March 17, 2003, Monday.
At the Bluehole Securities trading floor in Yeouido, well over thirty individual investors stood in small groups, staring at the large market board mounted on one wall.
Among the countless stocks listed, the one drawing the most attention from individual investors was, without question, ST Co.
[ST Co.: 19,780 (12,580) +15%]
Oh Won-woo, a man in his early forties wearing a windbreaker from a well-known golf brand, let out a low exclamation.
"Wow… ST hit the upper limit again right after the market opened. If it does the same today, won't that make it three consecutive days of limit-up?"
At that, Won Ho-seop—who always stuck close to him, a thin man with a long face—smacked his lips in regret.
"The trading volume is insane. If I'd known this would happen, I would've just listened to you and kept holding. I shouldn't have sold."
Oh Won-woo, too, had sold all his shares on Friday, thinking that after such a steep rise over the past few days, the price might plunge once the weekend passed.
Because of that, he couldn't bring himself to smile after seeing it hit the upper limit again.
He had made a profit, but the thought that he could've earned even more if he had simply held on made Won Ho-seop repeatedly show a look of regret.
"Who could've known a stock that dropped to 5,000 won would rebound like this?"
Letting out a sigh, Oh Won-woo took out a pellet of herbal breath freshener—something he had taken up instead of smoking since it was no longer allowed inside the trading floor—and popped it into his mouth as he spoke quietly.
"This… I think the rumor might actually be true."
"You mean the one about a foreign fund sweeping up ST shares?"
Oh Won-woo gave a small nod.
"Yeah. Otherwise, there's no way the stock price would be going this crazy."
Since it wasn't wrong, Won Ho-seop replied with a sigh,
"Well, Chairman Moon has been arrested, and the rest of the management is facing trial one after another. On top of that, all the losses that were hidden through accounting manipulation are going to be reflected at once, so this quarter's performance is bound to be terrible. In this situation, this stock price really doesn't make sense."
Oh Won-woo muttered with a troubled expression.
"Hmm… My gut tells me this isn't over yet—the stock might jump even higher from here. Should I go all in again right now?"
"Come on. It's already gone up nearly four times from the bottom. What if you jump back in and there's a cliff waiting right ahead?"
The momentum of the stock price soaring with three consecutive limit-ups was unusual, but just as Won Ho-seop said, this could also be the peak—so Oh Won-woo hesitated, unable to make a firm decision.
Most of the people gathered in front of the market board, repeatedly checking ST Co.'s stock price and then looking back and forth at their terminals for related news, were just like Oh Won-woo—hesitating, worried that if they jumped in late, they might end up buying at the very top.
Unlike the two of them, many individual investors had already invested in ST Group stocks and, far from making profits, had suffered heavy losses due to the recent accounting fraud scandal, forcing them to cut their losses in tears—so they found it even harder to act.
Just then, the people looking at their terminals suddenly began to murmur, and one by one, they hurried toward the trading counter.
"What's going on? Did something happen?"
Oh Won-woo muttered with a puzzled expression.
"Yeah, seriously."
Won Ho-seop also tilted his head, looking at the crowd.
Just then, they noticed a middle-aged woman with curly hair—known to them as Mrs. Lim, whom they often saw at the trading floor—walking briskly toward the counter with a flushed face.
"Mrs. Lim!"
Won Ho-seop quickly stepped in front of her and asked,
"Did some kind of good news break? Why is everyone acting like that?"
At that, Mrs. Lim snapped back in an irritated tone.
"You two haven't heard the news yet?"
"What news?"
"Oh, come on, this is frustrating. You don't know that a disclosure about ST just came out?"
Oh Won-woo cut into the conversation and asked,
"What kind of disclosure are you talking about?"
"They announced that some place called Crest Securities has acquired over 14% of ST shares and declared that they'll participate in management!"
Mrs. Lim, who had poured out her words in a rush without even catching her breath, waved her hand urgently.
"I need to go place a buy order right now, so move!"
Mrs. Lim shoved Won Ho-seop aside and rushed toward the crowded trading counter.
The two men stared at each other in a daze, then—without either needing to say a word—turned at the same time and hurried over to the terminals to check the disclosure displayed on the screen.
[Major Shareholder: Crest Securities
Type of Shares: Common Stock
Number of Shares Acquired: 19,028,000 shares
Post-Acquisition Ownership: 14.99%
Purpose of Acquisition: To promote shareholder value by adopting an advanced corporate governance structure and enhancing corporate transparency]
"...!"
The disclosure, which clearly signaled an intention to participate in management, made both men's eyes widen in shock.
'So the foreign fund was sweeping up shares to take control of management!'
'That's why everyone rushed over just now!'
Only then did the two realize what was happening, and they looked at each other in shock.
"Damn it. If I'd known this would happen, I would've just bought earlier."
Oh Won-woo said through clenched teeth.
"It's not too late yet. Let's hurry and go place a buy order too!"
Won Ho-seop urged him anxiously, looking ready to dash off at any moment.
"With a disclosure like this out, do you think anyone's going to sell?"
"Even so, the stock price is going to skyrocket—are you just going to stand there and watch?"
"...No, I can't do that."
Nodding as if he had made up his mind, Oh Won-woo rushed toward the trading counter together with Won Ho-seop.
Fortunately, unlike in the past, many investors were now using home trading systems over the internet, so they didn't have to shove order slips forward while jostling for position at the counter.
However, the moment the disclosure was released, even the small number of sell orders that had remained disappeared completely—so no matter how many orders they placed, they couldn't buy even a single share of ST Co.
***
As the domestic stock market was thrown into turmoil by the disclosure issued by Crest Securities, a subsidiary of Sovereign, Seok-won was not in Seoul but had traveled down to Ulsan.
The sea breeze in Ulsan in March was not as harsh as in winter, but it was still cold and biting.
Standing at the end of the breakwater at Onsan Port in Ulju County, Seok-won wore a knit sweater that covered his neck, a black long coat, and sunglasses as he faced the salty sea wind.
His handmade shoes, crafted by an Italian artisan, gave off an incongruous sheen against the rough concrete beneath his feet, while behind him stood a row of large, white-painted crude oil storage tanks.
President Hyun Dong-jin of SA Oil and President Choi Gyu-wan of Bluehole Energy stood on either side of him as if in support, while behind them waited a group of aides, including Assistant Manager Han Ji-sung.
Unbothered by his hair being tousled by the wind, Seok-won gazed out at the horizon where the deep blue East Sea met the white clouds.
At that moment, after receiving a whispered report from a Bluehole Energy employee, President Choi Gyu-wan turned toward him and spoke.
"They've reached a point about four miles out, so it should come into view soon."
With both hands tucked into his coat pockets, Seok-won kept his gaze fixed ahead as he spoke.
"You said the Royal Star is carrying one million barrels of crude oil, correct?"
"That's right. If the crude we're bringing in this time is refined without any issues at SA Oil's facilities, we plan to supply two million barrels per week going forward."
As Seok-won slightly turned his head to the left, President Hyun Dong-jin, who caught his gaze, immediately replied,
"This is our first time handling light crude from Sakhalin, but we've completely reset the refining facilities and conducted multiple sample tests, so there's no need for concern."
"Even so, just in case, make sure you pay extra attention to it."
"Yes, sir. I will."
Seok-won turned his gaze forward again.
Above the horizon, where nothing could yet be seen, only seagulls drifted leisurely through the sky.
"It feels like just yesterday that we first extracted oil that had been buried deep beneath the sea for tens of thousands of years, and yet it's already been a year—and now we're bringing in the first shipment of crude… It's truly a moving moment."
President Choi Gyu-wan, who had watched the scene of crude oil bursting powerfully up from beneath the sea together with him, also showed a deeply moved expression.
"I feel the same way. Because of the weather, we couldn't do any work during the winter, so I thought commercial production would take longer—but fortunately, the conditions improved, allowing us to bring forward the shipment earlier than expected, which makes it all the more gratifying."
Seok-won nodded with a satisfied smile.
More than anything, with political instability spreading from Nigeria to Iraq and international oil prices surging, the timing of beginning commercial production of oil and gas in Sakhalin Block 2 could not have been more perfect.
At that moment, Assistant Manager Han Ji-sung, who had been standing behind them, raised one arm and pointed ahead.
"It looks like the Royal Star has arrived."
Following the direction of his finger, a small black dot could indeed be seen rising above the horizon.
Having already confirmed it through binoculars, which he had been holding, President Choi Gyu-wan brightened.
"That's the Royal Star. Please, take a look through this."
Seok-won took the binoculars offered to him and raised them to his eyes. The tiny dot quickly transformed into the clear silhouette of a massive oil tanker.
The moment he saw the words Royal Star boldly written in English on the bow, a deep smile spread across his face.
Seeing how the draft line was completely submerged due to the ship being fully loaded with crude oil, he felt an inexplicable sense of fullness.
The Royal Star, a Suezmax-class tanker cutting through the white waves as it approached, looked like a massive mountain moving across the sea.
As it drew close enough for its hull to be clearly visible even without binoculars, three yellow tugboats that had been waiting sprang into action, attaching themselves to both sides of the tanker.
Soon, as the tanker slowed down and brought its engines to a halt, the tugboats carefully guided it—pushing and pulling from both sides as if handling a giant—toward its designated berth.
Because of its enormous size, the tanker could not enter the port and instead docked at a dolphin extending out from the shore, assisted by the tugboats.
Once the mooring lines were dropped and the vessel came to a complete stop, sun-darkened crew members wearing safety helmets and ground personnel moved in perfect coordination, lifting a large crude oil transfer pipe with a crane and connecting it to the tanker.
"Slowly! Lift it a bit higher."
"Okay! Lower it there—yes, that's it."
Watching them skillfully carry out the operation while issuing loud instructions over the radio, Seok-won wore a satisfied expression.
Then, gazing at the massive tanker—so large it couldn't be taken in at a glance—he murmured to himself,
"It really has arrived."
President Choi Gyu-wan responded, his face flushed with excitement.
"To think that the crude oil we extracted with our own hands is now being brought here and refined domestically… it truly feels like a dream."
Seok-won replied with a faint smile.