The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 453



Only Krnovel

453. Variable Creation (3)

North Korea’s hacking attempts continue unabated.

In this situation, I had dinner with President Choi Jae-seok.

At that location, issues related to North Korea were unintentionally discussed.

“North Korea’s missile provocations are continuing unabated. Isn’t it essential to attract foreign currency to revive the South Korean economy? However, with North Korea acting aggressively, foreign currency investment is not easy. South Korean companies’ stock prices are also moving sideways.”

“Missile provocations continue after the shutdown of the Kaesong Industrial Complex.”

The Kaesong Industrial Complex, a symbol of reconciliation.

However, the decision was made to close it because it was being used to fund North Korea’s nuclear and missile development.

Since then, North Korea has been conducting military demonstrations by launching missile provocations at one-month intervals.

“They say the United States is also taking this problem seriously.”

“I also received a call. They said that the US government will take the lead in preventing armed demonstrations. But is that feasible?”

It was realized before the regression.

President Trump meets with leaders of South Korea and North Korea.

Suddenly, a mood of reconciliation was created, and until then, it was truly expected that relations between North Korea and South Korea would improve.

Not only the media, but even the citizens believed that an era of peace would come.

North Korea declared a complete halt to its nuclear weapons development, and the previously suspended inter-Korean summit was held.

But it only lasted a moment.

In the end, North Korea did not change, and began military provocations again to resolve internal problems.

“First, let’s move to resolve the North Korean issue through the United States.”

“I would like to support North Korea on humanitarian grounds, but I cannot do so because the funds provided are being used for weapons development. However, if we do not provide support, it is truly difficult to see them engaging in armed demonstrations like this.”

President Choi Jae-seok is in deep thought.

But it wasn’t a problem that could be solved by anything we did.

If there is one silver lining, it is that, apart from the North Korea issue, South Korea is growing very quickly.

“It seems like this is happening because Korea’s economic situation is getting better.”

“It is thanks to the efforts of many companies including Taewoo Group. We expect GDP to rise by more than 8% this year.”

Korea’s GDP ranked 9th in the world.

Compared to the 11th place before the regression, it was a whopping two steps higher.

I’m not bragging, but Taewoo Group played a big role.

Taewoo Group accounted for about 10% of Korea’s GDP.

Thanks to this, the Korean economy was able to grow significantly compared to before the return.

“Once the semiconductor city is completed, many indicators are expected to rise further.”

“But the employment crisis is still not resolved. The youth unemployment rate problem is not resolved either. I hope Taewoo Group will create more jobs.”

It was President Choi Jae-seok who was concerned about the employment rate.

But before the recession, the unemployment rate was in the double digits, which was a concern.

“I think we can create more jobs with the growth of semiconductor cities and the shipping industry. But isn’t quality jobs more important than a lot of jobs?”

“They say the minimum wage has gone up, but who would want to work for only the minimum wage? It’s especially not good for young people who have graduated from college.”

“We will work to create more quality jobs, such as in semiconductors and finance.”

We discussed various issues.

If it had been another president, it would have been difficult to have such a casual conversation.

This kind of event was possible because we have been comrades for a long time.

***

A few days later.

The Planning Director and Center Director Cheon Min-jeong came to see me almost at the same time.

“Mr. Chairman, North Korea has attempted another missile provocation.”

“There has been a large-scale hacking attempt on South Korean Bitcoin exchanges. This time, it has been confirmed that North Korea is behind it.”

It was another North Korea story.

If it were another country or company, we would respond accordingly.

But it was frustrating because there was no proper solution.

“We can’t just sit back and do nothing. We need to shake up North Korea from the inside.”

“In what way do you mean?”

“The less people know about this, the better. The director and the center director just know that I’m doing something.”

He stood up from his seat, leaving the Planning Director and Center Director Cheon Min-jeong in their place.

And then I drove myself to Captain Kang’s office.

“The chairman is here! The issue of autonomous taxi business will also be resolved soon. We have succeeded in forming a certain level of consensus with the taxi union.”

“Thank you for your hard work. But today, I would like to discuss a different issue rather than that one.”

“Who else has offended the Chairman? I will step forward and give him a piece of my mind!”

Was my expression not good?

Captain Kang quickly got into combat stance and tried to run out.

“North Korea keeps irritating me.”

“Did I mishear you?”

“You heard correctly. North Korea is continuously doing things that are harmful to Taewoo Group, from large-scale Bitcoin hacking incidents to missile provocations.”

“How can I… North Korea?”

It was Captain Kang who sat down again.

Because he had been in the military, he knew more about North Korea than anyone else.

And he was also aware that it would be difficult for him to deal with North Korea.

“I certainly don’t intend to take on the entire North Korea. I’m just trying to create one very small variable.”

“Is it possible to create variables without going directly to North Korea? Do we need agents from the North? I have several employees who are former agents from the North.”

North Korean agent.

It literally meant a soldier who infiltrated North Korea and carried out a mission.

We had to risk our lives to carry out operations deep behind enemy lines, beyond the front lines.

“It’s not as hard as a North Korean operation, but it can be quite dangerous. Do you have someone you can put in charge of that? Skill is important, but it has to be someone you can trust.”

“How many do you need? I need about 30 capable men whom I can completely trust. Comrades who I can entrust my life to.”

Captain Kang beat his chest and made a promise.

Although they were people I trusted enough to use the word ‘comrade’, I didn’t trust people just by their words.

“Can you give me a list of them? I need to select the ones I want to deploy on the operation.”

“I will prepare the list right now. Please wait five minutes.”

Captain Kang ran to the bookshelf and took out the staff list.

He pointed to the 30 employees at the front of the list.

“These are the people I can trust. Some are executives at taxi companies, others are in charge of training security companies.”

“Let me just check for a moment.”

I looked closely at the photos on the list.

It was to check the details, and since they were people that Captain Kang trusted, there were no major problems.

Still, there were some minor problems.

Some people had back pockets, and some had complicated romantic relationships.

Excluding those people, I narrowed it down to about 10 completely trustworthy people.

“I’m thinking of deploying the ten people here to this operation.”

“Can you tell what kind of operation it is?”

“You can think of it as a secret escort mission. It’s a mission to escort the person who was once North Korea’s number two.”

“When you say North Korea’s No. 2, are you referring to the eldest son of the Kim family who was pushed out of the line of succession and became a wild card?”

What variables could possibly be used to check North Korea?

What a dictator fears most is losing power.

That is why they used to wipe out their competitors from the world through purges.

It was the same before the regression.

He was called North Korea’s No. 2 and lived as a wild man.

He was designated as a target for purge and was assassinated, ending his life.

And I remembered that the assassination was going to happen this year.

“The American CIA will be keeping an eye on Number 2.”

“I understand that not only the US but also China is watching him. According to information I acquired while in the military, he is known to have a very close relationship with the Chinese government.”

“I have information that there are people targeting him while avoiding the eyes of the United States and China.”

“Does the word ‘targeting’ mean assassination?”

It was Captain Kang who swallowed his saliva.

Now that he was a businessman rather than a soldier, he seemed quite nervous about the word assassination.

“It’s very likely an assassination. We want our people to disguise themselves as tourists to prevent an assassination attempt.”

“It would be quite dangerous.”

“It might not be so dangerous. If a trained professional agent were to come forward, the CIA or China would quickly find out. So there’s a high chance that they’ll use someone who isn’t suspected to carry out the assassination.”

“So you’re saying that they’re trying to assassinate people by using children, women, or the elderly?”

In fact, two young women carried out the assassination.

If a physically fit man had approached, the assassination attempt might have been more difficult, but few would have suspected the advances of two young women.

“Just think of it as a comfortable tour. There’s no need to do anything strange, just travel along the same route as No. 2.”

“So if a strange person approaches Number 2, is it okay for him to appear to help out out of a sense of chivalry?”

“That’s right. And I won’t blame you if this operation fails. The most important thing is the safety of our staff. If you decide it’s dangerous, you can just come back.”

There wasn’t any grand purpose.

I had no intention of bringing down the North Korean regime or of using Number 2 to do anything.

It was merely an act of retaliation against North Korea’s continued attacks on the Taewoo Group.

So there was no need for this to proceed while threatening the safety of the employees.

If this operation fails.

Because all we had to do was find a new variable.

“I will personally participate in the operation.”

“There is no need for Captain Kang to take action himself. And who will run the company without Captain Kang?”

Captain Kang grew the company to the point where he was called the CEO of a mid-sized company.

They were running various businesses, including rental car, taxi, and PC room, and just looking at the sales volume, they were at the level of a mid-sized company.

“I have to move to avoid suspicion. Wouldn’t you believe me if my bodyguards sensed danger and moved?”

“Do so. And Taewoo Hospital will be leaving for this operation site as a medical volunteer. This is to prepare for any unexpected situations. The medical staff will not know anything about this operation and will only know that it is a medical volunteer service.”

“Okay. If an emergency arises, I will go to the Taewoo Hospital medical staff.”

The method of assassinating No. 2 was poisoning.

So, we planned to deploy the medical staff from Taewoo Hospital to take measures to make detoxification possible.

“But does Captain Kang really have to go himself? I want to stop him. I don’t want to send Captain Kang to a dangerous place for no reason.”

“I want to run around the field after a long time. I don’t feel like I’m alive these days. I need to participate in events like this once in a while to feel alive!”

I couldn’t stop Captain Kang any longer.

Because his eyes were so sparkling, they were shining.