novelraw Chapter 48 : Nowhere Could the Truth Be Found
Chapter 48 : Nowhere Could the Truth Be Found
Chapter 48: Nowhere Could the Truth Be Found
The morning after the unprecedented suspension of trading at the Korea Securities Exchange.
The entire nation of South Korea was in utter chaos, as if a hornet’s nest had been struck.
The front pages of newspapers were plastered with sensational headlines like “Stock Market Collapse,” “Exchange on the Brink of Bankruptcy,” and “Tears of Small Investors.”
From early morning, furious investors gathered in front of the Korea Securities Exchange, Hangang Securities, and other major securities firms.
“Give us our money back!”
“Punish the swindlers!”
Their clothes, ages, and genders were all different, but they cried out in unison, holding fierce demonstrations.
As the situation spiraled out of control, the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction — the military government’s highest decision-making body — began moving urgently.
Its first stage was the Fiscal and Economic Committee.
“What on earth happened here? How could the heart of our national economy, the Securities Exchange, come to a halt overnight? What were the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Korea doing until things reached this point?”
At the sharp rebuke from one of the committee’s senior members, Finance Minister Kim Do-hoon and Bank of Korea Governor Kang Tae-jun, who stood as witnesses, stiffened visibly.
The fierce, icy gazes of the uniformed council members pierced into the two men.
Minister Kim Do-hoon was the first to take the microphone.
Reading carefully from his prepared statement, he claimed that the entire responsibility lay with the Securities Exchange’s lax management and the excessive greed of certain speculative forces.
“The government did everything in its power to vitalize the market. However, some securities firms and speculators exploited loopholes in the ordinary trading system to push stock prices abnormally high, which ultimately led to the market’s collapse. The Ministry of Finance will conduct a thorough investigation into those responsible and ensure they face the full consequences.”
His words were clearly an act of scapegoating — an attempt to shift all blame for policy failure and poor oversight onto the securities industry.
Next came Bank of Korea Governor Kang Tae-jun’s turn.
After glancing around at the committee members, he spoke. Though he carried no prepared notes, his gaze was firm and unwavering.
“The Bank of Korea repeatedly warned of the current stock market’s overheated state and systemic risks. We urged the Ministry of Finance to take fundamental measures, but our calls went unheeded. Even so, we injected a total of 8 billion hwan in two rounds to prevent a market collapse. But it was like pouring water into a bottomless jar. The fundamental cause of this crisis lies in the government’s failure to control the frenzy of speculation.”
Governor Kang’s explosive remarks silenced the chamber as if cold water had been thrown over it.
His direct criticism of the military government’s policy failure was enough to turn Minister Kim Do-hoon’s face crimson.
Minister Kim glared at Governor Kang. Governor Kang met his gaze head-on.
Invisible sparks flew between the two men.
The securities industry, now the target of all blame, had descended into utter pandemonium.
In particular, Park Jeong-ho’s Hangang Securities, along with four other firms, was driven to the brink of bankruptcy under the astronomical burden of 24.68 billion hwan in unsettled accounts.
Having lost everything, Park Jeong-ho clutched at his final straw and sought out Manager Choi once more.
“So it has come to this, just as I warned.”
Manager Choi’s voice, in the president’s office of Hangang Securities, was cold as ice.
“Manager Choi! Please… please, let me meet with the KCIA Director just once!”
“You can’t meet with him simply because you wish to, President Park.”
“To resolve this situation, I must see him! There’s a way.”
Despite Park’s desperate plea, Manager Choi only looked at him with an indifferent expression.
“Resolve it, you say?”
“I’ll explain in detail when we meet. Please…”
“No. In the current political climate, it would not look good at all for you to meet with the Director.”
“…Then what about Director Bae Yeong-gu? Could you arrange that somehow?”
The only line Park Jeong-ho had left to cling to was Director Kang Byung-woo’s faction.
He knew well that without their protection, things wouldn’t end with him simply taking responsibility.
If Yang Sobo willed it, he would surely hunt Park down wherever he was and deliver his death sentence.
After a brief moment of hesitation, Manager Choi picked up the phone on his desk.
“I’ll report it up. But don’t get your hopes up.”
He made a call, and the conversation dragged on for quite some time. Only Manager Choi’s low voice echoed through the office.
Park Jeong-ho waited with his eyes tightly shut, like a condemned man awaiting judgment.
“Director Bae has agreed to see you. Let’s leave immediately.”
Manager Choi and Park Jeong-ho got into the same car and headed for the secret location designated by Bae Yeong-gu.
A few days later.
While the Securities Exchange remained closed and the chaos continued, Park Jeong-ho called a press conference of his own accord.
“The full responsibility for this incident… lies with me.”
His trembling voice read from the prepared statement, the man looking as though he had aged decades in mere days.
“My excessive greed threw the market into turmoil. I offer my sincere apologies to the people of this nation. I will donate all of my personal assets and my shares in the securities company to the state to help, in any way possible, those who have suffered from this crisis.”
In that moment, the rumors that had been circulating throughout the financial world were confirmed as truth.
His shocking declaration fit perfectly with the government’s intention — to pin the entire disaster on his personal greed.
Once a king of the market, he had now lost everything and become the scapegoat of the regime.
* * *
The expression on Jeong Tae-soo’s face grew increasingly grim as he read the newspaper.
Unable to contain his anger any longer, he crumpled the paper and threw it onto the table, grinding his teeth.
The article about Park Jeong-ho donating his entire fortune to the state irritated him to no end.
“This crazy bastard!”
His furious shout rang throughout the office.
“Tell that bastard Dan Tae-geon to get in here. Right now!”
Startled by Jeong Tae-soo’s roar, his subordinate rushed to obey. In less than an hour, Dan Tae-geon arrived at the office, sweating profusely.
Jeong Tae-soo snatched the newspaper from the table and hurled it at him.
“President Dan! What the hell are you doing? Why the hell is Park Jeong-ho donating his whole fortune to the state, you useless fool?”
“...When I tried to meet him, he had already disappeared without a trace, Deputy Director.”
Dan Tae-geon stammered out his excuse, but Jeong Tae-soo’s eyes only grew fiercer.
“Because you moved so damn slowly, that bastard made his move first! How could you let that happen?”
“T-that’s... actually, there are people who saw Baek Min-woo meeting with Park Jeong-ho privately at the Securities Exchange.”
Dan Tae-geon’s eyes darted nervously as he mentioned Baek Min-woo’s name. It slipped out before he could stop himself, but now he had to shift the blame somehow.
“I don’t know what the two of them talked about, but I heard the atmosphere wasn’t good. That brat must’ve pulled some kind of trick.”
“Baek Min-woo? Why the hell are you bringing up his name now? Are you trying to dump this on that brat? The only ones who knew about our plan to seize Park Jeong-ho’s assets were you and me! So what’s all this nonsense about Baek Min-woo...?”
Jeong Tae-soo, seeing through Dan Tae-geon’s flimsy ploy, raised his voice again. But in the next instant, he paused, falling deep into thought.
‘That kid... He’s been moving exactly like I would. Did he somehow read my plan in advance and deliberately interfere?’
After pondering for a moment, Jeong Tae-soo gave a brief smirk and shook his head.
Impossible. There wasn’t a single reason Baek Min-woo would benefit from Park Jeong-ho donating all his wealth to the state.
“No matter how I look at it, Baek Min-woo’s acting strange. Everything we do—”
“That’s enough.”
Jeong Tae-soo cut him off. His voice, once blazing with fury, now cooled to a low tone.
“Let’s stop with the nonsense. So what are you going to do now? I trusted you with this job. Are you just going to let it end like this?”
As Jeong Tae-soo’s cold words pressed on the matter of responsibility, Dan Tae-geon turned pale. Dropping to his knees, he pleaded desperately.
“D-Deputy Director! Before I could even make a move, that bastard Park Jeong-ho acted first! There was nothing I could—”
“I’m not asking to hear your pathetic excuses.”
Jeong Tae-soo didn’t even care that Dan Tae-geon was kneeling. What mattered to him now was how to swallow Park Jeong-ho’s wealth.
He tapped the table with his finger, speaking again in a quiet but commanding tone.
“I asked what you’re going to do now.”
Still kneeling, Dan Tae-geon frantically racked his brain.
If he was branded incompetent here, he could lose everything.
After a brief silence, he lifted his head, his expression firming with determination.
“There is one way, Deputy Director.”
“A way, you say? Let’s hear it.”
“Although Park Jeong-ho announced he would donate his assets, the actual procedures haven’t been completed yet. His real estate, bonds, and overseas accounts are untouchable for now—they’re visible to the authorities. But he has a hidden source of cash in the Myeong-dong private loan market. I have that network under my control. If we move quickly, we can recover that money before the government does.”
As he spoke about his area of expertise, Dan Tae-geon regained his confidence, his tone growing animated.
Jeong Tae-soo, watching him silently, rubbed his chin slowly.
“Hm… sounds plausible. But we can’t afford any noise. Can you handle it cleanly, without leaving traces?”
“Leave it to me, Deputy Director. No matter how hard that bastard struggles, he won’t escape my grasp. I’ll recover every last coin — quietly, leaving not even a speck of dust behind.”
“Good.”
Jeong Tae-soo finally nodded.
“This is your last chance, President Dan. If you fail me again… then I’ll be the one confiscating your assets.”
“I understand completely, Deputy Director.”
Sweat beaded on Dan Tae-geon’s forehead as he bowed deeply.
Jeong Tae-soo looked down at him coldly, recalling once again Baek Min-woo’s face.
‘Could this really be Baek Min-woo’s doing? If it is… then things just got a lot more interesting.’
A serpent-like smile curled across Jeong Tae-soo’s lips.
While the government, the KCIA, and Jeong Tae-soo each busied themselves cleaning up the aftermath of the securities turmoil with their own hidden agendas, I quietly observed the chaos from a distance.
An old teahouse tucked away in a quiet alley of Jongno.
I sat in the most secluded corner, savoring the bitterness of cheap coffee as I read the newspaper.
[The Black May of Greed — The First Trading Halt in Korea’s Stock Market History.]
[Myeong-dong, Stained with the Tears of Small Investors Caught in the Blind Investment Frenzy.]
The front page was filled with nothing but sensational headlines.
The content was as expected.
It blamed the crisis on “the greed of a few immoral securities firms” and “the reckless lust for quick riches of investors who didn’t know their limits.”
There wasn’t a single line about the government’s policy failures or the KCIA’s interference. All the blame was pushed onto Park Jeong-ho and the foolish investors.
“Nowhere can the truth be found.”
I smiled bitterly and set the paper down.
Because of my involvement, the entire situation had grown far larger, and Park Jeong-ho had met a dramatic end by donating his entire fortune.
But in the end, those at the core of power skillfully slipped through the web of accountability.
At that moment, the door of the teahouse opened with the creak of an old bell.
I looked up from the newspaper toward the entrance. The man who entered was Deputy Director Noh Gi-tae.
After glancing around, he spotted me sitting in the corner and strode toward me. I stood up to greet him.
“Welcome, Deputy Director Noh Gi-tae.”
“Hmph, why the hell did you choose such a musty place to meet?”
Noh Gi-tae grumbled, looking around. Whether you called it vintage or shabby, the place clearly didn’t suit his taste.
“Well, it wouldn’t do to meet at the KCIA, not in times like these.”
When my eyes shifted toward the newspaper on the table, Noh Gi-tae’s gaze naturally followed.
Seeing the provocative headlines on the front page, he clicked his tongue.
“Tsk, tsk. So greedy. Did they really not see this coming?”
Slumping into his seat, Noh Gi-tae laid his hand on the newspaper and looked at me sharply.
“You’re partly responsible for this mess too, aren’t you?”