1979, Manager Kim is Inheriting Dictatorship! - Chapter 165



Only Krnovel

Episode 165

“So it’s a strike after all… Haa, what about the medical school?”

As expected, the people most sensitive to the expansion of medical school enrollment are the students currently enrolled in medical school.

Minister Lee Cheol-gyu sighs and answers.

“Whew… Universities are similar. Many medical schools have already submitted group leave requests, saying they will take a leave of absence, and are not attending classes.”

In history, doctors’ strikes often spread to medical schools.

‘In the end, I have no choice but to come out strong.’

“How did you handle it?”

“Hey, I told you to put the processing on hold for now.”

I shook my head and spoke.

“There’s no need for that. They submitted their own leave of absence, so why hold off on processing it? Tell all students who submitted their leave of absence to proceed with their leave of absence.”

The minister stops me in an urgent voice.

“Oh, Mr. President! Then all those students will repeat a grade!”

I spoke to the minister with a puzzled expression.

“What’s the problem with that?”

The minister tries to convince me again with a puzzled look on his face.

“If all the students in that grade take a leave of absence, they will end up repeating a year, which will inevitably reduce the number of doctors by the time they get their medical licenses. Let’s try to persuade them first… .”

But I answered firmly.

“Haven’t we already done enough persuasion? They refuse to negotiate and are acting like this, so shouldn’t we respond accordingly? Deal with all those who are on leave of absence. And from now on, don’t make special exceptions for medical students. Tell all universities nationwide to treat them like regular students, whether they are on leave of absence or have a letter of resignation. They are not a special class.”

Now that I’ve come this far, the minister can no longer answer.

I spoke to the minister again.

“If they disobey, tell them that they will no longer receive support from that university starting next year.”

Minister Lee Cheol-gyu nods and answers.

“Okay… I will discuss it with the Ministry of Education and proceed accordingly.”

* * *

“Senior, is it really okay for us to play like this?”

Jaehoon, a first-year student at the medical school of Korea University, cautiously asks Hyunwoo, a first-year senior student.

Hyunwoo replies, scolding Jaehoon.

“Hey, you punk. So you’re just going to sit there and take it while the president points a knife at us?”

Jaehoon answers, looking very discouraged.

“That’s not it, but if this keeps up, I’ll have no choice but to repeat a year if I’m put on leave.”

Hyunwoo was the de facto leader of the recent strike by the Korean University Medical School Alliance.

Hyunwoo confidently tells her not to worry.

“Don’t worry. They wouldn’t do that! Think about it. This time, all of the medical schools in Korea University have gone on strike. If you accept all of them at once, there will be problems with the supply of doctors starting next year. Don’t worry, we will never accept strikes.”

“No, it’s not someone else, it’s President Kim Jung-guk… You know that, senior. That guy always keeps his word once he says it… … .”

Hyunwoo speaks again, annoyed at Jaehoon.

“Hey! Why are you so worried? I told you not to worry. The professors are all on our side. And are we the only ones who have submitted a leave of absence? All the other universities have participated too! I told you that I will never accept a leave of absence!”

When Hyunwoo speaks in a shouting tone, only then does Jaehoon stop arguing.

“Anyway, why am I so scared… … .”

At that moment, Hyunwoo’s classmate Seunghyun comes running in a hurry from afar.

Then he stops in front of Hyunwoo and tries to say something while panting.

Hyunwoo asks Seunghyun, who is panting.

“Hey, why are you running like that? Is something serious happening?”

“Haa, haa… Hey, we’re in trouble!!”

Seunghyun’s expression looked really urgent.

“So what is it? Take a breath and speak properly.”

Seunghyun takes a moment to catch his breath and then speaks in a voice that sounds like he’s about to cry.

“Hey! What are we going to do now? All of our leave of absences have been taken care of!!”

Hyunwoo’s face turns dark at Seunghyun’s words.

“What, what did you say!! You really took care of the leave of absence…?!”

Seunghyun grabs Hyunwoo by the collar.

“Yeah, Inma! What are we going to do now!! We’re all stuck with it! You’re not going to get a leave of absence!!”

Hyunwoo gets annoyed and shakes Seunghyun off by the collar.

“Fuck… Did you do something wrong? You really took care of our leave of absence?”

Seunghyun grabs Hyunwoo by the collar again.

“Yeah! Our leave of absence has been processed! What are we going to do now? I told you not to worry about anything!!”

And on this day, not only the medical students at Korea University, but all medical students across the country who had submitted a leave of absence were processed at once.

* * *

A standing staff member for the doctors’ association rushes into the chairman’s office and reports to Chairman Kim Won-gi.

“Mr. Chairman! The government has finally processed the leave of absence of all medical students who submitted their leave of absence requests!”

Chairman Kim asks back in surprise.

“What?! You really got a leave of absence? What on earth is the university thinking?!”

The secretary answers in a flustered manner.

“That, that… It is said that the Blue House directly pressured national universities, and that they also pressured private universities using subsidies as a weapon.”

Chairman Kim’s son was also a medical student and participated in this strike.

If what he said were true, his son would also have to repeat a year of school.

‘What the hell are you thinking!’

And the next day, an emergency general meeting for doctors is held.

Chairman Kim Won-gi steps forward and shouts at the members.

“Members! If the government handles the medical students’ leave of absence in this way, it is basically the same as declaring war on us! If this continues, we will lose! Are you really going to just sit back and watch this happen?”

A doctor speaks forcefully, slamming his desk.

“No way! If we just sit still like this, all the policies the government has talked about will really get passed!”

Other doctors agree with him.

“That’s right! We need to start showing some group action now!”

“We must fight to the death!”

It seems like people’s opinions are finally coming together.

Chairman Kim brings up a word that people are hesitating to say.

“Guys, shouldn’t we go on strike and show our will?”

The members are a little surprised at the mention of a strike, but their eyes all change into one of determination.

If up until now it has been a threatening strike that has not actually been carried out, now is the time to actually carry it out.

The chairman speaks to the members.

“First, let’s go on strike starting next Monday. The first one is for one day. If our opinion is not conveyed, the next week is for three days. Shouldn’t we do this to let the government know that our will is stronger than ever?”

Chairman Kim’s words erupted into cheers and applause from the people.

“Kim Won-gi! Kim Won-gi!!”

But then someone voices a dissenting opinion.

“Oh, no! I have important surgery next Monday!”

He was a young looking doctor.

He was a doctor who was about the age of a specialist.

People’s eyes are sharply focused on him.

Chairman Kang Won-ki shouts at the young doctor.

“You! We have a knife at our throats right now, and you’re the only one thinking about you!”

The young doctor answers tremblingly but without bending his opinion.

“I, I’m not thinking about myself. I’m thinking about the patient. I don’t know what will happen if this patient’s surgery is delayed!”

Then, harsh voices burst out from inside the conference room.

-What does it matter if the surgery is delayed or not!

-That guy helped us oppose the policy this time!

-If it’s not your family, then just don’t do it! Why are you so obsessed with it!

After Chairman Kim calms the people down for a moment, he looks at the young doctor and speaks.

“Listen carefully, young master. The current situation is also the fault of the people. If the people had agreed with our opinion earlier, would the president have implemented the policy of Muddeporo as he has now?”

It was an arrogant and presumptuous attitude.

Public support for ‘one-shot medical reform’ stands at 95%.

Considering that the president’s approval rating is around 85%, the public’s desire for healthcare reform was so great that it even exceeded the president’s approval rating.

“Well, let’s try negotiating with the government first… … .”

The young doctor spoke in a trembling, small voice, but Chairman Kim’s answer came back harshly.

“Is there even one policy among the policies the government is talking about now that we can accept? What kind of negotiation is this? Are we the same as ordinary office workers or ordinary citizens? We are special!”

The young doctor looks almost crying.

Chairman Kim looked into the conference room and shouted.

“Don’t worry, folks. If we go on strike, the government will eventually withdraw its policy. Don’t worry.”

* * *

Sunday morning, the day before the strike began.

The chief secretary comes running in and announces that the doctors will go on strike tomorrow.

“Mr. President, the doctors have finally decided to go on strike. They say they will have the first general strike tomorrow.”

It was expected, but it was incredibly sad when it actually happened.

I originally thought that South Korea was quite different from its history, but there were some parts that were the same and had not changed at all.

“Whew… Are you saying that you’re going to go on strike at all costs? Are you saying that you’re not even going to look at negotiations?”

The chief secretary nods and answers.

“Yes. They say they have no intention of sitting at the negotiating table unless all policies are withdrawn.”

It’s not that negotiations weren’t open.

There was some willingness to negotiate on numbers and details.

But they didn’t even think about sitting down at the negotiating table.

“Is it true that the chairman of the meeting for those doctors, Won-gi Kim, is leading it?”

“That’s right. He is a hardliner among the hardliners. Because of him, the voices of doctors who want to negotiate are all being buried.”

My head is starting to hurt again.

As I sat down at my desk for a moment and stroked my hair, the chief secretary asked in a worried voice.

“Are you okay, Mr. President? I’ll call my doctor right away… … .”

I wave my hand and say it’s okay.

“No, I’m just a little stressed out. It’ll be okay if you rest for a while.”

Director Oh speaks to me cautiously a little later.

“Mr. President. If you leave this matter to me, I will deal with these guys really well this time… … .”

I can guess what you’re going to do.

They will probably mobilize the National Intelligence Service to catch Chairman Kim Won-ki and the hardliners and then treat them the old way.

I reassured him that it was okay.

“It’s okay. I understand how Director Oh feels, but if you ignore the legal procedures like that, we might face a backlash.”

Oh, the director apologizes to me right away.

“I’m sorry… I was short-sighted again. I got so angry when I saw the doctors being so irresponsible as medical professionals and talking to the president… .”

“It’s okay. I know you said that for my own good, so it’s okay.”

I thought about it for a moment and then spoke to the chief secretary.

“The first strike will only last one day, so let’s wait and see. When do you think the second strike will be?”

“They said it would be a week later. They said it would be three days from now.”

‘There will definitely be a lot of problems in the next three days. We need to solve them before then… … .’