IWSF – Ch 262

Choi Nam-woo traveled in the Mercedes-Benz S-Class.

He was seated in the right rear seat, the so-called “boss’s seat.”

A driver was behind the wheel, and a secretary sat beside him. The back seat was wide enough to stretch his legs out fully.

It was a different world from the ten-year-old Avante he used to drive as a salesperson. Is this why everyone strives for success?

Once seated, Choi Nam-woo paused in thought.

‘The person I shook hands with last… his face is a bit familiar. Where have I seen him before?’

However, the thought quickly faded. His secretary handed him the schedule.

“The next lecture is in Macheon-dong.”

“Understood.”

Many members of the Macheon branch are university students and recent graduates. They always greeted him with enthusiastic welcomes.

Including that location, three more lectures were scheduled for today alone.

“Aren’t you tired, CEO?”

Choi Nam-woo smiled and said, “Not at all. I need to work even harder for the growth of JG Blockchain.”

Being driven around in a luxury foreign car, reviewing work. It was truly the life he had dreamed of.

He originally worked as a salesperson at a small to medium-sized company called Health Study. His job was to travel around gyms in the Seoul metropolitan area, introducing and selling new exercise equipment.

He was naturally outgoing and enjoyed meeting people, so the job suited his personality well. His sales performance was also quite good. But even then, his monthly salary was less than 3 million won.

Choi Nam-woo had no intention of remaining just a salesperson. He had a strong desire to succeed.

So he tried his hand at stocks several times, but only ended up losing his investments.

Then one day, the opportunity of a lifetime arrived.

When Kang Jin-hoo first appeared on TV and revealed that he was the CEO of OTK Company, his wife called and shouted.

[Oppa! Kang Jin-hoo is my cousin!]

“What are you suddenly talking about?”

[The CEO of OTK Company on TV right now, he’s my cousin! He’s my dad’s younger brother’s son!]

“Wh-what?”

The moment he heard those words, it felt like his life was turned upside down.

Korean chaebols have a wonderful tradition called family-based management. Even if you have no ability, even if you have personality flaws, you can get a position just because you are related by blood.

If a large corporation runs a franchise, isn’t it natural to have their children supply ingredients, give their cousins the cafeteria operation rights, have their in-laws handle deliveries, or if nothing else, at least entrust them with box production?

When he rushed to Kang Jin-hoo’s house with his in-laws, he was filled with hope for success.

‘They’ll give me a managing director or executive director position, right? Or maybe even president of an affiliate?’

Anything was fine. If they just gave him a position, he was confident he could do a really good job.

But his expectations were instantly shattered. Far from receiving anything, he was chased out by bodyguards before he could even properly say a word.

He found out that when Kang Jin-hoo’s family went bankrupt, his in-laws had all cut off contact. Only then did they regret hitting themselves in the chest, saying they should have helped and kept in touch all along, but it was already water under the bridge.

However, he couldn’t give up like this.

To persuade Kang Jin-hoo somehow, he visited the company several times afterwards, but he was forbidden from even entering the building, let alone meeting him.

He was so angry that he was going to anonymously post insults on the message board, but the internet was already overflowing with insults about Kang Jin-hoo.

If he hadn’t known that his cousin-in-law was Kang Jin-hoo, he might have just lived as he had been.

But when the opportunity to turn his life around flew away right in front of his eyes, even the will to work disappeared. His sales performance steadily declined, and the company gave him a termination notice.

He actually felt relieved. Before then, success had been vague and abstract, but now it seemed like something he could grasp just by reaching out.

However, when he actually tried to do something, it wasn’t easy. He had no money, no connections, and no great business ideas either. The only thing that set him apart from others was just one thing.

That his wife’s cousin was Kang Jin-hoo.

He was looking around for opportunities to make big money when a man approached him.

He was a man in his early 50s with a benevolent impression. He introduced himself as Chairman Ham Soon-pyo.

He showed photos of himself with influential figures from the previous administration and famous politicians, and stated that he was a businessman doing various businesses around the world.

The business plan he revealed was astonishing. Blockchain, cryptocurrency, Jeil Gold Coin, Venezuela, state-owned oil fields, oil, and so on.

Chairman Ham Soon-pyo said he would create a separate corporation called JG Blockchain in Singapore and asked Choi Nam-woo to become the CEO of that company and take charge of the coin pre-sale and listing.

The moment he heard those words, Choi Nam-woo felt a thrilling shiver run through his body. This time, the real opportunity to turn his life around had arrived.

“If you entrust it to me, I will work hard, Chairman!”

And so, he went from being a mere salesperson to the CEO of JG Blockchain.

Choi Nam-woo recalled the time he met Kang Jin-hoo directly.

‘When Jeil Gold Coin gets listed, my cousin-in-law will also see me differently, right?’

Only then might he regret not recognizing his talent and chasing him away, and try to hold onto him, asking him to work for him.

If that happened, he was thinking of coldly rejecting him this time.

Well, depending on the conditions, he might take a position…

‘I’ll succeed and show you!’

***

MLM had a vertical structure.

Members who joined earlier were uplines, and members they brought in and newly registered became downlines. The more downlines, the greater the upline’s earnings.

Min Ha-young explained to Taek-gyu. “As I said before, if you just buy it, 1 JGC is 120 won, but if you become a member of JG Blockchain, you can buy it at the member price of 60 won.”

To become a member, you have to pay 2.52 million won. Then you can receive a total of 42,000 JGC.

If you purchase 5.04 million won, it goes down to 45 won, and if you purchase 7.56 million won, it goes down to 30 won. The more you buy, the bigger the discount.

As Taek-gyu seemed to be considering it, Hong Chang-soo next to him said, “This is retroactively applied later as well. Become a member first and then think about it. Installment payments by card are possible, and loans are also available in connection with banks.”

“Can I purchase 1 billion won worth?”

“Huh? 1 billion?”

“I have 1 billion won right now.”

Min Ha-young had a dumbfounded expression, and Hong Chang-soo laughed as if he was speechless.

Collecting 1 billion won has been so trendy for several years now that it sounds like nothing special, but in reality, it’s an amount that an average office worker might or might not be able to collect even if they work hard their whole life.

It’s natural to think it’s a joke. Showing it directly is the best way.

“If you don’t believe me, I’ll show you.”

The dividend money was in his Golden Gate MMF account, but he had put his living expenses separately in Hanshin Bank.

Taek-gyu immediately accessed his account on his smartphone and showed it to them.

Hong Chang-soo and Min Ha-young were startled to see it. The account balance really showed a number exceeding 1 billion.

Min Ha-young looked at Taek-gyu with wide eyes. “N-no way. How did this happen?”

Taek-gyu simply resolved her question. “I won the lottery.”

He had actually dreamed of winning the lottery and diligently bought tickets at one point. But all he got was winning 5th prize a few times.

Now, even if he really won 1st prize, he didn’t think he would be very happy. What could he do with 1 or 2 billion won?

“Wow! The legendary lottery 1st prize. Congratulations!”

Taek-gyu nodded. “It really wasn’t easy. I accomplished that difficult feat.”

Hong Chang-soo had an expression as if he had won the lottery himself. That was because he was Min Ha-young’s upline. He would receive 5% of the amount Taek-gyu purchased in coins as compensation. For 1 billion won, that’s a whopping 50 million won falling into his lap.

Taek-gyu asked with an innocent expression, “You said it would be 10,000 won once listed, so if I buy 1 billion won worth at 30 won per coin now, it will become 300 billion won later, right?”

Hong Chang-soo nodded enthusiastically. “As you heard in the CEO’s lecture, it will go to 10,000 won once listed. Will you purchase the coins right away?”

Taek-gyu scratched his head. “Ah, but to withdraw this, I have to go to the bank in person. I blocked mobile and internet banking because I’m worried about getting account hacking or phishing.”

At those words, Hong Chang-soo was flustered.

Because today was the weekend when banks are closed.

“B-but, can’t you withdraw from an ATM?”

“There are withdrawal limits.”

So, he had no choice but to purchase only as much as he could withdraw today, and decided to purchase the rest on Monday.

“I’ll go withdraw from the ATM.”

As if worried that the fish he had caught would escape, Hong Chang-soo quickly said, “You probably don’t know this area well, so salesperson Min Ha-young will go with you.”

The two of them left the building. If they went out to the main road, there was a Hanshin Bank ATM right there.

As they walked, Min Ha-young asked Taek-gyu, “Did you really win the lottery?”

Something bigger than that had happened. She would probably be shocked if she knew the truth.

“Now I have to buy Jeil Gold Coin with this and hit the jackpot.”

Suddenly, Min Ha-young stopped walking and stared intently at Taek-gyu.

“Are you crazy?”

“Why? You said if I put in 1 billion, I can make 300 billion, right?”

“Ah, still, even so, does it make sense to put in 1 billion at once?”

If he purchased 1 billion won worth of coins, 100 million won would fall to Min Ha-young. But she was still saying this, so it seemed like a trace of conscience remained.

“You don’t seem to be sure either.”

At Taek-gyu’s words, Min Ha-young was flustered. “I, I…”

“You dreamed of becoming a webtoon artist, didn’t you? That’s why you went to university for cartoon content. But why are you doing this here?”

She couldn’t say anything.

Now, as well as back in high school, Taek-gyu was an otaku. He didn’t have many close friends, and he completely distanced himself from female students.

He was able to become friends with Min Ha-young because they shared a common interest in comics. Taek-gyu lent her comic books, told her various information, and gave her advice on drawing.

‘I thought she would be doing something similar to a webtoon artist even if she didn’t become one, but I never imagined she would be doing MLM.’

“Is Jeil Gold Coin really a new dream and hope for you?”

Min Ha-young said angrily, “O-of course. Don’t play around with people for no reason, and if you can’t believe it, just go!”

Even though she said that, her eyes were wavering slightly.

“No. I’ll withdraw the money and sign up for membership before I leave.”

“Wh-why?”

Taek-gyu smiled and said, “It’s fun.”

***

Taek-gyu spent the rest of the weekend thoroughly searching the internet for materials related to JG Blockchain and Jeil Group, while also contacting the CEO of Bithumb.

Bithumb employs top-notch blockchain experts. Under the Deputy CEO of OTK Company’s instructions, they immediately began analyzing Jeil Gold Coin.

Then, on Monday, he went to the company and met with Park Sang-yeop to explain the situation.

Park Sang-yeop was startled. “A guy who’s supposedly Jin-hoo’s cousin’s husband is running a cryptocurrency MLM scam by selling Kang Jin-hoo’s name?”

“I saw it myself.”

He carefully reviewed the materials Taek-gyu had collected.

Two companies were involved in this. JG Blockchain, which issues Jeil Gold Coin, and Jeil Group, which is in the oil field business in Venezuela.

The CEO of JG Blockchain is Choi Nam-woo, and the CEO of Jeil Group is Ham Soon-pyo.

“JG Blockchain is a cryptocurrency MLM company, fine, but what is this Jeil Group? It was established only 6 months ago and is registered as a health food manufacturer, but it’s claiming to be in the oil field business?”

Strictly speaking, the two are not directly related.

However, all the money JG Blockchain makes by selling Jeil Gold Coin flows into Jeil Group under the guise of investing in oil field development. It is essentially acting as a source of funding for Jeil Group.

Park Sang-yeop immediately grasped the situation. “Did they separate the corporations to make the ownership structure look complicated and to escape when problems arise later?”

Taek-gyu nodded. “It’s a common tactic used by scammers. You did it too, sir.”

In any case, Choi Nam-woo is a figurehead, and Ham Soon-pyo is the one orchestrating everything. Then why did Ham Soon-pyo appoint Choi Nam-woo as the CEO of JG Gold Coin?

It must be because he’s Kang Jin-hoo’s relative.

Kang Jin-hoo is the most famous investor in the world. Just having a relative as CEO can gain credibility and easily attract investors.

Park Sang-yeop asked in bewilderment, “Shouldn’t we inform Jin-hoo about this?”

“No. There’s no need to bother a guy who’s out having fun with his girlfriend with this kind of thing.”

“Then what are you going to do?”

Taek-gyu said as if it were obvious, “I’ll handle it before Jin-hoo comes back.”