Story of a Big Player from Gangnam

Gun-Ho had lunch with the branch manager of the stock brokerage firm at a Japanese sushi restaurant.

“Sir, which stocks do you currently invested in these days? Even though I am a branch manager, I can’t look into a client’s account without their consent.”

“I have Kumho Chemical stock.”

“I see. It is a very good choice. You must have some sort of insight into selecting the right stock as a big player.”

“Do you have any information on Kumho Chemical?”

“The older brother of Kumho Asiana Group recently tried to make an M&A of Daewoo Construction Company and failed to do so. That resulted in deeper discord between the two brothers.”

“He tried to get something he couldn’t get. Daewoo Construction Company is too big for him to acquire. I guess the people around the older brother didn’t assist him right.”

“The brothers of Kumho family were supposed to equally share Kumho Chemical stock as 10.1% for each. However, they failed to maintain this state as the younger brother is trying to increase his share; that’s what I heard.”

“Hmm.”

“If that is what’s really happening, the price of the stock will go up again.”

“I currently have 30 billion won worth of stocks through your stock brokerage firm.

“Wow. Did you say 30 billion won?”

“I suppose your company must have clients who are bigger players than me in the stock market; especially your firm is located in Gangnam.”

“Oh my goodness, sir. Even in Gangnam, there is no one who places tens of billions of won in their stock account. As far as I know, you are the biggest player in the stock market.”

“If I want to sell some stocks and invest more in Kumho Chemical, how much do you think I should buy?”

“If I were you, I would invest 30% of the total funds in the stock account, in Kumho Chemical.”

“Which stock should I buy with the remaining funds then?”

“What do you think of Macquarie Korea Infrastructure Fund (MKIF)?” Their stock price doesn’t fluctuate significantly and also you can expect to receive a dividend.”

“It’s a joint venture of Macquarie Group and Shinhan Group, right?”

“That’s right. You know about that company?”

“Actually I have a joint venture myself with China as well.”

“Oh, you do?”

“Infra companies rarely go under.”

“I am a risk taker and a winner. I don’t like stable stocks.”

“But you want to invest in the stock market within some sort of safety zone.”

“Thank you for meeting with me and giving me information today.”

“Anytime, sir. I enjoyed meeting with you. We learn a lot from big player investors like you as well.”

When he got back to his office, Gun-Ho thought of what the branch manager of the stock brokerage company said.

“The brothers of Kumho family no longer maintain the same number of shares on Kumho Chemical stock.”

Gun-Ho smiled.

After three months, when Gun-Ho opened his stock account, his eyes widened. He could feel that his body temperature was rising. He then thought that he shouldn’t show his current emotion to anyone.

“Oh my goodness. The price of Kumho Chemical stock increased three times. My shares of Kumho Chemical are worth 90 billion won now.”

Gun-Ho wanted to scream in excitement and laugh loudly, so he ran to the underground parking lot where he parked his Land Rover. Once he got into his car, he started the engine and began to laugh like a crazy man.

“Hahahahaha.”

There was no one in the parking lot, and because of the sound of his car engine, no one would be able to hear his laughter.

Gun-Ho was actually going to sell all of the Kumho Chemical stock earlier.

“It’s stupid to sell the stock knowing that the Kumho brothers are still fighting each other.”

Gun-Ho felt a sense of relief.

‘Good opportunity doesn’t often come in a lifetime. Chairman Lee told me not to invest in the stock market since the other player’s cards are unknown. However, this was a special case. I could see the other player’s cards, and it is a rare opportunity that I encounter maybe once in a lifetime. I shouldn’t sell the stock just yet.’

Gun-Ho felt the urge to sell the stock and grab the cash of 90 billion won, so he could acquire Mulpasaneop with the fund.

‘No! No! This is an opportunity that comes once in a lifetime. I see the other player’s cards!’

Gun-Ho needed help to suppress his urge to sell the stock; maybe he should go on a trip abroad.

However, if he traveled more than a week, the trip would probably bore him; he would probably think of going home immediately.

“I should at least wait for six months before I sell the stock. What should I do during those six months? Should I go to a private institution and learn something? Just like how I learned about the auction?”

Gun-Ho registered for an English course in the Gangnam area. He also registered for a Japanese course that he could take in the afternoon. He actually didn’t care much about learning foreign languages; he just needed something to distract himself from thinking of stock.

“Let’s just learn the basic English and Japanese, so I can at least say hi in those languages.”

Gun-Ho was well aware of the fact that it took time to learn a foreign language, and it was impossible to speak a foreign language in a day or two.

“It took me three years to speak Chinese, and I wasn’t even fluent at that time. I will be satisfied if I could say hi in English and read Katakana and Hiragana in Japanese.”

Gun-Ho didn’t expect much at all while he was attending the language classes to learn English and Japanese.

Gun-Ho was having his usual day.

He went to his office in the morning and listened to Manager Kang and Ms. Ji-Young Jeong’s report; he then signed on their reports. He read three different newspapers: an economic newspaper, a conservative-inclined daily newspaper, and a progressive daily newspaper.

“I need to know the view from both sides: conservative and progressive groups, so I don’t lose my sense of balance.”

After reading those three different newspapers, it was usually lunchtime.

Gun-Ho usually went to a luxurious restaurant and had tasty food for his lunch since he had more than enough money to ignore the lunch cost.

In the afternoon, he attended two different language classes to learn English and Japanese. Once the classes ended, he practiced golf or worked out in a gym.

The instructors of the language classes were young female native speakers. Many housewives from Gangnam came to Gun-Ho’s language classes as well. They were not really studying hard, but it seemed that they just came to the class for fun.

GH Development Company was doing fine. Even though it was a small company with a small office, which was running four OneRoomTels, the office was big enough to give space to two employees and Gun-Ho. The company was also financially doing good enough to pay two employees too. Gun-Ho also liked the fact that he could always ask either Manager Kang or Ms. Ji-Young Jeong for any necessary work or errands.

Manager Kang and Ms. Ji-Young Jeong trusted Gun-Ho since he was treating them well, and they knew Gun-Ho was a wealthy man even though his company was a small-sized company.

The joint venture that Gun-Ho was participating in was doing fine as well. He invested his 1.5 billion won to this joint venture, and the company didn’t have to spend those funds any longer because it could run with the rent they were receiving from companies in the industrial park. So, at this point, Gun-Ho didn’t have to invest an additional fund to the joint venture.

“It usually takes way more than 1.5 billion won to start a joint venture.”

Gun-Ho’s joint venture wouldn’t make a significant amount of money in a short period of time; it was not that kind of business. However, it could bring in steady income. Gun-Ho was especially content with the fact that he could use the experience and connection he gained by participating in the joint venture as a stepping stone when it became the right time to get into the Chinese market with his own future business.

Gun-Ho also placed the right person in the joint venture for him in China. Min-Hyeok who went to high school together with Gun-Ho was also born to a poor family as Gun-Ho, so they shared similar life experiences and understood each other better. Min-Hyeok was by nature a hard worker and an earnest person. Gun-Ho was sure that he was the perfect person to oversee the business activities in China.