The Great East Japan Earthquake
"We’ve finished the basic design and are currently moving into the detailed design phase. Everything is proceeding smoothly. We’ll be starting the production of components soon."
Because the AI-equipped unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) had been designated as a classified project at the request of the Ministry of National Defense, no one outside the project team knew of its existence.
"Will you be able to meet the target deployment date?"
"Of course. Since we’re using the engine from the TA-50 lead-in fighter trainer, we have plenty of time."
"Ah! And what about the anti-submarine unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) development you mentioned last time? Have you decided to proceed with that independently?"
"It’s currently in the exploratory research phase. We plan to enter full-scale system development once additional funding is secured."
"I wish the government could provide sufficient budget support, but as you know, the defense budget is stretched thin due to the North Korean situation."
"I understand. It’s time for defense companies to develop weapons with export potential through their own research and development investments."
"Thanks to Starlink, many other companies have also increased cases of developing weapons independently without relying on state budgets."
After the event concluded, Taesik treated the Starlink Aerospace staff to a company dinner for their hard work before heading back to Seoul.
Two months later, while Taesik was focused on his work, he clenched his fists tightly at the news breaking on the television. Having regressed, he only knew that a massive earthquake would strike Japan around March 2011, but he didn’t know the exact date. He had been waiting for the tragic news from Japan with a sense of anxiety.
A breaking news banner flashed across the screen: a magnitude 9.0 earthquake had struck Japan. The footage showed city centers swaying violently. Taesik hadn't yet heard the specific news he was waiting for. As he focused on the broadcast, his phone rang.
"CEO Kim! The earthquake really happened. A magnitude 9.0 quake hit Fukushima."
Since Luke was still in Japan, Taesik checked on his safety first.
"Luke! Where are you right now? Are you okay?"
"I’m in Tokyo, but that’s not the problem. There are reports that a tsunami has hit the Fukushima area, and emergency alerts have been issued for the entire East Japan region. The earthquake happened right before the market closed, so it finished with a slight dip, but it’s certain to crash when the market reopens on Monday. Your crazy gamble succeeded."
"First, get yourself to a safe place, Luke. The investment results aren't what’s important right now."
"I’m fine here. And... oh!"
"What is it? Luke? Luke?"
After a moment of silence, Luke replied in a startled voice.
"Breaking news just came in—the tsunami hit the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, and operations have been suspended. Our investment was a success."
"Luke! The investment isn't the priority—get to a safe place first!"
Taesik calmed the excited Luke and continued, "Luke, today is Friday and the markets are closed, so there’s nothing special to do. Just calm down and let’s watch the situation in the Japanese stock market on Monday."
After finally ending the call, Taesik focused back on the news. As Luke had mentioned, reports of damage to the Fukushima plant were coming in, along with footage of tsunamis swallowing coastal villages. The South Korean government immediately held a briefing to announce they would send rescue teams and relief supplies to Japan, emphasizing that Korea was minimally affected by the earthquake. They also announced they would hold an economic countermeasures meeting to address urgent issues related to the disaster.
As the same news repeated, Taesik turned off the TV, sat in his chair, and closed his eyes, muttering to himself.
"Is it right for me to make money by exploiting Japan's misfortune?"
Feeling stifled, Taesik stood up and headed outside. His secretaries, surprised to see him emerge without a word, asked, "Sir, do you need anything?"
"No. I’m heading home for the day."
Taesik left the building and walked aimlessly through the streets. Craving a glass of soju, he called his senior, Lee Sangwook.
"Oh! CEO Kim. What’s up?"
"Hyung! Want to grab a drink?"
"Hey! You’re the CEO, so you can leave whenever you want. I’m just a regular employee. How can I just leave when I have drinking plans? Besides, I’m busy."
"You can't make it today?"
"No. I’m busy preparing the successor to the smartphone we just released. Hey! But when are you going to bring me over to your company?"
"Just work a little longer there! Keep honing your mobile processor design skills while you scout for people to bring over!"
"Fine. I’m not going unless the conditions are better than here, so don't forget!"
With Sangwook unavailable, Taesik walked for a while before suddenly thinking of Lee Miso and calling her.
"Oh my. What’s the occasion for you to call me first, Taesik?"
"Are you free?"
"Why? Is this a date request?"
"Yes. Can we meet now?"
"Where are you? I’ll head out right away."
After making plans, Taesik headed to Gwangjang Market. Miso, who must have had plans earlier, arrived in her suit, and the two enjoyed a date exploring the market. Once they sat down at a restaurant inside, Taesik ordered their food.
"Today, it’s yukhoe (beef tartare) and makgeolli. That’s alright with you, right?"
"Yes. It’s my first time eating at a market."
As they enjoyed the food and chatted, Taesik, feeling guilty, asked Miso, "Miso, what do you think about gaining financial profit from other people's misfortune?"
Miso set down her chopsticks at the serious question. "Hmm... I think the answer depends on whether it was intentional. If you were the one causing the harm, it would be unforgivable, but I don't think it's bad to capitalize on something that was going to happen anyway. You can just give back to the people who were affected."
Taesik fell into thought as he listened to her, and Miso picked up her chopsticks again, watching him drink his makgeolli in silence. Their date ended without incident, and Taesik returned home, falling asleep under the influence of the alcohol.
After spending the weekend watching news about the earthquake, he arrived at work on Monday to find a call from Luke waiting for him.
"CEO, the Tokyo Stock Exchange just opened, and the stock price of Japan Electric is plummeting. The same goes for beer companies with factories in East Japan."
"I expected Japan Electric because they’re on the coast, but why the beer companies...?"
"It seems their production facilities in Fukuoka were heavily damaged by the quake. Still, they’re in better shape than Japan Electric."
"When do you plan to liquidate the stocks?"
"Not today. Japan Electric has already hit the lower limit, so we should watch it for a few days before deciding when to sell."
"How are the other investments, besides the short selling?"
"As mentioned in the report, we invested in inverse products based on the entire Japanese market, so we are seeing profits across the board. Please wait a moment."
The sound of typing echoed through the line. "As of now, it’s 19.56 billion dollars. That’s a profit of 4.06 billion dollars."
Taesik couldn't hide his shock at the news that he had made over 5 trillion won in profit. Luke continued, "Since Japan Electric is at the lower limit, it’s highly likely to fall again tomorrow. Please wait a little longer. I will maximize our profits."
Listening to Luke’s energetic voice, Taesik began reviewing the weapons he wanted to develop by investing in Starlink Aerospace and Starlink Defense.
"First, I’ll invest in high-end aircraft, missiles, and UUVs, and the rest..."
Unable to decide everything alone, he quickly arranged to meet with President Park In-tak and President Jo Yoon-je. Taesik headed to the car to visit the Defense division in Gumi first. Upon arrival, President Park briefed him on the progress of current development projects, and Taesik asked with a bright smile, "Is the exploratory research for the anti-submarine UUV finished?"
"Yes. We need to develop sonar with both active and passive functions, as well as acoustic signature analysis equipment. We’ve concluded that we must apply hydrogen fuel cells to reduce the number of charging cycles."
"Beyond the technical side, have you finished calculating the development costs?"
"We need at least 800 billion won."
"When do you need it by?"
"CEO! We agreed to proceed sequentially... Let’s finish the air-to-air and air-to-ground missile development first. The missile development costs are already too high."
Taesik replied to Park's concern, "A large sum of money will be coming in soon. Don't worry about the money!"
"I believe it’s more beneficial for the company to develop weapons sequentially rather than pushing for reckless development. CEO, the Defense division is already generating sufficient profit; there’s no need for excessive investment."
"Hahaha. I fully understand your concern, President Park. Since a large amount of money will be coming in within a month, tell me what weapons you want to research and develop."
"Can I really trust you?"
"Yes."
"Then I will speak freely. Based on the AESA radar technology you provided, I want to start developing a close-in weapon system (CIWS) for naval vessels. Since we’ve already secured the technology, I believe we can start development immediately if we adopt it for defensive purposes. Also, while developing missiles, I realized that even supersonic missiles are insufficient for attacking warships, so I’d like to develop hypersonic missiles."
Taesik smiled with satisfaction. "Proceed with all of it. I’ll support you as soon as the budget is available."
President Park looked at Taesik in surprise. "And how about developing laser weapons as well? They have high development costs, but aren't the operating costs low?"
"Is budget support really possible?"
"Yes."
Taesik was seen off by President Park and headed to Starlink Aerospace, where he asked the same question to President Jo Yoon-je.
"Yes...? Didn't we agree to develop things sequentially last time?"
After repeating the explanation he had given to President Park, he listened to Jo's opinion.
"Once the project to mount missiles on the single-seat TA-50 lead-in fighter trainer is finished, I want to start developing a high-end fighter jet. Although our aviation technology is still inferior compared to the U.S., I want to fulfill the dreams of an aerospace engineer."
"That’s already decided. Tell me something else."
"Next, I want to start developing a transport aircraft. I want to use the same airframe to develop an airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft and a maritime patrol aircraft. But developing a transport plane requires at least 2 trillion won—is that possible?"
"It’s possible. However, it’s difficult for me to just invest; we should proceed with the development through a paid-in capital increase."
"It’s only natural to use a capital increase since your personal money is being invested. But can you really invest such a large amount?"
"Just start establishing the plan. I’ll provide the investment funds within a month."
Taesik said goodbye to the stunned President Jo and headed back to Seoul, muttering, "Just wait exactly one month."