Chapter 125: The Reason for the High Prices
Korea had a reputation for its expensive prices since the beginning of the 21st century.
Especially the food prices, which were sky-high, and they remained the same even after Yu Ji-ha came to power.
Rather, they soared even more as the countries that had a falling out with him stopped exporting food.
One hundred thousand won for 1kg of domestic pork belly.
It was a phrase that the media often used to criticize Yu Ji-ha.
―Previous governments had always paid attention to managing the prices that directly affected people’s lives. But this government does not seem to care about that.
―Do you think people will be satisfied with going to space, launching new semiconductors, and creating jobs? We have entered an era where it is hard to have a pork belly party with the money we earn.
The public opinion was that Yu Ji-ha finally faced a challenge.
He had overcome difficulties with all kinds of new technologies and suppressed people’s complaints, but he could not do the same with food prices.
Some senior bureaucrats advised him to at least control the food prices, since they could not tell him to leave the Blue House now.
―If you want to win the hearts of the grassroots, you have to keep the basket prices within a reasonable range.
―But the problem is that it is not easy because we are on bad terms with the major food exporting countries.
EU, China, and Japan were the main ones, and they refused to give any benefits to Korea, while also cutting off food imports.
As a result, the prices of meat and dairy products, which depended heavily on imports, rose a lot.
It was the same for alcohol, but at least there were alternatives like the US, but it was hard to find substitutes for EU cheese and butter.
However, some people argued that it was unreasonable to blame Yu Ji-ha alone for this situation.
―Korea’s food prices were always high. The tendency to skyrocket under this regime is because of the distributors who hoard goods and do not release them.
―Consumers pay high costs, but producers and sellers say they don’t make much. Where does that money go?
―Why do you always blame the distributors? The Korean peninsula itself is not suitable for farming.
―Most of the land is mountainous, and we import most of the fertilizer, so it is not profitable. It means low productivity.
Amid various stories, some media criticized Yu Ji-ha for not even visiting a mart.
―Many people think that the president looking around a traditional market surrounded by aides is a show. But Yu Ji-ha does not even do that show.
―He seems to have given up on price management altogether. The current president has all the power, so he should remember that his responsibility is also infinite.
It was not easy to absorb 20 million poor people, but few people took that into account.
He was a dictator, so he had full responsibility for everything. That was right a hundred times.
But it was not true that Yu Ji-ha did nothing at all.
He had to turn everything upside down to solve Korea’s distorted food prices, and the victims would be enormous.
“Is it fortunate? The rural population that will become victims is decreasing.”
“If this goes on for about 10 years, it will almost reach the extinction stage.”
The only solution was to introduce smart farms across the board, but the population that would oppose it was decreasing.
The media made a fuss and aired special programs saying that this could not go on, but it was not a bad thing for Yu Ji-ha.
After all, he could build mega-cities by confiscating farmland.
A task force was formed to solve the food crisis, and Vice Chief of Staff Bae Seong-min reported on the agenda.
“There are problems with other foods as well, but especially refrigerated pork is completely out of stock. We contacted local companies, but they said it would be difficult within this quarter.”
There were many other problems, but pork was the most urgent.
“Did you contact them?”
“Yes, they said they knew there was a lot of demand, but they couldn’t easily increase their livestock.”
They didn’t know when this demand would subside, so they had to be conservative about investing in facilities.
The deputy minister of agriculture and food reported on the domestic pig farming situation.
“The number of pig farms in Korea has decreased by 5.6% compared to last year. Despite the soaring pork prices, the number of pig farmers has decreased because of the decline in rural population.”
Everyone knew it, but there was no solution.
No matter how much settlement money they gave or rented empty houses for free, people did not want to leave the city.
How convenient and fun the city was in this world.
Games, androids, translations…
Yu Ji-ha, who provided such things, was seriously criticized by foreign media as a dictator who would drive Koreans to extinction.
It was because the birth rate, which had hit rock bottom, was plunging deeper than the Earth’s core.
Everything would be turned upside down when the Plague invaded, but until then, they had no choice but to endure.
Anyway, the domestic media argued that more subsidies should be given to pig farms, which were decreasing in number, but it was nonsense.
It was because Yu Ji-ha had been waiting for a day like today.
They had to suffer from a shortage once in a while so that there would be no big backlash against the introduction of smart farms.
Of course, he could push it through unilaterally, but he didn’t need to make more enemies at home when he already had many abroad.
“The supply itself has decreased… But it shouldn’t be this scarce.”
“We sent some staff to investigate. The result…”
One of the directors sent a relatively well-organized document.
A few big shots in the pig industry were hoarding pork in their warehouses and not releasing it.
Even meat with a short shelf life was like this, let alone other foods. It was not an exaggeration to say that the prices were determined by a few distributors.
Yu Ji-ha put down the document and asked.
“Did you meet them? Why don’t they release it?”
“They said they have a separate contract with a foreign country. They didn’t mention where.”
“They must be stalling with the foreign excuse, since there is no such demand in Korea.”
“Shall we check the quarantine certificate? If we look into the export documents, we might be able to pressure them.”
“Never mind. They are people who have decided not to export.”
Yu Ji-ha monitored the society with his drone system and CP system, but he did not control the activities of individuals or companies.
He had nothing to say if they invested their own money and decided not to export.
But they would be responsible for the result of moving Yu Ji-ha.
Vice Chief of Staff Bae Seong-min asked casually.
“Shall I go and see them?”
Even the most gutsy people would cringe if they heard that he came from the Blue House.
Especially in these times.
“No, Vice Chief of Staff, there is one place you and I have to go together. And tell the Ministry of Agriculture and Food to highlight this point in the media. It is true that the government is responsible for the current situation. But it is also fueled by some distributors.”
Who wouldn’t want to make more money?
The current actions of the distributors were not illegal, but they were clearly conscienceless actions that disrupted the market order.
Yu Ji-ha could take out all the meat with one word, but he wanted to use them to introduce smart farms in Korea.
“Yes.”
“And contact Russia to prepare for pork imports.”
The deputy minister was dumbfounded, as he had heard from the Russian embassy yesterday that pork exports were difficult.
But he had to do what Yu Ji-ha said.
“I understand.”
“The meeting is over, so go back to your work. And Vice Chief of Staff, change your clothes for a moment. It will be cold.”
Where on earth was he going?
Vice Chief of Staff Bae Seong-min tilted his head and grabbed a coat.
***
The Kamchatka Peninsula in July was colder than Bae Seong-min expected.
What greeted him as he got off the business jet were Korean signs everywhere.
―Welcome to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.
The Korean letters were oddly crooked, as if they were written by local Russians.
‘Now it’s our territory…’
The pier, which should have been crowded with fishing boats, was empty.
Maybe more people preferred being Russians than Koreans.
But it seemed that about half of them remained.
They headed straight south of the Kamchatka Peninsula by helicopter.
The submarine base that should have been there was gone.
Yu Ji-ha pointed out the window with a smirk.
“That’s where the smart farm is.”
“Smart farm?”
Vice Chief of Staff Bae Seong-min was surprised.
They passed the volcanic area of the southern Kamchatka Peninsula and a huge city came into view.
The whole city was made of smart farms.
“Mr. President, those buildings…”
“They are all smart farms. Most of the facilities operate unmanned and there are some androids deployed. The annual food production is close to one million tons.”
“…”
As he listened to the explanation, Bae Seong-min felt something uneasy.
He couldn’t have made these things in a short time.
He must have prepared them for a long time.
Maybe even before he became president…
He suddenly remembered the claim from the US side that his becoming president was not a coincidence.
Maybe he had manipulated everything behind the scenes.
‘Could it be, even the Korean War…?’
He thought it was impossible, but what if he had androids before that?
What if androids that were hard to distinguish from humans infiltrated North Korea and eliminated the border troops and started shelling the south?
The possibility was low, but he couldn’t be sure that it wasn’t his doing.
His actions from the time he was acting president to now were too consistent and creepy.
‘If he planned everything behind the scenes, he must not be an ordinary person…’
As a vice chief of staff, he had access to a lot of information, and especially from the US side, there were many doubts about Yu Ji-ha’s identity.
When he put them together, it was hard to believe that Yu Ji-ha was an ordinary chaebol third generation.
‘Is he really an alien?’
In the US, his alien theory was already gaining serious momentum.
With the semiconductor and meteorite incidents, the existence of aliens was confirmed, and then the theory became more prominent.
The doubts were so plausible that even Bae Seong-min wondered ‘Could it be?’
―Many countries have seen powerful psychics emerge. But Korea is strangely not showing such a trend. There must be someone controlling them from behind.
―No matter how strong artificial intelligence is, it is impossible to develop diamond semiconductors without proper research facilities. He must have brought something that already exists.
―Is this the end? Probably not. Next, quantum communication and quantum computer technology will be established by him. Then it will be almost certain that he is an alien.
But regardless of these hypotheses, Yu Ji-ha was an indispensable existence for Korea now.
Even if it was true that he planned the Korean War and assassinated former president Jo Hyeong-geun.
‘We can’t go back now. We can’t do without him.’
Bae Seong-min steeled his mind and got off the helicopter and looked at the smart farm.
He didn’t notice it from above, but it felt overwhelming to be close to such a huge scale.
“Wow, this is huge…”
“The main products are cultured meat, but we are also preparing to produce other things.”
“Isn’t cultured meat enough as a substitute? Spam would be possible, but…”
As Bae Seong-min said, cultured meat at this point was somewhat different from conventional meat.
It couldn’t fully reproduce the muscles, and the connection with the fat layer was poor, so it felt a strong sense of incongruity when chewing.
Most of the cultured meat was distributed as minced meat after receiving harsh reviews from various tasting events.
Things like hamburger patties.
Of course, cultured meat that was made with enough effort could almost match the texture of meat, but the cost was a problem.
“Do you like meat, Vice Chief of Staff? Since we’re here, let’s have a taste.”
“Oh, yes.”
Bae Seong-min followed Yu Ji-ha into the control center, preferring pork over beef.
The tasting room on the first floor was already filled with a savory smell of grilling meat.
Bae Seong-min was surprised when he tasted the pork belly cooked by an android.
“Huh?”
“Not bad, right?”
It was not just decent, but a quality that was hard to find even in a good meat restaurant.
The meat had a chewy texture and the fat was tender and savory.
He had long thrown away the doubt of how it was made, as it was too delicious.
“In my personal opinion, this is much better than Spanish Iberico.”
“I know you like pork, so I’m glad to hear that.”
“Can I… have some more?”
“Of course.”
He seemed to fill his stomach while he was here.
Well, not bad.
Yu Ji-ha opened his mouth as he tasted a piece next to him.
“Listen while you eat. I’m going to overhaul the food distribution network in Korea.”
It was difficult.
It was not because the previous government was incompetent that they didn’t do anything.
They gave up because it would cause too much loss and damage to tear it down from the root.
But what if he could do it?
Vice Chief of Staff Bae Seong-min nodded and asked.
“I’ll do whatever I can.”
“There are a lot of food items that are not recorded in the computer. Most of the places are still cash businesses, even if they are a bit large. We have to track them all.”
He felt the word difficult rising up to his throat, but he had to do it since the president brought it up.
He didn’t want to hear that he was an incompetent vice chief of staff from him.
“I heard earlier that dairy products are also a mess. There are a lot of French ones.”
“Yes, well…”
The relationship between Yu Ji-ha and France was so bad that even enemies would look friendly.
As a result, most of the trade was cut off and even French food ingredients were stopped from importing.
Wine was not a big deal, as there were many producing countries, but French cheese and butter were a serious problem.
They got half of their annual imports from France, but it was blocked and there was a chaos.
Some pointed out that Korea’s exclusive attitude caused this situation.
―It’s not normal for a country with a 30% food self-sufficiency rate to antagonize the EU.
―Korea boasts high technology, but other countries also have weapons. It’s the scariest when they use food as a weapon.
―They should reconcile and lift the sanctions now. The chances of France accepting it are low, though.
This was the first time that food was used as a weapon, although there had been such assumptions before.
The UN expressed concern over France’s full-scale sanctions, but as always, they didn’t stop it.
And France was reporting very detailed on Korea’s food situation.
It was not a mistake to think that they were gloating behind.
Like this, the two countries were almost at war, even if they didn’t clash directly.
Before, they didn’t block food exports, but after Marine Le Pen became president, they took a decisive measure of full-scale sanctions.
The relatively neutral US media covered this situation and noted Yu Ji-ha’s response.
―He has shown great technology and radical policies so far, but he seems to have a long way to go in the food sector.
―If he can overcome this crisis by himself again… Well, the US should seriously see Korea as a challenger and be tense.
―A country that can challenge the US after the Soviet Union and China may emerge. It’s still only a possibility due to internal problems and weight class, though.
Yu Ji-ha skimmed through the data on his panel and said.
“Let’s put aside France and analyze the current situation. The conclusion is that our environment itself is not suitable for producing food. The land is small, most of the fertilizer is imported, and most of the farmers are small-scale, so productivity is low.”
“That’s right. Milk is typical. We depend on imports for all the feed for cows, so we have no price control.”
“The bigger problem is the oil price linkage system, right?”
“That’s not wrong.”
Oil price linkage system.
A policy introduced in the early 2010s for the benefit or safety of the dairy industry.
The intention might have been good, but the result was a mess. It was the root cause of milk prices breaking 4,000 won per liter.
Korean consumers turned their eyes to European sterilized milk because of the expensive price, but the supply decreased drastically as France and other places blocked exports.
Germany hastily increased its export volume, but one hand couldn’t handle several hands.
If he looked for the cause of this situation, Yu Ji-ha couldn’t avoid responsibility either. But the conclusion was that the Korean Peninsula itself was shitty land.
The productivity was terrible because they tried to survive in a place where farming was unsuitable.
“Meat and dairy products including cheese are big problems.”
“There are other things too, but that’s the biggest problem for now. There is no supply in large supermarkets or importers.”
“That’s why we need a full-scale introduction of smart farms.”
“…I guessed it when you showed me this, but there will be a lot of resistance.”
“Who will resist? The domestic livestock industry is on the verge of extinction.”
He was different from ordinary politicians who would try to save them somehow.
He only cared about efficiency and nothing else.
He didn’t feel the damage directly because it was foreign until now, but it would be different from now on.
“If we introduce this facility, the domestic livestock industry will walk the path of destruction.”
“We have to pay them subsidies and let them go. We will reorganize production and distribution to maximize efficiency.”
In the end, it meant that the state would monopolize it.
It would be a mess if it was an ordinary country, but Korea had Russia.
It was easy for the strong artificial intelligence that controlled millions of drones and androids to adjust the facilities according to the demand.
But then, do they need people?
Vice Chief of Staff Bae Seong-min couldn’t help but ask.
“Mr. President, can I ask you how far you plan to introduce artificial intelligence?
“Everything.”
“Everything…”
“You know my plan, right? I’m going to build a mega city to accommodate the population. I’ll put all the facilities there. Naturally, artificial intelligence will manage everything.”
“Then what about Seoul?”
He didn’t mention it, but he could tell by the atmosphere that he wanted to abandon it.
A mammoth-sized city like Seoul was only inefficient in his eyes.
But what did he really want to achieve by pursuing efficiency?
Bae Seong-min didn’t know that.
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