1979, Manager Kim is Inheriting Dictatorship! - Chapter 173



Only Krnovel

Episode 173

Not a single country answered my question.

Then one country quietly opens its mouth.

“We oppose these EU tariffs. We support Korea’s position.”

The identity of the voice was none other than the Prime Minister of the Netherlands.

Even recently, the relationship was special due to the 2002 World Cup, and the relationship between Korea and the US has been good since the past.

Chancellor Merkel’s expression is getting worse.

“What are you talking about, Mr. Balkenende? The tariffs were passed with the consent of the entire EU. Does that mean you are thinking of leaving the EU?”

Prime Minister Balkenende thinks for a moment, then nods.

“Yes, we will bet on Korea.”

Withdrawal from the EU.

It was not an easy choice for a European country.

It seemed like he had already decided before coming to the conference room.

I grabbed the off-mic and responded to him with a thank you.

“Thank you, Prime Minister Balkenende. This choice will bring enormous benefits to the Netherlands. Korea never betrays its friends.”

Merkel’s face turns red and blue.

In the end, at the end of the summit, the only two countries that supported Korea in the EU, including the Netherlands and Denmark, were those that withdrew from the EU.

All other countries followed the EU’s lead and decided to impose ridiculous tariffs on Korea.

It was better than having neither country, but it was not possible to force exports to these two countries to cover other deficits by maintaining tariffs as before.

Rather, it was a return of their goodwill with malice.

In August 2007, nearly a year after the US-EU tariff retaliation, Korea’s economic situation was clearly worse than before.

The economic growth that had been so rapid every quarter came to a halt, and for the first time since the 1980s the economy virtually froze.

The government has been holding on to the situation to some extent by releasing the money it had saved up until now, but it has not been an easy situation.

There was a lot of discontent within the EU as well, and there was a possibility that additional countries might withdraw.

However, this dissatisfaction was much less than expected domestically.

Even though the economy has frozen more than expected, his approval rating has not fallen much, perhaps as a reward for what he has done so far.

The people’s faith seemed firm.

But ultimately, this problem had to be resolved quickly to thaw the frozen economy.

However, there was no sign of the situation being resolved.

Trump praised himself for the better-than-expected results of protectionism, and his approval ratings, which had been at rock bottom, actually recovered significantly.

“Now Korea is going downhill! Hahaha. In the end, America won again!! It’s America’s victory and this Trump administration’s victory!”

Although there were some issues, the economy within the United States was recovering quite well.

And this was the same in Europe.

Rather, it was the Netherlands and Denmark that left the EU that were hit hard.

Both the Dutch and Danish governments were in the grip of economic crises that virtually led to impeachment.

[Dutch Prime Minister. Impeachment Crisis. The Price of Trusting Korea? – Monday Washington]

[Denmark, protests increase due to economic crisis. What will Korea do? – AAC]

‘This is going to be difficult. These are the people who trusted us, and we can’t just leave it like this… ‘

And just as I was thinking about how to come up with a stopgap measure for these problems, the long-awaited phone call came.

“Mr. President, this is Do Min-gu!”

The person who called was Director Do Min-gu of the Superconductivity Research Institute.

I stopped my excited thoughts and asked him calmly.

“Director Do Min-gu? What’s going on?”

He spoke to me in a very excited voice, cheering me on.

“Success! Now mass production is possible!”

“Wow, you succeeded? Are you saying that the research on superconductors is finished?”

I couldn’t hide my excitement as I asked the director.

“Yes! That’s right! Now all the research on superconductors is finished!”

“Okay! Let’s go right away!”

I cancelled all my upcoming appointments.

* * *

I got into my car and headed straight to the superconductivity research center in the suburbs.

Upon arriving at the lab, all the researchers, including Director Do Min-gu, looked like they hadn’t washed properly for several days.

However, despite their disfigured appearance, their expressions were filled with joy.

I asked, holding the hand of Director Do Min-gu, who was filled with joy.

“Director, did it really work?”

“Yes!! Mr. President. Now, commercialization is really possible!”

I asked him urgently.

“Could you show me… … .”

“Yes. Would you like to come this way?”

Professor Do Min-gu guides me into the lab.

And there, floating in the air, was clearly another small object, different from the last sample.

I held Professor Do Min-gu’s hand tightly and spoke.

“You succeeded… … !”

“Yes! Not only this. Power transmission and other areas have already been tested. In fact, we finished some of the tests a few days ago, but I wanted to show you something more certain, so I’m contacting you now. Sorry.”

Chief Do Min-gu bows his head and apologizes.

I woke him up and said,

“Why are you apologizing, Director Do? Director Do is now a hero of the Republic of Korea.”

“What did I do? It is thanks to the President who believed in me and to the staff of our research institute who worked hard.”

I spoke to the lab staff.

“Thank you, everyone. Thanks to you, we can now move forward to a new place in the Republic of Korea! Your hard work will surely be rewarded! Thank you again!”

August 2007. About a year earlier than originally scheduled.

Korea has finally succeeded in commercializing room-temperature and atmospheric-pressure superconductor technology.

* * *

September 2007.

IEEE Annual Conference / Daejeon.

IEEE is the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and is the world’s most influential international organization and society for electrical and electronics engineering.

Today was the day of the IEEE’s regular conference.

Professor Do Min-gu arrived here today to make an announcement that will surprise the world.

This conference is usually held alternately in San Francisco and Daejeon, and today was the day it was held in Daejeon.

Engineers with the highest level of technology from around the world gather in Daejeon.

And the technologies presented at this conference always attract attention from all over the world.

The conference begins, and several people come out and each have their own presentation time.

There were a few reporters there, but some were dozing off, perhaps because there weren’t any particularly surprising announcements.

And finally, it’s time for the final presentation.

The last person was none other than Professor Do Min-gu.

Professor Do Min-gu walks forward and speaks to the people.

“Hello, everyone. I am Do Min-gu, the director of the Korea Superconductivity Research Institute.”

People are a little excited by the talk of a superconductor research lab.

-What is the Superconductor Research Institute? Is it really a place that only researches superconductors?

-According to the information provided, this is a place created by the Korean government?

Director Do Min-gu leaves the crowd behind and begins his presentation.

He gave a presentation that was a bit theoretical, adding a little bit of information that was like a taste of the superconductor technology that he had.

Because he had hidden all the important technologies while announcing them, by the time the presentation was over, people’s attitudes were not only indifferent, but even booing.

“What the heck is this! How can you make a presentation at an academic conference that is at the level of something that appears in Wikipedia!”

The boos are increasing.

But the smile of Director Do Min-gu became deeper as time passed.

Director Do Min-gu leaves the hecklers behind and gives his closing remarks.

“First of all, I would like to thank President Kim Jung-guk for his great help in developing this technology and for trusting us. I would also like to express my gratitude to our Superconductor Research Institute team members.”

People just couldn’t understand.

After this announcement with no results, and even a thank you note. No matter how much I tried to understand it logically, I couldn’t understand it.

Director Do Min-gu turned up the microphone volume a bit more, looked at the people, and spoke in a solemn voice.

“Everyone, I declare here today that Korea has succeeded in developing room-temperature and pressure superconductor technology!”

A moment of silence.

Laughter erupts in the room.

“Hahaha. You must be crazy.”

“A room-temperature, normal-pressure superconductor? It’s laughable to think that they’ve succeeded in developing the technology with a theory like that from Wikipedia.”

The reaction of the people was nothing but laughter.

However, Director Do Min-gu didn’t pay any attention.

* * *

I walked past the crowd of people bursting into laughter and quietly climbed up onto the stage.

Then I grabbed the microphone and spoke while looking at the people who were surprised to see me.

“Hello, everyone. This is Kim Jeong-guk. The commercialization of room-temperature and atmospheric-pressure superconductor technology developed by Director Do Min-gu and the Superconductor Research Institute is true.”

But the people’s surprise did not last long, as they began to laugh loudly again.

“No, how can we expect commercialization with a presentation of that level! Hahaha.”

I said to those who were laughing.

“Everyone, would you please follow me outside for a moment?”

People were puzzled, but since it was the President of Korea who said it, they got up from their seats and followed me.

And the place I stood was none other than the entrance of this building.

“Is everyone here?”

After a while, everyone gathered in front of the door, and I opened the front door that had been closed at once.

And the expressions on the faces of the people looking out the front door weren’t the laughter they had just seen.

Their expressions were one of shock.

The front door clearly indicated that it was the first floor when we entered.

But what was visible outside the door was not the first floor from which they had entered.

The view outside the door was clearly low, but it looked like it was about the second floor.

That is, the building was floating in the air.

The reporters’ flashbulbs started going off and they were busy making phone calls.

I said, looking at the astonished people.

“Would you believe it now, everyone? Korea’s development of room-temperature commercial superconductor technology has been successful. Now, humanity, no, Korea and our friends can move forward into another era.”

The story quickly spread around the world as breaking news.

[Korea succeeds in developing world’s first room-temperature and pressure superconductor technology. – Tongil Ilbo]

[Korea has leaped into the future. Can the US compete with Korea, which has succeeded in developing superconductor technology? – AAC]

[Japan’s entry into the AEU is a stroke of genius. Korea will now advance to become the world’s only superpower. – Yomi Asahi Shimbun]

The media around the world was in an uproar. Some media outlets evaluated that Korea had now surpassed the United States, while others evaluated that the United States was no longer Korea’s rival.

In short, the axis of power was completely broken.

And the next day, the first declaration of surrender came from the EU, which realized the significance of this technology.