings before. Not long ago, I even topped the list when I clashed with the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family over the ga regulation issue.
But there haven't been any major issues lately, have there?
I opened a portal site.
[Fantastic Investnt CEO Park Ho-jin Announces Last Year's Returns Surpassed Kang Jin-hoo's]
[Fantastic Investnt: Growing into the Next OTK Company?]
[Unlike OTK Company, Incorporated in a Tax Haven, Fantastic Investnt is a Hogrown Korean Investnt Firm]
[Young Investor Park Ho-jin: What's the Secret to His Success?]
[Startup Investnt Whiz Park Ho-jin Invests in Various New Industries Poised to Lead the Future]
[Park Ho-jin Posts Bugatti Photo at Dawn on Facenote with Sentints: 'If you sleep, you dream, but if you don't sleep and strive, you achieve your dreams. I won't stop today either, aiming to surpass OTK Company within 5 years'...]
Taek-gyu, who had been lying on the sofa, shot upright.
“Gasp! Park Ho-jin just snatched the number 1 spot from you! Are you just going to let that happen?”
“……”
What was I supposed to do?
I clicked on a few articles and read them.
Park Ho-jin, known for taking a leave of absence from a prestigious university to make money in stock trading, established an investnt company called Fantastic Investnt.
He began to seriously make a na for himself starting the year before last.
He appeared on Korea Economy TV, one of the cable economic channels, as an expert in over-the-counter (OTC) stocks. He gained fa by consistently posting photos on SNS of his lavish Cheongdam-dong mansion and supercars, including a Bugatti, which eventually led to appearances on entertainnt shows.
As he beca famous, viewership for his investnt broadcasts soared, and the dia hyped him up even more. Now, just posting a photo or saying anything on SNS was enough to beco an internet news article.
The dia enthusiastically promoted him as a self-made genius investor or the next Kang Jin-hoo.
Taek-gyu, looking over the articles with , couldn't hide his surprise.
“Wow! There was such a fantastic investor in Korea? He looks like he'll catch up to Kang Jin-hoo soon.”
He mainly invests in unlisted companies.
Unlike listed companies on KOSPI or KOSDAQ, trading unlisted companies isn't easy.
Of course, there are OTC exchanges specializing in trading these companies' stocks, but the convenience of trading doesn't compare to listed stocks.
Listed companies disclose sales, operating profits, financial status, etc., and undergo regular audits. However, unlisted companies are free from such obligations.
Therefore, accurate valuation is difficult, which tends to undervalue their stock prices. But looking at it differently, if you can pick out the hidden gems, it ans you can achieve returns incomparable to investing in listed companies.
“Looking at it this way, it's similar to OTK Company's growth model, but there's one big difference.”
At my words, Taek-gyu asked.
“What is it?”
“He takes investnts from the general public.”
To be precise, he's actively selling not only the unlisted stocks they hold but also shares of Fantastic Investnt itself. For us, that would be like selling off stakes in CarOS or FaceIt, and OTK Company itself.
Park Ho-jin lured investors by claiming that once the companies go public, they could earn returns of at least tens of tis, up to 1,000 tis.
He frequently used OTK Company as an example. Indeed, we had achieved such returns through startup investnts.
But…….
Taek-gyu blinked.
“If there's stock that will rise hundreds of tis just by listing, shouldn't he borrow money if needed and hold onto it himself? Why sell it to others?”
“Maybe he felt bad keeping it all to himself. Or maybe he's doing charity work.”
OTK Company, which started with a re 13.8 billion won in capital, is currently valued at over 1 quadrillion won. If soone had bought just 1 percent in the early days, they would have made over 10 trillion won. But we didn't accept any external investnt, and we kept the equity amongst ourselves.
So, when soone establishes a similar type of company, and the dia hypes them up as the next Kang Jin-hoo or the next OTK Company, do people just flock with their money?
“But they say he's been quite successful. Apparently, among the OTC stocks he recomnded on TV, so went up over 30 tis.”
“Investnt outcos are ultimately one of two things: they go up, or they go down. It's like flipping a coin. If he recomnds ten stocks, wouldn't it be stranger if one or two didn't hit?”
Just turn on an economic channel, and all sorts of investnt experts are talking nonstop, 24/7, about stocks, real estate, and whatnot.
I don't know what these people actually do, but they all seem to have titles like 'Director' of so research institute. Director of the Real Estate Trading Research Institute, Director of the Stock Investnt Research Institute, Director of the World Economy Research Institute, etc.
Are these real research institutes, or do they just call it that while studying off the internet at ho?
You could see it as similar to health programs bringing in doctors or legal programs bringing in lawyers for opinions, but at least those people have dical or law licenses.
But investnt experts have no way to prove their expertise. There's no way to verify if they really have skills or if they've actually made money investing.
What they say when they appear is predictable.
They recomnd specific stocks or real estate, urging people to buy because they will rise. Surprisingly, these people have either already invested in the recomnded stock beforehand or earn commissions from real estate brokerage.
If they're right, great; if not, oh well.
Broadcasting companies display disclairs before and after the program to avoid liability: 'The expert's recomndation is solely their personal opinion, and we bear no legal responsibility for investnt results based on the information provided.'
Among these experts, Park Ho-jin could be considered the biggest success story. I an, he even shows his face on entertainnt shows, right?
As Taek-gyu and I were talking while watching a video featuring Park Ho-jin, Sang-yeop sunbae ca up to the CEO's office.
Hearing our conversation, Sang-yeop sunbae said.
“Ah, Park Ho-jin. I t him once.”
“You did?”
“Ran into him by chance at so party. Shook my hand, said he respected , that sort of thing.”
“What did you think of him, Sunbae?”
To my question, Sang-yeop sunbae answered as if it required no thought.
“What do you an, 'what did I think'? It was obvious he's a fraud. Successful entrepreneurs or investors usually have a certain charisma, an aura, right? You know the feeling?”
I nodded.
“I know.”
“But he had none of that. I got curious and looked into the companies he supposedly invested in – never heard of them. And his behavior is more like a salesman than an investor.”
“The dia calls him the next Kang Jin-hoo, though.”
Sang-yeop sunbae burst out laughing at Taek-gyu's words.
“That's just dia play. Is he even comparable?”
Taek-gyu patted my shoulder.
“Right. No matter how much he boasts about his Cheongdam-dong mansion and Bugatti, compared to our Jin-hoo, he's practically underprivileged.”
“There are many guys like him in Yeouido these days. They set up a small investnt firm, then hold investnt seminars and hover around broadcasting stations to gather people with money. You could probably assu 90% of them are scamrs.”
Whatever Park Ho-jin was doing didn't really concern . It wasn't hurting .
But Taek-gyu seed to think differently.
“What are you talking about? Shouldn't we lightly crush a budding scamr?”
“It's annoying. Do we really need to?”
Taek-gyu grinned.
“It'll be fun.”
“……”
Is catching scamrs so kind of hobby now?
Taek-gyu called Team Leader Jung Gi-hong.
“Talk to the Golden Gate side and find out about Fantastic Investnt and the companies they've invested in. Let's see if he deserves to beat Kang Jin-hoo for the number 1 trending spot or not.”
***
OTK Company started as an investnt firm and grew into a ga-corporation.
Before that, the world's largest investnt firm was undeniably Berkshire Hathaway. However, OTK Company's current market capitalization is estimated to be double that of Berkshire Hathaway. What's more surprising is that this achievent was made in just a few years.
After OTK Company's success story beca known, everyone dread of becoming the second or third OTK Company. Investnt firms sprang up like mushrooms, and people calling themselves the second or third Kang Jin-hoo appeared.
Park Ho-jin was one of them. A previously ordinary stock investor, after seeing OTK Company's success, he used the money he had earned to establish Fantastic Investnt and ventured into startup investing.
However, he lacked Kang Jin-hoo's insight. The companies he invested in collapsed within a few months, far from growing into unicorns. The stocks he bought were all on the verge of becoming worthless scraps of paper.
To avoid losses, he went around trying to resell the stocks he held. Of course, he promoted them not as companies about to go bankrupt, but as ones that would grow hundreds of tis once listed. Surprisingly, many people wanted to buy the stocks.
This too was because of Kang Jin-hoo's success. When people see soone reach the top, whether in studies or sports, they assu trendous effort and talent must be behind it.
But investing is different. Nothing looks easier than soone else making money. It seems like all you need to do is find a company like CarOS or FaceIt and put your money in.
From this point on, he began to walk the path of a full-fledged scamr. For a scamr, appearances are paramount.
He moved to a mansion in Cheongdam-dong and stretched his finances to buy a Bugatti. Then, through SNS, he boasted about it as the wealth gained from successful investnts.
The dia was also paying attention. The concept of a successful investor of a similar age to Kang Jin-hoo was exactly what all dia outlets wanted.
After appearing on Korea Economy TV as an OTC stock expert, everything went smoothly. Virtually worthless stocks were sold off at prices tens or hundreds of tis their value, based solely on his word.
He lived in a mansion, drove multiple supercars, and even dated a forr idol group mber model. He had seemingly achieved everything he had ever dread of.
The dia eagerly reported his success, and Park Ho-jin confidently declared at various investnt lectures and broadcasts:
“We will list Fantastic Investnt on KOSDAQ within the year. The market capitalization is expected to be 3 trillion won. As the startups we are currently investing in get listed one after another, the future value of Fantastic Investnt will increase to over 30 trillion won. Within 5 years, I will grow Fantastic Investnt into a company that surpasses OTK Company!”
As Park Ho-jin's fa grew, unimaginable amounts of money rolled into his hands. And that money, in turn, further enhanced his reputation.
The dia lavished praise, calling Fantastic Investnt the largest Korean investnt company born after OTK Company.
But such a situation cannot last forever. A scam is bound to be revealed eventually.
Park Ho-jin also felt uneasy. He thought he should wrap things up and flee soon and was starting to prepare.
Since he was committing fraud anyway, he figured he should grab as much money as possible.
So today, too, he gathered hundreds of people and passionately engaged in selling OTC stocks under the guise of an investnt lecture.
“Fantastic Investnt will soon begin selecting an underwriter for its listing. KYB Securities and several other securities firms are competing for this. Currently, Fantastic Investnt is trading over-the-counter at 30,000 won, but the IPO price is expected to be 900,000 won. This is your last chance to beco a shareholder of Fantastic Investnt!”
People listened intently, their eyes shining. But suddenly, people started murmuring. Everyone looked surprised and pulled out their phones.
No one was listening to the lecture anymore. Soone raised their hand and shouted.
“Is it true that Fantastic Investnt is a scam?”
“Excuse ?”
At that mont, everyone in the lecture hall stood up and shouted simultaneously.
“What? This was a scam?”
“You were selling us garbage stocks?”
“Give back my money!”
Flustered, Park Ho-jin took out the phone from his pocket. On the news section of a portal site, an announcent from OTK Company's PR team was trending as breaking news.
[OTK Company is currently analyzing companies scheduled for listing for financial investnt purposes. However, in the case of Fantastic Investnt and several companies it claims to have invested in, they not only fail to et listing requirents but also have a high probability of serious insolvency. As fraud is suspected, we urge investors to exercise extre caution.]
Park Ho-jin was horrified.
‘W-what? Why is Kang Jin-hoo paying attention to a small fry like ?’
***
Appearing on Korea Economy TV, Park Ho-jin spoke as if wronged.
“Fantastic Investnt was scheduled to receive large investnts from Chinese and Hong Kong investors. But all those investnt plans have been canceled. How is this different from a large corporation trying to kill off a small-dium enterprise? But I will never give up. I will keep fighting, especially for the investors who believed in .”
Conservative dia outlets, having accumulated grievances, published articles defending Park Ho-jin.
[Kang Jin-hoo Kicks Away the Ladder: Checkmate or Jealousy?]
(Excerpt) Compared to its rapid industrial developnt, Korea's investnt culture has not properly matured. In foreign countries with developed investnt cultures, it's common to see successful investors guiding junior investors.
Warren Buffett, in a book he authored, expressed concern that investors like himself might never erge again in Arica.
However, Kang Jin-hoo's recent actions are the exact opposite. As if kicking away the ladder after climbing it himself, he cast baseless suspicions on a new investnt company, putting it in difficulty.
At a ti when the financial market is facing difficulties, ethical awareness as an investor is more important than ever. At the very least, trampling the reputation of a young investor just starting to make a na for himself out of rivalry or jealousy should never happen.
Unfortunately, public reaction was cold.
- Told you Park Ho-jin seed like a scamr. Knew it when he started driving that Bugatti.
- LOL, talking about surpassing Kang Jin-hoo and all that.
- Wait, couldn't Kang Jin-hoo be wrong? Isn't he just trying to crush him because he feels threatened?
- What a petty move. Is he doing this just to hog everything for himself?
- What is this nonsense? Like Bill Gates pirating Windows or Warren Buffett getting investnt advice from a brokerage newbie?
- In cases like this, Kang Jin-hoo is definitely right. I'd trust Kang Jin-hoo's word over 100 other experts.
- True. When it cos to money, Kang Jin-hoo is always right.
- For real. My grandpa curses Kang Jin-hoo as a North Korean sympathizer commie every day, but when OTK Company announces an investnt, he scrutinizes the related stocks like his eyes are on fire.
- LOL, I bet my wrist that even the Parents' Association mbers rallying for Park Si-hyeong's release would all rush to the brokerage if Kang Jin-hoo recomnded a stock.
- Whether he's a leftist commie or a right-wing fossil, I don't care. What's important is that he hasn't failed in an investnt yet.
As suspicions grew, investors who had bought unlisted stocks based solely on Park Ho-jin's word flocked to his company demanding their money back.
In response, Park Ho-jin stalled for ti, offering to exchange their holdings for Fantastic Investnt stock.
With investor complaints flooding in, financial authorities launched an investigation. Despite this, Park Ho-jin continued to appear on broadcasts, pleading innocence and boasting that Fantastic Investnt had no problems.
However, as the investigation intensified, he was arrested at Incheon Airport while attempting to leave the country for Singapore under the pretext of attracting investnt.
Prosecutors indicted him under arrest for violating the Capital Markets Act.
The investigation revealed that his business plans were bogus, and asset sizes were exaggerated. The Cheongdam-dong mansion and the building used as his office were rented, and the Bugatti was leased. Even that had recently been parked because he couldn't afford repairs.
The fraud thod was simple. He spread false information through broadcasts or lectures himself, then resold unlisted stocks bought cheap to investors at prices tens or hundreds of tis higher, reaping unfair profits.
The dia bore the greatest responsibility here. They introduced him as an OTC stock investnt expert without even minimal verification.
People who had invested in Park Ho-jin after watching those broadcasts were devastated. Once he was arrested, the dia outlets that had previously hyped him up collectively shut their mouths.
***
The number of victims exceeded 5,000, and the damages surpassed 100 billion won.
The OTC stocks Park Ho-jin sold off, claiming they'd hit the jackpot upon listing, were found to be worthless. They were companies likely to go bankrupt imdiately, let alone get listed.
When victims demanded their money back, Park Ho-jin claid he had no money due to asset seizures and made no repaynts. Yet, he hired Jung & Kim, the nation's largest law firm, assembling an ultra-luxurious defense team of ten forr judges/prosecutors turned lawyers.
This is one of the problems with financial fraud.
Victims worry about their livelihood due to lack of money, while the perpetrator hires elite forr officials-turned-lawyers using the money they scamd. In effect, they're defending themselves with the victims' money.
Taek-gyu, looking at the arrested Park Ho-jin, said.
“First Gold Coin, Fantastic Investnt... why are there so many scamrs in this country?”
“Because Korea is lenient towards financial cris.”
This also has a lot to do with cultural differences. Developed countries tend to value trust highly. Therefore, they thoroughly hold accountable those who break trust. If damages exceed a certain amount, they might even impose life sentences.
But in Korea, even if you swindle over 10 billion won, you get out after a few years, and that's it. So guys even hide the money after the scam and then turn themselves in. Turning oneself in reduces the sentence. After release, they live lavishly on the hidden money.
To prevent this, our country also needs to increase sentences for financial criminals. If you have to rot in prison for 20 or 30 years, what use are the billions waiting outside?
I shook my head.
“In a way, financial criminals are worse than murderers.”
“A murderer kills one or two people at most, but a financial criminal ruins countless families and drives entire families to suicide.”
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