The Chaebol Returns To The Presidency 1967 [EN]: Chapter 111

111. The Olympics of Blood

The director of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency explained to the director of Mossad.

“We have an informant within the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) who provides information to Korea.”

“It’s surprising that Korean intelligence operatives have advanced into the Middle East.”

“Korea is an oil-consuming country. And we operate a sovereign wealth fund with oil money. We have to protect that money. We have informants in OPEC and Middle Eastern conflict zones to obtain information related to oil prices.”

“Hmm, I didn’t know Korea’s intelligence network was that extensive. But our network has no reports of terrorism at all.”

“That’s because they received support from neo-Nazis in West Germany, not from Palestine.”

“Neo-Nazis?”

Neo-Nazis were a far-right German group that espoused the ideology of Hitler.

“Since they receive weapons from West Germany, it’s impossible to know.”

“Nazis and Palestinians joining hands? Hahaha, that’s an unimaginable combination.”

“…….”

“Right now, the US and the Soviet Union are in the middle of détente, with strategic arms limitation treaties and all. Who would dare create tension?”

“Isn’t this period of eased tension a good opportunity for terrorists?”

“Anyway, thanks for the information. There’s no harm in being careful. We will strengthen security at the Olympic Village.”

The director didn’t seem to be paying much attention.

The KCIA director completed his mission of delivering information and returned home.

*

Munich. The Olympic Village. 4 a.m.

The Olympic Village, preparing for the upcoming games, was quiet.

Inside the guardhouse at the entrance of the village, a guard stretched and yawned widely.

“Ah, almost time to go home. A beer after the night shift would be perfect.”

One person was sound asleep, snoring in his chair.

Drrr~

“If you sleep now, you won’t be able to sleep at home. Ah, why am I yawning so much?”

There had been a request from the Israeli delegation to strengthen the security of their athletes’ accommodations.

However, at the time, the West German police did not have a specialized anti-terrorism unit like modern SWAT teams [Special Weapons and Tactics].

Due to constitutional restrictions, it was very difficult for the German regular army to conduct operations within Germany, so special forces from the regular army could not be deployed to the Olympic Village.

Instead, local police were stationed at the guardhouse and patrolled the area.

At that moment, across from the guardhouse, in a blind spot without streetlights, a presence was felt near the fence.

In this era, there were no CCTVs [closed-circuit televisions], so a high fence was the best security.

“Oof!”

A man of Arab descent in athletic wear jumped down from the fence.

The man who arrived first looked around and signaled.

“Come on up!”

Men carrying sports bags appeared one by one on the fence, and eight of them crossed over.

They were heavily armed, hiding grenades and automatic weapons in their sports bags to disguise themselves as athletes.

Approaching the Israeli athletes’ village building, they pulled masks over their faces, revealing only their eyes.

They took out rifles and grenades from their bags.

The Korean accommodations were located right in front of the Israeli athletes’ building.

Someone was watching their appearance from the window, none other than Korean shooting athlete, Captain Lee.

Captain Lee, who was standing guard at the window, called out quietly.

“Emergency! Owls appearing!”

Because the President couldn’t give an exact date, they stood guard every night.

Today was the day of the shooting competition, so everyone was exhausted and fell asleep.

Perhaps because they had received special missions and training, their performance in the games wasn’t very good, and a North Korean athlete won a gold medal in the shooting event.

At Captain Lee’s shout, two athletes who were sleeping with their shoes on jumped up like springs.

“Seven to eight people. Let’s go!”

They grabbed their loaded shooting pistols, rifles, shotguns (for clay shooting), and ammunition, slung bags over their shoulders, and left the room.

All were types of guns used in the Olympic shooting events, so they were allowed in the athletes’ village.

The terrorists, while climbing the stairs of the Israeli accommodations, released the safety catches on their automatic weapons.

Click!

At 4 a.m., not even a rat’s shadow was stirring.

They walked up the stairs, step by step.

Ten days ago, thanks to a collaborator disguised as a volunteer, they were able to pinpoint the exact room numbers of the Israeli accommodations.

These men were the ‘Black September’ group, a Palestinian armed resistance organization.

During Chairman Wang’s time, eight terrorists attacked the Israeli accommodations, killing two Israeli athletes and taking nine hostage.

The area around the athletes’ village, where the hostage situation was taking place, was not properly controlled, and reporters and spectators filled the area. The broadcasting stations covering the Olympics even broadcast the situation live on camera, so the terrorists were able to watch the police’s every move on TV and respond accordingly.

The terrorists demanded a plane to the Middle East within 24 hours.

The police were so ill-prepared that they only thought there were five terrorists.

After failing in the initial suppression, the terrorists and hostages boarded two helicopters and flew to the airport.

At the airport, police disguised as flight attendants were lying in wait, but they got scared and canceled the operation themselves, then ran away.

A battle broke out with the terrorists who realized they had been tricked at the airport. In this battle, all nine hostages died, and the terrorists were either killed or captured.

For the first time in Olympic history, the Olympic flag was flown at half-mast.

The West German Munich Olympics, which had tried to wash away the disgrace of the 1936 Berlin Olympics opened by Hitler, was recorded as the worst Olympics, stained with blood.

But this time, it was different.

Three Korean special forces arrived at the entrance of the Israeli accommodations.

One person was watching the lower floor, and another was watching the upper floor.

“Who’s there!”

Captain Lee stabbed the neck of the guy who came out at the sound with a hunting knife he bought from the souvenir shop.

“Kuh!”

The guy bled and collapsed.

A voice was heard from upstairs.

“What’s wrong?”

Lieutenant Jang aimed his pistol and pulled the trigger towards the face sticking out from the upper floor.

Tick!

“Keok!”

The guy fell heavily to the lower floor, hit exactly in the eye.

Thud!

The terrorists, who were about to kick down the door of the room where the Israeli athletes were staying, stopped.

The three men mercilessly fired shotguns at the terrorists who were awkwardly standing in front of the door in the hallway.

Bang-

Bang-

Bang-

“Ugh-”

“Kuh!”

Because they were not using live ammunition, they didn’t inflict fatal wounds, but the surprised guys started to counterattack, limping from behind.

Ta-tang-ta-tang-

“Damn it!”

Captain Lee, hiding behind the stairwell wall, lit the fuse of a homemade explosive he had prepared.

Cheek~

“Eat this!”

The thrown bottle broke and exploded.

Boom!

Because the glass bottle was filled with explosive chemicals and a lot of screws, shrapnel swept through the hallway along with the explosion.

“Kuek!”

Some grabbed their faces and rolled around after being hit by shrapnel, while others were on fire and rampaged.

The three special forces fearlessly rushed in, wielding hunting knives and staging a melee spectacle.

Swish! Swish!

“Ugh!”

The guys bled and tumbled.

Their lives were not in danger, but they were completely incapacitated.

But one terrorist was missing.

“Don’t move! I’ll shoot!”

One guy went into the room, gathered the female athletes in the living room, and hid behind them, aiming a rifle at the hostage’s head.

Captain Lee said.

“Buy me some time here! I’ll take care of him.”

“Yes, sir!”

Captain Lee ran into the Korean athletes’ accommodations in one stride.

Arriving, Captain Lee caught his breath and looked at the Israeli accommodations from the opposite window.

Fortunately, it was summer, so the living room curtains were not drawn, and he could see the guy’s back.

Captain Lee aimed his rifle.

“To think I’d be shooting a person, not a target, at the Olympics….”

The terrorist in the living room was full of murderous intent and was firing an automatic rifle at the door.

Ta-ta-ta-tang!

“Prepare a helicopter within an hour! Or I’ll kill all the hostages!”

The two people hiding behind the wall grumbled.

“What is that bastard saying? I can’t understand it because it’s gibberish.”

A guard who ran up asked the two.

“What’s going on? Is there a fire?”

“Ha~ I can’t understand any of the German.”

He listed the words he had learned a few words of before entering the country.

“Terrorist, hostage, police, call!”

“Terror!”

The guard’s face turned pale.

Ta-ta-ta-ta-tang!

As bullet fragments ricocheted, the guard became frightened, covered his head, and ran downstairs.

Wee-oh~ Wee-oh~

In the distance, the sounds of fire trucks, ambulances, and patrol cars were heard.

The impatient terrorist fired again.

Ta-tang!

“Get the helicopter right away….”

Suddenly, he stopped speaking, the whites of his eyes showed, and he fell forward like a rotten tree.

Thud!

A finger-sized hole was pierced in the window glass.

Captain Lee’s rifle bullet had accurately hit the guy in the back of the head.

“Kyaa!”

The hostages were startled and sat down on the spot, sobbing or wetting themselves.

“Clear!”

The police who arrived late instead arrested the three men holding guns.

The cameramen who arrived pointed live broadcast cameras at the three men being dragged out.

The three men grumbled.

“My mother thinks I’m winning a gold medal, but what will she think when she sees me being arrested with handcuffs for shooting?”

“Sigh~ That’s right. I guess the President will take care of it.”

“Quiet! Hurry up!”

“I can’t understand what they’re saying.”

That day, the West German newspapers featured the heroic exploits of the three heroes.

In an interview, Captain Lee testified as follows.

“I woke up early in the morning and saw armed men breaking into the Israeli accommodations. I quickly woke up my colleagues, armed ourselves with sports guns, and rushed to the scene. And we subdued them.”

– How did you think of fighting armed men without live ammunition?

“We are special forces members who have received special warfare training, including counter-terrorism operations, before becoming shooting athletes. I sensed it was terrorism as soon as I saw it. We didn’t have live ammunition weapons, but sports guns can be deadly in close combat, so they can be strictly weapons for killing.”

– The guys threw grenades and resisted fiercely, and even staged a hostage situation. I heard you sniped from the opposite accommodations, is that correct?

“That’s right. I saw the guy with his back turned and aimed my rifle, which is for long-range shooting, and pulled the trigger. I’m a rifle event athlete.”

He didn’t say that he had prepared in advance in Korea and pretended it was a coincidence.

*

Gimpo Airport.

The Korean athletes got off the plane returning from West Germany.

Although they had a poor performance, winning only one silver medal in judo, the President and government officials, military bands and marching bands, newspaper reporters, and families and welcomers were out in force at the airport lounge.

There was also a large banner hanging.

– Welcome, heroes of Munich!

The President, Minister of National Defense, and Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism were waiting in front of the track.

Usually, they would hold this kind of welcoming ceremony when they win an Olympic gold medal, but a grand welcoming ceremony was held even without a gold medal.

As the three special forces came down from the track, festive music played.

♬ Koong jjak koong jjak~ [A Korean onomatopoeia for the sound of a marching band]

The three walked on the red carpet and saluted the President.

“Invincible!”

“Invincible!”

“Your Excellency, special mission accomplished!”

“Hahaha, well done, well done!”

He patted them on the shoulders.

“Thank you, Your Excellency!”

“You didn’t win an Olympic medal, but I’ll give you a better gift than that.”

He awarded them the Chungmu Medal of Valor [a South Korean military decoration].

Korea finished 33rd overall with only one silver medal, and North Korea made a splash by winning one gold medal, one silver medal, and three bronze medals in its first appearance, finishing 22nd overall, but the appearance of North Korea was forgotten as the suppression of terrorists became top news around the world.

The Mossad project was not the end, but just the beginning.