1979, Manager Kim is Inheriting Dictatorship! - Chapter 109



Only Krnovel

Episode 109

Restoring trust in politics.

The words sounded grandiose, but in the end, the moral issue was more or less resolved, so now only one thing remained.

Doing a good job.

The success of a politician ultimately comes down to how well he or she keeps his or her promises.

We had to show the public that we were doing a good job.

Increase the rate of fulfillment of pledges and always disclose whether or not pledges are being kept.

And there was a need for a way to enforce these, such as using them as important judgment factors when making public nominations.

In the original Republic of Korea, it was a movement that started in the early 2000s and has been implemented with gradual development until 2023.

But this type of movement ultimately takes a long time to catch on.

So, it may be a little early, but now might be the right time to implement it.

‘The timing is good, since the Internet is just becoming widespread.’

It would be good to legislate these things, but the best way would be for each political party to first take the lead in implementing their pledges.

‘That’s also a method that suits party politics.’

There had to be a discussion within the party about this.

It would be nice to meet with each member individually, but that would take too long.

But fortunately, a week later was the day of the Liberty Korea Party’s general meeting.

‘I guess I’ll go there after a long time.’

* * *

As I entered the National Assembly Korean Party office, the lawmakers stood up and greeted me one by one.

“Mr. President, how much mental distress have you gone through?”

“Congratulations on the achievement of the 7th district, Mr. President!”

“Haha. Thank you all.”

I walked up to the podium, shaking hands with each member of Congress.

Perhaps it was because it was the first time in several years that a general meeting of lawmakers had been visited, or perhaps it was because the government’s power was so strong, but some of the lawmakers seemed quite nervous.

As I have been in power for nearly 20 years, it seems that it is now difficult to find lawmakers with longer political experience than me.

Although he still looks like he’s in his fifties, you can now count on one hand the number of Korean Party members who are older than him.

‘They’re all so fresh and colorful.’

I stood at the podium, took the microphone, and gave a brief greeting to the members of the National Assembly.

“Dear members of our Korean Party, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Kim Jung-guk. In fact, we should meet like this every now and then so that the party and the government can move organically, but I wonder if we haven’t had this kind of meeting for too long because we were afraid that there would be talk of the president’s political intervention. I apologize.”

They wave their hands, saying they are not members of the National Assembly.

But perhaps because there are so many Korean Party members, I saw a few members doing something else while I was talking.

I shouted at the sleeping congressman from afar.

“Representative Sim Pyeong-han! I can see you’re dozing off there. The local elections are just around the corner, so I understand you’re tired from preparing for the elections, but today is an important day, so I would appreciate it if you could wake up.”

The senator who criticized me woke up in surprise after hearing my point.

Then he bows his head repeatedly, saying he is sorry.

“Haha. It’s okay. You don’t have to apologize so much.”

I brought the other lawmakers’ attention back to a few others who were doing something else, and then I got down to the real story.

“I think everyone is paying attention to what I’m saying now, so I guess it’s time to get to the main point.”

I took the microphone out, held it in one hand, and walked up to the podium and said.

“I came here today because I have something to ask the members of the National Assembly.”

I approached Representative Min Jeong-gi, who was sitting in the front row, handed him the microphone and asked him.

“Should I ask Representative Min first? Is Representative Min’s constituency definitely Guro?”

Representative Min is a little embarrassed when I bring up a topic that had not been agreed upon in advance.

But soon he comes to his senses and answers like a veteran.

“Yes, that’s right. It’s Kuro.”

I asked Representative Min directly.

“Representative Min, do you remember the promise you made to the people during the last general election?”

Representative Min answers smoothly without hesitation.

“There were many pledges, but the most representative ones promised in the last election were the redevelopment of old housing and the creation of a digital complex connecting Guro-gu and Geumcheon-gu.”

Both were policies suited to Guro-gu.

At that time, Guro-gu had many old houses, so there were many places in need of urgent redevelopment, and the creation of a digital complex that would encompass Guro-gu and Geumcheon-gu was a policy that the government was very concerned about.

“I see. Well, Guro has a lot of old houses now, so it’s time to start thinking about redevelopment. The Seoul Digital Complex is also a project that the government is paying a lot of attention to.”

Representative Min nods and answers.

“Yes, that’s right. Of course, there were many other pledges. In addition to simple regional pledges, there were also many other pledges, such as tax cuts for small and medium-sized businesses, policies to help them grow into mid-sized businesses, and improved treatment for firefighters.”

I looked at him and smiled and asked.

“Haha. As expected, it’s Representative Min. You made a lot of really good promises, Representative. Now that your term has begun, half of the four-year term, two years, has passed. How are you feeling? How many of the promises you announced have you kept?”

Representative Min scratches his head and speaks with embarrassment.

“Not much has been completed yet. The construction of the digital complex is not something that can be done in such a short period of time, and redevelopment still requires more consultation with residents. However, the law on improving the treatment of firefighters was passed recently and completed.”

I nodded at his answer.

Representative Min is probably one of the best lawmakers in keeping his promises.

Probably most of the time, the lawmakers made promises that were mostly impossible to keep.

‘Well, it’s not like things will change drastically in 2023… … .’

I took the microphone back from Representative Min and spoke as I climbed the steps next to the chairs where the members were sitting.

“Everyone, do you know what the percentage of trust in the National Assembly was according to a recent opinion poll?”

A first-term lawmaker answers confidently.

“But wouldn’t it be 50%?”

I shook my head and answered.

“It was 19%. Trust in local governments was slightly higher at 24%.”

Among all institutions, the National Assembly ranked first, and local governments and local assemblies ranked second.

Of course, the government came in first place.

“Is it really that low… …?”

The first-term congressman asked me in disbelief.

I nodded at the first-term congressman and answered.

“Yes, that’s true. Of course, I think that the National Assembly has made considerable improvements in terms of corruption and other issues over the past ten years. I also acknowledge that.”

In fact, since the enactment of the Real-Name Financial Transactions System and the Anti-Fraud and Corruption Act, the so-called problem of bribery among politicians has been largely resolved.

Of course, since both the National Assembly and local governments are places where many people gather, there were inevitably some people who committed corruption by receiving bribes, but compared to a dozen years ago, it was a great improvement.

In particular, the Liberty Korea Party’s two representatives, Choi Hyun and Min Jeong-gi, are very sensitive to receiving bribes, so everyone was particularly cautious.

In political circles, there was even talk that if you wanted to make a big splash in politics, you should go to the Gongmin Party rather than the Liberty Korea Party.

I looked at the members again and asked.

“Why do you think trust in the National Assembly is so low?”

Representative Song Gap-hwan, who was elected three times in Chungcheong, answers.

“I think it’s because the National Assembly’s work isn’t properly promoted.”

“Haha. Do you think that’s because you work hard but don’t promote it properly, Representative Song?”

“Oh, no. Not necessarily, but… … .”

There was less publicity.

Of course, you could think that way.

In particular, in the case of Representative Song Gap-hwan, it was possible to think that way.

The person who was called the god of local district management was Assemblyman Song Gap-hwan.

He was more sincere than anyone else in local administration, to the point that it was said that he participated in every event held in his local district.

Of course, there were politicians who did not do their jobs properly and were not recognized by the public, but at least Rep. Song was not one of those people.

People living in Rep. Song Gap-hwan’s district used to see his face at least once a week.

He would wake up at 5 a.m. and go on outings to greet people at the senior center, and he would never miss a chance to attend a local gathering for drinks at night.

From his perspective, it was understandable that he was working so hard but the people were not recognizing him.

But the answer I thought was a little different.

“Representative Song, then does that mean that the government that ranked first in trustworthiness in this opinion poll did a lot of special publicity?”

“That, that is… … .”

Rep. Song is also not unaware of the government’s public relations budget.

The government’s public relations budget was virtually non-existent.

The government’s public relations budget was really small, as it excluded all public relations budgets that were used to inform the public of the government’s achievements rather than to promote policies that the people needed.

I walked away from Rep. Song, looked at the other members again, and shouted.

“Our Korean Party members and the people know this well. Now, politicians in the Republic of Korea do not receive bribes or anything like that. So why is their trust so low?”

I approached Rep. Jeong Hee-yoon, who entered the National Assembly two years ago as a proportional representative, and asked her.

“Representative Jeong Hee-yoon, do you remember that the bill you proposed last time was proposed without even considering the conflict with the higher-level law, and was eventually scrapped without even passing the Legislative and Judiciary Committee?”

Rep. Jeong Hee-yoon’s face turns red.

“I’m sorry… I have nothing to say. I should have looked into it more properly before making a suggestion… … .”

This time, I approached Rep. Lee Tae-seong, who was sitting there, and spoke.

“Assemblyman Lee Tae-seong, you are a first-term member of the National Assembly this time. But in the last election, you promised to build a gymnasium that would cost 100 billion won. Did you know that? That promise was made by Assemblyman Oh Jae-soo, who was the previous assemblyman for that district, but was eventually canceled due to the huge cost. Assemblyman Lee Tae-seong, is that promise being properly kept now?”

Rep. Lee Tae-seong answers without even raising his head.

“… I’m sorry. Due to budget constraints, we still… … .”

I don’t think there was any malicious intent.

At first, during the election, with the energy of youth, I thought I could do anything as long as I got elected.

But whether malicious or not, these kinds of unfulfilled promises will inevitably lead to a decline in trust in the entire political world.

It’s not just corruption that undermines trust.

Incompetence also ultimately reduces people’s trust.

I went down the stairs, went back up to the podium, looked at the members of the assembly and said.

“Ultimately, this is what I want to say to our Korean Party members today. Isn’t it time to create trustworthy politics, trustworthy National Assembly, and trustworthy local governments? Isn’t it time to make promises only about things we can actually do, and to have the attitude to definitely put those promises into practice? Only then can trust be restored in the National Assembly, local government, and ultimately in politics?”

The expressions on the members’ faces are mixed.

Perhaps this is the difference between those who have made empty promises and those who have made real promises.

I looked at Representative Min and said the story I wanted to tell the most.

“So, how about the party specifically including whether pledges are kept as one of the evaluation criteria for nominations?”

Of course, it is not the case that whether or not the pledges are kept now has no effect on the nomination.

But it wasn’t specifically quantified.

It was just one of many criteria, and it wasn’t quantified, so it was just a rule of thumb.

The members of parliament are muttering.

I guess it’s going to be annoying.

Ultimately, it’s one more verification thing, so it won’t feel good.

I looked at Representative Min and said.

“I won’t force you. But in the end, even if we don’t do it, the opposition party or civic groups will implement this pledge in a few years. So wouldn’t it be better for us to get beaten first?”

Representative Min’s expression seemed subtle.

Personally, I would agree with it, but in the end, it would be tiring for him to have to put down the opposition within the party.

Surprisingly, the one who took a strong stance here was floor leader Jeong Myeong-seok.

“Okay, Mr. President. I agree. I was already annoyed by people who came to me with ridiculous promises and bills to pass. Now, we need to vet not only people but also promises.”

‘What’s going on with that guy? He’s the guy who always opposes.’