Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 436

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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436. I will make a donation to the military.

The Ministry of National Defense building in Yongsan.
Inside the office, a portrait of the President hung on the wall behind a spacious desk, flanked by the Taegeuk flag and the red Ministry of National Defense banner, creating an atmosphere of solemn authority.
An Yong-guk, the Minister with deep furrows etched across his brow, sat in the center while Army Chief of Staff Choi Jin-seok and Second Field Army Commander Cha Ji-hwan occupied the sofa across from him.
Teacups rested on the table, but no one had touched them—they had grown cold.
In the heavy silence, Commander Cha Ji-hwan, his face darkened by the sun, finally broke his frustrated silence.

“This is outrageous! Our military isn’t some private security contractor!”

Chief of Staff Choi Jin-seok, sitting across from him, added his voice with an equally displeased expression.

“Exactly. These aren’t even critical national facilities. Having soldiers guard ordinary civilian buildings—it’s unthinkable.”

Watching the two generals protest with flushed faces, Minister An Yong-guk pressed his temples with one hand, clearly troubled.
He exhaled a deep sigh before speaking.

“I’m not pleased about it either. But this order came directly from the Blue House—what can I do?”
“Still….”

As Commander Cha Ji-hwan moved to protest again, Minister An Yong-guk raised a hand to stop him.

“The president of Daeheung Investment will be arriving shortly. Let’s hear what he has to say first.”
“What if he comes here spouting nonsense?”

Commander Cha Ji-hwan asked seriously, and after a moment of silence, Minister An Yong-guk replied in a measured tone.

“Then I’ll go to the Blue House and ask the President to reconsider his directive.”

Both men, well aware of how difficult it was to ask a newly inaugurated president to reconsider his orders, fell silent and closed their mouths.
These two four-star generals were lodging such strong protests against Minister An Yong-guk, their senior officer and superior, precisely because of Seok-won.
Seok-won, who had purchased an underground bunker in Busan to use as a private vault, had been contemplating how to safely protect the gold bars he intended to store there.
Then he recalled that Fort Knox, true to its name, housed America’s gold repository within a military base, allowing armed troops to mobilize instantly in case of emergency.
While there were separate armed security guards, the prospect of heavily equipped soldiers being able to rush to the scene at any moment was far more reassuring than anything else.
No matter how tempting the gold bars filling the vault might be, few would dare attempt an intrusion.
Through Representative Woo Chun-il, who had become Chief Secretary at the Blue House, Seok-won had requested that military troops be stationed there on the condition of providing surrounding public land purchased along with the bunker.
And this current situation was the result of that request.
In the silence, the three men sat with stern expressions, smoking cigarettes as they waited for Seok-won to arrive.
After some time had passed, an aide bearing the rank of captain knocked and entered through the door.

“What is it?”

Minister An Yong-guk turned his head to look, a cigarette held between his fingers.
The aide, sensing the heavy atmosphere in the room, spoke carefully and cautiously.

“Guests from Daeheung Venture Capital have arrived.”

At that, Minister An Yong-guk stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray on the desk and spoke.

“Show them in.”
“Yes, sir.”

After the aide left, Seok-won entered the office shortly after, accompanied by his Attendant Secretary, Han Ji-sung.
Minister An Yong-guk rose along with the two generals and approached Seok-won, extending his hand first.

“Welcome.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Park Seok-won.”

Seok-won clasped his hand and met his gaze.
Then Minister An Yong-guk, his expression stern, gestured with one hand toward the two generals standing side by side and introduced them.

“These are Army Chief of Staff Choi Jin-seok and Second Field Army Commander Cha Ji-hwan.”
“I see. It’s a pleasure to meet you both.”

Seok-won, smiling, offered to shake hands with each of them, but the two generals responded with stiff courtesy.

“I’m Choi Jin-seok.”
“I’m Cha Ji-hwan.”

From the expressions of the three men and the atmosphere in the room, I easily discerned that I was an unwelcome guest.
True to their military bearing, they made no effort to conceal their displeasure—it was impossible not to notice.
After exchanging such perfunctory greetings, both parties settled onto the sofas.
As an orderly cleared away the teacups and brought fresh coffee before withdrawing, An Yong-guk, seated in the center, finally broke the awkward silence.

“I understand you wish to have the 53rd Division Military Police relocated to the Gwangan-dong defense facility.”

Though I was considerably younger, An Yong-guk knew I was a member of a conglomerate family and, more importantly, that President Kim Jae-chun held me in special regard—so his tone remained cautious.

“That is correct.”

I regarded An Yong-guk and the two generals seated across from me with an air of composure as I spoke.

“Should you agree to relocate the Military Police, I will demolish both the current Civil Service Training Institute and the Health and Environmental Research Institute buildings. I will personally bear all costs to construct new military facilities necessary for their garrison.”

Since they had already heard this much, their expressions remained unchanged—but Choi Jin-seok, the Army Chief of Staff with four stars on each shoulder, fixed me with a direct gaze and displayed a decidedly negative attitude.

“With respect, the military is an organization for the people and national security. It does not exist to protect the private assets of any individual.”

Cha Ji-hwan, the commander seated beside him, nodded with a stern expression, clearly in agreement.
But having anticipated such resistance, I responded with unruffled composure.

“A fair point, sir.”

Surprised by my ready acquiescence, Choi Jin-seok appeared relieved and moved to conclude the matter.

“I’m glad we understand each other better than expected. Then we can consider this proposal withdrawn….”

But before he could finish, I spoke with unmistakable gravity.

“However, I believe the military may assume responsibility for security, protection, and defense of critical facilities essential to national security and the maintenance of social and economic order.”
“Of course, but that applies only to nationally designated critical facilities, as you yourself stated.”
“Which means there is no legal impediment whatsoever.”

Choi Jin-seok’s brow furrowed, sensing I was being deliberately obtuse.

“Are you suggesting that the Gwangan bunker you purchased qualifies as a nationally critical facility?”
“I am.”

As Seok-won nodded, Minister An Yong-guk, who had been listening to the conversation, interjected.

“There seems to be a misunderstanding. It’s true that the Gwangan bunker was a critical facility until recently. However, once the Eulji facility was newly constructed in the basement of the new municipal building built by Busan, it was removed from the list of national critical infrastructure.”

Critical facilities referred to essential installations that could have decisive impacts on the lives of citizens if destroyed, occupied, or rendered non-functional by an enemy.

“I’m aware of that.”

Seok-won shrugged and replied.

“You should know what I’m planning to store in the Gwangan bunker.”
“I heard you’re planning to keep gold bars collected through the gold collection campaign.”
“That’s correct. But do you know how much we’re talking about?”
“I’m not entirely certain about that.”

Since those above hadn’t provided exact figures, Minister An Yong-guk didn’t have precise knowledge of that aspect either.
He could only speculate that it would be quite substantial, given that the gold collection campaign had taken place nationwide.
Of course, his conviction remained unchanged that no matter how precious gold was, it still didn’t justify mobilizing the military for its sake.
Then Seok-won looked around at the three men and spoke.

“166 tons.”
“…!”
“That’s just what was collected in January alone. We’re projecting that at least 220 tons or more will be collected by the time the gold collection campaign concludes.”

At the staggering amount, Minister An Yong-guk and the two generals sat with their eyes wide and mouths agape.

“My goodness. There was that much gold in the Domestic Market!”

Hearing Minister An Yong-guk’s exclamation of amazement, Chief of Staff Choi Jin-seok also nodded with a stunned expression.

“Indeed.”

At that moment, Seok-won gestured, and Han Ji-sung, who was seated beside him, quickly retrieved a thin folder from the document case resting on his lap and placed it on the table.
Minister An Yong-guk, still reeling from the shock of 166 tons of gold bars, looked at it and asked.

“What is this?”
“It’s an agreement signed with the Bank of Korea.”
“…?”
“As you’ll see, I’ve entered into an agreement allowing the gold bars I’ve purchased to be utilized as foreign exchange reserves whenever necessary for a period of ten years.”

Seok-won gazed at the three men blinking in bewilderment, flashing a bright smile.

“In other words, it’s my private property, yet simultaneously serves as a temporary component of Korea’s foreign exchange reserves.”
“…!”
“Since it will house critical gold bars designated for emergency foreign currency reserves, there’s no issue whatsoever in designating it as a national strategic facility.”

The three men, grasping the implication, exchanged glances with a hint of discomfort.

“Hmm.”
“Ahem….”

As if he’d anticipated their resistance, Seok-won produced the agreement he’d signed with the Bank of Korea and laid it before them—making further objections difficult to justify.
Seok-won opened his mouth, feigning indifference to their troubled expressions.

“Of course, if you’re determined to find fault regardless, there are ways to raise objections.”

As if on cue, Commander Cha Ji-hwan stepped forward.

“That’s precisely what we’re concerned about.”
“So I’d like to propose something.”

Minister An Yong-guk and the two other ministers narrowed their eyes, watching his every word.

“As I mentioned, I’ll not only construct modern barracks and all necessary facilities for the Military Police to use, but I’ll also provide 100 million won annually for operational expenses.”

Yet Commander Cha Ji-hwan still appeared reluctant.

“While I appreciate the offer, frankly, the inconvenience of relocating from a perfectly functional garrison and the burden of potential unwanted scrutiny outweigh the benefits.”

Minister An Yong-guk and Chief of Staff Choi Jin-seok could certainly acknowledge the necessity of protecting gold bars that might serve as foreign currency reserves.
However, taking on such a responsibility themselves was another matter entirely, and their reservations remained.

“I understand the military is currently conducting performance evaluations on prototypes for the next-generation self-propelled gun project.”

At this unexpected mention of the next-generation self-propelled gun, Minister An Yong-guk and the two generals exchanged puzzled glances.
Until the 1980s, North Korea had independently developed and maintained 170mm self-propelled guns with a 40km range, while the Korean military lagged in both quantity and firepower of self-propelled artillery.
To overcome this disadvantage, the military had undertaken a project to independently develop a new self-propelled gun with superior performance to the existing K55, using domestic technology.

‘And after ten grueling years of blood, sweat, and tears, what emerged was the K9 self-propelled gun—Korea’s pride and a masterpiece of weaponry.’

Dismissing the fleeting thought, Seok-won extended an offer that the firepower-obsessed fanatics of the Ministry of National Defense could never refuse.

“I understand that if this year’s evaluation tests conclude successfully, mass production will begin next year in Yangsan.”
“That’s correct. But why are you bringing this up?”

Chief of Staff Choi Jin-seok asked with a puzzled expression.

“If you relocate the 53rd Division Military Police as requested, I will donate thirty K9 self-propelled guns to the military.”
“!”

As the two generals stared in shock, Defense Minister An Yong-guk hastily leaned forward in his seat.

“Is that truly the case?”
“Yes. If you wish, I can even provide a written pledge.”

Seok-won nodded without the slightest hesitation.
Upon hearing his response, Chief of Staff Choi Jin-seok and Commander Cha Ji-hwan swallowed hard involuntarily.
It was understandable—while still in the evaluation phase and thus lacking a finalized delivery price, each next-generation self-propelled gun was estimated at approximately 4 billion won.
That amounted to roughly 120 billion won in total.
The entire nation had already entered austerity measures due to the IMF crisis, and defense spending had been slashed considerably.
Under these circumstances, the next-generation self-propelled gun project faced the risk of drastically reduced production quantities.
Naturally, as production volume decreased, unit manufacturing costs would inevitably rise, making it an enormous headache for the budget-strapped Ministry of National Defense.
Yet here came an unexpected savior, and they felt like raising both arms and cheering on the spot.
As Seok-won sat with a composed expression, the three men rapidly exchanged glances, conducting a silent conversation.
Soon, Defense Minister An Yong-guk cleared his throat softly and spoke first.

“Ahem. We are truly grateful that Chairman Park is going to such lengths for the military. Moreover, since the gold bullion to be stored will temporarily serve as the Bank of Korea’s foreign exchange reserves, it seems reasonable to classify it as a national critical facility. What do you gentlemen think?”

Chief of Staff Choi Jin-seok, who had opposed most vehemently, flipped his stance as easily as turning over his palm.

“Having experienced this foreign exchange crisis, the importance of foreign exchange reserves has grown. From a security standpoint, there appears to be a clear need for protection.”
“I share that view.”

Naturally, Commander Cha Ji-hwan agreed as well.
In that moment, what dominated the minds of all three was the gleaming image of thirty brand-new K9 self-propelled guns.
Greater firepower!
Greater destructive capability!
A garrison relocation? Why wait—do it immediately!
Seeing the three men united in their resolve, Seok-won smiled brightly.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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