The vice president hesitated for a long while, his face troubled.
Korea had sufficient technological capability. It was borrowing core technology from Westinghouse, but even so, if it set its mind to it, it could build enough nuclear power plants to supply electricity within five years.
But he knew very well how difficult it was to set one’s mind to that.
Building additional nuclear plants meant going against public sentiment among progressives. It meant clashing with the previous administration, their half-sibling in politics. It meant no help whatsoever for the administration’s approval rating. It meant no help whatsoever at the ballot box.
“With all due respect, Team Leader... the premise itself is impossible, so why are you asking me this?”
“I don’t know anything about factional logic. All I know is that Korea will need more energy in the future, and that the coal power we have now must also be replaced with renewable energy.”
“...”
“Vice President, please set aside external factors and give me only your opinion as an expert. Do we need more nuclear power plants?”
He stared into my eyes for a moment, then spoke as if in resignation.
“Yes. We do.”
“How many?”
“I would say the more, the better. The more we have, the better.”
He spoke as though he had made up his mind.
“Even China, where renewables account for nearly fifty percent, is currently building nuclear plants with its eyes blazing. They’ve concluded that even now, it’s not enough when considering the electricity demand to come. And as an industry expert, I... expect China’s share of nuclear power to rise the most.”
His voice gradually grew louder.
“Of course, solar and wind are sustainable energy sources. They pose almost no safety risks, and they produce no waste. However. These energy sources all carry a fundamental risk.”
“Meteorological risk?”
“Yes. Since they have to depend one hundred percent on the weather, their supply is always uncertain. If it suddenly rains in the desert, or the wind suddenly dies down along the coast, it immediately leads to supply instability.”
In truth, the reason major countries could not expand solar and wind more aggressively was this fundamental instability in supply.
Generation output might have been good last year, but no one knew how it would be this year, much less next year. How could a country entrust its energy security to sources whose production was so inconsistent?
“Nuclear power plants are different. Of course, it’s true that a major accident would cause enormous problems, but in terms of supply stability, solar and wind can’t compare.”
But nuclear power was different.
There was no room for a variable like the climate to interfere, and output was always steady. Call it the lesser evil rather than the worst, but with humanity’s existing technology, nuclear power was the only thing that produced steadily like oil while emitting no carbon.
“China, the world leader in renewables, is also desperate to build more nuclear plants. When you look at supply stability, the global community absolutely cannot give up nuclear power.”
“I see. But how should we persuade the public regarding the safety concerns unique to nuclear power plants?”
“To be honest, even safety has lost much of its meaning now. China is currently building around fifty nuclear reactors in Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang, Liaoning, and Jiangsu alone. From our position, effectively sharing the West Sea with them, are we really safe just because we alone don’t use them...? I don’t think so.”
I smiled bitterly.
I had known it already, but having an expert confirm it so bluntly left a bitter taste in my mouth. There was no safe place left in Korean waters now. But how was I supposed to make the public understand this obvious fact... no, how was I supposed to persuade the Blue House to make the public understand it?
After thinking for a long while, I opened my mouth.
“Vice President, then if an order comes down from the Blue House, can we build additional plants?”
After hesitating briefly, he answered confidently.
“Yes, it’s possible. As long as the order comes down, we will take responsibility for site selection, persuading residents, compensation plans, and all related matters.”
Then, despite his earlier confidence, his voice suddenly shrank.
“But will such an order really come down? The current ruling camp seems willing to go only as far as restarting nuclear plants, while drawing the line at additional construction.”
“I’ll handle government relations as best I can. Since you say the technical capability is sufficient, that should be a great help in persuading the relevant parties.”
“Then...”
“I understand cooperation from private companies is essential for constructing nuclear plants. I’ll wrap this matter up within a month, so please focus only on the related work, Vice President.”
I spoke as though it were certain, but in truth, I couldn’t guarantee this either.
Should we raise electricity rates even higher? Raise them more, then threaten the public that we’ll keep raising them unless we build nuclear plants? In fact, if we wanted to maintain carbon neutrality without building nuclear plants, that would be the only way.
“...”
I didn’t know. If we did that, the president might get impeached again.
As I turned to leave, my frustration made me stop in front of the door.
“Vice President... as an expert, are there no other alternatives? Something like reducing radioactive half-life to one-millionth of what it is, or dumping contaminated water into space, or launching solar panels beyond the atmosphere so they aren’t affected by weather. Of course, it wouldn’t be as easy as it sounds, but if such technology were developed, it would practically be infinite power. Aren’t scientists around the world developing technologies like that?”
The vice president turned deathly pale.
“...Pardon?”
Damn it, so it really wasn’t possible?
Was this why humanities people shouldn’t interfere in what science people did?
*
[The boundless success of the Kim Sangcheol administration! I, Park Taebong, will help bear that cross!]
[I will run again! Lee Gangsu, who has devoted himself to the party for twenty years!]
[Change over stability! In this by-election, choose young blood Han Yeongmin!]
[Returned from prison! Smash the vested interests of the prosecution! Oh Yeonggyu!]
D-100, three months before the by-election.
With three months left until the by-election and the party’s primary race beginning, Lee Chanho could not sleep soundly for even a single day.
The easier the election, the fiercer the primary.
With the opposition in ruins, the election was expected to be easier than ever, but that soon led to civil war within the party.
In truth, the fiercest personnel vetting in the Republic of Korea was none other than the primary. Most candidate scandals were exposed not by the opposing party, but by members of the same party.
The once-quiet factions within the party gradually began to reveal their outlines, and rivals in each district began sending petitions against one another. With this level of conflict, it was unclear whether the party would even be able to mend itself afterward.
“...”
Lee Chanho sighed as he looked over the list of nominations.
As in all elections, when the ruling party held an election, the Blue House’s influence was reflected with overwhelming force. Choosing seven people meant turning the rest into enemies. Having watched for the past twenty years just how terrifyingly those who failed to receive nominations could turn to the dark side, he could already picture what lay ahead.
Knock, knock.
As he was organizing the list, the person he had arranged to meet entered the prime minister’s office.
“Have you been well, sir? It’s been a long time, Prime Minister!”
“It certainly has, Sejun. You look especially energetic today.”
“I could barely sleep, thinking I’d finally get to see you again, Prime Minister. Heh heh.”
Lee Chanho smiled bitterly.
“Must be nice. I couldn’t sleep either, but for a different reason.”
“...Is it because of the by-election?”
“Yes. It already feels ominous. There are a truckload of bastards who’ll stab me in the back if they fail to get nominated. At the start of the administration, we already handed out all the chairman positions at public corporations, so there aren’t many posts left to give... What am I supposed to do?”
A president’s leadership usually ends with his final personnel appointments.
Even if someone fails to become a minister, receive a nomination, or be made chairman of a public corporation early in an administration, many people endure it. There are still positions left, after all.
But once the president’s final appointments are over, all the ones who endured until then rise up at once... It is nothing less than the beginning of true lame-duck status.
“Still, doesn’t a great deal of authority remain? After the by-election, there’s the general election in another three years.”
“We won’t have the appointment power for that general election. All power will shift to the successor.”
“Oh dear.”
“That’s why I’m so terribly worried. How am I to overcome these turbulent times?”
The sticky look in his eyes said everything. He needed an enormous amount of campaign funds.
“Prime Minister. In that case, may I be of some help?”
“No, well, that wasn’t what I meant... Can you help me, Sejun?”
“If it allows you to devote yourself to state affairs, Prime Minister, I should help with anything.”
“You really are a fine man. Reliable, handsome, good at dealing with people. Hm? In all my years in politics, I’ve never seen someone who doesn’t covet positions and simply helps in silence like you.”
Lee Chanho’s mood improved at once.
Recently, his Singapore account had run dry, and his worries had been anything but small. With the governing funds gone, how was he to maintain leadership?
But sincerity moves heaven! Fortunately, it seemed he had found the answer today. For the first time in a while, he felt he might be able to sleep with his legs stretched out.
“You flatter me. Prime Minister, if there is an amount you need, please tell me without holding back. I’ll see what I can arrange.”
“Is that so? Then would this amount perhaps be possible?”
Lee Chanho carefully took out a notebook and showed him the figure.
“Mm...”
But the reaction was not very encouraging.
“What is it, Sejun?”
“The amount is larger than I expected. I didn’t realize it would be on this scale.”
“...There are various circumstances. With the opening of the agricultural market and the increase in electricity rates, the Honam and capital region votes have all fallen away. If we’re going to soothe the lawmakers in those districts, we need a sizable carrot too.”
“I see.”
Lee Chanho swallowed dryly.
“Is this amount impossible?”
“It would be difficult. But Prime Minister, what number am I?”
“Hm?”
“Who else have you made this offer to besides me? Do you perhaps need an even larger amount, and this is only part of it?”
Lee Chanho waved his hands in denial.
“What nonsense. These days, in politics, I trust only one person. A sucker who supports me without expecting anything in return—no, an ally like you is the only one I have.”
“Really?”
“Of course. If I asked anyone else for something like this, I’d have to repay them with a post or give their company special favors, so who would I rely on? This money is everything, and you’re the first person I’ve brought it up to.”
A brief, heavy silence settled over the conference room.
“In that case... I’ll see what I can arrange.”
“R-really?”
“Yes. The deadline is before the primary ends, correct?”
“The timing doesn’t matter. You can even give it to me as a promissory note. You’ve always been someone I can trust, haven’t you?”
Lee Chanho responded with a face of great relief. With such a vast governing fund, even those who failed in the primary could remain his friends.
“There is just one thing I would like to ask of you as well.”
“A request? What is it?”
“Mm... This is not actually a matter that should be approached through factional logic. It is something Korea naturally needs. In fact, not only Korea, but other major countries as well cannot avoid doing this.”
“Why are you hesitating so unlike yourself? What is it, then? If it is truly for the country, I can do anything.”
“Then, Prime Minister... we must build additional nuclear power plants.”
Lee Chanho froze as if he had seen Medusa’s face.
“We have no other choice.”