WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Arsène
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Conglomerate Heir Just Wants to Fail ◈
Chapter 19
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“Do you know what the world’s largest pension funds, like Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the California public employees’ pension fund, and Japan’s public pension fund, have in common? Article 1, Clause 1 of their management principles all contain a provision restricting investment in companies that fall short of ESG evaluation standards. They don’t care much about P/E ratios or P/B ratios like you do. They simply add companies with high ESG ratings to their portfolios mechanically, according to their rules. That’s how they manage quadrillions of won.”
“...Hmm. So?”
“What do you mean, so? The moment this rating was announced, ESG-linked index funds around the world began automatically buying Daeseung Life shares according to their algorithms. The opponent you’re fighting isn’t a bunch of retail investors swept up in emotion, Jason.”
Jonathan tapped his temple with a finger.
“It’s a massive flow of capital that moves by predetermined rules, without emotion or reason. Trying to ride it now is like surfing against a tsunami.”
“What...?”
“It’ll start moving in earnest soon. You should close your position before then.”
The moment Jonathan finished speaking, Jason began typing on the keyboard as they analyzed Daeseung Life’s real-time order flow in detail.
Jason already knew about the buying pressure from retail investors and Daeseung affiliates.
But mixed in with it was unidentified foreign capital flowing in steadily and unnoticed.
It was not simple short-term trading money.
It was buying shares in a fixed pattern, like a machine.
“Passive capital...”
A low groan escaped Jason.
Daeseung Life had been newly included in an ESG-related index, and the passive funds tracking that index had begun moving first, like scouts.
The major capital inflow had not even begun yet.
The tense stock movement now was nothing more than the calm before a massive storm.
“Those bastards have plenty of money, but they’re tied down by all sorts of regulations, so they can’t just increase their allocations whenever they want. Now that a new company with an investment-eligible rating has appeared, the people in charge must be thrilled.”
“Wait, Jonathan. I still don’t understand. The fundamentals are falling apart. Would that kind of massive capital really come in over a single ESG rating? They aren’t idiots. It’s obvious they’ll take losses in the end.”
Jason clung to the last thread of reason and pressed the question, but Jonathan leaned back in his chair and looked at Jason as though Jason were pathetic.
“Jason, you still think of them as investors. They aren’t. They’re just capital allocators. What do you think a fund manager handling quadrillions of won for a pension fund looks at before investing? Site visits? Interviews with CEOs? Not a chance. They only look at their investment principles, regulations, and the ratings provided by external evaluators. That’s the only way they can justify their decisions to thousands of clients and entire countries.”
Jonathan’s voice was calm, like a professor giving a lecture, but the content was ice-cold.
“Daeseung Life’s profits have been cut in half? Right. But that is already past data. ESG is an indicator that evaluates future risks. Climate change, labor rights, governance transparency... Daeseung Life is signaling to the market that it is sacrificing current profits to eliminate those future risks properly. Pension funds invest based on that signal. They decide, ‘This company will be stable in the long run and is less likely to face social condemnation.’ Short-term returns? They don’t care about those. What matters to them is the long-term stability of the entire portfolio.”
As Jonathan lectured, Jason quickly closed the position.
The recent decline had brought a small profit, but once interest, fees, and above all the time spent were taken into account, it was roughly break-even, perhaps even a slight loss.
‘Still, I’m lucky it ended here.’
Jason muttered before speaking to Jonathan.
“Jonathan. Thanks so much. Dinner’s on me today. Something expensive. Do you know Hanwoo?”
“Thanks, but another time. I already have plans today.”
“Plans? You’ve barely been in Korea. You already found someone to meet?”
“Heh heh, I told you before. I have to go to the Pink Eyes concert. I managed to get tickets.”
Jonathan, a forty-two-year-old Black man, was a hardcore K-pop fan.
.
Brokerage firms released sell reports on Daeseung Life and Daeseung Group day after day, but Daeseung Securities stubbornly maintained its buy recommendation.
Criticism mounted that it was favoring an affiliate. In particular, Hanseong Securities, part of Daeseung Group’s longtime rival Hanseong Group, officially announced a massive short position in Daeseung Life, opening the war.
.
Hanseong Securities’ trading room was filled with the heat pouring from its monitors.
As dozens of monitors flashed, Executive Director Cha, who led the team, watched Daeseung Life’s stock chart with a contemptuous smile.
In Executive Director Cha’s eyes, every move made by the young successor who had filled Chairman Kang Sinsu’s absence was nothing more than a clown’s circus.
“That snot-nosed brat got lucky a few times and now thinks he’s really something.”
Daeseung Life was the perfect prey in Executive Director Cha’s eyes.
Its fundamentals were collapsing, yet its stock price was holding up in a grotesque fashion because of blind faith in the owner family and irrational buying by retail investors.
For short sellers, it was a textbook opportunity to raid someone else’s granary.
“Team Leader, the Daeseung side’s buying pressure is growing even stronger.”
One team member cautiously voiced a concern, but Executive Director Cha snorted.
“Don’t worry. They’re pouring water into a bottomless jar. Once earnings season comes, that bubble will burst. Before then, we’ll cut off their air. In the name of Hanseong Securities, we’ll bring Daeseung’s foolish myth to an end. Inform every department. Mobilize every available fund and maximize our short position in Daeseung Life.”
Executive Director Cha was interrupted before confirming that the order had spread throughout the company.
“Executive Director, the president is calling for you.”
Executive Director Cha let out a small sigh.
A securities company president should not be so fainthearted.
If not for being the nephew of Hanseong’s founding chairman, President Choi would never have been able to sit in that position.
“I’ll go right away.”
Thinking that calming President Choi was part of the job as well, Executive Director Cha straightened their tie and left the trading room.
As expected, when Executive Director Cha opened the president’s office door, President Choi was pacing the room with an anxious expression.
Even an expensive Italian suit could not hide his narrow shoulders or nervous air.
“Executive Director Cha, you’re certain about this, right? My older cousin is very interested in this matter too.”
The older cousin President Choi meant was Chairman Choi, his older cousin and the owner of Hanseong Group.
Things had not been going well for Hanseong lately. Ever since that bastard Vice Chairman appeared at Daeseung, Hanseong had suffered one blow after another from Daeseung.
Executive Director Cha saw straight through President Choi’s thoughts and gave a relaxed smile, as though soothing a child.
“President, there is no need to worry. This is not a war. It is a hunt. They are nothing but herbivores already bleeding all over their bodies.”
Executive Director Cha drew a graph in the air with a finger while explaining.
“The essence of the insurance business is risk management and asset management. But what is Daeseung Life doing now? It is throwing money around in insurance payouts, cutting into its own profitability, then using the money it earns that way to prop up its share price. It is suicide. The only reason it is holding on now is blind faith that Daeseung’s Vice Chairman is a genius and the speculative fever of retail investors who know nothing. Earnings season is right around the corner. The moment the truth is revealed, every one of those mirages will collapse.”
Executive Director Cha paused, looking President Choi directly in the eye.
“President, the group’s pride is at stake. Do you remember the humiliation we suffered at that brat’s hands? This is our chance to teach that greenhorn clearly that luck alone cannot run a business, and what real finance truly is.”
President Choi’s eyes wavered at the words “pride” and “humiliation.”
Executive Director Cha sensed that President Choi had been convinced and drove in the final nail.
“If we win, President, you will not only regain the Chairman’s trust. You will become the hero of the entire group. Everything is in our hands. You only need to trust us and watch.”
In the end, President Choi nodded and placed even greater trust in Executive Director Cha.
“If you’re that certain... should I put some of my personal assets into it too?”
So that was what he was really after.
Even a timid bastard had as much greed as anyone else.
Executive Director Cha smiled without revealing a hint of their thoughts.
It was not a bad thing.
More ammunition was always better.
.
Hanseong Securities’ declaration of war immediately became the biggest topic in the stock market.
Stock communities of every kind turned into a battlefield.
[Breaking: Hanseong Securities declares massive short selling against Daeseung Life. The war has effectively begun.]
└Those crazy bastards finally drew their swords.
└LOL I can hear Daeseung Life shareholders shitting themselves from here. Time to panic-sell and bail~
└Anyone who runs is a loser. Now is the time to stand by your convictions.
└Convictions, my ass LOL. Is Kang Daeun going to feed you if you lose all your money?
[Seriously, have you ever seen Korean conglomerates fight like this? This isn’t even America.]
└Maybe not others, but Daeseung and Hanseong are capable of it.
└Why do those two hate each other so much?
└Huh? It’s a famous story. Daeseung’s chairman and Hanseong’s founder were classmates in elementary school back in the day...(See More)
└└Damn it, there’s nothing even when you click See More.
└└└You actually fell for that? LOL
Amid the confusion and mockery, another long post appeared.
[We are with “Great General” Kang Daeun.]
You cowards, get a grip.
This is not simply a fight between Hanseong and Daeseung.
It is a holy war between arrogant institutions and us retail investors.
The time has come to show those bastards, who have treated us like livestock while sucking our blood, what we’re capable of.
We have the Great General.
The man who saw through Hwasu Heavy Industries’ weaknesses, overturned the landscape of retail and construction, and is now planning the future of finance.
He is fighting beside us, sword in hand, at the very front.
And you dare talk about retreat?
From now on, anyone who sells even one share of Daeseung Life is a traitor.
If you have faith in the Great General, scrape together everything you have and buy even one more share.
This is war!
└This post was written from a Daeseung headquarters IP.
└Idiot LOL. What do you think Kang Daeun would think if he saw a post like this?
└└(OP) Do you think the Vice Chairman would come to a place like this to read shitty posts?
└└└At least you know it’s a shitty post.
Footnotes:
Hanwoo is premium Korean native beef. “Do you know Hanwoo?” echoes a familiar Korean promotional catchphrase.
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