[Breaking News - President Kim Sangcheol Begins Korea-U.S. Summit Schedule!]
[Japan, Not the United States? Blue House’s First Overseas Visit: Japanese Prime Minister’s Office!]
[Why Stop in Japan Before Going to America... A Change in the Blue House’s Diplomatic Stance?]
[Japan: “We Sincerely Welcome the Blue House’s Visit; Japan-Korea Relations Must Now Seek the Future”]
[Korea: “Grateful for the Warm Hospitality; Deeply Agree on Redefining Korea-Japan Relations”]
Three days later, President Kim Sangcheol’s Korea-U.S. summit schedule began.
Defying everyone’s expectations, the Blue House chose Japan as the first country on its overseas tour. Considering the hard-line stance he had shown during his opposition party days, it could only be called unprecedented. The Blue House and the Japanese Prime Minister’s Office clasped hands with brighter faces than expected.
The Min-guk Party’s move was unprecedented as well.
Only a few months ago, the Min-guk Party had glared and insisted that Fukushima’s contaminated water would soon devastate the East Sea, but not a single voice of dissent could be found regarding the Blue House’s visit to Japan.
“...”
Resting my chin on my hand, I watched the leaders of both countries shake hands with bright smiles.
If my memory was correct, the comfort women agreement would be settled as of tomorrow. Defying everyone’s expectations, the Blue House announced its intention to uphold it, and the Fukushima issue was no longer brought up.
In truth, what mattered to the public right now was not Japan, where he had merely stopped by for a moment. The “bill” he would receive from the United States was the real report card for this overseas tour.
“...”
But I knew that report card would not be particularly good.
Contrary to the wishes of the old men who waved the Stars and Stripes in Gwanghwamun every morning, America had changed a great deal.
It was no longer the America of June 25... no longer the America that helped with reconstruction... no longer the America that protected democratic figures through all sorts of intelligence channels.
The friend you believed was your best buddy turned out to be a school bully, and now that bastard was handing you 500 won and telling you to buy everything in the school store.
“Watching the news?”
“Ah, Department Head.”
As the breaking news on the Korea-Japan summit was playing, Department Head Oh came into my office. He glanced over the TV once, then shook his head.
“As expected, predicting politics is harder than predicting the economy. A Korea-Japan summit... What do you make of it?”
“What do you mean?”
“The result. A lot of experts are already predicting they’ll uphold the agreement. Do you think this will really provide an exit for Korea-Japan relations?”
“What do you think, Department Head?”
“I’m confused. If you think about that man’s opposition party days, it makes no sense at all, but if not, there’s no particular reason he would have visited Japan...? Still, seeing the leaders meet, it feels like everything was already settled under the table. Is the Blue House really going to uphold it? No... Even if the Blue House made that kind of decision, the backlash within the party wouldn’t be small... If they mishandle it, isn’t this an issue that could split the progressives in two again?”
“You seem to be watching more political news than economic news these days, Department Head. Hehe.”
“You punk, how could I not watch that? In effect, four years of revenue for Korean companies probably depends on the summit a week from now. I have no idea what the hell this is.”
Seeing his miserable expression, I asked with a smile.
“So what’s your conclusion, Department Head?”
“Looking at the various reactions, I think they’ll do it after all. If it weren’t for the Korea-U.S. summit, there’d be no reason to meet Japan. What about you?”
“I think they’ll do it too.”
“Don’t just copy me, you brat.”
“No, I really think some kind of political decision will come out. But apart from that, I don’t think the negotiations with the U.S. will produce much.”
Department Head Oh’s eyebrows twitched.
“...They’ll do everything they need to do, but gain nothing in the negotiations with the U.S.?”
“Yes.”
“Then how do you think it’ll end?”
“I don’t think it’ll be much different from Japan. A zero percent tariff is impossible, and I think they’ll be fleeced for a significant amount of investment funds to the U.S.”
“...Japan got hit with a 15 percent tariff and 550 billion dollars in investment funds to the U.S. Taking economic scale into account, you’re saying we’ll be fleeced for at least 350 billion dollars?”
“Shouldn’t we assume that? Whatever happens, we have to prepare as conservatively as possible...”
Department Head Oh let out a sigh.
“Damn it, this is driving me insane. Those investment funds to the U.S. will definitely touch the pension fund’s assets... No, wait. Isn’t that too mechanical a calculation? Five hundred trillion won is 80 percent of our foreign exchange reserves. No matter how much of a Donald he is, he can’t be that harsh.”
“I think he’s the kind of person who could do worse than that.”
“What?”
I smiled bitterly.
Was the Georgia incident before or after the summit...? Even if I tipped companies off in advance about it, nothing would change, right? Whatever happened, the White House would seize on some similar excuse and come at us with trade pressure.
“The world is really turning into a mess...”
If there was one fortunate thing, it was that after the negotiations with the U.S., the Korean KOSPI held up better than expected. It did not have that great an effect on global stock markets either, not just ours.
The Nasdaq crash had been a better vaccination than expected.
“Anyway, pack your bags. You’ll have to go to the U.S. for a while.”
“The U.S.?”
“An official notice came down from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. They’re giving us one spot in the delegation to the U.S. It’s an important seat. Whatever the circumstances, we have to protect the pension fund’s assets.”
“Why give such an important seat to me...”
I was truly startled. I knew that a pension fund employee would be included in the delegation, but I remembered that someone at least at the office chief level had been selected.
Whether he knew how I felt or not, Department Head Oh was already packing my things.
“Originally, the Director told me to go, but I recommended you.”
“No, why... Isn’t ‘rank’ more important than anything for a position like that?”
“The you I know isn’t the type to care much about rank insignia.”
“...”
“Join the delegation properly and explain our position well. If the investment funds to the U.S. really are at that level... we’re truly bankrupt.”
*
-So. Did you resolve the comfort women issue well with Japan?
On the day of the Korea-U.S. summit, Donald was rude from the very first word, exactly as everyone had expected.
As if to prove he was Epstein’s friend, words considered taboo in diplomatic circles came out without hesitation.
In truth, such matters are never raised directly from the mouths of heads of state. Everything is coordinated under the table, and only matters of principle are exchanged between the leaders. The Blue House had even already publicly resolved this issue with Japan, so there was no way the news had not reached the White House’s ears.
Nevertheless, he brought it up directly, probably thanks to the sexual ethics befitting Epstein’s friend.
It was an era where the abnormal had become normal. This, too, was something we had to adapt to.
“...So this really is happening?”
When the thirty-minute Korea-U.S. summit ended, the Director let out a low sigh and turned off the TV.
With that, the eventful tariff negotiations came to an end. As expected by the public, Korea received the bombshell gift of a 15 percent tariff and a 350-billion-dollar investment package.
“What the hell are we supposed to do with this...”
The Director pressed his fingers to his brow with a deeply troubled face.
They were numbers that made the future look dark just by hearing them. A 15 percent tariff meant placing sandbags on domestic companies, and a 500-trillion-won investment package was money that could not be prepared in the first place.
“Department Head Oh, what happens with that investment package?”
“I don’t think it will be much different from Japan... We’ll have to put up the investment funds within forty days in places designated by the United States, and as for the profits, the U.S. government will take 90 percent.”
“Is that fully confirmed?”
“For now, it’s an overall agreement. The details will come out after the delegations from both sides negotiate. But judging from the atmosphere of today’s summit... it seems difficult for our delegation to withstand the U.S. side’s offensive.”
The Director clicked his tongue bitterly.
The current head of the U.S. side was Commerce Secretary Lutnick, a well-known Donald loyalist. How loyal was he? He had originally lived his whole life as a Democrat, but the moment he saw Donald, he immediately switched parties.
Having become one of his closest aides, he stepped to the front in every major trade negotiation, to the point that people in and out of politics assessed him as the most fervent believer in Donald’s tariff policy.
“...”
Having to negotiate against a guy like that, the result was obvious.
Lutnick would unleash a barrage of attacks again this time and force the Korean delegation to submit. He had already made Japan stamp the papers, so the second time would not be difficult at all.
“If the negotiations end under the same conditions as Japan?”
“Then the next steps are set too. The government won’t be able to avoid touching the pension fund’s assets.”
“Damn it... What kind of places does America want us to invest in? Are they trustworthy?”
“The outline hasn’t come out yet, but... the general assessment is that if they were that trustworthy, why would they invest using another country’s money?”
The Director’s sigh deepened.
Human beings, when given money they do not have to take responsibility for, are creatures capable of spending it anywhere and everywhere.
It goes without saying, but Donald did not seem likely to introduce good investment opportunities to other countries.
If there were investment opportunities like that, he would probably tell Ivanka first.
“What’s the Blue House’s reaction?”
“That’s actually a bit... difficult to understand.”
“Difficult?”
“Yes. It’s already been a week since they returned home, but there’s still no set direction.”
“What does that mean? No, if we’re going to put together a 500-trillion-won investment package, we need to start a gold-collecting campaign tomorrow. Are they seriously planning to use all the pension fund’s assets?”
Department Head Oh shook his head.
“I don’t think that’s it.”
“What?”
“We’ll have to see the delegation negotiations first to know the details, but... judging from the reactions of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it doesn’t seem like they’re calculating on taking our money. Actually, this is just my feeling, but... it seemed like they were preparing for a bit of a long game.”
The Director’s face brightened slightly.
“They’re going to hold out against Donald...? For four years?”
“Not four years. For now, until the midterms. Of course, they won’t do anything to offend the United States, but overall, it felt like ‘some sort of preparation’ was currently underway.”
“That’s a relief... No, but then now our companies’ exports are the problem.”
“Yes. Well, how could they catch two rabbits at once? But nothing has been decided yet, so let’s watch for now.”
The Blue House’s reaction was definitely strange.
Japan, after receiving the bombshell investment package, soon even announced its investment destinations, but the Blue House kept putting off its answer. Because of that, Japan’s tariff had already dropped from 25 percent to 15 percent, making Japanese cars cheaper than Korean ones, while the Blue House still had not given a definite answer.
In truth, if you look only at the debt-to-GDP ratio, we are in better shape than Japan.
We do have a little more stamina to endure.
Are they really going to try taking him on?
“No, then shouldn’t we be even more thoroughly prepared? Is sending just one Lee Sejun to the delegation to the U.S. going to be enough?”
“What do you mean?”
“If the Blue House’s position hasn’t been decided, shouldn’t we explain our position even more firmly? I acknowledge Team Leader Lee’s investment sense, but in matters like this, political sense is more important. Experience and age can never be ignored either. Department Head Oh, this won’t do after all. You go to the U.S. now.”
Department Head Oh smiled bitterly.
“It’s already too late...”
“What’s too late? The delegation to the U.S. left for America yesterday.”
“On the flight over, Team Leader Lee apparently had a fight with the Ministry of Agriculture.”
“W-what?”