The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 508



Only Krnovel

508. Obtaining Evidence (3)

Whistleblower and evidence personally secured by the owner of Myeongdong.

Now it was up to us to decide how to utilize them.

“How much is the value of the technology leaked so far?”

“The top tech executives received 50 billion won. However, if you consider various factors such as the technological gap and the growth of competitors, you can estimate that the damage was more than 5 trillion won.”

The greater the damage, the more divided the public’s reaction tends to be.

A few hundred billion won may not be enough to motivate us, but a damage amount of 5 trillion won would be enough to motivate us.

“Have you collected all the data?”

“It’s all been collected. And we’ve even obtained personal messenger conversations from Top Tech executives who were caught in Myeongdong’s weak spot. There’s ample evidence that many executives participated in the technology leak.”

The fear of Myeongdong came from here.

How easy would it be to persuade a traitor who sold out his technology?

However, Myeongdong was a group capable of turning traitors into patriots through fear and terror.

I didn’t really want to know what process it went through to make it that way.

Just hearing the story might make you want to vomit back up your breakfast sandwich.

“Have you secured the process of receiving funding?”

“I was moving funds through cryptocurrency. It was not easy to track the funds compared to cash, but there was a mistake in the process of cashing out, so it was traceable.”

The Korean Bitcoin exchange was tightly controlled by Taewoo Group.

The Bitcoin bear market that has continued this year has caused many small and medium-sized exchanges to close.

The surviving large exchanges were those associated with fintech banks or Taewoo Group, so information could be obtained easily.

It wouldn’t have mattered if the top tech executives hadn’t made any mistakes.

Because I could look into the cryptocurrency trading situation at any time.

Of course, since it required illegal means, it might not be effective as evidence, but if packaged well, it could be made into sufficient evidence.

But this time, thanks to the mistake, I was able to use it as evidence right away without any packaging.

“Then I guess there’s no point in watching it any longer. Just blow it up.”

“We will use the People’s Economy Party, media outlets, social media, and portal sites to blow up the incident on a large scale.”

“Please also tell us in detail how China has been narrowing the display gap.”

“We will make sure that the entire nation has access to relevant news within a week!”

The planning director’s face lit up.

I guess he was excited because he finally had the chance to use his major after a long time.

He was the planning director who had carried out countless projects like this since he was under his grandfather.

***

December 7, 2018.

In the last regular session of the National Assembly this year, hundreds of bills were passed, and after a heated debate, the Technology Protection Act passed the plenary session.

“The Technology Protection Act was passed this session.”

“It’s thanks to the results of public opinion polls. The public’s anger is considerable, perhaps because they are using SNS and portal sites. And the ruling party, the People’s Economy Party, has continued to fan the flames so that they don’t go out.”

There was no small amount of backlash.

Due to the THAAD restrictions, public exports have decreased significantly.

There were quite a few politicians who believed that if the technology protection law were passed, relations with China would worsen further.

But in the end, he could not go against public sentiment.

Before the THAAD ban, anti-Chinese public opinion was only 37%.

However, starting in 2017 when the THAAD ban began in earnest, it exceeded 60%, and anti-Chinese public opinion surpassed 65% due to the Top Tech technology leak incident.

“It must have been burdensome to continue opposing the bill, as it was something that 65% of the people wanted.”

“Opposition politicians have changed course from active opposition to silence. Some are still actively opposing, but not enough to turn the tide.”

The amendments to the Technology Protection Act and the Espionage Act were as follows.

The previous cotton bat punishment has now been revised to something like a baseball bat.

The ban on transfers to rival companies, including China, will continue for five years.

Not only is technology leaking prohibited, but anyone who leaks technology will be sentenced to more than 10 years in prison.

Especially in the case of national high-tech industries, they could face sentences of more than 20 years and fines of more than 1 billion won.

“The penalties and fines have definitely gotten stronger.”

“In fact, industrial spies have never been properly punished until now. Hundreds of industrial spies are arrested every year, but not a single one has been sentenced to more than six months in prison. And the fines are only twice the amount of the property gain, so they are not a big burden.”

A financial gain meant money left on the books.

Since I would receive dozens of times more in bribes, the fine wasn’t a big burden.

Moreover, since he would only serve six months in prison and be allowed to go abroad and spend money, it was literally a slap on the wrist.

But now things have changed.

Not only were the sentences increased, but the fines were calculated based on the damages suffered by the company rather than on the financial gain.

“So, it’s not 50 billion won, but 5 trillion won that will be fined.”

“Take the top tech executives for example. Their financial gains are only 50 billion won, but if you estimate the damage to the company, it would be 5 trillion won, so they would have to pay a fine of 5 trillion won. Of course, the possibility of a fine of 5 trillion won is low, but theoretically, it is possible.”

The technology protection law was passed after much difficulty.

But it was difficult to apply it to top tech executives.

The principle of non-retroactivity of law is that a law cannot be applied retroactively to facts prior to its enforcement.

But there are exceptions to everything, and there could be exceptions if there was national consensus.

“Please do your best to ensure that Top Tech is applied to the bill that will be announced this time.”

“We are mobilizing many legal professionals. There is an interpretation that since this is a bill closely related to national security, exceptions may be made.”

“If there is a national will, it is certainly possible. To do so, we must continue to fan the flame.”

“I will fan you hard.”

It was the planning director with a serious expression on his face.

He wanted to show off his skills through this project, and he was more than capable of doing so.

“Oh! And what do you think will happen to the Top Tech whistleblower?”

“Are you talking about Director Yang Jin-tae? Since he faithfully fulfilled his role as an internal whistleblower, I plan to move the prosecution line so that he can receive a lighter sentence.”

In the United States, judicial bargaining was common.

But in Korea, the scope of judicial transactions was limited, even for whistleblowers.

“Yang Jin-tae, how much did that person receive?”

“The confirmed amount alone amounts to 8 billion won. Although he was not the ringleader, Director Yang Jin-tae was the one who actually leaked the information, so he received a considerable amount of compensation.”

“You’ve taken a lot. But please reduce the sentence as much as possible. That way, other whistleblowers won’t come forward.”

I really wanted to strip Director Yang Jin-tae of his clothes.

He was the one who sold Korea’s core technologies to China and exploited them.

But we decided to protect the whistleblower because it could lead to a second or third whistleblower.

“If we proceed with the trial so that a verdict can be reached as quickly as possible, it can be concluded with a sentence of less than 6 months and a fine of about 200 million won.”

“Please protect my children in America.”

“The connection between this incident and Director Yang Jin-tae’s children has already been erased.”

“Well done. Please keep taking care of it.”

“I will do my best to achieve the best results!”

The planning director, after finishing his report, went out.

As soon as the door closed, I called David straight away.

[Boss! I see you’re calling at this hour, so I guess you have something else to ask me to do?]

“I’ll send you some information on Chinese industrial spies operating in the United States. Can you use the American political establishment to blow it up?”

[If it’s a source like that, politicians will rush in even without lobbying. You can blow it up like a bomb by using powerful politicians, whether they’re Democrats or Republicans.]

Chinese industrial espionage was not limited to South Korea.

There were more active people in the United States, which possessed many more advanced technologies than Korea.

And Director Cheon Min-jeong obtained a list of such industrial spies.

A portion of the list of industrial spies spread around the world, including in Korea and the United States, was passed on to us through a backdoor program planted in a Chinese company.

“Only when industrial espionage incidents surface in Korea and the U.S. at the same time can we put strong pressure on China.”

[If you just hand me the data, I can make sure that all media outlets will report on the industrial espionage story as their main story within this week.]

“And I’ll also give you a list of industrial spies hiding in Germany and Japan. The more countries that participate, the greater the effect, right?”

[Japan will probably do whatever it wants because its relationship with China is not that good. But Germany is a bit of a problem. The relationship between Germany and China is quite good.]

China and Germany had a lot of exchanges.

Moreover, the current German Chancellor was showing a pro-China stance.

They also jointly carry out new projects worth over several trillion won every year.

“The current German Chancellor has been Chancellor for 12 years?”

[The Prime Minister’s term will last until 2021, so he will serve as Prime Minister for a total of 16 years.]

“Didn’t you announce that you would retire at the end of this term?”

[He did announce his retirement from politics in October, but it’s hard to be certain because politicians often change their words.]

“You have to make it so that they have no choice but to keep their word. Try to put pressure on them by packaging it well as saying that they are pushing the German 5G telecommunications business to Chinese companies under pressure from the Chinese government.”

The United States was targeting Chinese telecommunications companies and attacking them.

It was an attack on a Chinese telecommunications company using a backdoor to steal confidential information.

If Germany’s 5G communications were to be based on Chinese equipment, the German people would not be able to fully support their chancellor.

[There is no evidence, but since the German and Chinese governments are on such good terms, it seems like they could package it plausibly.]

“It is the last term, so politicians aiming to become the next prime minister will be able to attack without any burden.”

[With the public support exceeding 60%, isn’t that a bit burdensome?]

“Originally, the next runner had to step on the current power to gain support.”

A prime minister with four years left in his term.

Moreover, he was a prime minister who had a high approval rating of over 60%.

But times had changed due to the war for hegemony, and now it was time for a new wind to blow.

[We will shake up the entire EU together with Germany. There are many countries that do not like Germany leading the EU.]

“Please do so. And soon, the Korean government will also begin to put serious pressure on China. Please provide support fire so that the Korean government does not become a cannon fodder.”

[Don’t worry about that. The US will take the lead, and Japan and the EU will follow. We’ll design it so that the bullets won’t reach Korea.]

The moment they came to the forefront, they were bound to be bombarded.

But if you’re positioned at the rear, you can have a conversation.

In order to benefit from dialogue and negotiation, it was necessary to create a structure that would prevent China from targeting Korea.

[And the acquisition of Viterra is also progressing. I think we will be able to acquire Viterra at a very reasonable price.]

“Please try to sign the contract within this year.”

After protecting technology, preparations for a food crisis followed.

Only by preparing for the coming food crisis from now on can the influence of Taewoo Group and Korea become stronger.