The Blue House Bunker.
Walking along the trail, Kim Sang-cheol looked toward Namsan with a bitter expression.
An unbelievable thing had happened... and yet he did not know how to respond.
His silent walk continued until the Prime Minister and diplomatic aides arrived. Regrettably, the faces of the foreign affairs officials were grim.
“What happened?”
The Prime Minister answered the President’s question.
“...The release issue was settled today. Our detained nationals are returning on a voluntary departure basis. We have kept a chartered flight on standby, so they should be returning to Korea by now.”
Kim Sang-cheol turned his gaze.
“Minister of Foreign Affairs.”
“Yes, Mr. President.”
“Why did this happen?”
“...It was a combination of our companies’ complacent responses and various complicated circumstances.”
“I did not ask to hear platitudes. Why on earth did America do this?”
The aides all turned ashen.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs barely opened his mouth.
“...It must be a trade issue. The tariff negotiations are not going as desired, so it appears the White House sent a roundabout warning.”
“What I want to ask is whether that makes any sense.”
“...”
“Taking hostages and demanding ransom is what the Taliban does. No, these days even the Taliban does not do such things. And yet how could America do this?”
On the day of the Georgia detention incident, Kim Sang-cheol had been unable to contain his anger and flipped his desk.
Enraged, he had immediately tried to summon the U.S. Ambassador to lodge a strong protest, but his aides had desperately talked him out of it, and he could not have his way.
“If our people have boarded the chartered flight, then I have no reason to hesitate any longer.”
“...”
“What do you think, Minister of Foreign Affairs? I would like to summon the U.S. Ambassador even now and express my regret over this matter.”
“Mr. President, forgive my rudeness... but we have only just barely held back once.”
“Once?”
“If we are entering a war of attrition with America, even greater hardships lie ahead; we cannot collapse over just this one incident. Right now, it is important not to create any sparks with America.”
The Foreign Minister bowed his head.
“If you absolutely must protest, then please berate me at the National Assembly instead. If ruling party lawmakers reprimand me, everything we want to say will be conveyed to the White House.”
“The problem is that he cannot understand things when spoken to so indirectly.”
“Mr. President...”
“At any rate, I understand the Foreign Ministry’s position. Please do everything possible for the safe return of our people. I too will not rashly fan the flames with America.”
Having said that, the President dismissed his aides.
Everyone left, and only the Prime Minister remained.
“Prime Minister, how are the negotiations with America progressing?”
“I am ashamed to say, but the U.S. Department of Commerce remains hard-line as ever. Lutnick keeps threatening our trade team to stamp their seal.”
“Does that man truly think these are reasonable conditions?”
“It seems he believes it will work on us because it worked on Japan and Europe.”
There were differences in the details, but at any rate, Japan and Europe had signed.
Japan’s signature was practically an unconditional surrender, while Europe, in typical European fashion, had left itself something of an exit.
Donald’s sword dance seemed fair on the surface yet was generous toward Europe. The higher a nation’s military and economic dependence on America, the harsher his tariffs became.
After a long silence, the President spoke again.
“So you are saying we should open the agricultural market?”
The Prime Minister tensed. The political report he had submitted a week ago had been on a very sensitive topic.
“Yes. It is one of several issues America has raised, so I believe it would be better for us to open the market proactively.”
“Do you think the tariff negotiations will go our way just because we concede on that one thing?”
“Perhaps not everything, but we should be able to secure exceptions for certain products. Perhaps even lower automobile tariffs.”
“That would create its own problems. Do you think the farmers will sit idle if we open the rice market just to sell cars?”
The Prime Minister smiled bitterly.
He knew all too well how ugly it would get... especially the issue of importing thirty-month-old cattle. Given the mad cow disease concerns, it was a decision that a progressive administration could absolutely never make.
“We’ll have to... appease the backlash to some extent.”
The Prime Minister answered with difficulty.
“Mr. President. We can endure for now, but if this turns into a war of attrition, it will eventually be disadvantageous for Korea. Our dependence on America is far greater, and our weight class is far below America’s. Especially if our competitor Japan faces lower tariffs than we do, it goes without saying what will happen in the American market.”
“...”
“And once those side effects begin, public sentiment is impossible to predict. Even those who support the government now will be the first to criticize us if growth rates falter and exports to America fall.”
The Prime Minister was, in fact, pessimistic about the future. Japan and Europe, both weightier than Korea, had already knelt. He felt this matter would end with America getting what it wanted, one way or another.
“If we reach an agreement later, the conservative media will attack us. They’ll ask why we had to go and get on America’s bad side to stamp a seal we were going to stamp anyway.”
“...”
“Therefore, it would be better to devise an exit strategy starting now. We must open all agricultural markets, including permits for corporate farming and approval for cultured meat sales. If we cannot block American beef and rice, we must strengthen our own competitiveness.”
The President furrowed his brow and set down the documents.
“But you see, if we open the agricultural market, the progressive media will tear me apart. Yet the conservatives won’t take my side either. The progressives could split in two again; how can I make such a decision?”
The President’s face was full of worry.
“There will be by-elections in five districts six months from now, yes? And I understand nomination applicants already exceed five hundred. I know this game all too well. Those who fail to secure nominations will all be lying in wait to stab me in the back. They will definitely make an issue of this.”
“Forgive me, but I am already taking measures against that.”
“...What?”
“If we can’t give them official posts, we have to give them money. I am preparing ample gifts to soothe their hurt feelings.”
“Prime Minister, where on earth are you farming cabbages again...”
“It is clean money with no strings attached. It will be sufficient to placate those who fail to get nominations.”
Lee Chan-ho lowered his voice and added.
“Mr. President, we need people right now. The mood within the party has been strange lately.”
“The mood within the party?”
“Since the leadership election, more and more people have been trying to play their own politics. Some are even openly campaigning for the presidency.”
Kim Sang-cheol smiled bitterly.
“The party leader?”
“Yes. He dumped an issue he should have taken the blame for onto the floor leader. However you look at it, it was highly suspicious.”
Currently, the Minguk Party was in conflict with the opposition over whether to hold the former president’s funeral for three days or four.
To borrow the Minguk Party leader’s expression, the floor leader had reached an agreement with the opposition without consulting him at all.
It was hard to see how that was even possible, but at any rate, supporters consoled the party leader and painted the floor leader as a villain.
By coincidence, on the very day the party leader and floor leader fought, a certain progressive media outlet blew the whistle on hiring corruption allegations against the floor leader.
Whatever the case, it was an issue that should have been settled among party members, yet some media outlet had suddenly started attacking him.
Thus came the assessment that the party leader and floor leader had crossed a point of no return, and many media outlets suspected factional conflict.
“Mr. President, as the by-elections draw near, intra-party conflict over personnel matters will intensify. So it is better to prepare now.”
“...”
“If we resolve the agricultural issue, we can put necessary people in positions and placate less necessary ones with money. Please make the decision.”
Kim Sang-cheol, who had been reluctant throughout, suddenly changed his expression when talk of “party leadership” arose.
Kim Sang-cheol was someone who had clawed his way up through this world. When it came to power, he possessed instincts no less sharp than those of Taejong Yi Bang-won.
“In the end, the party’s cooperation is what is most important. The party’s cooperation...”
After a long moment of thought, he opened his mouth.
“Prime Minister, I am not saying this just to look after my own people. But if it is an issue where I can look after my own people, then so be it. I’ll try to persuade the public.”
“If you do...?”
“We inherited the agreement with Japan too, so what issue could we possibly call that? Let’s do it. In return, please recommend the people I absolutely need for the by-elections.”
*
Next news.
As negotiations with America have hit rough waters and concerns from various circles grow, a sensitive topic was brought up at yesterday’s Cabinet meeting.
For the first time at an open Cabinet meeting, the issue of rice and beef was put on the chopping block.
That day, the Minister of Agriculture opened by stating, “America’s demands are concentrated on agricultural and livestock products,” adding that “multifaceted consideration is needed not only for trade issues but also for domestic prices.” This was practically a statement hinting at opening the rice and beef markets.
But the President’s remarks on the matter were unusual.
President Kim Sang-cheol said at the meeting, “This is not something that can be decided rashly from a food security perspective,” but also ordered, “It is an issue we cannot keep closed forever, so let all sectors think seriously about it.”
Accordingly, many experts interpreted this as “the Blue House is considering opening the rice market.”
Looking at recent developments, the experts’ interpretation is gaining weight.
Today, following the meeting, the Minister of Agriculture visited a cultured meat research team located in Daejeon.
The Ministry of Agriculture visited HBF, the nation’s only publicly traded cultured meat company, listened to the technical team’s explanations, and heard about market potential.
The research team showed great confidence at this unexpected attention.
Park Hee-bong, the company CEO and head of research, urged the Ministry of Agriculture during the meeting to permit retail sales, stating, “Our cultured meat team recently obtained approval from the notoriously strict FDA, so there are no safety issues,” and “Once retail sales are permitted, we plan to focus on unit cost innovation.”
That day, Ministry of Agriculture officials avoided giving an immediate answer but displayed behavior that raised many questions by personally tasting cultured meat steaks.
With the government’s suddenly changed course, farmers and livestock producers nationwide held fierce protest rallies.
The Farmers’ Association demanded the resignation of the Minister of Agriculture, who first mentioned opening the rice market, and strongly opposed, saying, “Food market opening and cultured meat approval are impossible.”
They also showed strong opposition to permits for corporate farming.
The association threatened, “The government must guarantee the livelihoods of farming households as well as food security,” warning, “If this market is opened, we will fight to the death.”
However, since the Blue House, which had previously stated clear positions on every matter, has been keeping silent recently, experts are speculating that “the ministers’ remarks are the President’s true feelings.”
Details to follow...