Republic of Korea in Yeokcheon - Chapter 277



Only Krnovel

#277. My responsibility as president

August 22, 1959.

The Blue House.

It was past 9 p.m. on Saturday night, but Lee Kang-cheol and Ko Seok-man were busy working, even putting off dinner.

“Then let’s handle it like this.”

“Let’s do that. Is that the end?”

“Yes, this is the last one for today.”

“Oh my! What’s going on? It seems like things are getting delayed. We don’t even get weekend allowance.”

“Hahaha! That’s our job.”

“Ah! Okay, let’s go eat something. I’m so hungry I could die.”

“Where would you like to eat?”

“Let’s eat at our house. The chef said he made an amazing cheonggukjang. Since tomorrow is the day off, let’s have a drink of soju.”

“Is that so?”

“huh.”

That was the moment when Go Seok-man picked up the phone and was about to make a call.

dripping!

“Hmm? Oh, come in.”

“Mr. President.”

“Secretary Cho? Why?”

“There was an emergency video call request from Deputy Prime Minister Kim Kyu-sik.”

“Professor Usagi? At this hour?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“What’s going on?”

“I’m not sure, but the voice of the embassy staff member I asked for is a bit bothersome.”

“Your voice is hoarse?”

“It looked quite urgent.”

“What’s going on?”

Kim Kyu-sik rarely requested an emergency video call from overseas.

“Let’s connect first. I think something is going on.”

“Okay. Secretary Cho, connect.”

“All right.”

As soon as Secretary Cho manipulated the device in Lee Kang-cheol’s office, Kim Kyu-sik, who was in the Indonesian embassy, ​​appeared on the large screen in less than a minute.

“Oh, teacher.”

“Mr. President.”

“What’s going on? Are you requesting an emergency video call?”

“I have an unfortunate report to make. A serious situation has occurred.”

“Huh? Is it serious?”

“At around 4:30 p.m. today in Jakarta, the Minas oil field in East Sumatra was occupied by rioters. In the process, three employees of our Korea Petroleum Development Corporation were killed and 30 people were taken hostage by the rioters.”

“Blood, blood? Are you saying that our people were sacrificed? Is that right?”

“Yes, that’s right. I’m sorry.”

“… … .”

“… … .”

Lee Kang-cheol and Ko Seok-man were speechless for a while due to shock and anger.

It was rare for South Korean citizens to be killed overseas, and even then, it was usually an accidental incident caused by personal grudges or robbery. There had never been a case of citizens going on official business being killed in large numbers by mobs.

Besides, the case is still ongoing.

Didn’t they say 30 people were being held hostage?

A major incident has occurred.

“Damn it! Damn it! Haa! Who is the victim?”

“They are all employees of the Korea Petroleum Development Corporation. Lee Cheon-hee, Manager of Overseas Development Division 3, Kim Cheol-hwan, Manager of Overseas Development Division 3, and… … .”

“And?”

“This is Vice President Moon Dong-joo.”

“Wh, Vice President Moon Dong-ju? Are you the Vice President Moon Dong-ju I know? Is that right?”

“That’s right. I’m sorry.”

“Wait a minute! That can’t be! No, that guy can’t be there. I thought he was going to retire soon?”

“He said he was inspecting overseas facilities for the last time before retiring. He entered Indonesia a week ago.”

“… … .”

“… … .”

Lee Kang-cheol and Ko Seok-man felt like they had been hit in the head with a blunt object.

The first civilian casualty of the expedition was a civilian.

He is someone who knows that well.

As a plant expert, he followed the 3rd Brigade to Wonsan during the restoration of the Korean Peninsula and inspected the facilities of Chosun Petroleum Corporation.

And above all, he was the father of his subordinates.

Every human life is precious.

How can we weigh the pros and cons?

However, the intensity of the shock, sadness, and anger tends to vary depending on the level of intimacy.

Looking at it this way, Moon Dong-ju’s death would have been a great sorrow not only to Lee Kang-cheol and Ko Seok-man, but also to the entire expedition team, which had a particularly strong bond.

Because he was the first, excluding civilians from the expedition who died of natural causes after suffering from chronic illness or enjoying a long life.

After a moment of silence, Lee Kang-cheol opened his mouth again with a frighteningly hardened expression.

“Is it Sukarno’s doing?”

“It is thought to be the work of a mob beyond Sukarno’s control, but in any case, it is the work of a controlled protest group organized under Sukarno’s direction. In conclusion, I think it is safe to say that it is Sukarno’s work.”

“Okay, let’s go straight to the meeting. Sir, talk to Sukarno and make sure the hostages are safe. There can’t be any more casualties. Tell him, if there’s even one more casualty here, I’ll kill them all!”

“All right.”

The screen turned off.

“Seokman-ah.”

“yes.”

“Convene a meeting. Tell everyone to gather in 30 minutes, no matter what they’re doing.”

“Okay. I, brother… … .”

“why?”

“I will contact Moon Jeong-sik.”

“No, it’s right for me to contact you.”

“All right.”

As soon as Go Seok-man left, Lee Kang-cheol let out a long sigh.

“Whew! Damn it! Secretary Joe!”

“Yes, Mr. President.”

“Please connect me to Brigadier General Moon Jeong-sik.”

“All right.”

After a while, the key phone on Lee Kang-cheol’s desk rang.

“yes.”

– Mr. President, Brigadier General Moon Jeong-sik is on standby.

“I get it.”

Beep!

“General Moon.”

-Loyalty! Brigadier General Moon Jeong-sik! I received a call!

“… … .”

When I actually heard the voice, I didn’t know what to say.

-hello?

“Oh, Brigadier General Moon. I am the President.”

-Yes, Mr. President. Go ahead! What’s the matter?

“uh…….”

-yes?

It’s something that has to be done anyway.

“I’m sorry. Your father passed away.”

-Yes? Yes?

“Your father, Vice President Moon Dong-ju, has met with an accident in Indonesia. As the President and your superior, I am truly saddened by his death.”

-Huh, huh? What is this… … .

“… … .”

There has never been a bolt from the blue like this.

Kang-cheol Lee explained the situation in detail to him, who was unable to speak for a while.

“sorry.”

-No. Thank you for letting me know.

“okay.”

It got even more complicated after I hung up the phone.

He pretended to be calm because the other person was the president, but you could tell just from his voice how sad he was.

And I would probably blame myself too.

Like most civilians in the expedition, his father, Moon Dong-ju, had come here because of his son.

***

At the same time, the Indonesian Presidential Palace in Jakarta.

“What on earth happened! How could such a disaster happen to Koreans?”

“… … .”

“Haa! I’m going crazy.”

Sukarno seemed to be going crazy.

No matter how much he ordered the controlled demonstration, this went way beyond the line.

I was worried that the madmen were out of control recently, but I never imagined that they would kill South Korean people.

Honestly, I didn’t care if a few guys died or not.

The problem is that the opponent is South Korea.

They are a superpower that has defeated not only Japan but also the Soviet Union and become the leader of East Asia.

There’s no way they’ll stay still.

Although I shouted at Kim Kyu-sik, it would be a big problem if South Korea were to mobilize its military force.

Of course, Sukarno also had some corners of his faith.

From South Korea, Indonesia is more than 5,000 km away.

Moreover, since it was an island nation, no matter how strong they were, they were confident that they could defend themselves if they just defended the coast well.

After ten years of hard work, the number of elite soldiers raised reached hundreds of thousands.

Thinking about the military made me feel a little more at ease, but I still thought that this time it was right to appease the Republic of Korea.

Because we attacked and killed civilians, we lacked justification and needed to buy more time.

But there was another problem.

The thing is, those damn mobs won’t listen to him.

If we release the hostages, we will be able to negotiate with South Korea somehow.

“The mob still won’t listen to us?”

“Yes.”

“Damn it! Why on earth are you doing this! Why won’t you listen to me!”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“How about deploying our special forces?”

“Are you talking about Kopassus (Commando Pasukan Khusus)?”

“Yeah, Kopassus. I guess they could give it a try.”

“That’s a bit difficult. They are certainly a warrior of a hundred men, but they have no experience in this kind of hostage rescue operation. If there are any additional casualties during the rescue operation… … .”

“Fuck!”

“Your Excellency the President!”

The secretary entered the conference room and spoke in Sukarno’s ear.

“Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea Kim Kyu-sik would like to speak to you.”

“shit!”

I was about to swear, but I couldn’t not answer the phone.

“I got a call.”

– Hey, President Sukarno! What the hell are you doing!

“… … .”

No matter what, he is the president of a country, but now he talks to the kid next door.

“Calm down, Deputy Prime Minister.”

―Am I really real now? Are you real? Isn’t this all your doing?

“Ha! Mr. Deputy Prime Minister, this is my true intention. Those guys are real rioters. I mean, real. It wasn’t my order!”

―What do you mean, no! What did I say! Didn’t I tell you not to play with fire? If you did, you should be held responsible!

“Ah! So that’s what we’re trying to solve now!”

-How are you going to solve it?

“We can’t do anything about the victims, but we’re trying to rescue the hostages… … .”

-don’t do it!

“yes?”

-I told you not to do that! What kind of rescue operation are you doing with your abilities!

“Ah, no… … .”

―Don’t even think about a rescue operation. Just calm the mob!

“… … .”

―Our President Lee Kang-cheol told me to pass on his message. I will pass it on. If there is even one more casualty, we will kill them all!

“T, tsk! What kind of threat… … .”

―I’ll contact you again, so don’t do anything other than calm the rioters.

Click!

“What the hell! Where in the world are you threatening someone in another country!”

“… … .”

“… … .”

“Everyone get out! Get out there and calm the mob! Give them whatever they want!”

Woof woof!

Sukarno really wanted to cry.

***

The Blue House of the Republic of Korea.

Even though it was Saturday evening, when the National Security Council (NSC) was called for an emergency meeting, everyone was present in less than 30 minutes.

Of course, there were many people who attended because they were drinking and feeling safe on Saturday, but that wasn’t the problem now.

Everyone stared at Lee Kang-cheol with their mouths shut and stiff expressions, as if they had heard a rough explanation beforehand.

“Is everyone here?”

“Yes, Mr. President.”

“Secretary Cho, please connect the Deputy Prime Minister via video call as well.”

“All right.”

In less than a minute, Kim Kyu-sik appeared on the screen again.

“I will personally chair this meeting. You have all heard the situation. There has been a disaster in Indonesia. Sukarno has been messing around, and the Minas oil field in Sumatra that we are developing has been attacked by a mob. Three employees of the Korea Petroleum Development Corporation have been killed, and 30 of our employees are still being held hostage.”

“… … .”

“Among the victims was Vice President Moon Dong-ju, the father of our Army’s Brigadier General Moon Jeong-sik. He was the first civilian victim from the expedition team.”

“Whew… … .”

“this…….”

The conference room was frozen in shock, as it seemed that many people were hearing for the first time that civilians from the expedition team were included.

In particular, it seemed that the shock was even greater because most of the civilians from the expedition team who had a certain status knew each other.

“We are truly sorry and offer our condolences, but the situation is urgent, so let’s postpone our condolences until later. Therefore, we will proceed with two topics in this meeting. First, the rescue of our hostages held in Sumatra and the safe evacuation of our Korean residents and staff. And the second topic is… … .”

“… … .”

“It’s punishment. It’s a thorough punishment! It’s a punishment that will make it so that no one will ever think of harming our people again!”

“… … .”

A heavy silence fell over the conference room.

“Let’s discuss the hostage rescue operation first, Minister of Defense!”

“Yes, Mr. President.”

“You tell me. What should I do?”

“Well, we do have some Marines stationed in Borneo, but they are few in number and lack specialized rescue operation training, so they are not suitable.”

“then?”

“It would be best if the 707th Special Forces Brigade took charge of the rescue operation. They have already called it up. And for the protection of the Korean nationals and the evacuation operation, one special forces brigade can be dispatched together. The problem is whether they will allow our troops to enter Indonesia… … .”

“Don’t worry about that. If you refuse, I plan to kill you all. Deputy Prime Minister! Is that possible?”

“I will take responsibility for that and tell Sukarno.”

“Well, then there is no problem.”

“How long does it take to deploy?”

“The special forces can be sent right away, but it would be better to send them together with the special forces brigade. We will have them depart by 9 a.m. tomorrow.”

“What are you going to ride?”

“We will charter a regular jet to Jakarta. We will also dispatch a separate tactical transport plane first. It will take 7 hours to get to Indonesia, so we can carry out a rescue operation by tomorrow night.”

“Okay. Let’s do it immediately.”

“All right.”

Lee Kang-cheol took a sip of tea as if trying to catch his breath, then opened his mouth again.

“Well then, this time it’s retaliation. Before discussing the method of retaliation, I must first talk about my responsibility for this situation.”

“Huh? The President’s responsibility?”

“What are you talking about?”

When Lee Kang-cheol suddenly brought up his own responsibility, everyone was taken aback.

“Yes, it’s my responsibility. My responsibility as president. Let me start by talking about my old friend.”

“… … ?”

“Among my elementary and middle school classmates, there was a guy who took a wrong turn and ended up as a high-ranking member of a nationwide gang. He was a very kind and gentle guy when he was young, but his family environment was really bad. It’s unfortunate.”

“??”

“???”

The story suddenly went from a story about responsibility to a story about a gangster friend.