“Whew...”
Nam Sang-gi, who had come to the prime minister’s residence, could hardly calm his excitement, his hands trembling.
KD Techwin, Korea’s top defense company, was also counted among the leading defense contractors globally. It had seized 50 percent of the global market share with its proprietary self-propelled artillery technology, and boasted excellent cost-effectiveness in all manner of guns, shells, vehicles, and more.
It was no exaggeration to say it had achieved everything that could be achieved on land.
“...”
But once one left land, the situation was different.
For a country that was practically an island, we were perversely vulnerable at sea. Beyond the far edge of the East Sea, the Japanese fleet, boasting the world’s second-strongest naval power, threatened us; beyond the southern sea, the Chinese fleet, pushing even naval power with human-wave tactics, loomed over us.
“...”
Realistically, however, it was too much for Korea to build up its navy and air force.
Our main enemy, the puppet forces, had constantly carried out provocations along the border, threatening a communist reunification. In truth, they seemed to have half given up by now, but in any case, if the North Korean puppets invaded South Korea, their only route was overland.
For this reason, Korea’s national defense was focused solely on firepower, to the point that it was represented by the nickname “Artillery Ministry.”
And so Nam Sang-gi had wanted to develop Korea’s naval and air force technologies, but his client, the Korean government, absolutely never placed orders in those fields. Korea’s defense plan was to build ten tanks with the money it would take to build one warship.
“Good evening, Prime Minister. I’m Chairman Nam Sang-gi.”
But the news that had suddenly arrived one day had set his blood boiling.
Missiles fired from aircraft and ships... The government had suddenly ordered him to receive the technologies for the Kinzhal and Zircon missiles from Russia.
“It’s been a long time, Chairman Nam. I didn’t call you in too late, did I?”
“Not at all. For something like this, I would have come running even if you contacted me at dawn. But... what exactly is going on?”
“Now, now. Have a seat first. It’s a rather long story.”
Lee Chan-ho said that and turned his eyes to me.
“Say hello, Team Leader Lee. This is Chairman Nam Sang-gi of KD Techwin.”
“Yes, hello.”
“Chairman Nam, this is Team Leader Lee Se-jun of the National Pension Fund.”
“Yes, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Nam Sang-gi and I pretended not to know each other, but we could not fool Lee Chan-ho’s eyes.
“What do you mean, pleasure to meet? You two look closer than I am with him.”
“Haha...”
“Well, that’s not what matters. Chairman Nam, what do you think of the matter the government hinted at?”
Nam Sang-gi gauged the atmosphere.
“Forgive me for asking, but how much of this has been confirmed...”
“All of what the Blue House conveyed. We’ve decided to receive the Kinzhal and Zircon technologies from Russia.”
“...I’m sorry, but that really isn’t ordinary technology. May I ask why they’re agreeing to hand it over?”
“You probably know better than I do, but this Team Leader Lee Se-jun here is quite the fellow. He bought a full 30 billion dollars’ worth of Russian bonds while avoiding Western financial sanctions.”
I added quietly.
“It wasn’t me who bought them, but the entrusted firm...”
“See? Very meticulous, isn’t he?”
“...”
“In any case, no matter how I look at it, those bonds he bought aren’t money we can receive in cash. So we decided to compromise through a technology transfer.”
“...I see. Then this is a second Bulgom Project.”
“Yes. The experience of getting ripped off once back then has proven useful like this. Of course, even so, this is a negotiation where the tail is bigger than the dog.”
After hearing the circumstances, Nam Sang-gi finally wore a look of understanding.
In truth, 30 billion dollars was equivalent to KD Techwin’s market capitalization. It was as if we had handed Russia an entire domestic defense company, so the Kinzhal and Zircon were by no means excessive.
“Chairman Nam, there’s something I’d like to ask as well.”
“Yes, please ask anything.”
“If we receive the technology transfer from Russia, when can our military begin deploying and operating it in actual service? The President specifically asked me to ask you.”
“It won’t take that long. We lacked hypersonic technology, not integration technology. If things go quickly, it should be possible within this year.”
“Then, with the missiles we receive, can we make performance improvements on our own?”
Nam Sang-gi answered with a stiff expression.
“In fact, the moment we heard about this, a fierce debate broke out among our researchers.”
“Did you reach a conclusion?”
“Yes. To be blunt, for now, we still cannot catch up to North Korea’s speed. But this is where we begin. Korea’s current Hycore missile has barely surpassed Mach 6, but once we receive this technology transfer, we’ll jump to double digits in one stroke. According to our own calculations, we estimate we’ll surpass North Korean technology within five years.”
The Hycore missile, whose development had begun in 2020, had taken a full five years to reach Mach 6. To upgrade that level of technology twofold in just a few months—Chairman Nam’s face still had not lost its excitement.
But there was still a long way to go.
To overtake North Korean missiles that had gone beyond double digits and reached Mach 20, ours had to be twice as fast as they were now.
“Prime Minister. I know it is shameless of me to say this, but the truth is that now, we too need a meaningful space budget. Next year’s R&D...”
After that, Chairman Nam’s appeal for the budget began.
He passionately argued that if the current one-trillion-won-level space budget were doubled, they could catch up to Russia’s Avangard within five years.
“Very well. If you’re requesting it this earnestly, Chairman Nam, how could I ignore it? I’ll make sure to speak to the President about that.”
He turned his head to me.
“Team Leader Lee, do you have anything to say? Strictly speaking, all this technology was prepared with money from the National Pension Fund’s budget.”
“I don’t. I’m not an expert, after all. However...”
“However?”
“Looking at recent global defense trends, it seems the era when missiles will be exported, just like self-propelled artillery, is coming soon. But in truth, our self-propelled artillery didn’t dominate because its functions were overwhelming, but because its price was overwhelming, wasn’t it? Technology is important, of course, but I hope KD Techwin will also do its utmost to innovate on unit costs.”
In truth, in modern warfare, unit cost might be the most important factor.
To intercept an Iranian missile that costs one million won, you need an Iron Dome interceptor that costs ten million won. The reason Russia struggled in the Russo-Ukrainian War despite possessing the world’s best technology was that it did not have the money to mass-produce it.
That was also the secret behind the complete sellout of our K9.
Chairman Nam nodded.
“Understood. With exports within ten years as our goal, our development teams will stake everything on it as well.”
After sending him out like that, Lee Chan-ho pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose and sighed.
“At any rate, whenever I meet businessmen, it’s always the same thing. Money, money, money...”
“Did someone else make the same demand?”
“There isn’t a single one who doesn’t. If I go to Pyeongtaek, they ask for a semiconductor budget; if I go to Namyang, they ask for an autonomous driving budget; if I go to Sacheon, they ask for a Naro rocket budget... I’m getting scared to meet anyone.”
“Then... I suppose I’ve lightened your worries a little, Prime Minister?”
“What?”
“It was a joke. Haha.”
Lee Chan-ho smiled faintly and said,
“I’m only saying this now, but you really have guts. Just what were you thinking when you bought Russian bonds? And 30 billion dollars’ worth, at that. If things had gone by the book, you would have been looking at life imprisonment.”
“I always trust only you, Prime Minister.”
“Good grief. Is this why you got close to me?”
“Of course not. I firmly believed that you were someone who would understand my intentions.”
In truth, that was a lie.
For this day, I had scattered an enormous amount of slush funds and built friendships with influential politicians. There was nothing more reckless than causing trouble without an exit strategy.
“In any case, the results were good, so let’s stop talking about that.”
“Yes.”
“By the way, what happens from here on? With the war all over, is it right to invest more in the defense industry?”
He spoke into empty air, but in truth, he was asking me.
“Prime Minister. The war isn’t over yet. It’s an armistice.”
“What? Then do you think Russia will launch a second invasion?”
“That won’t happen. Russia’s finances are already in ruins, and its dependence on China has grown. Even now, it’s staging armed demonstrations against China to get debt forgiveness. There’s no way China would cooperate with a second invasion.”
“Then why do you say the war isn’t over yet?”
“Because the threat remains. In truth, Europe’s defense spending has been far too low all this time; the current level isn’t overheated. The trend of military expansion will continue from now on.”
In truth, even America suddenly turning into a thug had its reasons if one looked at it carefully.
Even the United States, the strongest country in the world, spent nearly 4 percent of its GDP on defense, while the major European countries had been spending barely 1 percent.
The fact that their defense spending was low meant that the money they “paid tribute” to America was low.
Raising defense spending meant increasing weapons holdings, and most of those weapons were American-made.
So America’s demand for increased defense spending was effectively no different from a demand to buy American weapons. But Europe, fully aware of that situation, had been gritting its teeth and cutting defense expenditures... so from America’s perspective, it had reason to be angry.
But then again, if you followed that logic, talk of nuclear armament would inevitably come up, so America and Europe had lived while cautiously watching each other’s reactions. Donald, however, was not the sort of person who wanted to understand such mutual interests very much.
“Which brings me to this, Prime Minister. Now we need to talk about the reconstruction business too.”
“Reconstruction?”
“Yes. We need to support Ukraine.”
Lee Chan-ho frowned.
“What are you talking about now? We’ve been helping Russia secure war funds all this time.”
“That’s exactly why we should.”
“What?”
“In any case, Kinzhal and Zircon aren’t technologies that can be brought in secretly. Before long, the West will notice our purchase of Russian bonds.”
“I’ve been worrying about that already. How on earth are we supposed to persuade Europe...”
“But if you dig deeply into it, would you say the West didn’t help at all? Problems may arise briefly, but in the end, it’ll fizzle out.”
“Europe aside, what about Ukraine? There must be considerable public resentment on their side. Would they accept our support?”
“Whether it’s Russia or Ukraine, both are desperate for every last coin right now. If we say we’ll help with reconstruction, what reason would they have to refuse?”
Lee Chan-ho thought silently for a moment, then continued.
“Fine, let’s say, for argument’s sake, that we manage to provide support. But is Ukraine worth that much? Russia at least has natural gas or basic science to offer us, but Ukraine is a wasteland. There’s nothing to gain from helping them.”
“That isn’t true. From now on, Ukraine’s border will become Europe’s front line.”
“What?”
“America poured astronomical sums of money into Korea, a country that had nothing to do with it, didn’t it? Europe will stake everything on Ukraine’s reconstruction. We have to help. Right now, the biggest customer for the K9 is Poland.”
Lee Chan-ho, understanding what I meant, asked,
“Then you’re saying Ukraine may soon become the biggest customer for our defense industry?”