The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 232



Only Krnovel

232. An unexpected gift (1)

Korea’s main fighter aircraft was the American F series fighter.

And the fighter plane that our country had to deal with was the Russian-made Sukhoi series.

If you get tired, it’s a disaster.

It was necessary to know in detail the performance of the Sukhoi series fighter jets, even for possible war situations.

In particular, General Lee Ho, who had been in the Air Force for a long time, was even more eager to take a look at Sukhoi.

“I think we can bring in about three Sukhoi from Russia. Would this be of great help to the security of the Republic of Korea?”

“If we can bring in even one aircraft instead of three, it will be a great help in increasing the power of the Air Force.”

“It is not something that can be brought in just by investing a lot of money. It requires permission from both Russia and the United States, and more funds must be spent on resolving political issues than on the purchase price of fighter jets.”

General Lee Ho nodded vigorously.

South Korea’s only ally was the United States.

If the Russian Sukhoi were to be introduced, the United States would naturally not like it.

Therefore, it was necessary to prevent political misunderstandings, and General Lee Ho also clearly understood this.

“If we donate the cost of relocating the air base runway and three Sukhoi aircraft to the Air Force, could you allow us to handle the licensing issues?”

“Of course! Even if it means kneeling before the Minister of National Defense, I will unconditionally resolve the licensing issue. If you directly operate the Sukhoi, the combat power of the Air Force can skyrocket! And it will be a great help in Korea’s own development of fighter jets. .”

It was General Lee Ho who spoke with all his pride aside.

It was a possible action because he loved the Air Force so much, and he was in the mood to take the lead in ordering the relocation of the runway if only Sukhoi could be introduced.

“We will try to introduce the latest Sukhoi as much as possible, but I don’t think it will be easy.”

“It’s okay if it’s a training fighter without the main equipment, and it doesn’t matter if it’s a downgraded version!”

It was General Lee Ho who just wanted to bring Sukhoi in some form.

How could you disappoint someone who cares so much about the security of the Republic of Korea?

“Then, I will visit Russia within this week and consider purchasing Sukhoi.”

“I’m waiting for good news.”

General Lee Ho held my hand tightly and said.

Contrary to his first impression of boasting the majesty of a general, General Lee Ho’s current mood was similar to that of my grandfather.

A grandfather who is greedy for the new building, and General Lee Ho who is greedy for the introduction of Sukhoi.

If you are greedy for something, everyone will look like this.

* * *

A few days later.

As promised, I headed to Russia.

I made an appointment with Roman, the governor of Chukotka and the chairman of an energy company, who has a strong voice in the Russian government and is a close friend of mine.

“Governor Roman is scheduled to arrive in 20 minutes. If you need anything, please call me at any time.”

The bodyguard who looked like a martial arts athlete spoke condescendingly.

I waved my hand to let him know I didn’t need anything, and when the security guard stepped back, I picked up my phone and called David.

“Where are you now? You’re not hanging out at a resort somewhere, are you?”

“I’m having fun! If there’s someone who’s busier than me right now, ask them to come out. There’s less than 15 days left until the U.S. presidential election! I’m looking for people here and there, getting called in, and even 10 of them are not enough.”

“The presidential election is already around the corner. I lost track of time.”

The US presidential election season has already arrived.

Since I was providing continuous support, I didn’t have anything to do during the presidential election season, but David was different.

He had to go meet all the politicians.

I had to go to charity parties held all over the United States, drink alcohol, and throw money around.

“I don’t think now is the time to be so relaxed. President Bush’s approval rating is ahead by 1-2%, but depending on the polling agency, there are places where candidate Kerry’s approval rating is ahead.”

“The war on terrorism is not over yet, so I think President Bush, who values ​​security, will be re-elected.”

“I see it that way too, but candidate Kerry is ahead on the economic issue, so I can’t be optimistic.”

David looked quite nervous.

Since I already knew the result, I wasn’t too nervous.

Even before the regression, President Bush had succeeded in being re-elected, and this time, with my active help, he would win the presidential election by a slightly wider margin.

“Don’t be too nervous. President Bush will definitely be re-elected.”

“I feel a little relieved to hear the representative say that. But why did you call? I don’t think you called because of the presidential election.”

“I have a favor to ask you. I am thinking of purchasing about three Sukhoi fighter jets from Russia and donating them to the Korean Air Force.”

“Are you asking me to solve a political problem?”

David was able to get the main points right away because he had been working together for a long time.

“Is that possible?”

“If President Bush is re-elected, even more is possible. I will talk about allowing anything except nuclear weapons to be brought into Korea.”

“Please provide generous support so that the Bush election campaign does not run out of funds.”

“We are already providing enough support to the point where our treasury is overflowing. This presidential election will go down in history as the election in which the most money was spent in American history.”

“Then I will trust you and leave it to you.”

David seemed busy, so I couldn’t talk for long.

When I hung up the phone, Roman was coming inside.

“Kim! You’ve never been here before, but what’s going on this year that makes you visit Russia twice already?”

“Didn’t you promise to visit often? I’m the type of person who always keeps my promises.”

“Hmm, is it true that you came to Russia because of an appointment? Looking at your sinister face, it seems like there’s something up there.”

Should I learn acting separately?

Roman immediately realized that I had another purpose.

“Actually, I came here to ask you a difficult personal favor.”

“If it’s Kim’s request, of course I should grant it. Just say anything.”

“I would like to purchase a few Sukhoi. Ah! I don’t intend to keep them for myself, but I intend to purchase them for the purpose of donating them to the Republic of Korea Air Force.”

“Are you planning to purchase Sukhoi because of the KEPCO site issue?”

Even Roman knew that I was targeting the KEPCO site.

From Roman’s perspective, there was no reason to be interested in land in Seoul, but he seemed to be aware of the KEPCO site issue because he was very interested in me.

“We have already successfully bid for the KEPCO site. However, there is friction with the Air Force over licensing issues, so we are trying to solve the problem by donating Sukhoi.”

“There’s nothing you can’t sell as long as the price is right. How many units do you plan to buy?”

“I think three generations would be enough as a sign of respect.”

“Hehehe, this is the first time something like this has happened. They are showing their sincerity by using fighter jets to build a high-rise building.”

Even when I thought about it, it was absurd.

However, this was the best way to persuade the Air Force using my connections and money.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s a training version or a downgraded version. And America won’t have an issue with this either.”

“Hmm, let me help you buy three Sukhois as cheaply as possible. About $130 million will be enough.”

The price was cheaper than expected.

Although it varies depending on the type of fighter jet, even the cheapest model costs over $50 million.

It seemed like they were asking a low price because they were planning to supply a training or downgraded version.

“You can deposit money right away, even today.”

“Hehe, you are very anxious. I also have to report to the higher-ups first. Since it is Kim’s job, the higher-ups will probably accept it.”

“Please do me a favor. And if you need my help at any time, please let me know. I will do my best to help.”

“I’ll tell you when that happens. Are you still thinking about buying an EPL team? I want to compete with Kim on the soccer field soon.”

The conversation naturally turned to soccer.

I achieved my goal in less than 10 minutes, and I spent the remaining time listening to Roman’s story.

* * *

Fifteen days have passed since I returned to Korea from Russia.

Today, I went to work at Captain Kang’s office instead of work, and as soon as I got to work, I stared at the TV.

“Are you watching the U.S. presidential election vote counting broadcast? I also listened to the news on the way, and they said it’s still not clear which side will win.”

“It looks like Captain Kang is also interested in the election.”

“If you’ve been in the military for a long time, you’re bound to become interested in it. Isn’t the military one of the organizations that changes the most when the government changes?”

He was Captain Kang, who had served in the military since the military regime.

Maybe that’s why he was very interested in elections, and he watched the US presidential election with me.

After spending several hours like that, the results of the US presidential election were finally decided.

“Mr. Representative! President Bush was re-elected.”

“Whew, that’s good. I was worried because the gap wasn’t as big as I thought.”

It was President Bush who won by a margin of only 5%.

If I remember correctly, before the regression we won by 3%.

Did I intervene to raise the approval rating by 2%?

Only 2%.

However, in a very close election, 2% could have changed the result, so it was by no means a small figure.

“Representative! I have a call from David.”

“Oh! I put my phone on silent.”

While I was lost in thought for a moment, I received several missed calls on my phone.

It was David who called Captain Kang’s office because I didn’t answer the phone.

“I just checked the results. As expected, President Bush was re-elected.”

[boss! I almost fainted because my whole body was sweating. I really just barely succeeded in getting re-elected!]

“It’s hard to say ‘barely’ if the difference is 5%. Please convey congratulations to President Bush’s campaign instead.”

[I will tell you clearly. And the introduction of Russian fighter jets was confirmed. Instead, they say to introduce it secretly so that the information does not spread.]

That was basic.

If it was operated by the Air Force, information would spread, but it didn’t have to be said that Taewoo Group took the lead in introducing Sukhoi.

“Once you are done with your work in the United States, please move to Russia and take the lead in introducing fighter jets.”

[If something like that happens, of course I have to step forward. I will meet with the election camp to offer my congratulations and then head straight to Russia.]

“It must be a difficult schedule. You know that I will always be grateful and sorry, right?”

[I recently purchased a penthouse, and I can count on my fingers the number of times I have stayed there. Since I travel all over the world to meet people every day, I don’t have time to stay in the penthouse.]

“After this is over, please rest for a few days.”

It’s such a pity that there is only one David.

If there had been just one more person with similar abilities, David wouldn’t have had to travel between Russia and the United States.

However, people with S-level lobbying skills were rare.

David was the only person with S-level lobbying skills I could trust.