The Chaebol Returns To The Presidency 1967 [EN]: Chapter 43

43. Vietnam Exit Strategy

I meticulously checked the arrangements for the meeting with Robert Kennedy.

“Your Excellency, the Ambassador to the U.S. has informed us that Senator Kennedy is currently campaigning in the Midwest and is unable to schedule a meeting in Washington.”

Robert Kennedy, then a New York Senator, was campaigning across various states as a Democratic candidate for the 1968 U.S. presidential election.

With his time stretched thin campaigning across the vast American continent, it was highly uncertain whether he could meet with the President of Korea.

“Tell the Ambassador, regardless of the reason, to arrange a meeting during my visit.”

“Understood, Your Excellency!”

Chairman Jung accompanied me.

Knowing the future to some extent, Chairman Jung was well aware of what needed to be done in this life.

This time, the President asked Chairman Jung a question.

He had visited West Point before his regression.

“Chairman Jung, I plan to visit the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. I hear there’s a tradition of granting special privileges when a foreign head of state visits the school. What should I do? As an alumnus, you must know what the cadets want.”

“Hahaha, of course. Try this.”

Whoosh~

The private jet soared across the Pacific.

* * *

Dulles International Airport in Washington.

A red carpet was laid out, and Korean residents waved the Korean flag, offering a warm welcome.

President Park waved back, descended the steps, and walked along the carpet.

The U.S. military band played a rousing welcome march.

♬ Boom, chak, boom, chak~

The U.S. Vice President came out to greet him.

“Thank you for traveling so far. Welcome.”

It was a grand state welcoming ceremony, rarely seen in the U.S. recently.

“Father!”

The young boy running with flowers was none other than Jiman.

Behind him followed Madam Yu and the daughters.

The President lifted Jiman high.

“You’ve grown up so well.”

“Dad, the hamburgers and cola here are really delicious.”

“Haha, if you eat too much, your teeth will rot, and you’ll become a pig.”

He said to Madam Yu,

“Thank you for taking care of the children.”

“You must be having a hard time alone, right? I hear all the news from Korea, even here.”

“Haha, when dealing with state affairs, a day is too short. Still, your absence is greatly felt.”

The family briefly reunited before immediately proceeding to official events.

* * *

Banquet hall.

President Johnson introduced the people entering the banquet hall to President Park one by one.

“This is Taylor, the President of the American Petroleum Institute.”

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Taylor.”

President Park shook hands and gestured to Chairman Jung, who was accompanying him.

The President had sent a list of invitees, including not only political figures but also business leaders, to arrange meetings between Korean and American entrepreneurs.

In particular, he instructed Chairman Jung to focus on future industries such as aerospace, shipbuilding and oil drilling ships, and the petrochemical industry.

The President was looking for only one person.

The Ambassador to the U.S. rushed over.

The President swallowed hard and asked.

“How did it go?”

The U.S. Ambassador’s face was grim.

“Your Excellency, I am sorry. Senator Kennedy’s campaign team insists that no unscheduled travel is possible during the campaign.”

“Oh, dear!”

With the primary elections approaching, it was a crucial time to visit as many places as possible to appeal for support.

The Ambassador was at a loss, seeing the President glaring as if to devour him.

Failure to complete the mission meant losing his head.

“Did you get his contact information?”

“Yes, Your Excellency!”

“That’s a great relief. Give it to me.”

The President took Robert Kennedy’s direct phone number and held it tightly.

The group spent the day relaxing from their journey with the banquet.

* * *

Accommodation.

The President was anxiously waiting, holding the phone.

The interpreter finished the call with Kennedy’s side and put down the phone.

The President couldn’t hide his impatience.

“What did they say?”

“The secretary answered, saying he hasn’t returned from campaigning yet. They just left our contact information.”

“Damn it! Is he harder to reach than the U.S. President? Because there are no cell phones and we have to go through the operator, this is what happens!” [Cell phones were not yet common during this period.]

“…….”

As an interpreter, he had no idea what a cell phone was.

After anxiously waiting for three hours, at 1:30 AM.

Ring~ Ring~

The President shouted at the interpreter, who was dozing off.

“Answer the phone!”

“Yes, Your Excellency!”

It was a job of extreme hardship for the interpreter.

“Hello…. Oh, Mr. Kennedy!”

The President’s face lit up.

“Is that Kennedy?”

“Yes, Your Excellency!”

He quickly pressed the button for a public call and started the conversation.

“I am the President of the Republic of Korea.”

– Hello. I heard you are visiting the U.S.

“Nice to meet you. I wanted to meet and share important information while I’m in the U.S., but the campaign people have built an impenetrable barrier.”

– Ah, I’m sorry. This is the most sensitive time during the primary elections. Thank you so much for accepting the U.S. government’s request in the past.

The two were not strangers.

In January 1964, Robert Kennedy, then the U.S. Attorney General, visited Korea and met with President Park.

It was during the time when his brother, John F. Kennedy, was President.

Domestic and international affairs were usually handled by the Secretary of State or the Vice President, but the Attorney General, far lower in the government hierarchy, met with heads of state around the world as a special envoy of President Kennedy to spread his ideology.

He was Kennedy’s confidant and, in fact, the de facto second-in-command.

The reason Attorney General Robert Kennedy visited Korea at the time was simple.

It was to verify the qualifications of the person who seized power through a military coup as a U.S.-ROK alliance partner [U.S. – Republic of Korea alliance].

He had demanded this:

“Normalize relations between Korea and Japan. To prevent the communist storm from sweeping across the Asian continent, the United States, Japan, and Korea must form a military alliance to stop them. You must prove that you are a member of the free world.”

If refused, U.S. forces would withdraw from Korea, and the front line of the free world would be decided as Japan and Taiwan.

In fact, the U.S. demand for the normalization of relations between Korea and Japan had been ongoing since the Syngman Rhee era.

The first talks for normalizing relations with Japan began in October 1951.

However, due to the strong anti-Japanese sentiment of the Korean people who had experienced the Japanese colonial period, it had been sluggish for 14 years.

Eventually, the President, well aware of public sentiment, risked the fate of his regime and pushed ahead with the Korea-Japan agreement.

After 14 years and a total of 1,200 main and subsidiary talks, the Korea-Japan agreement came to an end.

It was a marathon negotiation unprecedented in the history of world diplomacy.

However, the aftermath was so severe that it nearly sank the regime.

Kennedy expressed his gratitude to the President for listening to the U.S. request, risking the fate of his regime, even in his busy schedule.

The President said to Senator Kennedy.

“I would like to provide important information about Senator Kennedy’s personal safety. I know you are busy, but you must meet me.”

– You mentioned personal safety?

“A plot similar to that of the late John F. Kennedy is underway.”

– What? A plot?

“That’s why I want to meet.”

In fact, Senator Kennedy was trying to end the call with a brief conversation.

However, hearing information reminiscent of his brother’s assassination, the nightmare of that time assailed him.

– Are you saying there’s an assassination plot?

“I need to discuss the details in person.”

– What is your remaining schedule?

The President listed his schedule.

– Ah, how about meeting at West Point? I cannot travel currently unless it’s for campaign purposes.

“Let’s do that. Give a speech in front of the cadets and declare your commitment to national defense and security.”

– Understood.

Thus, a meeting was dramatically arranged at the U.S. Military Academy, the last item on the schedule.

* * *

The next day. The White House.

President Park and President Johnson held a private meeting.

Security experts from the U.S. side were in attendance.

Johnson said to President Park.

“After threatening to drop a blank nuclear bomb on North Korea and declaring our willingness to use nuclear weapons in Vietnam, North Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh has requested a private meeting.”

It was a fact not known to the media at all.

President Park asked.

“What does Ho Chi Minh want?”

“The agenda has not been set yet. But he only mentioned the future of North and South Vietnam.”

“Hmm….”

“What do you think about an exit strategy from Vietnam?”

As President Park demonstrated uncanny predictive abilities regarding the movements of North Korea and Vietnam, Johnson sought to borrow his foresight as if visiting a fortune teller.

The President said.

“In the short term, it’s the U.S. presidential election in August, and in the long term, you want to end the war in Vietnam, right?”

“Exactly! I would appreciate your insights.”

“The United States has an extremely low probability of winning in Vietnam.”

The audience murmured.

The CIA’s Asia Director crossed his arms and said.

“Are you unaware that the United States has never lost a war?”

Since World War I, the United States had never lost a war.

To dare mention the defeat of the United States in a poor, small, nameless country in Asia was considered blasphemous.

The President said.

“In this ideological war, which is essentially a civil war, the will of the Vietnamese people is paramount. However, as seen in the recent Tet Offensive, those who sympathize with communism simultaneously revolted in 64 cities.”

“…….”

“Vietnam no longer has a front line. Is the United States prepared for guerrilla warfare?”

During U.S. troop deployment training, only 4 hours of theory were allocated to guerrilla warfare preparation.

The audience became serious and thoughtful at the President’s logic.

“The expectation of ending the war in a short period has been embarrassingly off. Isn’t it true that the situation is actually deteriorating? But why are you all intoxicated with baseless rosy prospects of victory?”

The attendees avoided eye contact with President Park.

Seeing the humiliating defeat in 1974 from the future, he listed several reasons to create a basis.

“The United States must not miss the opportunity for secret talks created by the threat of nuclear weapons. In my opinion, the best way is to end the war without defeat.”

Johnson asked.

“Is there a way to end the war without defeat?”

“Return Vietnam to the state of truce before the war.”

Before the expansion into a full-scale war, North and South Vietnam were in a divided state, with the 17th parallel as the border.

Johnson was startled.

“Are you saying to divide it back to the pre-war state?”

“If you dislike the truce and truly desire victory, then obliterate North Vietnam with nuclear weapons.”

Nuclear weapons were for intimidation, not for actual use, which was the White House’s policy.

Moreover, with the presidential election approaching, they could not choose an expansion involving the Soviet Union and China.

“Would they want a divided truce?”

“They are likely to accept it as a temporary measure to delay the use of U.S. nuclear weapons. They would think of it as a truce and buy time. If a truce materializes before the election, it would be very advantageous for the U.S. election.”

“Hmm….”

“To increase the probability of successful negotiations, attach conditions for the phased withdrawal of U.S. troops from Vietnam.”

“Withdrawal? Isn’t the withdrawal of U.S. troops what Ho Chi Minh wants?”

“Consider having the Korean Armed Forces deploy and station for a certain period instead of the withdrawn U.S. troops.”

“Korean troops stationed instead?”

“Troops solely for war, as they are now, will only create antipathy among the Vietnamese people. Isn’t it the corruption and incompetence of the Vietnamese leadership, the extreme wealth gap, and the backlash from the lower classes that have accelerated the communization of Vietnam?”

“…….”

The dispatched Korean troops fought brutally, but they also provided civil services such as building dams for farmers who could not grow rice, making them infamous among the Viet Cong [Communist Vietnamese soldiers] but more trusted by civilians than the South Vietnamese government.

And the President had a plan to pacify South Vietnam.

Doesn’t Korea have coup experts!