1979, Manager Kim is Inheriting Dictatorship! - Chapter 136



Only Krnovel

Fortunately, after a long period of interrogation and persuasion of the terrorists who were caught after the attack, we were able to obtain a lot of information.

Al Qaeda is said to have fallen to the point of virtually disbandment following the death of its leader.

It is said that the possibility of Al Qaeda carrying out another terrorist attack in the near future has virtually disappeared as the last terrorist attack prepared there also ended in failure.

With this, Korea is now largely free from the risk of terrorism for the time being.

‘Phew, that’s a relief······.’

As I was watching the report on the captured terrorists, I got an urgent phone call.

-Tiring ring. Tiring ring.

I put down the report I was holding and answered the phone.

The content of the phone call was not revealed.

October 8, 2001.

The Chairman of the Five Kingdoms has finally passed away after battling an illness for several years.

I immediately stopped what I was doing and headed to the funeral home.

The news that the Chairman of the Five Kingdoms had entered eternal sleep was immediately reported nationwide.

Chairman Oh was a very popular conglomerate chairman during his lifetime.

Starting from the bottom and building a global company, he gave hope to many people.

Many people prayed for his soul to rest in peace.

The popularity of the Five Kingdoms President was especially strong in the northern region.

After unification, he invested heavily in the North, his hometown.

Thanks to this, there were many factories built by Hyunjoong in the northern region, and thanks to this, people living in the northern region knew about Hyunjoong at least, even if they didn’t know about other companies.

‘Come to think of it, I promised Chairman Oh that I would bring about unification around the time I ran for president······.’

“Mr. President, we have arrived.”

As I was absentmindedly reminiscing about my memories with him for a while, I arrived at the funeral home before I knew it.

“Okay. Let’s go.”

I adjusted my tie and went out.

“Oh my, Chairman!”

When I got out of the car, I saw quite a few people already sobbing outside the funeral home.

Among those who cried were both ordinary citizens and employees of Hyundai Heavy Industries.

It was quite an unusual sight for a funeral of a conglomerate chairman.

It was a sight that showed that he was a businessman who was quite respected by the Korean people.

As I entered the venue, the reporters who had been waiting spotted me and ran towards me.

“Ah, it’s President Kim Jong-guk.”

The security guards tried to stop me, but I said no and pushed them aside.

“it’s okay.”

As the bodyguards move aside at my words, the reporter from Tongil Ilbo takes the lead and asks questions first.

“Mr. President, Chairman Oh Wang-guk has passed away. Could you tell us how you are feeling at the moment?”

I thought for a moment and then honestly assessed his life.

“First of all, I would like to express my deepest condolences to the bereaved family. Chairman Oh Wang-guk was a pillar of the Korean economy. I feel great sadness at the passing of a pillar who played a major role in the growth of the Korean economy.

In fact, Chairman Oh’s life has been very similar to the economic development process of the Republic of Korea. Starting with nothing, he built Hyunjoong, one of the world’s best companies, and his appearance seems to be a reduction of the Republic of Korea itself, which has grown from a country where people had nothing to eat to a developed country admired by all the countries in the world. His life could be said to be the modern and contemporary Republic of Korea itself.

I would like to pay tribute to the passionate life of Chairman Oh Wang-guk. I hope that the people of the country will join us in remembering Chairman Oh Wang-guk so that his path will not be lonely.”

I literally told him what I usually thought about him.

His life had many similarities to that of South Korea after liberation.

Of course, he is not a saint, but a businessman.

So there may be some problematic parts in his life.

However, the reason he was able to become one of the most respected businessmen in South Korea is probably because his life was so passionate and overlapped with the growth process of South Korea.

“Mr. President, this is the Northeast Asia Newspaper. We also have one thing······.”

I’ve said everything I wanted to say.

After refusing to answer any questions from the reporters who came in, I went inside the funeral home.

As we entered the funeral home, Chairman Oh’s sons were acting as chief mourners with somber expressions.

He lived long enough.

In some ways, you could say it was mutual, but still, it was natural for a child to have such a sad expression on his face when his parents died.

The second son, who inherited Hyunjoong, greets me first.

“Mr. President, are you here?”

“How sad. I pray that the deceased may rest in peace.”

I shook his hand and greeted him, then greeted the other residents as well.

After that, I bowed twice to Chairman Oh’s memorial tablet and bowed to the chief mourner, and was about to leave without saying a word when Chairman Oh Hyeon-tae grabbed me.

Then he hands me a letter.

“Mr. President, when my father came to his senses a few days ago, he asked me to give this to you.”

I silently took the letter he handed me and left the funeral home.

Then I opened the letter in the moving car.

[Mr. President, I am writing a few words to you because I feel like this old man doesn’t have much time left to live.

First of all, thank you. Thanks to you, Mr. President, I was able to spend the rest of my life in my hometown, which I had thought I would never visit, and which I had tried to erase from my memory, thinking I should forget. Also, Hyunjoong is now a company that competes not only in Korea but also around the world.

I originally thought that politicians in Korea were worse than businessmen. I thought that politicians always interfered with businessmen. I always said that politics could not change the country and businessmen. However, the president made me realize how much businessmen and the country could change and develop if they were good at politics.

Mr. President, please watch over my son from time to time to see if he is leading Hyunjoong well. If he is not leading Hyunjoong well, you can kick him out. If he is lacking, it would be better for the country’s economy and Hyunjoong to have someone else take over Hyunjoong.

I haven’t written much, but my eyes are already getting blurry and I’m getting sleepy again. Mr. President, this old man will go first, but I hope you will make this Republic of Korea a little better and come back slowly.]

His final concern was for Hyun-jung and his country rather than the fear of his own death.

‘Oh, that’s what the chairman says.’

In this way, one by one, the people around me leave.

But I couldn’t spare the time for their death.

The presidency was a cruel place.

The presidency had too much to do to mourn the death of an individual.

‘I have to do my best since you asked me to make this a better country.’

The chief secretary asks me.

“Mr. President. You must be very tired today. Should we cancel the rest of our schedule and go back?”

I shook my head and answered him.

“No, I’m still feeling great. Let’s move on to the next schedule.”

*

It’s been three months since Chairman Oh left.

The year 2002, the year of the World Cup, has arrived.

In 2002, the World Cup was a great event, but it was also a great event for South Korea.

On January 4, 2002, the total population of South Korea finally exceeded 100 million.

Although the birth rate has fallen slightly, it still remains at 2.4, which is more than two.

This was more than double the birth rate of 1.17 in 2002, the original historical figure.

South Korea was literally in a heyday that it had never experienced before in its history.

Abundant resources, overwhelming technological prowess, abundant human resources, ideal population pyramid, expanded territory, social stability, and economic prosperity.

It felt like I was looking at America in its heyday.

Aside from the fact that Korea benefits from the AEU, the exchanges between the two countries have become so active that Asian countries now feel that they cannot properly engage in trade activities without joining the AEU.

Now, India and Russia are also knocking on the door of the AEU to join it.

Literally, South Korea has gone beyond being a powerhouse in Asia and is now a country that is truly called one of the world’s G2 along with the United States.

And this year’s World Cup was an opportunity for South Korea to show that it is now a G2 country in the world.

And for that, preparations for the World Cup were in full swing across the country.

Originally someone said in history:

The 2002 World Cup is said to be the largest event since Dangun.

Originally, if we were to talk about the biggest sports festival in history, there was the 1988 Olympics, but in fact, the festival that united the entire nation more than any other time was none other than the 2002 World Cup.

At that time, the World Cup covered the entire Republic of Korea in a red wave.

It was a festival where the entire nation came together and cheered together, from the roads, churches, military bases, and even funeral homes.

Of course, it must be based on good performance, but in any case, there is no festival like the World Cup in uniting the nation.

I said this while looking at the final construction of Sangam World Cup Stadium.

“It’s almost finished.”

Prime Minister Park Dae-chun answers with a proud look as he looks at the Sangam World Cup Stadium, which has completed construction and is entering the final stages of finishing work.

“Yes, when it opens, it will be the football stadium with the largest number of seats in Asia.”

The Sangam World Cup Stadium, where the World Cup kicks off and important matches will be held, was built larger than its original size and has become the world’s largest stadium, with a seating capacity of 100,000, including standing room.

Of course, as the scale grew, we paid more attention to the surrounding environment.

In particular, enormous investments were made in surrounding infrastructure to ensure that there was as little inconvenience in transportation as possible during the World Cup period, including nearby bus and subway parking lots.

The level of infrastructure investment was so enormous that it is now difficult to tell the difference compared to 2023.

“If the 1992 Seoul Olympics was a festival that showed that South Korea was now united and had developed to this extent, this World Cup will be a festival that shows that South Korea has now risen to the position of a superpower.”

“you’re right.”

Of course, for such publicity to be successful, the national team’s good performance had to follow.

“How is the national team training going?”

“Yes. I’ve seen it a few times recently, and it’s not ordinary. It really looks like it could make it to the quarterfinals.”

“Really? I think I could even aim for the win. Hahaha.”

Prime Minister Park Dae-chun is embarrassed by the word victory.

“Uh, you mean winning… Of course, it would be great if that happened, but realistically, winning is a little······.”

“Is that so? I’m not a soccer expert, but I still think it’s quite possible, hahaha.”

I was sincere.

There were also the heroes of the original 2002 reversal in history, but with unification, there was a wider talent pool, so several excellent players who were not in the original history were added.

As South Korea has developed much further than in its original history, the amount of money invested in soccer has also increased much more than in its original history.

Now, there was a slight sense of anticipation that not only making it to the semi-finals, but even winning the championship was possible.

‘Well, I’m sure the players will figure it out.’

However, that does not mean that the country can force performance standards on its athletes.

The job of the government and the association is to support players from behind so that they can compete in the best possible condition.

“Oh, that’s right. Mr. Hyun-tae… No, is Chairman Oh doing well?”

Prime Minister Park Dae-chun shakes his head as if he is tired and answers.

“Oh, don’t be ridiculous. There is no soccer fanatic like that. I have never met a bigger soccer fanatic than me. I work all day. I often go to training and listen to the coach or players’ needs on the spot. Anyway, he is really great.”

“Is that so? I’m glad to hear that you’re doing well.”

He seems to be really passionate about it, having focused his energy solely on soccer instead of the usual focus on politics and business management.

I said, smoking a cigarette.

“Now, really, there are only a few months left.”

Prime Minister Park answers with an expression that seems steeped in sentiment.

“Yes. I still can’t believe that the World Cup is taking place in South Korea.”

I patted his shoulder and said with a meaningful smile.

“Prime Minister, our national team’s performance will probably be even more unbelievable.”