Chapter 337
Chapter 337
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Season of Conspiracy
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1978, January, my residence in Pyongyang.
I had received what amounted to oaths of loyalty from KCIA executives who had pledged themselves to me.
In just over two years, I'd rocketed from Grade 3 to Grade 1 executive, and a surprising number of people were betting on me because of that meteoric rise.
Of course, did I believe their oaths of loyalty?
Not a chance.
Trust is something exchanged between people.
Just as they didn't truly trust me, I had no intention of trusting them either.
Even so, those oaths held meaning.
My influence over KCIA executives would strengthen the obedience of my direct subordinates and those under their sway.
The man I followed was that strong.
This perception would elevate the Bae Seong-jun in their minds to the status of an absolute authority—or something close to it—making it hard for them to defy my words.
And as I took steps toward the KCIA director's seat, it would mean I'd have subordinates who could put a bullet in the president's chest at my command.
Of course, only a tiny few would be capable of that.
As I solidified my position as a Grade 1 director, I also gave strict instructions to my confidants on a few matters.
"Always treat the people around you warmly and maintain good relationships. Those connections will help you when something happens."
"We'll do that, Director."
Naturally, this wasn't advice for their own good.
It was an order to build personal charisma for my sake.
That way, when the time came, they'd have the pull to quietly seize a safe house and deal with the president.
And one more thing.
I needed to think of ways to tie up my rivals' hands and feet in a pinch.
If the KCIA was to be my instrument for a coup, my rivals would inevitably come from other information-handling agencies.
National Security Bureau, National Reconnaissance Office, Army Intelligence Command, Defense Security Command, Military Police, regular police, Presidential Secretariat.
Even just listing the major information agencies showed how many there were.
Among them, the most threatening rival was undoubtedly the Army Intelligence Command.
The Army Intelligence Command had the authority of "Heaven's Eye," able to wiretap anywhere.
They could tap phones and telegraphs, and if needed, even conversations in offices.
To fool the eyes and ears of this powerful agency, I'd need to take measures on my end too.
My plan for that was to flood them with disinformation.
For those who handled information, the scariest trap wasn't a lack of intel—it was an overload that prevented proper analysis of the real situation.
If I leaked all sorts of threats over the phone—terrorism against Korea, kidnappings, you name it—the Army Intelligence Command would be thrown into chaos.
Section Chief Oh nodded at my plan.
"Phones won't be hard."
We could have them make "prank calls" between long-distance lines.
The homeless guys we'd recruit for the job wouldn't even realize how dangerous a few calls like that could be.
"But to scare people, terrorism needs specific methods. Have you thought about that part?"
There was a way for that too.
Flour.
White powder to terrify Korea.
The method was simple.
At the right moment, steal anthrax from a university lab.
People thought of anthrax as some major bioweapon, but it wasn't really.
Unweaponized anthrax didn't have that high a fatality rate; it was something you could find in ordinary university labs.
That might change in the future, but it was the case in Korea right now.
Stealing it from a lab wouldn't be that tough.
I explained my plan to mail the stolen anthrax to key institutions like the Presidential Office.
"Send anthrax to the Presidential Office. The whole country would lose its mind."
"It definitely would."
Give them a real scare with genuine anthrax first, then scatter anonymous white powder through the mail nationwide.
Once the entire country saw mail dusted with white powder, Korea would be crushed under white powder terror, just like America after 9/11.
With the shadow of anthrax looming, the Army Intelligence Command would have to focus on that, leaving them vulnerable elsewhere.
"Threats via long-distance calls, plus a real terrorist act. That alone should spin their eyes and ears in circles."
"It's not enough."
To pressure an opponent with a vast system for automatically recording and analyzing phone content, we'd need to go one step further.
"We need to leak their internal intel too."
Internal leaks.
Only then would the Army Intelligence Command be too busy covering its own ass.
"But Army Intelligence Command internal docs are top secret, aren't they?"
"I've got a line on that side, so no worries."
"Like the one who handed over the KCIA docs last time?"
"Let's say that."
I packaged it for Section Chief Oh as a collaboration with an anonymous(?) Army Intelligence Command executive.
"Assuming we handle the Army Intelligence Command that way, what about the Secretariat?"
If our battlefield had been the military, the Defense Security Command would have been second on the list, but the KCIA safe houses didn't fall under military jurisdiction.
So the next rival after Army Intelligence Command was the Presidential Secretariat.
Just because it was second didn't mean the Secretariat was weaker than Army Intelligence Command.
That was a misconception.
The Presidential Secretariat was an agency with information power rivaling Army Intelligence Command.
It could pull intel from every intelligence agency if needed, making it potentially the most dangerous foe.
Even in peacetime, they treated the National Security Agency, police, and National Tax Service like limbs.
Anyone who took that lightly would end up deranged.
I'd prepared for this too.
"We'll take out the Secretariat Chief with the safe house hit."
Eliminate the Secretariat's head alongside it, and their formidable capabilities would be halved.
A deputy chief would remain to command it, but without a minister-level director, that command power would inevitably be diminished.
"Even so, the Secretariat won't go completely dark."
"We'll counter that by controlling their information flow."
Block the Secretariat's main intel sources—the intelligence agencies—from accessing incident sites at the source.
What could the deputy do then?
Could he move beyond a mere bureaucrat's scope?
No, impossible.
Here, I trusted the bureaucratic survival instincts of public servants.
"With the Secretariat handled that way, all that's left is the Defense Security Command."
Defense Security Command.
The reason the third-ranked Defense Security Command came up was simple.
Because the "military" could intervene in the crisis.
In other words, we had to blind the Defense Security Command's nose to stabilize the political situation.
"Paralyzing the Defense Security Command's sense of smell won't be easy."
"There's a way."
Plug the nose of the man above the Defense Security Command.
The Joint Chiefs Chairman.
Unlike ancient armies, the modern Korean military had the Joint Chiefs Chairman exercising military command on the president's behalf.
Thus, the martial law commander title went to the Joint Chiefs Chairman, not the Army Chief of Staff.
From this view, the key figure we'd need to secure in a crisis was the Joint Chiefs Chairman, not the Army Chief of Staff.
"You're saying we start by having him in our pocket?"
"That's my thinking."
And it wasn't just the Joint Chiefs Chairman.
For a coup, we needed ironclad control of the situation.
We'd also need the KCIA's core executive, the Intelligence Deputy Director.
And once things wrapped up, we'd bring them to Mount Geumseongsan.
Section Chief Oh agreed with the precision of my blueprint after hearing it.
"To make your plan reality, Director, we'll need even more preparation than now."
First, we'd need to quietly steal the anthrax.
Then secure locations for the long-distance calls and discreetly recruit the homeless callers.
We also needed ways to summon the Joint Chiefs Chairman and Operations Deputy Director at the right time.
I discussed the conspiracy with Section Chief Oh late into the night.
Truth be told, today was the last chance to discuss the plan.
After this, I had no intention of talking coup plots.
Why?
Because I was wary of wiretaps from Army Intelligence Command and KCIA.
My position had risen to where they might feel the need to monitor me from above, so until safety was 100% confirmed, it was wise not to speak dangerous words.
"Then we can discuss the plan the day before the coup."
That was a recipe for disaster.
Rushing a plan like that would lead to mistakes like Kim Jae-gyu's.
At least with a rough outline and preparations in advance, we could handle variables.
I wasn't the type to leave everything to luck.
The situation had to stay firmly under my control.
Whether a coup or running the country.
The discussion wrapped up near dawn.
Section Chief Oh repeated the summarized points several times.
For a conspiracy like this, storing it in the head was safer than writing it down.
I entrusted Section Chief Oh with all coup preparations.
"Use Reconstitution Faction guys if needed."
"Got it."
As Section Chief Oh rose to leave, he asked about one key matter.
"When do you plan to loop in people like Section Chief Eom and Director Park?"
"I'll tell them on the day."
The fewer who knew a conspiracy, the more secure it stayed.
Even with confidants, I had no intention of telling them everything.
That was how you won.
After sending Section Chief Oh off, I lit a cigarette.