1979, Manager Kim is Inheriting Dictatorship! - Chapter 157



Only Krnovel

Episode 157

As soon as the press conference to apologize to the public ended, reporters rushed in and started asking questions.

“I’ll take them one at a time. Please ask your questions slowly.”

At the front, a spokesperson controls the crowd and asks questions one by one.

First, the reporter wearing the Tongil Newspaper name tag at the front asks a question.

“This is Kim Mi-seon from Tongil Ilbo. Hello, Mr. President. The recent suicide incident involving a military officer is currently causing public outrage. The punishment of the lukewarm division commander, who is currently the suspect, is becoming an issue. Today, you said that you would definitely punish those responsible, but what are your plans for the future?”

The question was about the investigation and punishment of the division commander and measures for those involved.

“That’s a good question. First of all, as I said earlier, the Minister of National Defense and the Army Chief of Staff will be dismissed. And as for the accused division commander, we will thoroughly investigate him in accordance with the strict judgment of the law so that all the facts can be revealed.”

Reporter Kim Mi-seon asks me again.

“Then what measures will you take to ensure that this kind of problem never happens again in the military?”

“There will be various military reform proposals in the future, but first, we will abolish the public officer system that was provided to regimental commanders and above, which has been problematic. Also, in the future, those who try to use private soldiers for personal reasons will be severely punished, regardless of their rank.”

Even as she recorded, she kept rolling her pen, thinking of asking other questions.

“So, are you saying that there will be a major military reform plan after this?”

I nodded.

“Of course. However, when making a major reform plan, it cannot be done improvised, so I will make a reform plan with as few side effects as possible and present it to the people.”

Reporter Kim Mi-seon sat down as if she had no more questions.

Next, a reporter from the broadcasting station raises his hand and asks a question.

“This is KBC reporter Jeong Seon-ho. Hello, Mr. President. I have a question for you.”

“Yes. Make yourself comfortable.”

He began to read the notes he had prepared.

“In fact, this incident has caused public outrage nationwide and is a very serious matter, but this is the first time that not only the division commander, but also the Minister of National Defense and the Army Chief of Staff have been dismissed at the same time in an incident like this in the military. Although the number has decreased recently, such incidents and accidents still occur every year in the military. Is there a reason why the punishment for this incident is particularly strong?”

I understand what you are saying.

No matter how much the welfare within the military has improved and military life has become more enjoyable compared to the original history, some people may have difficulty adapting to the military, and in a space where hundreds of thousands of people gather, it is inevitable that there will be more than a few accidents per year.

If we were to constantly change commanders, the lifespan of a commander in the military would probably not even be three months.

But there was a reason why I responded so strongly to this incident.

“Of course that’s true. You can’t change the commander in response to every incident. But this time, the reason we did this is because the people who should be responsible didn’t take responsibility and tried to bury the things they were responsible for.”

I asked a question back to reporter Jeong Seon-ho, who was recording.

“Reporter Jeong. Reporter Jeong, why do you think executives get paid more and receive more benefits than employees in a company?”

Reporter Jeong Seon-ho thinks for a moment and then answers.

“That’s because executives are in a position to lead various major tasks of the company or take responsibility when problems arise.”

That was correct.

I nodded at his answer.

“That’s right. The reason executives in companies get paid more and receive more benefits than employees is because they, as executives of the company, take the lead in many things and take responsibility when problems arise. And this is not limited to companies. It’s the same for people in other positions of responsibility.”

I looked at the gathered reporters and spoke.

“Gentlemen, standing above someone and enjoying greater privileges means that you have to be capable and responsible when problems arise.”

As soon as I finished speaking, reporter Jeong Seon-ho asked me another question.

“Are you saying that this punishment was severe because the military superiors, including the division commander, did not take responsibility?”

“That’s right. A leader is someone who takes responsibility. If the Minister of National Defense and the Chief of Staff had immediately arrested the division commander and conducted a proper investigation when the incident broke out, and if they had taken responsibility for what they were responsible for, it wouldn’t have led to this dismissal.”

The courage to apologize and take responsibility for your mistakes.

This is always necessary for a leader.

This is especially true because humans cannot be perfect.

But in this case, everyone was only interested in covering up their own mistakes, and no one was considering the victims.

That’s why I’m even more angry about this.

“If people don’t want to take responsibility for their own mistakes or if it puts their own safety at risk, why do we need leaders?”

* * *

After receiving a few more press conference questions, we headed to the funeral hall where the mortuary of the public official was prepared.

Because they were so eager to cover up the situation, the investigation was repeatedly postponed, and it was only now, two weeks after the soldier’s death, that the funeral could be held.

As I entered the funeral home, the soldier’s mother was lying on the floor sobbing, and his younger brother, who looked to be a high school student, was wearing mourning clothes and guarding the funeral home.

As soon as the soldier’s mother saw my face, she got up, came towards me, and began to sob, beating my chest with her thin fists.

He shook his head to stop the security guard who was trying to stop him.

“Why, why… … ! Why did our good son have to die like this!! Tell me!! I chose you so many times, but what on earth were you doing until my son died in the military like this… Sob… Sob… … .”

Someone might ask me if I feel wronged.

Of course, I may have felt aggrieved because I am not a division commander and I cannot know everything that happens in the military.

Some people blame the president when the weather is bad.

When the president stands, some people say something about him standing, and when the president sits, some people say something about him sitting.

But it’s not unfair.

That’s what the president’s position is like.

A position that takes infinite responsibility for everything that happens in the country.

That kind of position is the presidency.

If you don’t want to take responsibility, you have no reason to be president.

I just sat there silently listening to her story until her anger subsided somewhat.

And after a while, when she got tired and stopped hitting me, I bowed my head and apologized to her.

“I am truly sorry. I failed to do what the country should have done. I am not sure if I can even begin to understand one-tenth of the heartache of having to send your child away first. I promise you one thing.”

I held her hand, looked into her eyes and spoke.

“I will definitely reveal all the facts about this incident and appease the spirit of the young man who died. Also, I will proceed with restoring my son’s honor and compensating for the damages without a hitch.”

She answered, still sobbing.

“I don’t even want compensation… sob, sob… So please, please let me know why my son made this choice, and please punish the perpetrators who made my son do this… … . Please, I beg you. Sob, sob… .”

I held her hand tighter and spoke.

“Don’t worry. I promise. I will do it.”

* * *

As soon as I returned from the funeral, I instructed all relevant agencies, regardless of rank, to conduct an investigation.

The investigative agencies, which had been hesitating before I gave the order, immediately arrested the division commander as soon as my order was strongly conveyed, and also conducted a strong investigation of the Minister of National Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who had attempted to cover up this incident.

And the results of the investigation came out shortly thereafter.

The division commander’s tyranny was beyond imagination.

[The division commander ordered the officer to do work completely unrelated to official duties, even on weekends. He would make the officer tutor his daughter because he graduated from a prestigious university, and if the drinking party went on for a long time, he had to wait indefinitely, even at 2 or 3 in the morning. On top of that, he would be subjected to violence and verbal abuse several times a day… … .]

“ha…….”

It was a report that made me sigh.

The results of the investigation into the Minister of National Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff were also somewhat as expected.

The reason they tried to cover up this incident was not only to prevent themselves from being harmed, but also because the division commander, who was the suspect in this incident, was their direct junior at the military academy.

It was the revival of the so-called culture of mutual support among graduates of the military academy.

Another sigh escapes me.

“Haa… This is driving me crazy.”

‘I said I was paying attention consistently, but the ghosts of the past have come back to me.’

After the retirement of Chief of Staff Lee Dae-sik, the military as a whole became centered around the Korea Military Academy again.

During his tenure, the principle of selecting based on ability rather than origin allowed people from other backgrounds to advance, not just those from the Korea Military Academy, but after his retirement, the military returned to focusing solely on the Korea Military Academy as in the past.

With the most charismatic person in the military gone, the overall atmosphere was one of wanting to go back to how it was before.

“Whew, that’s not easy. Really… … .”

He takes the last cigarette out of his pocket and lights it.

Since that incident, the smell of cigarette smoke has never left the office.

It is heartbreaking that a young man died while serving his country, but what is even more heartbreaking is that the higher-ups tried to cover up this incident and let it slide.

Incidents or problems can arise at any time.

It would be best to avoid problems as much as possible, but since this is a human affair, problems and incidents can occur.

However, after a problem has occurred, it would be natural for a normal country to hold those responsible responsible and to clearly reveal the facts so that the victims are not treated unfairly.

It wasn’t just the military.

Those in the upper echelons of society were treated better, but had to take responsibility when it was due.

The reason why directors receive a higher salary than assistant managers in a company may be due to their abilities and other reasons, but it is also because directors bear more responsibility than assistant managers when problems arise in the company.

The higher the position, the more responsibility one had to feel.

‘We need to think of a fundamental solution to the problem.’