Chapter 63
Chapter 63
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: Strategic Recruitment
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A few days later, after concluding his entire schedule, Prince Hassad returned to Saudi Arabia on his private jet parked at Seongnam Air Base.
Since the primary purpose of his visit was the deal with Jaewoo, it was only natural that I, along with the group's key executives, attended the farewell ceremony. Representing the government were the Prime Minister and key figures from the economic ministries. The Director of the National Intelligence Service, who had been a great help in this contract, was also present.
"It was a good deal. Furthermore, I hope we can continue this good business relationship in the future."
Before boarding the plane, Hassad repeatedly expressed his hope that our connection would continue.
In truth, that was what I wanted even more.
As I firmly shook his hand, he squeezed back and spoke.
"Come to think of it, I suppose I'll be able to see you again, Chairman Jin, when we conduct the local tests in Saudi Arabia."
"Of course. I'll have to be there to observe."
"Let's have a heart-to-heart conversation then."
He smiled once more before boarding the plane.
Only after watching his private jet ascend into the sky did our group finally let go of the lingering tension.
"I still can't believe it. Four billion dollars."
The first to speak was Jin Hyun-cheol.
Not to be outdone, Deputy Chief Im—no, Senior Managing Director Im—also clenched his fists and broke into a wide grin.
The atmosphere quickly spread to the government officials, and soon, the Prime Minister offered his congratulations.
"Congratulations, Chairman Jin."
"Thank you."
I replied, taking the hand he extended.
With an expression that suggested he was in a dream, he kept mentioning the contract amount, as if he still couldn't quite believe it was real.
"Just the anti-air defense system and smart munitions alone amount to four billion dollars in exports... my goodness. So if the K9 export is fully confirmed, how much larger will the total amount be?"
"Including support vehicles and other parts, it will increase by an additional two billion dollars or so."
"Hah..."
The Prime Minister let out a sharp breath.
After all, an amount like that would be the largest single arms export deal ever.
To be honest, the situation didn't feel quite real to me either.
"I don't know how to properly thank you, Chairman Jin."
"You're too kind. In truth, this deal would have been difficult without the government's help."
The Prime Minister gave an awkward smile at my words.
Having been recently inaugurated, I didn't have much information on him.
Rumor had it that he came from an academic background, which might explain why he had a different feel from traditional bureaucrats.
"If any credit is due to the government, it should go to the National Intelligence Service. You may not be aware, Chairman Jin, but the Director of the NIS worked tirelessly for this."
At that, I glanced over at the NIS Director.
As if my gaze made him uncomfortable, he gave an embarrassed smile and waved his hands dismissively.
"What have I done? Anyway, I hear we'll soon be paying off the remaining debt to the IMF. Isn't that something we should celebrate, at least among ourselves?"
That was news to me.
Originally, we weren't supposed to be free from our debt to the IMF until around next year.
It seemed the entire country's strenuous efforts to pay back the debt were finally bearing fruit.
"Isn't that all thanks to everyone's hard work? We should be able to pay off the remaining 400 million dollars by the end of this month."
The Prime Minister looked at me as he finished speaking.
Feeling awkward, I averted my gaze, and he turned away with a hearty laugh.
"By the way, shouldn't we maintain our relationship with Prince Hassad by any means necessary? Just in case he ascends to the throne."
Just as we were leaving the airport, the NIS Director subtly voiced his opinion.
Well, in principle, that was the obvious course of action.
But what made me anxious was whether he could actually ascend to the throne.
Historically, his fate was to be ousted by his nephew.
However, a lot of history had been twisted, and the timeline had changed. It was true that I needed to maintain ties with him for the time being.
"Welcome, Chairman."
After leaving the airport, my Jaewoo Group entourage and I headed to Jaewoo Aerospace.
Recent news suggested that significant progress was being made in the development of the attack helicopter, so I intended to check on it since I had the time.
"Is this the ballistic material?"
In a corner of the research institute we arrived at, the newly developed composite materials were lined up on a table.
One of the features of the KA-50 was its powerful ballistic protection, capable of withstanding a barrage from most machine guns.
The armor surrounding the cockpit and fuel tank, in particular, was composed of three layers of special materials, said to be strong enough that even a spray of 20mm rounds would only leave a mark.
"We improved upon the material technology from Russia by layering it with the composite material developed by your research institute, Chairman. As a result, the strength has increased by up to twenty percent."
The one adding the explanation was CEO Yoon.
Perhaps because he had a tangible result to show since taking his position, his face was flushed with a faint excitement as he gave the presentation.
"Oh, and according to Jaewoo Thales, there's also been progress on the improvement of the 30mm autocannon."
Continuing his explanation, he subtly tossed the floor over to Professor Myung Seung-eun.
After all, Thales was in charge of the weaponry.
That must have been why Professor Myung was also called here.
"Ahem, I'll continue the explanation on that part."
Receiving the attention, Professor Myung cleared his throat and looked at me.
He must have felt awkward addressing me in front of others.
When I gave him a slight smile, he returned a faint one and continued his explanation.
"The original 30mm autocannon on the KA-50 was directly adapted from the BMP's. Because of that, it could only be used in a fixed position, making it vulnerable in response situations. Thales has now succeeded in modifying it to be a turreted version."
In truth, fixed and turreted autocannons both have clear pros and cons.
A turreted mount has lower stability, making it somewhat vulnerable in anti-air combat.
Conversely, a fixed mount is inferior to a turreted one in its ability to attack ground targets.
"You've worked hard."
However, since we needed operational capability for anti-tank warfare, a turreted version was more advantageous.
No, it wasn't just us; that was the case for most.
Attack helicopters are typically deployed after air superiority has been established, which means there's almost no situation where a helicopter would engage in air-to-air combat.
"How much progress has been made on improving the seeker for the short-range air-to-air missile?"
I had been listening silently, but a thought suddenly occurred to me, and I looked at Hee-won and asked.
Startled by the sudden question, he stepped forward with a surprised look on his face.
"The seeker improvement is already complete. The integration with the HMD is also about ninety-five percent finished. One more piece of news is that the AESA radar being modified for the attack helicopter is also scheduled to be completed by the end of the year."
"The research institute is also working hard."
At my words, Hee-won nodded as he usually would when we were alone.
Realizing his mistake, he quickly glanced around and then repeatedly said, "Thank you."
"Oh, and Director Myung, I have a suggestion for you."
"Please, go ahead."
Professor Myung replied, his face tense.
He seemed to know that the word 'suggestion' coming from my mouth was just another way of saying I was giving him more work.
If this weren't a formal setting, he probably would have complained several times by now.
"How about we take this opportunity to establish an infantry weapons research complex at Thales?"
"An infantry weapons development institute?"
Professor Myung replied with an 'I-knew-it' expression.
His eyes darted around as he considered it, then he voiced a rather negative opinion.
"I don't mind attempting the development, but what if the military doesn't adopt the final product... sir?"
"Then we'll have to pioneer a market through exports. If the performance is good, there will always be a place to sell it. The K9 proves that, doesn't it?"
Professor Myung scratched his head at that.
He wanted to argue, but with the contract already signed, he couldn't bring himself to open his mouth.
His point wasn't wrong, but for the future, it was necessary to get a foothold in infantry weapon improvement beforehand.
"Let's establish a separate research institute on the lot next to Thales's second factory. If necessary, I'll also consider acquiring an existing company, but I'll handle that. I need you to take responsibility for the research institute, Professor."
"Me? Ah, I mean... me?"
Professor Myung looked at me with a crestfallen expression.
He must have been buried in work lately, unable to even enjoy his beloved drink.
And now I was piling more work on him, so his expression soured completely.
*Tsk*, still, this is better for you.
If you keep drowning yourself in alcohol, you'll really be crossing the River Styx soon.
As I finished up and was about to leave, I glanced back.
A massive plot of land, spanning nearly 165 acres.
I briefly imagined the day that vast space would be completely filled with fighter jet component production and attack helicopter assembly plants.
*******
"Good morning."
The calendar pages had flown by, and it was already July.
Tensions between North and South Korea showed no signs of easing, and on TV, pundits were seriously debating the continuous decline of the stock markets in both the United States and our country.
'It's strange. History gets twisted at the drop of a hat, yet that one thing happened right on schedule.'
The collapse of the US dot-com bubble, which began in March 2000, followed history exactly.
The reason that day was particularly painful for me was because I remembered taking all the pocket money I'd saved up, following the crowd, and dumping it into the stock market only to lose it all.
Even in that situation, I heard that 'hodling' was the truth and held on, but my stocks were eventually delisted, sealing my misfortune.
"Hmm..."
But things are different now.
Although stocks are plummeting by the day right now, I know which ones will soar later.
Like Apple, Google, or Amazon.
All I have to do is pick those companies that will be flying high in the future and invest. A clear opportunity has presented itself to me.
'Actually, there was an opportunity during the bubble formation period, too.'
I just let it pass, using the excuse that I was too busy, that even ten of me wouldn't have been enough.
Anyway, if I'm really going to invest, the problem is timing my entry, and that's a bit ambiguous.
'I remember it took quite a while for the bubble to completely burst. Did it hit rock bottom around 2002?'
That's how I remembered it.
I remember seeing an article that Qualcomm had ultimately lost a staggering 85 percent of its value.
If I use that as a benchmark, I probably won't miss the timing.
'Right, no need to waste funds by jumping in before the bubble has fully burst. The remaining question is which company to invest in. Come to think of it, Qualcomm doesn't seem like a bad choice.'
Qualcomm is one thing, but I can't afford to miss out on ARM either.
Semiconductor architecture and communication technology will bring enormous profits in the military and other civilian sectors in the future, and they will become a means to avoid international disputes.
So, is the conclusion made?
Invest in companies at the core of source technologies, and a few others that will hit it big later.
'Oh, right. ARM was listed on the UK market, wasn't it?'
The thought suddenly occurred to me.
But it wasn't really a problem, since the UK couldn't escape the effects of the bubble burst either.
I immediately shook off the fleeting anxiety.
'The real problem is capital... *Tsk*, I'll have to steadily accumulate capital until then.'
*Knock, knock!*
"Chairman, CEO Jin Hyun-cheol is here."
Just as I was lost in my imagination, Secretary Kim announced Hyun-cheol's visit.
I wondered if there was a problem, but seeing her bright expression, that didn't seem to be the case.
"Why are you here on a weekend instead of going home?"
"Why else? I came to rescue you from this hell of work. Let's go. I've got something to discuss, so let's have a drink, just the two of us brothers, for a change."
"Discuss? About what?"
I tilted my head and asked.
Hyun-cheol shook his head and plopped down on the sofa.
"Anyway, you're so impatient. I'm talking about Kim Young-gi, the Minister of National Defense who just stepped down. What do you think about us bringing him in?"
For a moment, the thought that it was a pretty good idea flashed through my mind.
He was the most upright person I had ever met.
Wouldn't he be a great asset to Jaewoo?
"Rumor has it that LS Group is also courting him heavily. I'm saying it would be great if we could bring him over if possible."
"What position did LS offer him?"
"It seems they offered him the position of Senior Managing Director of External Affairs."
Offering him the position of Senior Managing Director of External Affairs meant they intended to borrow his influence remaining in the military.
In other words, if we missed out on him, he could become an obstacle for Jaewoo.
This was no longer a matter for deliberation.
"Alright, I understand. Let's go. The drinks are on me."