Reckless Challenge, Overwhelming Retribution
A few days later.
- Amend the Nationality Act now! It’s not too late!
- Is rewriting the law for the sake of one person really the right thing to do?
“What’s this?”
Yoo Jae-won stared at the split-screen articles on his wide cinema display monitor, a question forming in his mind. Every morning he began official duties with a search, and he usually had a fair idea of what he would find. Today, however, his expectations had been completely overturned.
“Has the Kwangmyongsong plan been buried?”
He had assumed North Korea’s Kwangmyongsong plan would dominate the headlines. Pyongyang had announced it would develop an artificial satellite launch vehicle on its own and join the space club, giving the program the plausible name Kwangmyongsong. Yet everyone in the world knew the plan was nothing but a façade; in reality it was a long-range missile development program. Satellite launch technology and intercontinental ballistic missile technology were 98 percent identical. The remaining 2 percent difference came down to whether atmospheric re-entry technology existed. Naturally, he had expected this to become a major issue. Even in the United States, which was locked in a fierce dispute with China, the announcement had caused significant ripples.
Yet in South Korea, the country most directly concerned, the controversy surrounding Yoo Jae-won himself burned far brighter than any debate over the Kwangmyongsong plan.
“Public opinion was clearly on my side.”
It was not merely a feeling; the data had been confirmed through the group’s own polling team. Newspapers and broadcasters, however, told a different story. The debate between those who supported amending the law and those who opposed granting special privileges to a single individual was evenly matched. The loudest voices calling for revision came from Munhwa Ilbo and Dongha Ilbo, while Onkyore Shinmun and Kyunghyang Shinmun led the opposition. The split followed the newspapers’ political leanings exactly, and internet news pages had divided along the same lines. As a result, the Nextcom news page now displayed both sides in a two-column layout. Whenever an issue was sharply contested, the system automatically generated the two-column format; it was not the work of AI or web editors but a server-side script that created the template. Human staff only moved articles manually if one ended up on the wrong side.
“Mechanical neutrality, or are they still trying to flex their muscles? Either way, it looks like things will be settled before the local elections.”
The discussion was moving at remarkable speed. The United National Party had returned to the National Assembly, temporarily setting aside its election campaign, and was taking the lead in drafting the amendment while gathering public support. The key variable was whether the Democratic Party would adopt a party-line position. If the Democrats, who were in coalition with the ruling party, decided to support the bill, the amendment would pass immediately. If the vote were left to individual conscience because of public pressure, the outcome would become uncertain. Korean opposition parties were generally pro-capitalist, but Yoo Jae-won was the exception. Both opposition parties had suffered too much at his hands; no matter how much the ID Group contributed to the country, revenge mattered more to them than practical gain.
“It’ll work out somehow.”
Yoo Jae-won closed the Korean Nextcom webpage with a casual remark. Once he let go of his attachment, his mind felt lighter. It would be nice if the amendment passed, but it would not be the end of the world if it did not. In the end, what mattered was the path he would forge from here on. Besides, something else was more important right now.
“Let’s see how well Uncle Ted is doing.”
He picked up the remote and turned on the Bordeaux TV.
- The fastest news. The most accurate news! CNN!
A cheerful male voice delivered CNN’s catchphrase. The television’s default channel was set to CNN. Signal music played with the opening, and the morning edition of Newsroom began.
- This is Anderson Silver. We begin CNN Newsroom.
Anderson Silver, still tall and striking, filled the large Bordeaux TV screen. He had moved from ABC to CNN in 2001 and quickly risen to anchor the network’s flagship program. He was the kind of talent who would continue to thrive at CNN for decades and eventually become its president. His voice was exceptionally clear and engaging.
- Amid ongoing tensions with China, President Al Gore has decided to impose an additional 10 percent tariff in response to China’s retaliatory measures. The first item delivered in that fine voice was the extra 10 percent tariff. It was not a 10 percent increase on the existing $40 billion, bringing the total to $44 billion; it was an additional $40 billion on top of the original $40 billion.
- However, this measure will not take effect immediately. It will apply to third-quarter imports, so its implementation remains subject to the outcome of negotiations with China.
There was a Korean saying about giving a bushel and receiving a mal in return. Yoo Jae-won, who had a reasonably good grasp of what went on inside the White House, knew the original plan for responding to China’s retaliatory tariffs had been different. The figure had been 10 percent, but it was meant to be 10 percent of the existing $40 billion—$4 billion—not an additional 10 percent. The fact that the response had come out far stronger was because the United States had also identified China’s hand behind North Korea’s Kwangmyongsong plan. After Chen Liangyu’s visit to Pyongyang and Kim Jong-il’s announcement, Washington was not merely convinced that China was orchestrating events from behind the scenes; it reportedly possessed quite specific details about the transactions between Chen Liangyu and Kim Jong-il. How the U.S. had obtained such rapid and concrete intelligence on the secret dealings between the North Korean and Chinese leadership was unclear. What was clear was that the Americans had accurately grasped the deal: China would provide missile technology, and North Korea would hand over certain interests while launching missile provocations under the guise of space development. Because hard evidence was lacking, China could not be immediately designated a state sponsor of weapons of mass destruction. Instead, Washington had applied a powerful new push to the economic war it was already waging against Beijing. Since China had been the one to initiate retaliatory tariffs, the justification was solid. If Beijing refused to accept Washington’s terms, the current $40 billion tariff would double to $80 billion starting in July.
“The global stock markets are going to be a bloodbath again today.”
Even though he ran ID Investment, which managed tens of billions of dollars, Yoo Jae-won spoke as casually as if discussing someone else’s country. The stock markets had already been in turmoil for some time. Both the Dow Jones and Nasdaq had opened with gap-downs and were now tracing a steep downward curve, painting the screens blue. U.S. companies that imported and sold Chinese products faced inevitable cost increases and revenue declines, triggering the sell-off. The drop had already exceeded 3 percent. It was a significant plunge, but compared with China it was mild. When the initial $40 billion tariff had been imposed, the Shanghai stock market had fallen 5 to 6 percent in a single session, demonstrating just how terrifying a free-fall without wings could be. China’s exports to the United States accounted for more than half its economy. Moreover, its rise had been built almost entirely on price competitiveness rather than technological superiority. Once tariffs erased that advantage, dark clouds gathered over Chinese exports. If a 10 percent increase had already produced this situation, another 10 percent would be catastrophic. Yet there was a measure even more painful than the tariff hike.
While the U.S.-China economic war sent icy winds through the stock markets, ID Investment maintained a high allocation to basic resources such as gold and oil. Its equity positions were also well hedged, allowing it to profit even in a declining market. Although the timing of the economic conflict had accelerated, the overall pattern had remained within predictable bounds, making the outcome possible.
- The Chinese hacking incidents are not limited to the 9/11 cyber war. CNN has been investigating cases that resulted in actual damage, and today we are finally able to present them to our viewers.
Anderson Silver’s measured voice continued. A video compiled by CNN’s skilled reporting team and polished by its editors into a clean, intuitive presentation appeared on screen. The Chinese crackers were not limited to the Skidrow group. There were hundreds of thousands of active operatives, most of them targeting the United States. They routinely went after Pentagon files, defense research institutes, and nuclear laboratories, while attempts to crack ordinary citizens’ bank accounts never ceased. Privacy violations were especially severe. Many of the webcams now being distributed in the United States were made in China. Because those webcams had weak security, anyone could access them and spy on private lives. Some footage had even been uploaded to file-sharing sites and widely leaked. CNN’s report shone a spotlight on these illegal activities. Most importantly, the network deliberately used the term “cracking” rather than “hacking.” Hacking carried the romantic image of shadowy figures helping the world—people like Richard Stallman of the Free Software Foundation or Linus Torvalds of Linux. Those who disrupted the internet solely for money and destruction deserved to be called crackers.
“That’s Uncle Ted for you. He can hit this hard with nothing but facts.”
From research-lab intrusions to online item thefts and spam campaigns, viewers learned that Chinese cracking was not some distant state-on-state conflict aimed only at secret laboratories. Once they realized their own privacy was also being violated, public hostility toward China rose sharply. Americans were especially sensitive about privacy issues. The United States had been deeply divided over Yoo Jae-won’s creation of a rainbow table for the iPhone S simply to track Osama bin Laden, even though the justification had been pursuing the perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks that killed more than three thousand people.
Online reactions to CNN’s report were immediate. China’s image was being shredded in real time. Certification shots of people smashing Chinese-made webcams began appearing. The shift of China’s national brand from pandas to cracking seemed only a matter of time. The list of damage caused by cracking continued without end.
The next day the coverage intensified. CNN ran nothing but news programs all day, and stories about China kept rolling in one after another. Once ratings and internet traffic responded, competing networks naturally began to move as well.
- Fair news. Balanced news. This is Fox News!
“Puhaha!”
Yoo Jae-won, who had tuned into Fox News for the first time in a while, burst out laughing at the network’s catchphrase delivered right at the start of the broadcast.
“Fair? Balanced?”
Those two qualities were the last things one would ever find on Fox News. Today, however, he found himself agreeing. Even Fox News, which never lost when it came to delivering spicy, sensational stories, was now pouring out cases of damage caused by Chinese crackers. Just as spicy food could be addictive despite being bad for one’s health, netizens reacted even more violently to Fox News. Fox News, in turn, doubled down on exposing China’s dirty laundry.
“I expected it, but it’s always more than I imagined.”
Even while watching Fox News, Yoo Jae-won shook his head. Fear of Chinese hacking was growing in the United States, yet Fox News had crossed the line. The network was now claiming that Chinese-made electronic products contained chips specifically designed for hacking, using an iron as an example. Once plugged in, the iron’s Wi-Fi chip would activate and send spam through any unsecured wireless network. Watching the urban-legend level of reporting, Yoo Jae-won clicked his tongue. Wireless chips were still expensive—more expensive than a Chinese iron—so using them merely to send spam was almost admirable in its creativity. In the end, however, none of it hurt him. If one looked at the situation calmly, there was no need to let fear of hacking or cracking escalate into outright panic. As long as users followed their operating system’s security guidelines and avoided suspicious sites, most threats could be blocked. Ordinary people’s lives were not going to collapse because of hacking or cracking. Still, when the time came, this artificially inflated fear would boomerang straight back at News Corp and Murdoch.
While Yoo Jae-won’s thoughts drifted, Fox News moved beyond iron hacking and began questioning the security of the Android OS itself, claiming that despite the severity of the hacking damage, Android’s security level remained unchanged.
“Here we go again. It always ends with attacking the ID Group.”
What had begun as a story about Chinese hacking had turned into criticism of Yoo Jae-won and the ID Group. Tired of watching such fabricated and forced reporting, he turned off the television. All he could think was that he hoped Uncle Ted would get to work soon.
Ten days later.
- That bastard doesn’t even deserve to be called a son of a bitch!
“Uncle Ted, please calm down.”
The call from Ted Turner had come a few days later than expected, but it had finally arrived. On the other end of the line, Ted Turner was unleashing a level of fury Yoo Jae-won had never heard from him before.
- How am I supposed to calm down? Because of that bastard, a girl who could have come home alive is dead!
Just as Ted Turner said, a tragic incident had occurred. Early in the year a girl had been abducted in Britain. Roughly a month later her cold body was returned to her family. It was a heartbreaking event, but on a global scale it was merely one of the violent crimes that happened every day. When News Corp was involved in covering it up, however, the matter became far more serious. Fortunately, armed with a single clue from Yoo Jae-won, Ted Turner had succeeded in uncovering the hidden connection between the case and News Corp.
- No matter what happens from now on, don’t try to stop me! This isn’t something that can be settled with business!
After hanging up, Uncle Ted charged at News Corp and Murdoch like a mad bull.
- News Corp is a murder corporation! That man is an accessory to murder!
It was unmistakably Ted Turner. Holding an emergency press conference in front of a British newspaper office, he launched straight into accusations of murder and sent shockwaves across the world.