1979, Manager Kim is Inheriting Dictatorship! - Chapter 14



Only Krnovel

Episode 14

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“.. .. .. Really? Are you really saying that you will amend the constitution to a direct election system?”

TJ blinks and asks Prime Minister Choi again.

“That’s true. This is something that even President Kim Jung-pil has already agreed to.”

When Prime Minister Choi looks at JP, JP also nods.

“This has already been discussed in our ruling party. Now that His Majesty has passed away, shouldn’t we return to the direct election system?”

YS, who had been listening quietly, speaks up.

“But doesn’t the law say that the next president must be elected within three months? Is it possible to amend the constitution before then?”

“That’s why I mentioned the interim president earlier. How about first electing a provisional president through the National Conference for Unification, passing the constitutional amendment within a year, and then electing the president again through a direct election?”

YS and TJ are troubled by Prime Minister Choi’s words.

TJ pours a glass of wine, downs it, and asks YS.

“Umm.. what do you think of Geosan?”

“Well… realistically, isn’t this right? Let’s do it that way.”

Now that the discussion on direct election constitutional amendment is over, the next issue remains: the question of the interim presidential candidate. JP looks at Yang Kim and asks.

“But who do you think would be a good candidate for president? Do you two have any thoughts?”

TJ shakes his head.

“I’m not interested in a one-year presidency.”

“Me too, I don’t care. What about Prime Minister Choi or JP?”

Neither Kim nor Yang were foolish enough to covet a one-year term of temporary power.

But that doesn’t mean I would give that position to JP, who had a strong desire for power.

TJ glares at Kim Joong-pil and says.

“Kim Joong-pil will be elected president at the Unification Subject Conference. If you’re going to say something like that, don’t even say it.”

“Geosan, I am not interested in anything other than a directly elected president.”

JP indirectly hints that he will run for direct election.

Now all eyes are on Prime Minister Choi.

In fact, from the perspective of both Kims, it would have been best to have someone like Prime Minister Choi take charge.

If someone with such a strong desire for power like JP were to take over, there was no way to prevent dictatorship from breaking out again.

“I am done. I realized after the last military mutiny that I am not fit to be the head of state.”

“Then what should we do?”

“Isn’t there anyone decent?”

Prime Minister Choi looks at me and says.

“So, what about Director Kim Jeong-guk here?”

“Manager Kim?”

“Manager Kim, are you interested in politics?”

Both Yang and Kim were surprised when my name was mentioned.

“I have declined several times, but Prime Minister Choi and Chairman Kim Jung-pil have repeatedly asked me to do so, so I am considering it.”

First, Kim Yong-shin, leader of the New Democratic Party, speaks.

“Well.. I think it might be the best choice for now..”

YS glances at TJ.

“If it’s Director Kim Jung-guk, then it’s okay. I agree.”

Both Kim and Yang agree.

This is probably because of Kim Jong-guk’s past actions rather than because I did something well.

While serving as President Lee Jung-hwan’s number two, Kim Jung-guk repeatedly expressed his dissatisfaction with the Yushin Constitution, and while serving as the head of the Central Intelligence Agency, he often favored several opposition politicians.

That is why both Kims were favorable toward Kim Jong-un.

Of course, the biggest reason is probably that Kim Jong-guk is known to have little desire for power.

“Chief Kim. Come to think of it, if Prime Minister Choi doesn’t take over, I think the only person who can take over the presidency at a time like this is Chief Kim.”

“I think so too. Please, Manager Kim.”

Yang Kim asked me to do it. The ruling party leader and the current acting president recommended it, and Yang Kim agreed, so now all that’s left is to accept it.

“Haha.. If you two even say that.. I understand. I may be lacking, but I will do my best to serve my country to the best of my ability.”

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Things progressed quickly. It was natural, since it would be unreasonable to continue with the agency system forever.

Two weeks after the meeting with the three Kims, the election schedule was set. It was the election that was to be held at the familiar gymnasium.

The result was an overwhelming victory with 100% of the votes.

In fact, it was a natural result, as there was only one candidate and most of the delegates to the Unification Subject Conference were pro-government people.

However, it was not easy to get 100%. Even former President Lee Jung-hwan did not get 100%.

The reason was simple. There were occasional invalid votes. But this time, I needed to be elected with 100% of the votes for the ‘special reward’.

I mobilized all of my staff to visit each of the delegates of the National Unification Advisory Council and emphasized the reason for this election and that this election is for an interim president.

That is why he emphasized that this election is a story that both Kims agree on.

Most of the delegates were from the ruling party, but there may have been some who became delegates while hiding that they were from the opposition party.

Invalid ballots usually came from places like that.

That’s why, in order to convince them, it was important to tell a story that Yang Kim agreed to.

Even the day before, I went to the delegates who showed no interest in voting and tried to persuade them again.

So for two weeks, the central government staff traveled around the country trying to persuade delegates again and again.

And.. the result..

“Total number of voters: 2,324. Candidate Kim Jung-guk received 2,324 votes. I hereby declare that candidate Kim Jung-guk has been elected as the 10th President of the Republic of Korea with a 100% vote rate.”

Prime Minister Choi, who is the interim chairman of the Unification Juche Conference, reads the results of the vote. Applause follows, and I immediately give my acceptance speech for the presidency.

“As the 10th President of the Republic of Korea, I will abide by the Constitution… and if the ruling and opposition parties join forces to create a constitutional amendment that includes a new direct election system within a year, I will step down from the presidency.”

I will continue my speech so that all three Kims and the people who support him will not doubt me.

“The Republic of Korea is currently in crisis due to the Iranian oil shock and political turmoil. In order to safely transfer power to the next president, I…

The talk of stepping down from the presidency and the talk of safely transferring power were all true. In the first place, the power I have now is only temporary power and is not a legitimate power.

Although Kim Jong-guk was not someone who had no national recognition, his public support was far below that of the three Kims.

Now that he has the position of president, he may be able to use this position to politically suppress the Three Kims and seize power, but power without legitimacy is bound to collapse at some point.

Considering the passage of the constitutional amendment and the election period, there will be a little over a year left until the direct election.

In the meantime, he must take control of the ruling party and be nominated as the ruling party’s presidential candidate instead of JP.

And I will be elected by the people and lead this country for 20 or 30 years, and I will make this country comparable to the United States and China.

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The first thing I did after being elected was to make a personnel decision. Prime Minister Choi naturally stepped down from his position when I was elected, but the other ministers still held their positions.

First, several ministries were merged before the ministers were replaced.

The Ministry of Economic Planning and the Ministry of Finance were integrated into the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, the Ministry of Science and Technology was promoted to a ministry, and the Ministry of Information and Communication was established.

In addition, the Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Transportation were merged into the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications was merged into the Ministry of Government Communications.

And most importantly, he began to reorganize the Central Intelligence Agency. The current Central Intelligence Agency has about 2,000 members, but he increased the number to 10,000, which is five times the current size, and transferred all of the drug investigations and counterintelligence investigations that the police were in charge of to the Central Intelligence Agency.

The armed forces were reorganized into a paramilitary organization, not at the current police level, and into an organization that combined the CIA and FBI of the United States.

There were several reasons for this.

There was also the purpose of specializing in intelligence agencies like in the United States, but the biggest reason was to create another military force in case the military attempted a coup.

Unless the frontline troops come down, the military can only mobilize a few thousand soldiers in case of a rebellion. In that case, the 10,000-strong paramilitary force of this reorganized central government will certainly be a force that can stand against them.

The first thing that happened after the government departments were merged was to replace the ministers. Most of the current ministers are politicians rather than experts in their fields.

I thought that politicians would be sufficient to be in positions such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, so I replaced all the remaining ministers with experts.

And the chief secretary was also replaced with a familiar figure.

“Young-ho. How is the job of chief secretary?”

“Yes, I am fine, but there is a lot of talk around me. I feel like this is a bit too much of a place for me to sit, Your Majesty.”

“Other than you, there aren’t many people I can trust right now. If not you, the only people I can trust right now are Minister Lee Hwa-seong or Chief of Staff Lee Dae-sik. If these two leave the military, the military will fall into chaos again.”

“Understood, Your Majesty. I will do my best.”

“Don’t say ‘Your Majesty’.. say ‘Mr. President’···”

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Night fell and the Blue House became quiet. A surprising fact that I recently learned was that Kim Jung-guk of this time period did not have a married wife or children.

Unlike the original Kim Jung-guk, this Kim Jung-guk was single, perhaps by God’s consideration. He had only an elderly mother and no other special family members.

‘Thank goodness···.’

If I had a wife or children whose faces I didn’t even know, I would have been tired in my own way, but fortunately, I regretted the past days when I would not go home and would sleep tiredly, thinking that Kim Jung-guk’s family would be there.

“That’s… well… how do we solve this..”

At 2 a.m., when no one was around, I was sitting at my desk in the Blue House office, holding my smartphone in one hand, its battery fully charged and turned back on, and thinking.

It was a concern to resolve the biggest crisis in South Korea in late 1979.

‘Second Oil Shock’

The second oil shock caused by the Iranian Revolution. Due to this problem, South Korea is currently in an economic crisis.

Only by resolving this situation and achieving tangible results for the people within a year can we win the direct elections a year from now.