Chapter 72
Chapter 72
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: The First Salvo
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“It's been a while, Chairman.”
Reporter Han Ji-yeon was as cheerful as ever.
If anything had changed, it was that she now carried herself like a proper journalist.
In a way, "carrying herself like a journalist" meant she had become adept at handling people, though it was hard to say whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.
“What would you like to order? Feel free to pick something expensive today.”
“Oh, my. Now I'm getting a little nervous. It was strange enough that you asked to meet so suddenly, Chairman.”
She cast a wary glance my way.
Yet, seeing her boldly order a course meal worth a hundred thousand won, it was clear she was no longer a rookie.
“This is really delicious.”
I waited for a while as she ate her fill.
For thirty minutes, she ate ravenously, her chopsticks moving without pause.
Just as her hand reached for her water glass, I got to the point.
“Let's break a story.”
“What…?”
She was momentarily taken aback by my directness.
Ignoring her reaction, I handed her a manila envelope. She examined it with a puzzled expression.
*Whoosh!*
After a moment of intense focus, she looked back up at me.
Judging by her expression, she was quite surprised.
The words that tumbled out of her mouth completely disregarded grammar.
“All this money to civic groups… No, why was so much money deposited into civic groups all at once?”
“The amount is one thing, but the bigger problem is that all the accounts were used for money laundering. The investigation revealed that most of the organizations that sent the money were shell companies.”
I gave a brief explanation, detailing the connection between China and these state-backed civic groups.
Including their objectives, of course.
As Han Ji-yeon listened, her expression grew increasingly serious.
“Of all times…”
“Why? Is there a problem?”
“I'm worried if the desk will even allow this to air. We recently went after one civic group and got hit hard for it.”
I remembered that incident.
TBS's investigative reporting team had questioned the business practices of a civic group, only to have their station mobbed by swarms of other groups that rose up in protest.
But that was because the station had made a false report. This situation was completely different.
“This is a different case, isn't it? We're not reporting fabrications. And unlike back then, you, as a reporter, must be well aware that the nature of these protesting groups is currently unclear, right?”
“Yes, we were already a bit suspicious about that part. The problem is, things at the station don't always work that way.”
…
“When that incident broke, the civic groups threatened to organize boycotts against our advertisers. If we provoke them again, our advertising revenue could take a real hit, so the desk won't make this decision lightly.”
“Then should I make it easier for the desk to decide?”
…
“Then tell them this. If the story doesn't run, the drop in ad revenue from their boycott will look like child's play compared to the ads they'll lose immediately.”
At my words, Han Ji-yeon stared at me.
Her expression wasn't one of displeasure; her eyes held a spark of interest.
“Jaewoo doesn't advertise much on our station anyway.”
She cut right to the heart of the matter.
She wasn't wrong.
Why would a defense company advertise on television?
The construction division ran a few ads, but that alone wasn't enough to threaten the desk.
“We may not, but it's a different story with Samjung.”
But Samjung was a different case.
Then and now, Samjung's advertising practically kept the broadcast stations afloat.
In preparation for such a scenario, the Director of the NIS had already asked Chairman Lee Yong-moon for his help.
“Oh, dear…”
Han Ji-yeon ran a hand through her hair as if she had a headache.
After studying the documents for a while longer, she looked up at me again with a sharp glance.
“May I ask why you're getting involved in something like this?”
To be honest, I didn't have a precise answer.
Just because an airport was being built didn't mean I was involved in its construction.
No, wait. On second thought, Jaewoo Construction could participate.
But even so, that wasn't a strong enough reason.
“Let's just say I've developed a bit of patriotism I never had before. Or rather, it would be more accurate to say I want to protect my pride.”
…
“I've had my pride trampled on so many times by those around me that I've simply decided I don't want to go through it again.”
…
Han Ji-yeon looked at me as if I were speaking nonsense.
But for me, that was the most accurate reason.
Damn it.
Honestly, it's humiliating.
After coming back in time, to just stand by and watch this country suffer foreign interference again.
And if I can't punch those bastards in the nose who still treat this country like their colony.
******
[This is TBS Investigative Report.]
The next day, Han Ji-yeon managed to persuade the desk and ran the story on the illegal funds flowing into the civic groups connected to the Baengnyeongdo Airport project.
At first, the state-backed civic groups fought back, questioning the legality of the account tracing, but as public opinion soured, they eventually gave up. The following day, the prosecutor's office launched a full-scale investigation.
[This is shocking. How is this any different from selling out the country?]
[We need to use this opportunity to root out these state-backed groups disguised as civic organizations.]
The public's anger towards these groups boiled over.
An unfortunate side effect was that legitimate civic groups also suffered from the fallout.
However, it was an issue that had to be addressed eventually for the sake of healthy civic organizations.
[We have no intention of interfering in South Korea's internal affairs… ]
Stung by the rising anti-China sentiment, Beijing hastily moved to cut its losses.
Thanks to this, protesting the Baengnyeongdo Airport construction was now out of the question for them.
Moreover, with the United States stepping in to support us, there wasn't even an unofficial protest.
After all, the U.S. had nothing to lose from having an unsinkable aircraft carrier in the West Sea.
[The eventful year of 2000 has now become a thing of the past.]
Just as the New Year's anchor had said, the past year 2000 had been quite eventful.
If for no other reason than the country having suffered from North Korea's provocations time and again.
On the bright side, we had completely escaped the IMF system, and the next year's budget had been significantly increased. In fact, looking at those points alone, one might say the year had more positives than negatives.
‘I should change my way of thinking.’
I decided to revise my theory that major historical events were bound to happen no matter what.
The North-South peace talks.
It seemed unlikely they would ever happen now.
Strictly speaking, that too was a historical event. If it never came to pass, wouldn't that mean my theory was wrong?
‘No, who knows. A peaceful mood might suddenly emerge at some point. Is it still too early to judge whether my theory is right or wrong?’
“We've arrived, Chairman.”
As I was lost in thought, Secretary Yang announced our arrival.
The parking lot was already filled with military and government officials.
For a moment, I thought I was late and glanced at my watch, but I too was a full thirty minutes early.
“Why is everyone so early?”
“Why else? We were so excited we couldn't sleep a wink all night, so we figured we might as well come early.”
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Lee Dong-wook replied to my somewhat apologetic remark.
His words made me realize I'd only slept about three hours myself.
That's how high my anticipation was.
“I hear its official name is Cheongung, is that right?”
The purpose of today's meeting was to test the results of the first-phase anti-air defense missile, which had been jointly developed by Thales and Russia.
Compared to Russia, which had already successfully tested the S-350 late last year, we were a little behind.
But that was because we had repeatedly modified the results to suit our needs, and as a result, a weapon with performance far superior to the S-350 was born.
[Target drone launched.]
As everyone was watching the launcher, an announcement came over the speakers.
The target drone, which had begun its flight about five kilometers away, was not yet in sight.
But the radar had already detected it, and soon, a cold-launched missile popped out of the waiting launcher.
*Fwoosh!*
The missile, having shot into the air, immediately made a sharp turn with the help of its side thrusters.
Spewing a massive trail of smoke, it flew towards its target and quickly disappeared from view. We knew the interception was successful only when an explosion occurred at a point in the distant sky.
“Ooh!”
The Chairman of the JCS and other military officials clapped continuously, unable to hide their excitement.
With this, we had taken the first step in our anti-air defense system.
Although for now, it was only designed to counter aircraft and cruise missiles.
And though it was only for low-altitude defense.
This would be the start. From here, we would create weapons like THAAD and the SM-3, capable of ballistic missile and high-altitude defense.
“Those Russians really have some impressive technology.”
I let out a dry laugh to myself at the Chairman's words.
When you thought about it, in this joint development, it wasn't Russia helping us, but rather us helping them.
After all, I already had the technology for Cheongung up to Block 2.
What was there to borrow from Russia?
If anything, our electronics technology was more helpful to them.
“The future is what's important.”
But from now on, the situation would change.
In the development of a true ballistic missile interception system, Russia's propulsion technology would be an immense help.
“Anyway, congratulations on the success, Chairman Jin. It's a bit of a shame we can't start mass production right away, but at least we've secured the technology.”
Full-scale production of the Cheongung was planned for the year after next.
After we finished the development of the S-500 with Russia in earnest.
There were several reasons for this, the main ones being securing the budget and avoiding provoking the United States prematurely.
‘To be honest, that's less of a burden for us. Even when Cheongung was first being developed, the U.S. reacted irritably.’
It was a well-known fact among those involved that the government had a hard time persuading them back then.
“Well, well, we should at least celebrate among ourselves. It's on me today, so let's go get something to eat.”
Chairman Lee Dong-wook said, waving a card he'd pulled from his pocket.
For some reason, he let out a small "Ah!" and looked at me before saying something unexpected.
“Did you hear the news? President Putin is officially visiting our country next month.”
…
Come to think of it, I had forgotten about that.
The fact that Putin would visit this country in February 2001.
It might not seem like a big deal, but I couldn't help but be concerned.
“I heard they sent a formal request for a separate meeting with you, Chairman Jin.”
See.
This is why I can't help but be tense.
Anyway, why does he want a separate meeting this time?
*******
“Hurry it up. We'll be here all day at this rate.”
Kim Jin-seok, a Major and captain of the Korean People's Army vessel 684, felt his heart race with the order that came down from above that morning.
The official message ordered them to proceed 1.5 kilometers south of the NLL.
What was strange was that they had been authorized to open fire again. He couldn't understand the command to provoke an enemy that was surely seething after the damages from the previous clash.
“This is ridiculous. Those bastards are already watching us with eagle eyes after what happened. What's the point of this?”
“Still, if they say jump, we jump. What choice do we have?”
Sergeant Ri In-ho replied.
As if he didn't know that. But the problem was, he had a bad feeling about today.
The recent suspicious movements observed around Baengnyeongdo.
And now, this order to provoke.
It felt like a measure to confirm something.
“Get on the boat, quickly.”
Urged by Ri In-ho, he hurriedly boarded vessel 684.
Thanks to a promotion for his past achievements, he was due to bid farewell to this fleet in a few days.
He felt the brief anxiety he'd had just moments before fade away.
“By the way, why are they telling us to stir up trouble today?”
Sergeant Ri In-ho asked the question just as the fleet crossed south of the NLL.
Having just been chided, the sergeant was now asking the same thing. Kim Jin-seok snapped at him.
“How should I know?”
Sergeant Ri flinched and fell silent.
After scanning the surroundings for a while, he tilted his head and looked back at Kim Jin-seok.
“Why are those bastards acting like that today? Shouldn't they have swarmed us by now?”
Kim Jin-seok felt something was off at those words.
Normally, the enemy vessels would have rushed in with blocking maneuvers or something similar.
But today, they were keeping their distance, just watching, as if waiting for something.
[Return immediately. This is a warning. If you do not return, we will open fire.]
Furthermore, the warning broadcast was different from before.
This was the first time they had mentioned opening fire in the initial warning.
A stronger sense of foreboding washed over him, but again, he tried to ignore it.
“What a load of crap.”
In the end, Kim Jin-seok ordered Sergeant Ri In-ho to reduce speed.
Their 85mm tank gun soon aimed at the enemy.
*BOOM!*
As the cannon fired, the enemy fleet busily performed evasive maneuvers.
“Get closer!”
Kim Jin-seok ordered the entire fleet to close the distance, intending to land a direct hit like before.
In truth, they could expect return fire at any moment.
But the enemy vessels just kept heading south, with no discernible response.
“What the…?”
*CRACK!*
Just then, a sound like the air being torn apart came from somewhere.
*BOOM!*
An allied vessel was struck by something and exploded in an instant.
“Retreat!”
Panicked, he immediately ordered a retreat, but then another nearby allied vessel erupted in flames, scattering debris in all directions.
“What the hell is that!”
Kim Jin-seok scrambled out of the bridge of vessel 684.
And just as he was about to check the status of the enemy vessels, a massive explosion erupted from the bridge he had just exited, followed by a pillar of fire.
“…Son of a bitch.”