The Chaebol Returns To The Presidency 1967 [EN]: Chapter 110

110. Mossad Project

The ceremony began.

The emcee announced,

“To the sacred patriotic martyrs who sacrificed themselves to protect the nation, a moment of silence!”

♬Bbam~pababa~

After the national anthem, the President took the microphone.

“Today, the Republic of Korea possesses a light aircraft carrier, and we are holding a very meaningful second launching ceremony. The name of the aircraft carrier that will firmly protect our maritime territory is the Yi Sun-sin!” [Yi Sun-sin was a famous Korean admiral and war hero.]

Clap clap clap!

The Taegeukgi [Korean flag] was raised, and the military band played cheerfully.

♬Koongjjak koongjjakjja~

Fighter jets painted the sky with tricolor clouds.

Swoosh-

Three destroyers were also on order.

In three years, a new medium-sized aircraft carrier equipped with the latest technology would arrive, positioning us as a leader in Asia.

With our current naval power, including the newly established submarine force, we had already surpassed Japan to become the number one naval power.

The President said to the U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense,

“Now, the Republic of Korea has become a leading power in Asia, both economically and militarily.”

“Indeed, Your Excellency! Congratulations.”

“Therefore, I think it is time to join the UN and adjust our role to match our status.”

“We are already planning to recommend you as a non-permanent member of the Security Council when you join the UN this time.”

“Thank you.”

The pro-Japanese commander of the Asia-Pacific Command’s face hardened.

Japan had been promised a non-permanent membership this year.

However, Japan was being sidelined due to Korea’s economic and military strength.

*

The UN General Assembly.

About 130 countries were gathered for the General Assembly.

The Secretary-General announced the results of the UN General Assembly resolution.

“I declare that Korea has been approved for the non-permanent seat allocated to Asia!”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The UN Security Council consists of 5 permanent members (United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia, and China) and 10 non-permanent members. [Note: Taiwan was replaced by mainland China as a permanent member in 1971.]

The main decisions of the Security Council are made with the approval of 9 or more countries, including all 5 permanent members.

The term of non-permanent members is two years, allocated according to regional distribution: 2 from Asia, 3 from Africa, 2 from Latin America, 1 from Eastern Europe, and 2 from Western Europe and others.

However, the 5 permanent members were the ones who truly held power.

The permanent members had the power to exercise a veto, with no term limits.

It was an immense power that could prevent any decision if even one of the five countries opposed it.

The Secretary-General said,

“From this time, we will expand the Economic and Social Council to 54 countries. We will now proceed with the vote for candidate countries. First candidate country, South Korea!”

It was an overwhelming approval of over 4/5.

Korea joined 20 UN organizations, including the International Court of Justice.

The next most powerful force after the permanent members was money.

The UN was effectively run by contributions from powerful countries.

There were far more poor countries in the world, so the UN’s budget was always insufficient.

The more money you contributed, the greater your influence became.

Korea’s status jumped into the top 10 by contributing oil money to the organizations.

However, the President was not satisfied with this.

Then, an opportunity from heaven presented itself.

*

Taiwan.

The Taiwanese citizens were on edge, awaiting the President’s special address.

They expected him to announce even stricter security measures, as Taiwan had been marginalized by the U.S.-China summit.

At noon, the President finally delivered his special address.

“Martial law will be lifted as of midnight tonight.”

The martial law, declared in 1949 when Chiang Kai-shek retreated to Taiwan, was lifted after 23 years.

The Taiwanese citizens buzzed with excitement.

They had expected stronger measures, but instead, he announced the opposite.

The surprising announcements continued.

“All those imprisoned for anti-government activities will be pardoned at noon tomorrow. In addition, all records of imprisonment on anti-government charges will be expunged. The state will establish appropriate compensation measures for those who have died in connection with politics and compensate them.”

Democratic figures who had been suppressed during the Chiang Kai-shek era were pardoned.

“In addition, freedom of assembly and association, freedom to establish political parties, and freedom of labor rights will be guaranteed.”

Citizens poured into the streets, honking their horns and waving Taiwanese flags and portraits of the Governor-General, welcoming the changes.

Long live!

The President, emboldened by South Korea’s oil aid, formalized the abandonment of One China and attempted to transform into an independent democratic state.

In addition, the President had been secretly contacting the Korean President.

*

The President’s office.

The special envoy of the Taiwanese President met with the President.

“The President has a very important proposal.”

“Hmm, I’m eager to hear it.”

“Currently, Taiwan maintains its status as a member of the UN Security Council. However, as China normalizes relations with the United States, they are demanding our Security Council seat.”

“That’s correct.”

“The President opposes the One China policy and intends to declare Taiwan an independent country and join the UN.”

“Hmm, China’s reaction will be extreme.”

“That’s right. Mao Zedong is demanding that we neither declare independence nor give up our permanent seat.”

“Like a robber!”

“Therefore, we propose that Korea supply oil to Taiwan for 10 years, and in return, Taiwan will transfer its permanent seat to Korea.”

The President swallowed hard.

This was the scenario he had envisioned.

The President maintained a poker face and said,

“10 years… Since Taiwan is our ally, we will proceed even if it is difficult.”

“Thank you, Your Excellency!”

“The problem is the transfer of the permanent seat. If even one of the current permanent members opposes it, the transfer will fail, won’t it?”

“That’s right. Right now, the Soviet Union is the main obstacle.”

“They wouldn’t want the influence of communist countries in the UN to decrease. Have you gauged the Soviet Union’s intentions?”

“Not yet. If we rashly bring it up, it will leak to China and cause a problem.”

“Good. I will consider Taiwan’s proposal as tentatively agreed upon as the President of Korea. If the Soviet Union agrees and it passes the Security Council, we will supply oil.”

“Understood, Your Excellency!”

“It will take considerable effort to get the Soviet Union’s approval; it won’t happen quickly. Korea and Taiwan must coordinate and form a united front.”

“Of course, Your Excellency!”

*

The State Council meeting.

The Minister of Culture and Sports, who oversaw the integrated Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Sports, reported.

“With the Munich Olympics 50 days away, athletes are training hard in the athletes’ village. This time, 22 officials and 46 athletes will participate, aiming for 20th place in the world.”

Although participation was significant, they planned to dispatch only a small number of athletes in medal-winning events.

The Prime Minister asked,

“What are the promising events? What are our medal predictions?”

“Well, we are expecting medals in judo and boxing. Although it is a small delegation, we will definitely place ahead of North Korea, which is making its first appearance.”

The Munich Olympics, held in West Germany, saw a large number of countries from both the free and communist blocs participating in the détente atmosphere.

It was a proxy battlefield where they competed for supremacy through sports instead of guns.

In response, North Korea also participated in the Olympics for the first time to commemorate the simultaneous entry of North and South Korea into the UN, and the North-South confrontation was a matter of great interest.

“Which events will we face North Korea in?”

“It is difficult to be certain as there are many tournament events, but boxing and shooting seem unavoidable.”

“I hope we win without fail.”

“Of course.”

The President had been silently listening from the beginning.

Although many events had been brought forward by one or two years, regular events such as elections and the Olympics remained the same.

It was fortunate that the fixed schedule prevented the timeline from becoming too distorted, allowing him to anticipate events.

The President was more interested in something than the color of the medals or the North-South rivalry.

The mention of the first North-South confrontation reminded him of the incident that had occurred at the Munich Olympics during Chairman Wang’s time.

The President asked,

“How many shooters are participating?”

“Five, Your Excellency.”

“How many are from the military?”

“Three are affiliated with the Armed Forces Athletic Corps. Usually, athletes with outstanding shooting skills in the military are selected. So they are all from special forces.”

A faint smile spread across the President’s face.

“Their duty as soldiers would take precedence over being athletes, wouldn’t it?”

“Pardon? What do you mean…”

The President realized his slip and stopped talking.

None of the attendees understood what the President meant.

*

The President’s office.

The Director of the Central Intelligence Agency briefed on the profiles of the five shooters.

“The last one, Captain Lee Geun-eon, is affiliated with the Special Operations Command.”

“Hmm, a powerful human weapon worth a hundred men. Good. Give these three a special mission.”

“What kind of mission?”

“Have them train in actual gunfights inside buildings. Urban warfare, I mean.”

“Live-fire urban warfare? Your Excellency, ammunition is prohibited at the Olympics except for special security personnel.”

“I know very well that it’s not live ammunition but for sports shooting.”

“…”

“But it can be lethal if shot at close range. Especially at vital points like the face.”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

“Oh, and they need to train in hostage rescue as well. It’s a very important mission.”

“…”

“Imja, you have contact with the Israeli Mossad, right?”

“Pardon? Mossad?”

Mossad is Israel’s secret intelligence agency.

Ben-Gurion, the Israeli Prime Minister, a Polish-born Jew, established it in 1951 as an agency directly under the Prime Minister to relocate Jewish survivors to Palestine during the Jewish Holocaust in World War II.

The head of Mossad reports directly to the Israeli Prime Minister on related matters.

Mossad’s official name is the ‘Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations.’

It directly carries out not only overseas intelligence gathering but also special missions such as secret political operations and counter-terrorism.

In 1960, they kidnapped Nazi leader Adolf Eichmann, who was hiding in Argentina, and brought him to trial for war crimes. In the Third Middle East War in 1967, they meticulously collected information on the three enemy countries to be invaded, contributing decisively to Israel’s victory in the Six-Day War.

They were also behind the assassinations of Palestinian leaders in Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa.

Mossad has 1,200 official employees.

However, there are 35,000 Mossad collaborators, so-called ‘Sayanim’ [Hebrew for “helpers”], worldwide, with 20,000 currently active and the remaining 15,000 being potential collaborators, ‘sleepers.’

Arab collaborators are called ‘Black,’ and non-Arab collaborators are called ‘White.’

By using Sayanim to carry out operations, they could create plausible deniability even if they were caught.

If the background was revealed, they immediately eliminated the Sayanim who carried out the operation.

The Director did not understand the President’s intentions.

“Yes. I’m talking about Mossad.”

“Of course, it’s possible, but for what reason…”

“Let’s call it the Mossad Project.”

The President explained in detail what sounded like something out of a movie.

The Director of the Central Intelligence Agency swallowed hard at the President’s words.

*

Tel Aviv, the capital of Israel.

The Director of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency secretly visited the Mossad headquarters, Midrasha [Hebrew for “seminary” or “college”].

Director Meir, with a tobacco pipe in his mouth, said to the Director,

“You said there would be a terror attack on the athletes’ village?”

“That’s right.”

“Where did you get the information?”

Everything was what the President had told him.

But if he told the truth, he would be ridiculed.

So he gave the answer he had prepared.