Chapter 172

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Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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After the Fukushima incident, numerous countries began crying for nuclear phase-out and seeking other resources.

But there was still nothing in this world as efficient as nuclear power.

Rather, gathering other resources caused power shortages and only increased the burden on ordinary citizens.

“Still, everyone hesitated to build nuclear power plants. Because citizens were anxious.”

Chernobyl, Fukushima.

These two had a massive impact on people’s perceptions.

“But now everyone has changed their thinking again. Citizens are feeling firsthand that energy costs have become way too high. Plus, with frequent blackouts due to power shortages, they’re feeling the necessity of nuclear power even more.”

Nuclear power is a double-edged sword.

But if managed safely, it had the world’s best efficiency.

“And the decisive blow was the Russo-Ukrainian war. When natural gas supplies were hit across Europe and the world, and citizens bore all that responsibility.”

The Russo-Ukrainian war wasn’t just damage to Russia and Ukraine.

As the world’s breadbasket turned into a sea of fire, grain prices soared, and with economic sanctions and pipeline explosions halting natural gas supplies, those prices too shot up beyond imagination.

“But there is something at the center of all this.”

The force involved in numerous events, instigating grain and natural gas prices to soar.

It was Gwangwoon.

The problem was that this Gwangwoon had sent over $1 billion in donations to the IAEA.

“Has a donation of this scale ever come to our international atomic energy agency?”

“For a single company, not a country, to give $1 billion is a first in IAEA history.”

“It’s Gwangwoon, you know. They’re famous. The money Gwangwoon Group is making right now is beyond imagination.”

For media, Enflix and PikPik.

For money, KW Exchange.

Plus, during COVID, only Gwangwoon sold vaccines.

And that’s not all?

Gwangwoon had conquered that vast ocean under the name of shipping.

“They say Gwangwoon is making the most money in the world?”

“We can’t know for sure. Their core companies aren’t publicly listed.”

“Why are world governments leaving such a group alone? At that scale, shouldn’t they be caught by anti-trust laws and then some?”

As the atmosphere grew heated, the Secretary-General calmed them down.

“We don’t need to have such discussions. Leave such complicated political matters to politicians. we just need to do our job.”

Anti-trust and whatnot.

These people didn’t need to worry about such things.

They just needed to handle nuclear power-related matters.

“What Gwangwoon wants is to stop Fukushima contaminated water discharge, right?”

“Yes. They want us to do a more precise investigation once more.”

“But didn’t Japan decide to discharge Fukushima contaminated water because they’ve reached their limit?”

Japan initially stored Fukushima contaminated water separately.

But as all storage facilities became completely full, they decided to discharge since there was nowhere else to store it.

“And didn’t our investigation conclude there was no problem? Plus, many developed countries including Korea are discharging contaminated water daily.”

“But Japan has falsified figures several times, and Japan saying they have no storage space is honestly an excuse. They can build more storage facilities as much as they want. They just don’t because of costs and citizen opposition.”

The best method was to build underground facilities to store contaminated water.

Many nuclear countries actually store contaminated water this way.

Japan refused to dig underground facilities citing earthquakes and geological issues, but in fact everyone here knew that was just an excuse.

“So what Gwangwoon wants is to delay the Fukushima discharge for now?”

“They probably want us to issue an official statement. That we cannot allow discharge without a more accurate investigation.”

Of course, the Japanese government could ignore the IAEA’s words.

But doing so would only hurt the Japanese government.

Because if the IAEA officially declares Fukushima contaminated water has problems, all Japanese seafood will be globally banned from export and international credibility will plummet.

“Gwangwoon knows that too, which is why they’re making this request to us.”

“In a word, they’re bribing us? To move according to their wishes.”

“Does it have to be interpreted that way? The safety concerns about Fukushima contaminated water have been consistently raised by our side too. Plus, looking at Gwangwoon’s recent moves, there’s no reason for us to be antagonistic.”

Gwangwoon was suddenly pouring massive investment into the Guyana region.

And while there were whispers of Gwangwoon involvement after Jackson Mobil was attacked there, that wasn’t what mattered.

“Everyone knows that with the chairman stepping down from Jackson Mobil, Gwangwoon took that position. And that there’s uranium in Guyana. The connection is clear, isn’t it?”

“So you’re saying Gwangwoon is interested in nuclear power development?”

“It’s certain. One of Jackson Mobil’s subsidiaries is nuclear power, and many Korean companies have already been deployed to Guyana. Companies that can dig deep underground facilities at that.”

But nuclear power can’t be run in underground facilities. Storing contaminated water, maybe.

“But SMR can.”

Small Modular Reactor.

Small nuclear power plant.

A facility 4-5 times smaller than existing nuclear power plants, considered the next generation of nuclear technology.

It requires less space, causes less environmental damage, and is easy to install or dismantle.

And the biggest advantage of this power plant is that it can be installed underground.

“Guyana has many ore deposits, so there are really many underground facilities. Also, Korea has been researching SMR for a long time. In this context, sending us such a large sum means Gwangwoon isn’t doing this simply out of environmental concern.”

In other words, Gwangwoon was entering nuclear power.

Especially the SMR technology currently under development.

Did Gwangwoon really send this large sum because they worried about Fukushima discharge?

No. They’re using this incident as justification to join hands with the IAEA.

“This is good for us. How many people have hated nuclear power and tried to push us out, claiming nuclear phase-out?”

The IAEA doesn’t recommend nuclear phase-out.

They don’t say it outright, but they believe nuclear power is the only technology that can save humanity.

But the world criticized the IAEA as devils and said everything they did was corrupt.

It was truly a long period of humiliation.

“But if it’s Gwangwoon, if they take the lead, we can accelerate nuclear power technology development.”

As an example, the donation Gwangwoon gave this time would all go into investment for nuclear power technology development.

Until now, hadn’t countries reduced investment or completely stopped research due to nuclear power dangers?

But if Gwangwoon becomes a solid financial backer, they could quickly continue the halted nuclear power development.

An opportunity for mistreated nuclear power to soar again.

And Gwangwoon was creating that opportunity.

“But Secretary-General. The other side is Gwangwoon. The company with all those conspiracy theories following it. To give them nuclear power of all things. What if they’re aiming for something other than energy?”

The Secretary-General then chuckled.

“Let’s not go too far. You seem worried about nuclear weapons development, but they’re just a company after all. What would they do if they developed something like nuclear weapons? Do you really think Gwangwoon would do something that crazy?”

***

Apparently, the image of our Gwangwoon as seen by people was like a relief pitcher.

A place that acquires struggling companies and steadily revives them from the ground up.

“So you’re saying they asked us for help even though we don’t hold any Jackson Mobil shares?”

“Yes. With Jackson Mobil’s market cap dropping from $400 billion to $200 billion, there were many internal controversies. Since we’re coincidentally pouring investment into the Guyana area, they reached out asking us to save them.”

Jackson Mobil used a whopping $100 billion for their acquisition fund.

So they had no capacity to repair the Guyana facilities.

Due to that capital shortage, Jackson Mobil handed management rights to us and asked us to normalize the Guyana facilities.

“In a way, you could say we got it cheap. Since we obtained management rights to the giant energy company called Jackson Mobil.”

With various funds and shareholders handing us their shares cheaply, our Gwangwoon obtained Jackson Mobil’s management rights with a total 5% controlling stake.

“Is this a gain for us?”

Honestly, I’m not sure if it’s a gain or not.

“It’ll depend on how we utilize it going forward. President.”

That was quite difficult.

What do I know about energy to manage it?

Of course, my brother and executives at headquarters would handle it well.

“Ah. And we got a response from the IAEA.”

So I focused on that.

The thing holding my interest right now was the IAEA.

“What did they say?”

“They’ll send an official letter to Japan again and do accurate testing. That way, contaminated water discharge will likely be difficult for up to 1 year.”

That was a relief.

What I worried about most was the environmental problem caused by contaminated water.

It’s true that our country and others discharge contaminated water regularly, but the Fukushima case is different.

“But the IAEA also made another proposal along with this.”

“Another proposal?”

“Yes. They’re asking what we think about a joint investment in SMR development in cooperation with the Guyana government.”

“SMR means…”

“Small nuclear power plant. Our country has been researching SMR for a long time, but from the previous administration to the current one, investment was drastically reduced so it’s effectively stopped now. They’re suggesting that the Guyana government, IAEA, and our Gwangwoon should properly pursue this together. Call it Ultimate Tier.”

I felt resistance first.

I even sent donations to the IAEA thinking about the environment.

And suddenly nuclear power development, which could have the biggest impact on environmental destruction?

“But SMR is different. It’s not that there’s zero environmental damage, but it can be minimized, and it’s small scale too. If we properly develop this, we can greatly reduce energy problems. If our country succeeds in development first, we could become the leader.”

Right at that moment.

A thrill starting from my feet reached up to the top of my head.

It was a clear signal from my intuition.

“If we think about the environment, this is the right path, isn’t it?”

“Yes. Due to the Russo-Ukrainian war, Europe canceled nuclear phase-out and is leaning toward nuclear power again. Then the vicious cycle just keeps repeating. But if we develop eco-friendly and safe technology, couldn’t we break that cycle?”

It seemed the Section Chief was right.

My body shivered once more with how strongly the signal spread through me.

“Then please coordinate well with headquarters and proceed with this.”

My role ends exactly here.

Since I’m not an expert in that field anyway, it was more convenient to just let headquarters handle cooperation with the IAEA.

“But if we block Fukushima discharge, the Japanese government will strongly resist too, right?”

“Yes. But they won’t be able to force it. If the IAEA announces that Fukushima discharge is problematic, Japan will take a big hit too. Plus, there’s division among Japanese citizens about this discharge issue.”

Even though Fukushima contaminated water hasn’t been discharged yet, conspiracy theories are circulating that Japanese fish are all soaked in radiation.

The Fukushima incident had that much global impact.

In this situation, if they also discharge, there are citizens opposing it out of concern for even greater perception damage.

Actually, I was one of them too.

“So we can delay about 1 year, but after that we can’t stop it?”

“Yes. It’s the Japanese government’s will to definitely discharge.”

So we’re just delaying and can’t stop it…

“They won’t change their minds?”

“Unless the politicians there get replaced, it’ll be difficult.”

But strangely, I felt a tingling sensation there.

“Are there any Japanese elections this year?”

“Ah, yes. I believe there are several local and mayoral elections.”

Could it be because of this?

“Then could you bring me the list?”

***

“Wait another year like this? Are you sane right now?”

“But if we don’t follow the IAEA’s will, the national damage will be enormous. It’s frustrating, but we have no choice but to follow their wishes.”

The IAEA had once dispatched a team and announced that there were no problems with Fukushima contaminated water.

But now they suddenly changed their position and declared they would reinvestigate.

“Gwangwoon is behind this, isn’t it?”

“Yes. They spread $1 billion around while requesting reinvestigation of Fukushima contaminated water.”

“Why suddenly Gwangwoon? They’re not really doing this out of environmental concern, are they?”

“Apparently Gwangwoon is entering nuclear power, and they seem to be using Japan as their justification.”

Gwangwoon entering nuclear power.

Was it just paranoia that made me worried first?

“Hah. What are we supposed to do with these guys?”

Other places aside.

Gwangwoon must not be made an enemy.

Wasn’t it thanks to Gwangwoon that the current administration could maintain this state?

At their request, Gwangwoon sacrificed former PM Dobe and completed the current administration.

If this fact leaked out, there would be no bigger political scandal.

So they couldn’t touch Gwangwoon carelessly.

If they touched them wrongly, it was obvious an unprecedented scandal in Japanese political history would break out.

“But Prime Minister, there’s a strange rumor circulating now.”

“What rumor?”

“Gwangwoon is distributing donations to local and mayoral election candidates taking place this year.”

“Distributing donations has always been common, hasn’t it?”

“Yes. But this time is a bit different. On the surface, they’re supporting people who oppose Fukushima discharge, but looking closely, there seems to be a different intention.”

A different intention?

Could there be any different intention here?

“Among the candidates receiving sponsorship from Gwangwoon this time, most are Korean-heritage individuals.”

“Wha-what!?”

“Some have one Korean parent, and some lived in Korea before naturalizing in Japan.”

“Wait. So you’re saying Gwangwoon is using the contaminated water as a pretext to advance Korean-heritage individuals into our political sphere?”

You might say what difference could a single company’s help make.

But Gwangwoon is different.

Don’t they have the powerful force called media?

Also, what would happen if they advertised those candidates through SNS dominating Japan and spread malicious content about the opposing candidates?

Moreover, since Japan declared complete openness, Korean companies have been taking over major Japanese cities.

What if they actively push those candidates?

“Th-these Gwangwoon bastards are trying to… Japan…!”

Not immediately, but one day.

The day would come when a Korean-Japanese person sponsored by Gwangwoon would become the Prime Minister of this country.

Then this country would become Gwangwoon’s colony.

End