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 billion dollars' worth of stock in their assault on Hess and Taewoo Trading.
We absorbed all of it—close to 20 trillion won's worth—and yet the prices of Hess and Taewoo Trading remained unmoved.
"There's practically no Hess or Taewoo Trading stock left on the market. Even those who want to buy can't find sellers."
"Of course. The short-sellers borrowed every last share the financial institutions were holding. Naturally, no supply remains."
"Even individual investors have been drained of their holdings. Taewoo Securities now has a stranglehold on nearly all of the float."
If the short-sellers had poured in 15 billion dollars—
Then Taewoo Securities had committed more than 35 billion dollars to this operation.
On top of the sizable stake we were already holding, our additional purchases brought our ownership in Hess and Taewoo Trading to nearly 90%.
Which meant, unless we released shares into the market, no one else could get their hands on them.
"The short-sellers must be tearing their hair out right now."
"Even if we simply hold our shares, the interest payments alone will bleed them dry."
"They won't just dry up—they'll explode before that."
"Do you have some good news prepared for that moment?"
Just then— Ring!
A call came in from Dimon.
Dimon, who was busy managing the oil consortium, would never call at this hour unless something big had happened.
"Did something happen?"
[An oil field has been discovered in Guyana! The exact reserves will need a detailed survey, but according to ExxonMobil's exploration team leader, it holds at least over a billion barrels.]
"When will ExxonMobil announce the discovery?"
[The detailed survey should take about a week, so they'll likely make the announcement then.]
"A week is perfect. Make sure the exploration team receives a generous bonus for their efforts."
Ten years of effort had finally borne fruit.
No amount of money could truly repay a decade of work, but a massive bonus was the least he could do.
[We'll make it more than generous—enough that they'll never have to worry about retirement.]
"And keep the discovery under the strictest security. If word leaks too early, it'll ruin the impact, you understand?"
[You needn't worry. ExxonMobil is just as determined to keep it under wraps. If it explodes in one big announcement, the media frenzy will be enormous. Besides, if the survey results turned out worse than expected, an early leak could actually drive the stock down.]
"Good. Call me again before the official results are released."
The moment he hung up with Dimon, one of the executives who had been listening quietly threw his hands in the air.
"Unbelievable! You've already struck oil? Was this the trump card you hinted at? How could you possibly have planned such a move?"
"Just luck."
And it wasn't an empty phrase.
In his previous life, he remembered that the successful oil strike hadn't come until the second half of the year.
This time, however, they had hit it nearly six months earlier. True, Hess's involvement and the massive capital investment played a role—but luck had been a decisive factor as well.
"When the news of a major oil discovery breaks, Hess's stock will skyrocket!"
"But we only have a week left. Can we force the short-sellers to throw in even their last pennies?"
"They already look strapped for cash, but I'll make sure they take out loans and push every cent they have into shorting. The remaining float is small, but it should be just enough for us to drain them dry."
If you're going to crush them, you have to do it completely.
Anything less might only stoke their thirst for revenge. This was the chance to demonstrate an overwhelming gap in strength once and for all.
At the same time.
The short-selling forces were gathered in Chanos's office for an emergency meeting.
"Sir, something strange is happening. All the shares we dumped are being scooped up by the Taewoo Group."
"Where else would they get the money? They must have taken out bank loans to buy them up. Give it a month, and they'll be crushed under massive interest payments and end up throwing those shares back on the market."
"There's no telling whether that'll happen next month or a year from now. If Taewoo Group keeps raising its debt ratio and holds out, we'll be the ones forced to take losses."
Short-selling could also be seen as a form of borrowing.
The short-sellers borrowed shares from financial institutions to sell them short, and since they were using leverage on top of that, they too had to shoulder considerable interest costs.
"Don't worry. Activist funds are working hard in Korea. No later than three days from now, we'll see some results."
"Will activist funds alone be enough?"
"That's why we've prepared another move. We'll borrow Hess and Taewoo Trading shares held by Fintech Bank and short-sell them again."
The hedge fund heads reacted with surprise.
Understandably so—Fintech Bank was Taewoo Group's primary banking partner, deeply tied to them.
The idea that such a bank would lend its shares to the short-sellers just to attack Taewoo Group was difficult to believe.
"Has Fintech Bank really agreed to lend the shares?"
"Banks are, after all, institutions that will do anything to make money. No matter how close their relationship with Taewoo Group may be, if they don't put depositors' and shareholders' interests first, Fintech Bank will lose credibility."
"Did you lay the groundwork in advance?"
"A few activist funds made their move. That lit a fire under the bank, and they jumped at the chance to lend the shares. Hahaha."
There was a reason Chanos had earned the title of "King of Short-Selling."
He always prepared meticulously for victory, and even before the short-selling began, he had already mobilized activist funds to pressure Fintech Bank.
"But what if Taewoo Group also absorbs Fintech Bank's shares?"
"They could—if they push their debt ratio to the limit. But think about it. Who would look kindly on them mortgaging their thriving automobile, semiconductor, and electronics subsidiaries just to save Hess and Taewoo Trading?"
"True, and Taewoo Group only owns about 38% of Taewoo Trading's shares. Of that, Chairman Kim Min-jae personally holds only around 25%. With the majority of shares held by outside shareholders, how could he possibly run the group as he pleases?"
The owner of a company is its shareholders.
That wasn't just a saying—the shareholder base really did control the larger portion of equity.
And particularly in Korean corporations, the founding families often didn't hold as much stock as people assumed.
That was why the short-sellers believed there was no way Chairman Kim could go against the will of the shareholders.
What they didn't know was that through various channels, Chairman Kim Min-jae already controlled over 70% of the shares.
"But the Fintech Bank demanded rather excessive interest."
"Perhaps that's their last show of loyalty to Taewoo Group, hidden in those interest rates. Still, isn't that a cost we must be willing to bear?"
"If this operation succeeds, we'll strip apart not just Hess but also Taewoo Trading. Surely no one here objects to paying such a price?"
"Do as you see fit, Representative."
The hedge fund leaders all gave their consent.
They had no idea what consequences today's choice might bring, but they agreed without resistance nonetheless.
Two days later.
As I was preparing to leave work, a call came in from Dimon.
I answered it together with President Han.
[Fintech Bank has handed over its holdings in Hess and Taewoo Trading to the short sellers.]
"Well done. The short sellers didn't get suspicious, did they?"
[I almost burst out laughing but managed to hold it in. I kept frowning the whole time, and perhaps mistaking that for worry, Chanos even encouraged me to hang in there.]
"That encouragement will be far more necessary for him than for you."
The final piece of the plan had fallen into place.
Now all that was left was for the short sellers to start dumping their shares. They seemed to be in such a hurry that the reaction came immediately.
"Chairman, the short sellers have begun offloading Hess shares."
"Buy everything. There's no shortage of funds, is there?"
"On the contrary—our funds are not only sufficient, they're overflowing!"
Taewoo Securities had already recovered all the funds it had invested in oil futures.
On top of that, the money invested through Fintech Bank had also been returned, leaving them with a surplus of cash.
[The short sellers are holding about 5 billion dollars' worth of stock. If you find yourself short, Fintech Bank can provide support. By using multiple channels, we can discreetly supply around 5 billion without drawing attention.]
"The meal is ready and steaming—we can't afford to make a mistake at this point. If Fintech Bank steps in, it could complicate things. And besides, Taewoo Securities alone has more than enough strength to handle 5 billion."
Taewoo Group's capital was spread across countless channels.
Still, mobilizing 5 billion was never an issue, and there was no need to open Fintech Bank, my personal vault, for it.
[By the way, this short-selling frenzy has brought in quite a profit for Fintech Bank as well. The short sellers borrowed stock at steep interest rates.]
"And what if the short sellers default on their debt?"
[Then we'll simply seize all their assets. In any case, I look forward to hearing good news soon.]
The call with Dimon ended.
Just then, the Planning Chief rushed into the office in a hurry.
"Chairman, the activist fund is about to hold a press conference in Yeouido. Shouldn't we mobilize our contacts to stop it?"
"Let them be."
"If the activist fund moves, the entire Taewoo Group could suffer long-term repercussions."
"This won't drag on in the long term. Within a week, it will be quiet again. Just leave it."
A week? More like three days.
By then, the activist fund's cause would disappear on its own.
Because the announcement of a major oilfield discovery in Guyana would be made that very day.
"The Honorary Chairman is deeply concerned about this matter."
"Tell him there's no need to worry. Also let him know that by next week, the media will be carrying some very good news."
Even my grandfather in Vietnam was worrying about this.
That only proved how far-reaching the issue was. But the greater the ripple, the bigger the reversal effect would be.
"Ah! We've secured the full list of financial institutions that took part in this short-selling, correct?"
"There was no need for a separate investigation. Since they report to Chanos Company every day, gathering the list was no trouble at all."
"Does that list include any firms from Financial Tower?"
"Yes, two of them. They're not major players—just hedge funds that had moved in when the tower first opened."
There were many ways to strengthen solidarity.
Rooting out and punishing traitors was one of the most effective methods.
Only by showing exactly what happens to financial institutions that tried to stab us in the back this time could we make sure such a thing would never happen again.