1979, Manager Kim is Inheriting Dictatorship! - Chapter 160



Only Krnovel

Episode 160

Kim Tae-seop started to blurt out all the information he had, as Mayor Lee Dae-sik was a little embarrassed.

In fact, he was a little upset when he first got a call from Mayor Lee Dae-sik, because he was also human. However, when he saw that such a bigoted person being so friendly towards him, all of his slightly upset feelings disappeared and he started telling everything he knew.

“So, there’s a meeting of alumni of the military academy within the military that started a few years ago?”

He speaks in agreement with the market sentiment.

“That’s right. Among those in office, Lieutenant General Gil Min-tae is the so-called leader there. When I see a guy who I couldn’t even look at properly while he was in office acting as the leader, sometimes I can’t help but laugh. Hahaha.”

Mayor Lee Dae-sik softens his heart a little more and digs up more information.

“Oh. Now that I think about it, I’m sorry that you lost face at that gathering last time because of what I did. I was a little sensitive back then.”

When the world’s best Lee Dae-sik apologizes like this, Kim Tae-seop’s shoulders lift up.

“Hahaha, no. Brother, why are you saying such things? I don’t regret anything at all!”

“Really? That’s good, but, is that meeting still happening these days? Maybe I should show my face at least once.”

Kim Tae-seop waves his hand.

“Okay. Don’t go, hyung. They’re still gathering these days, but you don’t have to go, hyung. Even if you’re hyung, if you’re not from the military academy, these guys won’t be that happy.”

“Really? If it’s not the military academy, it’s probably hard to join?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Whether it’s the military academy, a star, or the president, I won’t let you join this group. That’s why I… … .”

-Ding dong.

Then suddenly the cell phone alarm sounds.

“Excuse me, bro. Just a moment.”

“Okay. I’ll check it out and don’t worry about it.”

Kim Tae-seop takes out his cell phone and checks the alarm.

And then he soon gets annoyed.

“Oh, boy. These kids are causing trouble again.”

“What’s going on?”

Kim Tae-seop speaks with a tired expression on his face.

“The last time I spoke to my older brother, something didn’t go well, so he started yelling at me, his senior. I got annoyed and stopped answering his calls, but he keeps calling me out of the blue.”

“Really? I guess your situation is difficult because of me.”

“Oh, no. Since you contacted me like this, I should contact you again. But we’re my juniors from the same military academy, so I can’t just pretend not to know each other and continue on.”

Lee Dae-sik pours him another glass of alcohol and asks.

“But I think there will be some complaints about this measure at that meeting.”

He shakes his head, sighs deeply, and says.

“Oh, don’t be ridiculous. I’m just joking, but there are even people who say that we should drive a tank and protest.”

‘Tanks? These crazy kids… …!’

It was virtually the same action as planning a civil war.

How could a story about a soldier, especially a general, driving a tank end up as a joke?

Kim Tae-seop talks about tanks and then glances at the mayor.

“Hahaha… isn’t the tank a bit too much?”

Lee Dae-sik reassures him without him even noticing.

“No. Well, it’s not really a civil war or anything, but it’s more like there’s a lot of dissatisfaction. After thinking about it carefully, I think the President went a little too far with this measure.”

A smile appears on former General Kim Tae-seop’s face.

“Haha. That’s right, hyung. In fact, the president should also recognize the hard work of these graduates of the military academy… … .”

He keeps talking about what he’s so excited about.

The market asks a question to Kim Tae-seop, who is happily talking to himself.

“But where is that meeting held? Is it really okay for me not to go?”

“Are you talking about a meeting? There’s a bar in Yeouido where we often meet every Saturday night at 10pm, and we rent a room there and meet. Are you sure you want to come, hyung?”

‘Saturday 10 o’clock. A bar in Yeouido… … This should be enough.’

At this point, we have almost all the information we need.

“No. Now that I think about it, it’s just a reunion of classmates from the same university, so I think it would be burdensome if I got involved.”

Mayor Lee Dae-sik rises from his seat.

“Haha. If you really say you’re going, I’ll make sure to tell you well. But, hyung, are you getting up already?”

“I should probably get up soon. It’s getting pretty late. Anyway, I’ll see you next time.”

I’m a little touched by Kim Tae-seop’s story of wanting to see me again.

I thought the string was completely broken because of my mistake last time, but it seems that wasn’t the case.

“Yes! Understood! Brother! I’ll contact you again!”

He bows his head at a 90 degree angle to Lee Dae-sik and greets him.

The market leaves without even looking at him, only waving briefly.

In fact, his existence had already been half erased from Mayor Lee Dae-sik’s mind.

As soon as he got out and got into his car, he made a phone call.

“Oh, sir, this is me. I have something to tell you.”

* * *

[Lieutenant General Gil Min-tae arrested. Charge is sedition. The reason for conspiring to commit sedition is said to be dissatisfaction with the current military reform plan. – Tongil Ilbo]

[Road One Association? A private organization within the Army academy. Led by Lieutenant General Gil Min-tae, there are 15 generals. – KBC]

[All six generals who were deeply involved in this private organization meeting were dismissed. The six newly promoted generals were evenly distributed to two each from the Korea Military Academy, the ROK Army Reserve Corps, and the Third Military Academy – SBC]

The opposition to the military reform plan began to die down as more than 10 stars fell, showing that the president had considerable intentions.

With the disappearance of the organization that had the greatest influence within the military, the forces that led this backlash have been greatly weakened.

In addition, with the Minister of National Defense, the Chief of Staff, the division commander, and the six generals involved in this private organization all leaving their posts, the stagnant promotion log was resolved, and some within the military welcomed this.

The policies that were implemented in this way began to take hold one by one.

First, many of the bad practices that had been practiced within some military units for the purpose of maintaining so-called military discipline began to be abolished.

Of course, there were no extreme bad habits like before the 1980s, but knowingly or unknowingly, bad habits were maintained in the name of maintaining military discipline.

However, most of the bad practices were abolished as a result of this incident.

All punishments and punishments were to be carried out only according to the manual, and any behavior that was different from yesterday and today, even if the same mistake was committed just according to their mood without a manual, was prohibited.

“But if we do it this way, won’t the military discipline become too lax?”

The newly appointed Army Chief of Staff asks me in a worried voice.

I shook my head and spoke to him.

“Sir, I don’t think military discipline and bad habits have anything to do with each other.”

“Still… this is… … .”

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff trails off.

I asked him one question.

“Chief, I heard that Admiral Yi Sun-sin was quite a strict person in the past. But do you know why his soldiers respected him so much?”

“Hmm… Well, I guess it’s because he’s loyal and has a great personality.”

“Of course there are reasons for that, but the biggest reason is that Admiral Yi Sun-sin always did it according to military law when punishing his soldiers.”

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff pauses for a moment.

I saw him like that and patted his shoulder and said.

“Chief, times have changed. In order to become a respected military, shouldn’t the military first treat its members humanely? When I say members of the military, I’m not just talking about privates. Shouldn’t we be respecting each other regardless of whether they’re non-commissioned officers or officers? Or is it possible that our military is a group that can’t even maintain discipline without these bad habits?”

I looked at him and made a slightly provocative remark.

His eyes are now blazing.

“No! Don’t worry. This military reform! Let’s do it right. Loyalty!”

He salutes me in a voice that sounds like a new recruit.

I said, saluting him.

“I’ll watch over you for a while. Please take good care of me.”

* * *

And then the second and third also proceeded slowly.

Of course, promotions and such were not problems that could be solved in an instant, so we decided to slowly increase the ratio of non-soldiers.

And now, many changes have taken place within the military, with promotions not simply based on seniority but on ability and popularity.

“Did you hear that Lieutenant Colonel Yoo Jeong-min was recently promoted?”

Lieutenant Choi Jeong-geun tells his superior officer Cho Tae-hyeon, who is drinking coffee with him, about the commander of the next battalion.

“Colonel Yoo Jeong-min, are you talking about that crazy battalion commander from the battalion next door? But, even though his abilities are a bit of a mess, he’s still a graduate of the Korea Military Academy and has a lot of talent. They say he’ll have no problem reaching the rank of general… … .”

Lieutenant Choi shakes his head as he speaks.

“Didn’t the president strongly urge that no one should be promoted without ability? That’s why, this time, people like Colonel Yoo who had no ability and were promoted by just showing up got completely eliminated in the promotion process.”

Sergeant Cho laughs loudly.

“Hahaha. I really hated seeing that guy even though I only saw him occasionally, but it turned out really well. Hahahaha. By the way, if you get promoted based on your abilities, Lieutenant Choi, you’ll be promoted soon, right?”

Lieutenant Choi is humble.

“Oh my, Officer Haengbo. Aren’t you giving me too much airtime?”

Sergeant Cho speaks firmly.

“It’s not an airplane. If you do it according to your ability, shouldn’t the platoon leader be the first to get promoted?”

In fact, although he was being humble, Lieutenant Choi was actually rumored to be a capable person within the battalion, and he was popular with both the enlisted men and non-commissioned officers.

However, because he was from the military academy, he was always pushed back when it came to promotion, so many people felt regretful.

Lieutenant Choi smiles slightly and tells the story of what happened this morning.

“This is something only the Officer of the Guard should know… In fact, I was told this morning that you can look forward to the next promotion… … .”

Sergeant Cho Tae-hyun is delighted with his story as if it were his own.

“Is that true? Congratulations. I guess I should call you Captain from now on.”

Lieutenant Choi Jeong-geun asks them to keep quiet.

“Oh, Your Majesty. It’s not confirmed yet.”

“Hahaha. Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone. But I, too, would be happy if someone like Lieutenant Choi were the company commander. I’m sure you’ll be promoted.”

People who had the ability within the military but were blocked from promotion due to lack of background and ties are starting to blossom one by one.

And this wind gradually spread outside the military to public offices, public enterprises, and private companies.

* * *

By the time the young man’s vengeance was somewhat appeased, South Korea had begun to reset its relations with its neighbors, especially with countries that had gained independence from China.

In particular, relations with Taiwan have also entered a reset phase.

Previously, Taiwan was not able to join the AEU because of China, but now that it is recognized as a country, it has started to establish diplomatic relations with several countries, including South Korea.

And ironically, Taiwan had a great affinity for Korea.

This was because it was seen that Korea played a major role in Taiwan’s complete independence this time.

But the relationship that changed the most was, of course, the one with Russia.