Chapter 220
Chapter 220
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Koreagate
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Korea's lobbyists had lobbied for legislation favorable to their country under the banner of promoting U.S.-Korea friendship.
Such actions grew increasingly blatant as the two nations' economies became ever more intertwined.
"Koreans showered millions of dollars in cash every year on members of both houses of Congress and key public officials. Through this cash distribution, Korea cultivated a pro-Korea atmosphere in Congress and relentlessly pushed for legislation beneficial to itself. A prime example was the 'Allied Nation Exemption Act,' which granted waivers on high tariffs."
"The Allied Nation Exemption Act? That doesn't just benefit Korea, does it?"
"Do you know how much Korea exports to the U.S. each year, Congressman? This year alone, it's projected to exceed ten billion dollars. Even combining West Germany's, Britain's, and France's exports to the U.S. wouldn't match Korea's."
CIA Director McCone's testimony was enough to rock Washington to its core.
McCone even released a list of congressmen known to have received Korean lobbying funds.
"What? Over a hundred congressmen took money from Korea?"
Even in a country where lobbying was legal like the U.S., the fact that a rising rival nation was trying to bend Washington's policies to its will was no small matter.
It was inevitable that Washington's political circles would erupt in chaos over Koreagate.
"Your Excellency, the fallout from this incident appears extremely serious."
"I know that. I'll summon you once I've organized my thoughts, so the KCIA should devise some countermeasures as well."
"Understood."
I pondered ways to manage the "Koreagate" bomb dropped by the CIA.
"Prime Minister, you need to get some sleep now. You only got four hours last night."
"I'm still managing."
My wife worried about my sleepless nights, but now wasn't the time for leisurely rest.
After weighing various scenarios, I arrived back at my initial conclusion.
'I absolutely cannot play on the board McCone has set up.'
The framing itself was far from favorable to us.
From the start, a nation positioned as America's friendly ally was now exposed as meddling in Washington's policies from behind the scenes—perfect fodder to heighten American wariness.
Of course, Koreagate wouldn't lead to Korea being utterly destroyed.
Washington desperately needed Korea's help right now with gold convertibility and bond issues.
They couldn't come down too hard on us openly.
And considering the immediate threat of the communists, America had virtually no room to take a hardline stance.
The key wasn't how the U.S. government responded.
It was the "perception" Americans held of Korea.
The notion that Korea could become a threat to America.
Sure, plenty in Washington's political circles already harbored such views, but in mainstream society, the Korea threat theory hadn't yet taken serious root.
This scandal risked changing that public perception.
McCone's aim in detonating Koreagate might have been exactly that.
If so, we had only one option.
Reframe the narrative.
First, I decided to paint McCone as a communist.
President Goldwater, who was essentially the Republican Party's leader, had already signaled his intent to cut McCone loose.
In other words, it was open season for McCarthy to tear into McCone, who was about to be excommunicated from the "Republican Party."
"Pass the fabricated materials to McCarthy."
McCone, bought off by communists, had fabricated Koreagate to undermine U.S.-Korea friendship.
An absurd frame, but in the Cold War era where the communist threat was all too real, such conspiracy theories sold like hotcakes.
Second, I aimed to destroy McCone's position.
"You need to tell His Excellency the President that he'd long planned to dismiss McCone. That's the only way to resolve this mess."
"Got it. Since it's our fault, we'll cooperate fully."
If Goldwater stated that McCone was already on the chopping block, the issue simplified dramatically.
It could be neatly packaged as the outburst of a rogue official defying the president just before his firing.
Third, I exposed the CIA's bungled operations.
Starting from the failed Iran coup, I flooded the press with every scandal imaginable.
These incompetents had tried to paint Korea as a potential adversary just to secure their budget.
I portrayed the CIA as self-serving bureaucrats oblivious to the national interest.
I methodically executed each step, coldly observing the shift in U.S. public opinion.
The American reaction largely matched my expectations.
Among Americans, blame fell heavily on McCone for needlessly provoking a friendly power like Korea.
But not everything went our way.
"Of the congressmen who received our lobbying funds, 46 are now under congressional investigation."
This was serious.
"Headache. Any countermeasures?"
Though only 46 were under investigation, every congressman who'd taken our money would distance themselves from us.
"We'll monitor the situation and set up back channels."
The best outcome would have been for this never to erupt at all.
The problem was that Washington's political class now fully grasped the extent of our influence.
Public perception had shifted too.
The Korea that had seemed like just a friend was now seen as manipulating Washington somehow, sparking vigilance among Americans.
To break through, I launched a public opinion campaign.
"National-level lobbying has occurred countless times in Washington. Even the German Empire—America's enemy during the World War—lobbied the Republicans endlessly to prevent U.S. intervention. Was that German lobbying ever an issue? Is Korea a greater threat to America than the German Empire of that era?"
Truth be told, it was undeniable that we were more threatening than Kaiser Wilhelm II's Germany.
Korea possessed a stable diplomatic environment and sustainable economic system that Germany lacked—a true challenger.
"But America's friends know that's not the case. Pyongyang is an ally that shed blood alongside Washington in two world wars."
Yet Korea wasn't a hostile power like Germany disrupting America's transatlantic trade.
Our positioning never strayed from being America's friend.
That's precisely the angle I appealed to in the American public.
Even America's leading scholars endorsed our narrative.
"Korea is more friendly toward America than any great power. It buys the most bonds and doesn't demand gold convertibility. Where else is more obedient to Washington's world order than Pyongyang?"
Less genuine agreement and more reluctance to let Koreagate widen the U.S.-Korea rift—but passive support was support nonetheless.
"If cracks form between the U.S. and Korea, only the communists will laugh. Burying this minor lobbying scandal now serves the national interest."
As American intellectuals raised their voices, the emerging Korea threat theory quickly subsided.
Koreagate's ripples seemed to settle after just two months.
But I couldn't fully extract the thorn lodged in American hearts.
'No doubt this has laid the groundwork for the Korea threat theory to surge years ahead of schedule.'
Was there a way to remedy this?
For the first time in a while, I delved into my memories.
In 21st-century Korea, when problems arose, they'd create new issues to overshadow the old—like celebrity scandals.
Might that work here too?
What if I made them feel a greater threat before the Korea threat theory gained traction?
If war loomed, even the talkative Americans would forget bland talk of Korean competition or threats.
Highlight a war crisis to reset the mood.
I opened my eyes.
Of course, I had no intention of playing with fire in the Cold War structure.
One misstep could burn the whole planet.
I immediately summoned the KCIA director.
"It's not anything else—I called you to manufacture a war crisis."
Kang Su-cheol jumped in surprise.
"Y-You mean a war crisis, sir?"
The man sure knew how to react.
"I'm not telling the KCIA to start a conflict. What I want is to make Western society feel the communist threat."
"In a situation with no particular trigger?"
I explained my idea to Kang Su-cheol.
The gist of my plan was simple.
If war broke out in Europe, America would fight at a tremendous disadvantage compared to the Soviets.
The Soviets could deploy homeland forces to Germany in as little as two or three days, while it would take six weeks for U.S. mainland troops to reach the battlefield.
A geographic disparity: the Soviets bordering Europe versus America separated by the Atlantic.
This gap was gravely serious—beyond words.
If tens of thousands of Soviet tanks poured into the North German Plain before U.S. main forces arrived, could Europe be defended?
America had supported West Germany to maintain at least twelve armored divisions, but Germany only had seven so far.
That was the acceleration under Manstein's regime.
Any great power elite knew the rough outlines.
But the public was unaware of this dire imbalance.
They vaguely knew the Soviets were threatening, but that was it.
I planned to stoke public anxiety and plunge the West into panic.
"If we refine this into precise details and blast it across the media, won't European and American civil society descend into panic?"
"It could happen. No, the odds seem high."
"I'm certain of it. So knead this into a masterpiece."
I decided to smother the seeds of McCone's Korea threat theory with communist-sparked war fears.