“Did you say three hundred thousand units?”
Unlike the two men who couldn’t hide their confusion, Seok-won responded calmly.
“That’s right.”
“That’s six times more than what we originally planned. Can we really sell that many...?”
President Ahn Byung-seok trailed off, uncertainty in his voice. Across from him, Executive Director Yoon Ki-hoon leaned forward with a serious expression and raised his objection.
“If we go with that figure, the...
While the Japanese stock market was gripped by fear and panic from the shock of the Big 4 securities firms, the atmosphere at Daehung Investment's Asset Management Department was the exact opposite — cheers erupted as stock prices nosedived.
[Nomura Securities: 967.2 (−171.6)]
[Daiwa Securities: 491.6 (−76.3)]
[Nikko Securities: 479.8 (−98.1)]
[Yamaichi Securities: 384.9 (−98.4)]
"Woohoo!"
...
Yamakawa Hiroshi, the president of Nomura Securities, woke up early in the morning as usual.
Raising his upper body, Yamakawa reached out beside his bed, removed the cover from a glass of water, and gulped it down to soothe his parched throat.
Glancing at the clock, he saw that it had just passed 6 a.m.
Although he had slept his usual amount, the recent stress weighed heavily on him, making his body feel like lead.
He recalled the report he received yesterday from ...
Early morning, as the faint light of dawn began to creep over the horizon.
Having completed their statements, Seok-won and his companions exited the police station alongside Attorney Seok Chang-geun.
“Since it was a clear case of self-defense, with solid witness testimony, and we've confirmed that the weapon — the jackknife — was something one of the attackers habitually carried, there shouldn't be any problems,” Seok said calmly, holding a briefcase in one hand.
He g...
Screech.
The door creaked open, and two figures stepped into the restroom: Edmund Cho, a Korean-American whose father was stationed with the U.S. Forces Korea, and Josh McDaniel.
Josh, towering over 180 cm and weighing 105 kg, was a 17-year-old who sported a beard, looking more like an adult than a teenager.
In contrast, Edmund, who stood at 167 cm and appeared relatively small, had a shaved head and fierce, piercing eyes.
Edmund glanced around to check if...
A securities trading floor in Nihonbashi, Tokyo.
About a dozen individual investors were seated—or standing—in front of a large electronic ticker board that covered an entire wall.
The atmosphere was grim. The stock market had been falling for days, and it showed on everyone’s faces.
“Toyota’s down too, huh…”
Grumbled a man in a floral print shirt. A middle-aged man in a fedora, holding a folded financial newspaper, replied.
“When the yen str...
Nomura Securities Headquarters, Nihonbashi, Chuo Ward, Tokyo.
Although the atmosphere had been calm in the morning, once hedge funds launched their attack on the rupiah and the Indonesian stock market began to waver, tension swept through the derivatives division.
“IDX has dropped below 600 again!”
At the panicked shout from a subordinate, Division Head Nakamura checked the monitor displaying the Indonesian stock index chart, his face tightening as he...
Nomura Securities Headquarters, Nihonbashi, Chuo Ward, Tokyo, Japan.
Executive Director Usami, wearing a striped tie, sat at his desk, staring intently at the Indonesian stock market chart on his monitor.
[IDX: 615.20 (▼10.17)]
The Indonesian stock index, which had soared past 700 points and was steadily climbing, had collapsed under the weight of the ongoing currency crisis sweeping through Southeast Asia. Now, even the 600-point mark was in danger.
Seok-won, who had been closely observing Choi Ho-geun and his team’s efforts through the monitor, leaned back in his chair with a satisfied expression.
“It’s their first real trade, but they’re not flustered — they’re handling it well.”
What pleased him most was that instead of blindly following the instruction to sell the KLCI futures at 650, they had taken a more proactive approach, adjusting prices to maximize profit.
He picked up his mug to take a sip of...
As Choi Ho-geun put down the receiver, Jung Hwan-yeop, still seated, looked at him and asked, watching his expression:
“What did the president say?”
Meeting the eyes of the team members now looking at him with concern, Choi Ho-geun replied with a complicated expression:
“…He said to sell at an even lower price.”
“I knew it! I figured the president would approve it,” Jung said, nodding as if he had expected as much.
Choi continued, looking at hi...
The Sydney forex market, which had opened in a relatively calm atmosphere, suddenly heated up just five minutes after opening, as a flood of Malaysian ringgit sell orders came pouring in.
“Sold 20 lots at 3.02 ringgit!”
“Okay, done!”
“Sold 15 lots at 3.02 ringgit... no, 3.04!”
Neil Briwett, a forex trader at Macquarie Asset Management, shouted urgently as he watched the ringgit plunge off a cliff on his monitor.
“This is massive. Looks like the...
April 3, 1997.
As the rising sun painted the sky crimson between the tall buildings, a silver Sonata II came rolling down a sloped road and pulled into an underground parking garage—empty at this early hour.
Choi Ho-geun stepped out from the driver’s seat and rolled up his sleeves to check his watch.
Just past 6 a.m.
“Right on time.”
It was early—just as the first buses were beginning to run. But to match the opening time of the Sydney foreign exch...
“Did you say we shouldn’t sell dollars?”
Chairman Park Tae-hong looked at him, puzzled.
Seok-won nodded as he replied.
“Yes. Not only should we avoid spending them—if we have any surplus funds, now is the time to convert as much of it into dollars as we can.”
President Park Jin-hyung, sitting across from them, frowned and interjected.
“The exchange rate was around 826 won per dollar last year. Now it’s up to 897. That’s a huge jump. You’re sa...
“We’re here.”
From the back, Choi Ho-geun pulled out his wallet and handed a 10,000 won bill to the taxi driver.
“Keep the change.”
“Oh, thank you very much.”
As he got out of the taxi, the driver popped open the trunk and helped him unload his bags.
Since the trip had ended up being longer than planned — and with all the gifts he’d picked up — he now had two large suitcases and a backpack, more than he'd left with.
Once the taxi d...
In Midtown Manhattan, between Park Avenue and 8th Avenue, lay 17 densely packed blocks filled with countless hedge funds, big and small.
Among them stood a nine-story building on Park Avenue, entirely occupied by small and medium-sized hedge funds. Traders referred to it as the “Hedge Fund Hotel.”
Bruno Karl, a former JP Morgan employee, had partnered with his former colleague David Iverson to launch a small hedge fund called Goliath. They were renting a modest offi...
March 18, 1997 – Westchester County, New York
Dressed comfortably in chinos and a long-sleeved cardigan, George Soros followed his usual morning routine: after breakfast with his wife, he headed to his study.
There, he scanned overnight market activity on his computer and Bloomberg terminal, then moved on to the morning papers and faxed reports sent over from the office.
Afternoons were usually reserved for reading or working on his papers, which aimed to organize and a...
Hess’s stock price, which had briefly risen due to the Saudi king’s death—
The short-sellers hurled massive volumes of shares to crush it once again.
“Chairman, we’ve absorbed nearly all the shares dumped by the short-sellers. We also took in every bit of the stock they threw to attack Taewoo Trading.”
“They must have prepared an enormous war chest. To attack not only Hess but Taewoo Trading as well…”
The short-sellers had dumped nearly 15...
The last days of January 2015.
A major piece of news erupted from the Saudi royal family.
“Chairman! King Al Saud of Saudi Arabia has passed away.”
“At last, the time has come.”
The death of the Saudi King.
That meant Crown Prince Salman would now ascend the throne.
It also meant that the day was near when we could finally release the massive collection of corruption records we had gathered.
“Due to the King’s death, oil prices have...
Amid the falling white snow, Seok-won stepped out from the backseat of a large black Mercedes sedan that had stopped in front of the Ministry of National Defense building in Yongsan. As he did, a familiar figure—the Minister’s Chief Secretary—approached him.
“Welcome, sir. I received instructions from the Minister to escort you here, so I’ve been waiting.”
“I feel bad for troubling you like this.”
“Not at all. Please, follow me. I’ll take you to the Mi...
News of the Thai government’s surrender, delivered in the early morning hours, was met with cheers from hedge funds across Wall Street, who raised their glasses in a victory toast.
The Eldorado Fund was no exception. The entire office was buzzing with excitement after making a massive profit from shorting the Thai baht.
“Good morning!”
“Morning!”
Jung Hwan-yeop placed his briefcase on his desk and exchanged a wry smile with Choi Ho-geun, taking in the fes...
“Sold 30 at 7.4!”
“Okay, done!”
With the New York foreign exchange market now open, the currency trading team of Eldorado Fund was in full swing under the command of team leader Tyler.
“BOT is putting in massive baht buy orders!”
Rolling up his shirt sleeves and wearing a headset, Tyler looked over at the trader who had just spoken.
“How much are we talking?”
“Just over 360 million dollars.”
Tyler, who had been standing, be...
March 11, 1997
— Prime Minister’s Residence, Bangkok, Thailand
As the solid wooden door opened and Prime Minister Muangsai Kidikaem entered the room, Finance Minister Chartchai and Central Bank Governor Warit, who had been seated on the office sofa, immediately stood up.
“Apologies for keeping you waiting after calling you here to the residence,” the Prime Minister said.
“Not at all, sir. More importantly—did the meeti...
A gentle piano melody played in the background of a spacious penthouse.
[SET: 587 (32)]
Sitting alone on the sofa, Seok-won held a whiskey on the rocks in one hand, watching the Thai SET index on his laptop screen. He muttered to himself,
"Fending off the attack from currency speculators is certainly a good thing, but that doesn’t mean it’s all good news for the Thai economy or its stock market."
In fact, it was closer to a major setback.
As the baht ros...
“Wooooaaah!”
“That’s it—we’ve got it now!”
The foreign exchange officers at the Bank of Thailand, who had been barely holding the line against the relentless assault led by George Soros and the hedge funds, erupted into deafening cheers as the situation flipped on its head thanks to the massive support fire from Hong Kong and other Southeast Asian central banks.
[THB: 26.18 (+1.21)]
Unable to contain their excitement, people rose from the...
February 19, 1997 – Bangkok, Thailand
At the Bank of Thailand’s (BOT) International Affairs Office, tension hung thick in the air from the early morning.
Everyone knew what was coming—another brutal day battling the hedge funds once the forex market opened—and their stiff expressions showed it.
Piyaphong, one of the lead forex officers, looked especially haggard. A week of relentless currency defense had clearly taken its toll. Usually clean-shave...
February 17, 1997 – Tokyo, Japan
John Porter, the head of Eldorado Fund’s Japan branch, sat leisurely behind a wide desk, speaking on the phone with Shoichi Nakamura, Head of the Derivatives Division at Nomura Securities.
“So, you’re asking to cancel the CDS option contract with us—is that correct?”
[Yes. I’d be very grateful if you could be understanding about the situation.]
Normally proud and full of bluster as a top executive at J...
Thursday, February 13, 1997
In the depths of darkness, the only glimmer came from the distant lights of Brooklyn across the river. On the 31st floor of One New York Plaza, the trading floor of the Eldorado Fund was abuzz with activity, just like any other day.
“JP Morgan, 100 sold at 6.7!”
“Citibank just placed a sell order for 150 at the same price!”
“BOT — 250 bought at 6.7!”
“Lehman Brothers — 200 sold!”
“BO.....
Thursday, February 13, 1997
– Bangkok, Thailand
From the moment markets opened, the Foreign Exchange Department of the International Division at the Bank of Thailand was in absolute turmoil—as if a hornet’s nest had been kicked.
“Sixty contracts sold at 6.8!”
Sitting in front of a monitor, Piyaphong shouted out in a panicked voice. FX Center Director Kaj Damtathuy, sporting a beard, frowned deeply and snapped back irritably.
“Wh...
February 12, 1997 – Wednesday night, Manhattan, New York City.
It was just past midnight, but the 31st floor of One New York Plaza—home to Eldorado Fund’s trading floor—was ablaze with light.
By the time Choi Ho-geun and his team, who had rushed in by taxi after receiving an emergency call, arrived, the place was already buzzing with traders.
Phones rang nonstop from every corner, and the entire floor was a flurry of activity. Yoo seok-hyun spoke up, clearly tense...
“…So I think I’ll have to stay in the U.S. a bit longer. I’m sorry.”
Choi Ho-geun spoke into the receiver as he returned to his room at the Plaza Hotel after work. On the other end, his wife responded with a slightly disappointed tone.
[Well, if it’s for work, I guess there’s no helping it. That means you won’t be home for Seollal (Lunar New Year) either, right?]
“That’s probably how it’ll be.”
[Alright. Then I’ll take the kids and visit y...