CH453 | Heir

North Korea’s hacking attempts still hadn’t stopped.

In the midst of this situation, I attended a dinner with President Choi Jae-seok.
Even there, the discussion inevitably turned to North Korea.

“North Korea’s missile provocations continue without pause. To revive the Korean economy, attracting foreign currency is essential, isn’t it? But with North Korea acting aggressively, foreign investment has become difficult. Even the stock prices of Korean companies remain stagnant.”

“Since the suspension of the Kaesong Industrial Complex, their missile provocations have persisted.”

The Kaesong Industrial Complex had once been a symbol of reconciliation.
However, it was shut down after it was revealed that the funds were being funneled into North Korea’s nuclear and missile development programs.

Since then, North Korea has staged military shows of force, launching missiles almost monthly.

“I’ve heard the United States is treating this matter with great seriousness.”

“I was contacted as well. The U.S. government said it would take the lead in preventing further military provocations. But do you think that’s actually feasible?”

Before my return, it had indeed been realized.
There had been a meeting between President Trump and the leaders of South and North Korea.

Suddenly, a mood of reconciliation spread. At that time, one could almost believe the relationship between North and South Korea would truly improve.

Not only the media but also ordinary citizens believed a new era of peace was on the horizon.

North Korea even announced a complete halt to its nuclear weapons program, and the long-stalled inter-Korean summit was finally held.

But it was only temporary.
In the end, North Korea did not change. To resolve its internal issues, it resumed its military provocations.

“For now, I will work through the United States to find a way to resolve the North Korean issue.”

“I want to provide humanitarian aid to North Korea, but the situation makes that impossible. The funds would only be diverted to weapons development. Yet, if we don’t provide aid, they resort to military shows of force like this. It’s truly a difficult dilemma.”

Yet, if we don’t provide aid, they resort to military shows of force like this. It’s truly a difficult dilemma.”

President Choi Jae-seok fell into deep contemplation.
But this wasn’t an issue we could resolve on our own.

If there was any consolation, it was that—apart from the North Korean problem—South Korea was growing at a remarkable pace.

“It almost feels like this is happening because Korea’s economy is improving,” he said.

“It’s thanks to the efforts of many companies, including Taewoo Group. This year, we’re expecting GDP growth of over 8%.”

South Korea’s GDP had risen to ninth place globally.
Compared to its eleventh-place ranking before my return, that was a leap of two full spots.

I wasn’t trying to boast, but Taewoo Group’s contribution was significant.
It accounted for about 10% of South Korea’s GDP, enabling the economy to grow far beyond what it had been in the previous timeline.

“Once the Semiconductor City is completed, we expect many indicators to rise even higher.”

“Yet the employment crisis still isn’t resolved. The youth unemployment rate remains a serious problem. I hope Taewoo Group can create even more jobs.”

President Choi spoke with genuine concern about employment.
Before my return, the unemployment rate had been high enough to hit double digits.

“With Semiconductor City and the growth of the shipping industry, we should be able to create far more jobs. But isn’t the quality of those jobs even more important than their quantity?”

“Even though the minimum wage has risen, who wants to work for minimum wage? Especially college graduates—this will never satisfy them.”

“I’ll work on creating more high-quality jobs in sectors like semiconductors and finance.”

We discussed a range of issues.
Had it been another president, such a frank conversation would’ve been difficult.
But because we had long been comrades, this kind of meeting was possible.

***

A few days later.

The Planning Director and Director Cheon Min-jung arrived almost at the same time to see me.

“Chairman, North Korea has attempted another missile provocation.”

“There have been large-scale hacking attempts against South Korean bitcoin exchanges. This has also been confirmed as North Korean activity.”

It was North Korea again.

If this had been the act of another country or a private group, we might have responded in kind. But there wasn’t any clear solution, and that made the situation all the more frustrating.

“We can’t just sit idly by. We need to shake things up inside North Korea hard.”

“In what way, sir?”

“The fewer people who know about this, the better. Director, you only need to know that I’m going to do something.”

I left them where they were and stood up.

Then I drove myself to Captain Kang’s office.

“Chairman! Good timing. The self-driving taxi business issue should be resolved soon. We’ve managed to reach a tentative understanding with the taxi union.”

“You’ve done well. But today I’m not coming about that problem — I need to discuss something else.”

“Has someone else offended you, Chairman? I’ll go handle them right now and make an example!”

Maybe my expression looked severe.

Captain Kang instantly went into combat mode and was about to bolt out the door.

“They keep provoking me from North Korea.”

“Pardon?”

“You heard me right. From a massive bitcoin hacking attempt to missile provocations, North Korea keeps doing things that harm Taewoo Group.”

“How am I supposed to deal with North Korea…?”

Captain Kang sat back down.

Having served in the military, he knew North Korea better than most. He also understood, more than most, how difficult it would be to take on North Korea directly.

“Of course we’re not going to take on the whole of North Korea. I just want to create one small variable,” he said.

“Can you create a variable without going into North Korea directly? Do you mean we need infiltration agents? I do have a few employees who used to be infiltration operatives.”

Infiltration operatives — soldiers who slipped into North Korea to carry out missions — men who had to risk their lives operating deep inside enemy territory.

“It’s not as hard as full-scale infiltration, but it could still be quite dangerous. Do you have people who can be assigned to something like that? Skill matters, but they must also be people we can trust.”

“How many do you need? I have about thirty capable men I can trust completely. They’re comrades I’d trust with my life.”

Captain Kang thumped his chest as he spoke, using the word “comrades” to emphasize how much he relied on them. Even so, I didn’t trust people on words alone.

“Can you give me their names? I’ll review them and select who to put on the operation.”

“I’ll prepare the list right away. Give me five minutes.”

Captain Kang ran to a bookshelf, pulled out the personnel roster, and pointed to the first thirty names on the list.

“These are the people I trust. Some are executives at taxi companies; some run training at security firms.”

“Let me take a look.”

I studied the photos on the roster closely to check details. Since these were men Captain Kang trusted, there were no glaring problems — but there were minor issues. A few carried things in their back pockets, and some had complicated romantic lives. After excluding those with such distractions, the list narrowed to about ten people I could fully trust.

“I plan to deploy these ten people for this operation.”

“May I know what kind of operation this is?”

“Think of it as a covert escort mission. We’ll be protecting someone who was once known as North Korea’s Number Two.”

“You mean the eldest son of the Kim family who was pushed out of the succession line and became a private citizen?”

What kind of variable could possibly unnerve a regime like that?
A dictator fears losing power above all else, and so rivals are often erased through purges. It had been the same before I returned. The man once called Number Two lived as a private citizen, but he’d been marked for elimination and assassinated. I remembered that the assassination was scheduled for this year.

“The CIA will be watching Number Two,” I said.

“Not only the U.S.,” Captain Kang replied. “From what I learned in the military, China is watching closely, too. He’s known to have deep ties with the Chinese government.”

“I’ve got intel that someone is targeting him while trying to avoid the attention of both the U.S. and China.”

“You mean—are they planning an assassination?” Captain Kang swallowed hard. A former soldier now turned businessman, the word “assassination” visibly rattled him.

“It’s highly likely. We want our people to pose as tourists and intervene if an attempt is made.”

“That would be extremely dangerous.”

“Strangely, it might be less risky than you think. If a trained professional got involved, the CIA or Chinese intelligence would notice right away. So whoever plans to strike will likely use people who won’t arouse suspicion.”

“You mean using children, women, or the elderly to carry out the attempt?”

In fact, two young women had already carried out an assassination attempt. Had a burly man approached, suspicion might have been raised. But two young women approaching someone rarely drew attention.

“Just act like tourists on a pleasant trip. No need for strange behavior — just follow the same routes as Number Two.”

“So if a suspicious person approaches him, we’ll step in as if it’s an act of chivalry?”

“Exactly. And I won’t punish anyone if the operation fails. The most important thing is the safety of our people. If they judge it too dangerous, they should come back.”

It wasn’t a grand plan.

We weren’t trying to topple the North Korean system or use Number Two as a pawn for some larger scheme. It was merely retaliation—an act of reprisal against North Korea for its ongoing attacks on Taewoo Group.

So there was no reason to put our people’s lives unnecessarily at risk. If this operation failed, we’d simply look for another variable and move on.

“I’ll take part in the operation myself.”

“You don’t have to be the one to move, Captain Kang. And who would run the company while you’re gone?”

Captain Kang had built his businesses up to the level of a mid-sized company—rental cars, taxis, PC bangs, and more. By revenue, he was effectively the CEO of a solid firm.

“If I’m the one involved, it’ll avoid suspicion. People will believe that my bodyguards detected danger and acted to protect me.”

“Do it, then. Taewoo Hospital will send medical volunteers to the operation site. They’ll be there to handle any emergency. The medical staff know nothing about the mission—they’ll think it’s purely a medical outreach.”

“Understood. If anything critical happens, I’ll look for Taewoo Hospital’s medical team.”

The planned method for assassinating Number Two had been poison. That was why we planned to insert Taewoo Hospital’s medical staff—to be able to provide antidotes or countermeasures if needed.

“Are you sure you want to go yourself, Captain? I don’t want to put you in harm’s way.”

“I want to get back in the field. Lately it’s felt like I’m just going through the motions. Being part of an operation like this reminds me I’m alive.”

I couldn’t stop him. His eyes were not just bright—they were practically shining.