Before the ink on the agreement was even dry, things were set in motion.
While forming a consortium, South Korea decided to dispatch a delegation with Russia to North Korea to inspect the condition of the railways.
In a situation where it's hard enough to make a living, there was no way the infrastructure would be properly maintained. North Korea's current railways were so dilapidated that even regular trains, let alone high-speed ones, struggled to reach their proper speeds.
Therefore, the discussion turned towards tearing out the entire section and rebuilding it.
One fortunate thing was that since the railway already existed, the civil engineering work was already done. The most difficult parts of railway construction are acquiring the land, preparing the ground, and digging tunnels.
Compared to that, tearing out old tracks and laying new ones was a relatively easy task.
Another advantage was North Korea's immense labor force. Although North Korea lacked technology and capital, it had an abundance of people.
If necessary, they would even deploy the People's Army to construction sites to carry out a "speed battle."
Russia announced plans to link this project with the revitalization of its Far East region and the development of Siberian resources, and Central Asian countries, which would benefit from the future railway connection, also showed great interest.
Conservative groups like "Parksamo" held up signs that read 'Reds, get out,' 'Punish the North-following leftists,' and 'Send Kang Jin-hoo to North Korea.'
“Kang Jin-hoo is helping North Korea! North Korea is the main enemy of the Republic of Korea, a hostile force trying to reunify the free Republic of Korea under communism! Joining hands with such a North Korea is a clear act of benefiting the enemy! Kang Jin-hoo must be immediately punished under the National Security Act!”
“Punish him! Punish him!”
It wasn't the first or second time a similar protest had been held, so it wasn't particularly surprising.
Taek-gyu turned his head to the side.
“But who are those guys over there?”
Across from the conservative groups, a small group of university students was holding a protest.
“Our Baekdu Commendation Alliance welcomes Chairman Kim's decision! The Korean peninsula must now stop the rampant activities of the divisive, deeply rooted evil forces and achieve a unification led by our people! To complete the task of independent unification, the US forces stationed in this land must be withdrawn immediately!”
“Withdraw! Withdraw!”
Even in a country with freedom of expression, what the hell was this? Why were they bringing up the withdrawal of US forces here?
Taek-gyu looked at me and asked.
“Which side’s opinion do you like?”
“…I hate them both.”
***
Articles about the Vladivostok agreement poured out from all over the world.
The focus of the articles was more on the reparations claim against Japan than on the South Korea-North Korea-Russia cooperation project. Some media outlets even nicknamed it "Kang Jin-hoo's Bill."
However, to understand why North Korea was demanding compensation from Japan, one needed to understand the colonial rule of the Korean peninsula and the Pacific War. This was inevitably linked to Japan's past historical issues.
The New York Times, The Washington Post, Le Monde, The Financial Times, People's Daily, and the Global Times all featured detailed explanations of the reparations claim as major news.
While most Westerners were well aware of the war crimes committed by Germany, they were insensitive to Japan's war crimes.
This was because they had not been direct victims.
But as Kang Jin-hoo's remarks on the reparations claim became a hot issue, interest in it exploded.
-Did Japan really do things like that?
-They dragged young girls away as sex slaves, gang-raped them, and conducted human experiments on people?
-No way! All the Japanese people I know are kind and friendly!
-Ah! So that Rising Sun flag is like the Nazi flag! Is that why South Korea and China reacted so strongly?
-What kind of thinking goes into using that for cheering at a game? That flag is allowed in the Olympic stadium? Then shouldn't the Nazi flag be allowed too?
-It's so horrifying. It's hard to believe that fellow human beings did this.
-My Japanese friend says it's absolutely not true, that it was all fabricated by South Korea and China. What is the truth?
-My Japanese friend also said they never saw anything like that in their textbooks. They said they learned that Japan actually helped South Korea a lot, like building buildings and laying railways.
-Japan has long been trying to erase its past. But Japan's war crimes are an undeniable fact.
-So they didn't just bomb Pearl Harbor, they committed these horrific crimes too. If it weren't for Kang Jin-hoo, I might have never known my whole life.
-Just as Kang Jin-hoo helped America, I want to help the grandmothers who were dragged away as Japanese military sex slaves. What would be a good way to do that?
On portal sites in various countries, searches for terms like 'reparations agreement,' 'Pacific War,' 'Japanese military sex slaves,' 'forced labor,' and 'Japan's war crimes' skyrocketed.
What Japan had feared was becoming a reality!
Japan was busy preparing countermeasures.
First, they lobbied media companies around the world, requesting them to take down the articles, while also distributing press releases refuting Kang Jin-hoo's statements.
100 billion dollars is about 10 trillion yen. For Japan, which was already suffering from an astronomical budget deficit, this was a ridiculous amount.
There was another problem.
Suppose they paid the compensation as North Korea wanted. What then? Would the countries that had previously received compensation remain silent?
Japan had settled its past historical issues with Asian countries through claims agreements. However, South Korea alone continuously brought up the past, and recently demanded compensation from Japan for comfort women and forced labor victims.
So why were the other countries staying quiet?
Even though it lost the war, Japan was still a major power. Therefore, no country wanted to make an enemy of Japan. The economic power of other victim countries was no match for Japan's, and their dependence on Japanese capital was high.
On the other hand, South Korea had grown rapidly to become a developed country, and accordingly, began to speak its mind.
At least with South Korea, they could take the position that everything was resolved through the Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea, but with North Korea as the opponent, that was not an option.
Standing before the media, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi spoke in an offended tone.
“There has been no official request from North Korea regarding the claims agreement yet. We will begin formal discussions when an official request is made. However, this is a matter for Japan and North Korea, not a matter for other countries to interfere in. This is a very serious diplomatic discourtesy, and we will lodge a strong protest with South Korea regarding this.”
***
Foreign Minister Okamoto, who visited South Korea, met with Foreign Minister Kim Sung-chul and lodged an official protest.
“Isn't this going too far? Why on earth is South Korea getting involved in negotiations between Japan and North Korea?”
Foreign Minister Kim Sung-chul shook his head.
“I don't understand what you mean. The South Korean government has nothing to do with this. The reparations agreement is a matter for North Korea and Japan to handle. Unless both countries agree, the South Korean government will not play any role in the future.”
“Are you saying that after seeing the media reports?”
Foreign Minister Kim Sung-chul sighed.
“We were also surprised to see the articles. We never imagined that CEO Kang Jin-hoo would be advising the North Korean side.”
“The South Korean government didn't know?”
“We are in a very difficult position as well. It was entirely CEO Kang Jin-hoo's personal action; the government was completely unaware.”
“CEO Kang Jin-hoo attended the inter-Korean talks, proceeded with the railway and gas pipeline projects, and at the same time, took on an advisory role for the reparations claim. Are you saying this is a coincidence?”
“Of course. They are completely separate matters.”
“…”
It was an absurd situation.
'Who does he take me for, a fool?'
Media outlets around the world were reporting that these two things were proceeding in tandem. And yet he claimed they were unrelated?
Foreign Minister Okamoto could read his counterpart's intentions.
'Is the plan for the South Korean government to reap the benefits while shifting the responsibility to Kang Jin-hoo?'
The reason they were acting this way was because they knew it would be difficult for Japan to take action against Kang Jin-hoo.
“Opposition to South Korea is growing within Japan. Are you aware of the negative impact such actions will have on future Japan-Korea relations?”
“Japan is an important neighboring country and economic partner to South Korea, and I agree that friendly Japan-Korea relations must continue.”
“And yet you're just going to let CEO Kang Jin-hoo be?”
“We've tried to persuade him several times on our end, but it was no use. As you know, he doesn't listen to reason.”
Foreign Minister Okamoto suppressed the urge to shout.
“If CEO Kang Jin-hoo is helping North Korea without the South Korean government's permission, shouldn't he be punished under the National Security Act?”
Conservative groups were also making this argument. But the National Security Act was like a rubber band; it could be stretched to fit any situation.
“It seems he has discussed it with the US and Russia. He's not negotiating on their behalf, just advising. You can't punish someone for something like that, can you? And whether or not to punish our own citizen is a matter for the South Korean judiciary to decide. I would appreciate it if you would refrain from remarks that interfere in our domestic affairs.”
Watching Foreign Minister Okamoto's eyes twitch, Foreign Minister Kim Sung-chul smiled inwardly.
When would South Korea ever be able to corner Japan's top diplomat like this?
Diplomatic power ultimately follows national power. The stronger a country's economic and military power, the louder its diplomats' voices become.
On the other hand, diplomats from weaker countries have to be careful with every word and action.
A prime example of this was the prestige struggle between Austria and Prussia for dominance in the German region.
At the time, it was customary for only the Austrian representative to smoke at the Federal Diet. Bismarck broke that custom and lit a cigarette.
This was a symbolic act showing that Prussia's national power had grown enough to rival Austria's.
The startled representatives urgently reported this fact back to their home countries.
Even something as simple as smoking a cigarette is determined by national power. That is diplomacy.
South Korea is a strong country both economically and militarily, but it is surrounded by too many great powers. It also has a high export dependence, relying on the US militarily and China economically. Therefore, in diplomacy, it always had to be mindful of its neighboring countries.
But the situation changed after Kang Jin-hoo appeared. The ROK-US alliance was stronger than ever, and relations with Russia were also excellent.
While the Japanese economy was faltering, OTK Company was still doing well. And the South Korean economy, with Kang Jin-hoo's backing, was also growing smoothly.
If you add Kang Jin-hoo to South Korea's economic power, it was more than a match for Japan.
Even at this moment, OTK Company's influence throughout the industry was gradually growing. If OTK Company were to cut off dealings with Japanese companies, who would suffer more?
Japan knew that too, which is probably why they came to him instead of Kang Jin-hoo.
'To think that a junior from Korea University's business school would turn out to be someone like this.'
Foreign Minister Kim Sung-chul put on a deliberately regretful expression and said.
“How about you try visiting the US?”
As if he hadn't thought of that.
The fact that the US had remained silent so far was as good as siding with Kang Jin-hoo. It would be a blessing if they didn't push Japan from behind, telling them to hurry up and pay the compensation.
“Or, how about you go and see CEO Kang Jin-hoo yourself? He should be at his company right now.”
Foreign Minister Okamoto recalled the time he had been turned away at the door by Kang Jin-hoo. That incident was considered one of the most humiliating moments for a Japanese foreign minister.
'Is this guy messing with me?'
***
A meeting with business leaders regarding inter-Korean economic cooperation was held at the Blue House.
Dozens of CEOs from large and small companies gathered in one place. The CEOs of large corporations showed great interest in the economic effects of the gas pipeline and railway projects, while the CEOs of small and medium-sized enterprises were highly interested in the reopening and expansion of the Kaesong Industrial Complex.
President Han Byung-sun grabbed my hand and expressed his gratitude.
“I never imagined things would turn out this well. It’s all thanks to you, CEO Kang.”
“Not at all. It's thanks to everyone's hard work.”
Chairman Han Chan-young was also present.
“Have you been well?”
Chairman Han Chan-young said with a bitter smile.
“Thanks to you, I've been keeping busy.”
There seemed to be a sting in his words, but he didn't show any particular resentment or anger.
Even after losing Eunsung Motors, the core of the group, to CarOS, the Eunsung Auto Group still boasted its strength, remaining in the top 10 of the business world.
In addition to Eunsung MD and its electronics and auto parts affiliates, it also owned Eunsung Steel and Eunsung Construction, the former parent company of the Eunsung Group.
They continued to supply parts to Eunsung Motors as before, and Eunsung Steel and Construction were participating in the Saemangeum development.
The Eunsung Auto Group would also benefit immensely from this inter-Korean economic cooperation.
Eunsung Construction had experience participating in several projects in North Korea, such as building hotels and banquet halls in Mount Kumgang. Therefore, it was considered a major beneficiary of this inter-Korean cooperation.
Another noteworthy company was Eunsung RT. RT stood for Rail and Train, and as the name suggests, it was a company that manufactured railway vehicles.
It could produce not only locomotives and electric multiple units, but also high-speed trains, which only a few companies in the world could.
As the North-South railway connection project began, Russia started modernizing the Trans-Siberian Railway, and other Eurasian countries also showed great interest in railway modernization and construction.
This would be a new opportunity for the South Korean railway industry as well.
I was chatting with some of the business leaders when President Heo Chang-min appeared. He greeted each of them and shook their hands.
When it was my turn, President Heo Chang-min gripped my hand and said in a slightly trembling voice.
“You’ve worked very hard, CEO Kang Jin-hoo.”
“…”
For some reason, it felt like he was suddenly acting overly friendly.