Dear Comrade

＜ Chapter 26. North Korea (3) ＞

Chapter 26. North Korea (3)

“Ah, that’s a good thing, it seems that the North is also changing now, heh heh…”

Inwardly, sweeping his chest, Jung Moon-young smiled faintly for the first time since entering the room.

Starting with the modern heavy industry union, he had been studying the militant strikes of the strong labor unions for a long time.

And only then did Jang Seong-taek’s proposal, which sounded absurd at first, took shape in Jung Moon-young’s head and began to take concrete form as a business.

‘Let’s see, first of all, we have to sweep away what we can get quickly. I’ll have to set up a modern construction branch in Pyongyang and win orders for construction in Kuwait. After getting a stamp with a local Kuwait official through the northern relay, it is not in vain if you stick out your flippers from the other side. If there is no friction there, heavy industry, electronics, shipbuilding, and automobiles can be slowly brought in one by one.’

Opportunity cost and sunk cost, the backlash within and outside the group that will occur when investing in North Korea and whether the expected return from North Korea can withstand the backlash Until then, businessman Jung Moon-young’s brain was already busy calculating profit and loss.

What excited Chairman Wang Moon-young, who was rarely excited, was the original rewarding feeling that he succeeded in the South and returned to his hometown in the north, but the old man was always a skillful and seasoned businessman, so the benefits he would get if he moved his business to the north in modern times were more it shuddered

Jung Moon-young’s wasteland-like heart, who thought that he had dried up as an old man, was trembling with a turbulence that had forgotten his age.

“How are you, Comrade Chairman Chung? Now, are you a little more determined to return to your homeland in the north as a valuable guest?”

“I’ll do it. Money is money, but let’s invest actively in the idea that we are helping the people of our hometown and family. As long as we get the government’s permission, we, modern construction and heavy industry, will cross the armistice and run to Pyongyang. Of course, I will be at the forefront of that. haha…”

“Hahaha… What a wise bravery. Chairman Chung’s comrade. I wonder if there is a difference in business people who are recognized by others.”

The two political and business leaders from the South and the North looked at each other and smiled together.

Jang Sung-taek clenched his fists at the thought that he had achieved the first purpose of coming to Tokyo, but he could not be satisfied.

The long-term plan that General Secretary Jang Seong-taek confided and entrusted to him, the real purpose of starting this meeting was not simply to receive a one-time investment from Hyundai Group.

Although it looked almost impossible and he might have ridiculed him for absurdity a while ago, the general secretary Jang Seong-taek knew was not someone who clings to an imaginary goal.

When we met in Tokyo a few years ago, Jang Sung-taek, who was far below him, could not have imagined that he would defeat Kim Jong-il in a few years and inherit the position of leader of the republic from Abaddy Kim Il-sung.

Moreover, he does not know whether the sky is helping him or the republic, but since he became head of state, amazing tasks from oil to sovereign wealth funds and diplomatic relations with the United States have been progressing smoothly.

And in order to enjoy power and (naturally accompanying) wealth and honor as the second-in-command of the new republic that such general secretary will create, he had to accomplish the incredible revolutionary task entrusted to him this time.

“Hum, then, how much investment do you think Chairman Chung has?”

“Ah, it is difficult to answer that right here. I can’t decide on my own, so I have to listen to the president’s opinion, and since it’s a sudden suggestion I came across in the middle of the night… heh heh…”

“…………”

‘This is as the general secretary said. It is said that capitalists are the people who try to eat as much as possible from the benefits in the country but delay their promises to spend their money as much as possible… But you will soon find out that this republic is not that easy (it is not easy).’

Jang Seong-taek shed a cynicism inside as he watched Jung Moon-young smirk without giving an immediate answer.

According to the general secretary’s request, Hyundai Group Chairman Jeong Mun-young was a person who preferred intuition to calculations in business.

He was the capitalist who believed that he was the most likely to invest in the hostile country, North Korea, because he was the person who built the modern group by trusting his instant intuition when he missed an opportunity while spending time arguing for inventory.

However, despite this, as he is also a businessman and has lived a modern and contemporary history of Korea marked by political and economic ties, Chairman Jung Moon-young was very well aware that in most cases the promises made by politicians from South and North Korea are not even worth a penny.

‘First of all, he speaks well, but he meets a tiger while trying to avoid a fox. On the contrary, there is a possibility that only money will be ripped off and not even one of the promises will be fulfilled. It won’t be too late to decide the investment size after seeing how things are going with the officials!’

The high-ranking North Korean official, Jang Seong-taek, was coveted of the tax cuts and compliant labor force that he had promised in modern times, ignorant of strikes.

My desire to return to my hometown of Tongcheon, Gangwon-do was like a chimney, and the thought of wanting to spend the rest of my life there when this worked out well crept up in a corner of my mind.

However, Jung Moon-young was not a poor person to the extent that he believed only that and brought the wealth of modern times he had cultivated throughout his life to the North.

Even after he rose to the position of a legend in the Korean business world, he was still wearing socks with holes in them.

When Jung Moon-young accepted the investment but did not reveal the specific plan, Jang Seong-taek took out the second hand prepared by the general secretary.

“Oh, and there was a message from Comrade General Secretary that he especially wanted to convey only to Comrade Chung.”

“If it’s the general secretary… that…”

Oh, that young friend? As I was about to say that, Jung Moon-young shut her mouth because she wanted to miss it.

In terms of age, he is like his grandson, but on the other side, he is of Baekdu blood and a wise man.

In addition, he is the number one person in the business world in Korea, and he has nothing to be envious of when it comes to money, but if he does business in North Korea, in a sense, it is his young friend who should be more sympathetic than the president.

The president of South Korea has a term of office, but in North Korea, it is a tenure, unless he is pushed out of power.

Whether or not he knew the heart of Jung Moon-young, who thought he was envious, Jang Seong-taek gently smiled and bowed down to Jung Moon-young.

“What it is… The general secretary said that if Chairman Chung came to the North, he would meet him in person and bring him to the party to learn a lot about capitalist know-how.”

“…do you want to learn capitalist know-how?”

“As I said before, our republic is changing. Although we have not yet spoken to the general public, our Comrade General Secretary intends to eventually transition to a market economy system like others, and to become a society where people earn their fullest income in the marketplace rather than earning money from rations.”

“…I think so.”

“But there is a problem with this. It is said that technology can be taught and goods can be sold, but the problem is that it is difficult to find experienced people and workers skilled in capitalism. Even the party members who are supposed to lead reform and opening up, let alone the common people, half of them don’t know what bank accounts are, so it’s impossible for capitalization to proceed easily, right? The hardest thing in the world to change is the attitude of a person.”

“…………”

“So, in order to solve such a problem, Comrade General Secretary invites entrepreneurs from other countries to teach them about capitalism know-how. The flower of capitalism is not a business to say the least. And who other than Chairman Chung Moon-young can best teach the North Korean people about that business activity?”

Read at readwn.com

Now, Chairman Moon-Young Jung realized what kind of hint Jang Seong-Taek was trying to give, and his mouth was wide open.

Read at readwn.com

No matter how much she had gone through all the prenatal care, this proposal was more than absurd and astonishing.

In other words, this is not just about corporate activities in the self-report book…

“Are you saying that now, look at me and go over to the north? So, do you mean go to North Korea? Heh heh… unless the government officials go crazy, why don’t you just sit and watch it?”

“Ah, of course, throw away all of Chairman Chung’s wife and children and come over naked. He must have left his comrade’s family register and his nationality is still South Korean. But… what good is nationality to a businessman? I know that I am a person who has studied capitalism a lot, but for businessmen, nationality is nothing more than putting on and taking off a coat. Wasn’t the country in which he deposited the most of his money was the nationality of a businessman?”

“……That’s right, but isn’t that a rule that applies only to capitalist countries?”

“That’s what I mean. In the near future, our republic will become a capitalist country, and the aforementioned basic agreement between the two Koreas will have to include one clause pertaining to economic cooperation. Of course, it’s still just a concept, so other officials don’t know… What do you think the provisions are?”

It was a cumbersome and comprehensive question, but despite his old age, Jung Moon-young was by no means a dull-headed person.

Moreover, analogy with the post-war dialogue with Jang Sung-taek, there was a legal system necessary for him to secure political and social influence in North Korea while maintaining his South Korean nationality.

“…the protection of mutual property rights between the two Koreas and mutual respect. That way, entrepreneurs can invest in books without worrying about losing money.”

“exactly. Capitalist society is fundamentally based on trust. If assets or business deposited in a bank can be illegally seized by the authorities, who in the future would be willing to do business or work hard in our republic? This is a provision that our general secretary has also requested.”

“……”

“As far as I know, in a capitalist society, in a corporation, the will of the shareholders comes first. Doesn’t your voice get louder the more you own it? Between capitalist countries, if shareholders say they will move from one country to another for business reasons, and the government forcibly blocks it, would that make sense? That’s what would happen in a communist country. ha ha ha.”

Seeing Jang Sung-taek smiling at him while throwing his own joke, Jung Moon-young only then realized that Jang Sung-taek’s unbelievable offer was not completely absurd and began to seriously consider it.

‘This is… a possibility. No, it’s a 100% advantage to modern times even if you just show a hint of that.’

Jung Moon-young carefully considered Jang Seong-taek’s proposal from various angles.

Of course, I had no intention of signing an OK right here, but it was a proposition that sounded tempting just by saying it.

It is an issue that can be considered after such a mutual agreement is actually concluded, but if such a thing does happen, it can be a warning sign to remind the value of the modern group in Korea even to the gunbari who are anxious to eat themselves. .

Just showing a hint of ‘I will go to North Korea to do business in the future because I can’t do business in such a beggar country with tax laws and labor laws like this’ will make the votes of politicians critical of modern times fall.

Read at readwn.com

No matter how cold the eyes of the people these days on Jung Moon-young, the modern group was still Korea’s representative company, and if such a company were to be opened up and taken away by ‘redists’ (of course, if an agreement was signed, they would no longer be called redheads). Regardless of the party, the thought of winning the next general election must be put aside.

After the calculations had been made up to that point, Jung Moon-young could not help but wonder how he had come up with such an extraordinary idea in the North.

‘It seems that I overheard rumors from others that I was going to enter politics. It may be a part of a plot to attract modern capital and me to the North, but the problem is that it is unreasonable to view it as a complete twist…’

Until last night, the capitalist mindset was not being transplanted in a communist country at once, so Jang Sung-taek’s words that he would invite entrepreneurs to learn were certainly true.

Moreover, as the rumors circulated, he, Chairman Jung Moon-young, was clearly thinking of entering the political world.

Read at readwn.com

No, it wasn’t that he was thinking about it, he was outraged after he was subjected to an outrageous additional tax, so he never left the idea of refurbishing himself through politics.

There have been times when I pretended to be drunk at a drinking party that I would rather run for president with that money than to sit back and get 130 billion won in additional tax, so I could sneak up on the reactions of the employees.

‘It is said that money can buy power, but if you don’t have power, no matter how much money you have, you can’t keep the money you’ve made, and your eyes will be taken away. Of course, even in the north, there are people who don’t like to take out stones with stones that have been rolled into the ground.

Anyway, there is no need to promise anything here.

This trip to Tokyo is not in vain just by knowing how desperately Jung Moon-young himself and how much modern capital is needed for North Korea.

Jeong Mun-young, who was well-calculated, nodded with a smile on her wrinkled face.

“Well, let me actively review it. Anyway, now that I have earned enough money, I wanted to do something else, so I was sick of moth… There must be opposition from the bosses and the sons, but I will take responsibility and persuade the senior manager, Lee Jung Mun-young, one arm Reassuringly, I will help you with at least US$100 million, so you can report it and report it.”

When the concrete figures finally came out, Jang Sung-taek smiled with a smile of conversion and approached the suite mini bar and poured whiskey into two glasses.

“Hahaha… I feel like I’ve won thousands and thousands of horses to say that Chairman Chung will be with us. It was not in vain to fly all the way to Japan. I hope that in the future, the Republic will also show the capabilities that others have shown.”

“Heh, me too. It’s really nice to meet someone who gives preferential treatment to entrepreneurs after a short time. This is because Korea these days is so desperate for people who have a lot of money that they can’t look out for them. It’s been great for a car like that.”

“Then, now that we have received the confirmation, we should have a drink to share our friendship with each other. Shouldn’t we be without alcohol to do great things for the nation?”

“By the way, I’m sorry I couldn’t host this. If you come to Namjoon soon, I will buy you a big one from Manager Jang, hahaha…”

The drink was poured and the two men’s glasses collided.

“For the modern group! For a new capitalist republic! For the Korean people and the people!”

Glasses were exchanged, and laughter echoed through the suite.

After coordinating the approximate schedule of inter-Korean contacts and the timing of the announcement of investment in North Korea, the two broke up with a smile.

As Jung Moon-young disappeared from the room, Jang Seong-taek had a complicated expression on his face, and I reflected on the conversation with Chairman Jung Moon-young a while ago.

“No matter how much money you have, there is no political power, so this is of no use… South and North are the same.”

Jang Seong-taek shook his head with various thoughts and threw a word to the men in black suits who were still guarding the door.

“Did you turn on the anti-eavesdropping device?”

“Don’t worry, Comrade Zhang. You can rest assured and share what you have to say.”

The people accompanying him to this place today were agents of the newly reorganized Republic’s intelligence agency, the General Bureau of Foreign Reconnaissance.

This new organization, which is composed of only elite agents with proven loyalty and excellent abilities among the former Security Council, the National Security Agency, and social safety, will become the Republic’s invisible sword and shield in the future.

When communication was secured, Jang Seong-taek took out his phone and called a person who was waiting for his report.

– Comrade General Secretary Jang Seong-taek. The job is well done. Now that you have changed the heart of the most important comrade, you will soon be able to remove the pillars of the Modern Group from the South and move them to the Republic, as you said.

– Well done. Director Jang’s comrade. The target period is 7 years. Until seven years later, both legally and institutionally, the kernels of the modern group are being transferred to our North Korea, and there must be no flaws so that even South Korean comrades cannot object. Do you understand ?