1979, Manager Kim is Inheriting Dictatorship! - Chapter 19



Only Krnovel

Episode 19

“Absolutely not!!”

“What are you talking about!”

“Mr. President! What are you talking about without consulting the party at all!”

As expected, all three Kims are vehemently opposed.

In particular, JP seemed to react the most violently, perhaps because of the recent real-name financial transaction system issue.

“Mr. President! Last time, you implemented the real-name financial transaction system without consulting the ruling party, even going as far as to call it an emergency measure. Do you know how much trouble I had trying to persuade the lawmakers because of that?”

“The real-name financial transaction system is a law that can never be properly implemented unless it is implemented that way, so that’s why it was implemented that way.”

“But shouldn’t you have at least given me a word of warning as the leader of the ruling party?”

JP’s voice becomes increasingly more intense.

YS takes another cigarette and says.

“President Kim, are you really planning to run for president after the direct election system amendment?”

As expected of YS, he was straightforward.

‘I guess there’s no point in hiding it any longer.’

“Yes, I plan to run for president, too.”

“Isn’t the promise different!”

“Mr. President!”

Everyone gets excited when the talk of running comes up.

I looked at the 3 gold coins calmly and spoke.

“A promise? When did I say I wouldn’t run for president?”

“If you accepted the interim presidency, didn’t that mean you had no interest in being the next president? Now that you’re in that position, do you start to lust after power?”

TJ is pushing me hard.

“Yes, that’s right. As I sit here, I start to lust after power. Especially since I think I’m better at politics than you guys.”

I have no intention of hiding it any longer, so I’ll tell you everything.

After hearing my story, all three Kims became quiet.

Of the three Kims, two were originally presidents, and the remaining one was also prime minister.

All three were politicians with strong fandoms, to the point that they were still liked by some people in 2023.

But they were clearly politicians with excesses.

Of course, they did have good policies and played a role as good leaders, but they also suggested and led many directions that led South Korea down a bad path.

But I am different from them. I will only show and lead the Republic of Korea on the right path.

That is why these people will never become president in this history.

All three Kims stand up from their seats.

“I guess I have nothing more to say.”

“I have nothing more to say, Kai.”

“I will now rise, Mr. President.”

###

From that day on, it became known that I was running for president.

Some ruling party lawmakers supported me, but the majority of ruling party lawmakers still supported JP.

As expected, the lawmakers who supported me were first-term lawmakers with weak support bases or members of the Yushin Political Friends Association.

The discussion on constitutional amendments progressed quickly. Before we knew it, even the smallest details were being completed one by one.

And before we knew it, the weather had passed the spring when life dawned and entered the hot summer.

But the approval rating still remained stagnant.

Thanks to corporate leaders releasing some money in exchange for slush funds in borrowed-name accounts, the economic crisis caused by the second oil shock was somewhat averted for ordinary people.

Although the economy of ordinary people stabilized somewhat, unlike the previous years when steady growth was recorded every year, 1980 was the year when South Korea experienced its first negative economic growth.

And perhaps because of that, the approval rating that had been rising began to show a slight decline.

[1st Kim Jung-guk / 29%, 2nd Kim Jung-pil / 57%, 3rd No Supported Candidate / 14%]

With Lee Chang-ho, who was serving as the Secretary General of the Democratic Republican Party, resigning, the ruling party’s presidential candidates have effectively been narrowed down to me and JP.

Compared to the 35% in the last poll, the number has dropped considerably. Fortunately, the approval rating of Kim Jung-pil, the rival candidate, has not increased but rather decreased, perhaps because he is also the leader of the ruling party.

‘The approval rating needs to rise···.’

At that moment, Chief Secretary Young-ho enters the office.

“Mr. President, the National Assembly has sent you a constitutional amendment. Please review it before proposing it.”

“Really? Let’s take a look.”

The content was not much different from the 2023 Constitution.

The only difference, however, was in the re-election part.

‘Up to two consecutive terms are possible. The term of office is 4 years···.’

This meant that no matter how hard you tried, the maximum term was 8 years.

‘Is this the only way?’

“Chief Secretary. Contact each city and tell them to prepare for a referendum.”

“A referendum? Mr. President. Are you really planning to propose a constitutional amendment directly instead of through the National Assembly?”

Youngho asks in surprise.

There are currently two ways to amend the Constitution.

One was to propose a bill in the National Assembly, and the other was to propose a bill in the President.

If a constitutional amendment proposed by the National Assembly is passed by the National Assembly with the consent of 2/3 of the members present, the ball is passed to the National Unification Council, which then votes on it. If it is approved in the vote, the constitutional amendment is confirmed.

And the constitutional amendment proposed by the president was simpler than that.

The constitutional amendment proposed by the president was submitted to a national referendum, and if it received a majority of votes in the referendum, the constitutional amendment was passed.

Even if the ruling party members somehow manage to persuade JP to drop his horse, the opposition party members will eventually have to agree, and no matter how I think about it, it seems impossible to persuade the opposition party members.

‘Ultimately, the only way to pass the constitutional amendment is through a national referendum.’

###

[Is President Kim Jong-guk ultimately going down the path of dictatorship?]

[President Kim Jong-guk pushes through constitutional amendment bill, ignoring National Assembly]

[President Kim Jong-guk’s reckless actions that ignore the people and the National Assembly.]

The next morning, after the constitutional amendment was proposed, the morning newspapers were filled with articles criticizing me.

After taking office, he did not exert any special control over the media, nor did he have a close relationship with the media.

It was natural since most of the media was closer to the three Kims, who were politicians, than to me, who was a former head of the Central Intelligence Agency.

“Mr. President. I’m sorry! I’ll call the media owners right away and… really…!”

Kim Moon-sik, the director of the National Intelligence Service, speaks with an angry expression, clutching a newspaper tightly in his hand.

“Okay. What are you calling it? That will only increase the backlash. We won’t do things like control the media anymore.”

“Mr. President..”

Even if we tried things like controlling the media, they wouldn’t listen to anything I said since they thought I was the interim president.

“Moreover, if a national referendum were held tomorrow, what do you think would happen, Director Kim?”

“That.. that..”

Director Kim trails off as if he is having a hard time speaking.

“It’s okay. Just be honest with me.”

“.. .. .. In fact, it will not pass. Not only JP, but also YS and TJ are against this constitutional amendment. Considering the people who support them.. I think the approval vote will probably be around 30%.”

‘30%···.’

A referendum must be held within 60 days of proposing a constitutional amendment. So it was necessary to somehow change public opinion within these 60 days.

“Your Majesty… no, Mr. President. How about trying to persuade JP instead?

Even if I persuade JP and get really lucky enough to get some of the opposition party members on my side and get the constitutional amendment passed in the National Assembly, people will see that not as me, Kim Jong-guk, winning, but rather as me bowing down to JP.

If that happened, it was clear as day that he would lose to JP in the next primary.

“Okay. That won’t mean much. I have to take the lead in amending the Constitution to win the next primary and presidential election.”

###

“

“Is the move going well?”

Min Jeong-pal, Chairman of Sejun Financial, receives a business report from his chief secretary.

“Yes, sir, you don’t have to worry. Most of the departments have been moved, and now only the General Affairs Department remains.”

“Really? But you still haven’t found a place to move into?”

“Yes.. That.. The monthly rent isn’t that expensive, but since it’s such a large building, there aren’t any companies willing to use it. I’ll try to find one as soon as possible.”

Sejun Financial.

It is a company that shines as the number one large corporation in Korea.

Due to the recent acquisition of a credit union, the size of the business has increased significantly, and due to the increased size, it is preparing to move from its original building in Myeongdong to a larger building in Yeouido.

Yeouido has recently become such a hot place that it has been called the Wall Street of South Korea, so the location of the place I was moving to was perfect.

However, I have to rent out the entire large building located in the middle of Myeongdong, but I have no intention of leaving.

‘Should I lower the tax a bit more..?’

At that moment, a staff member from the secretary’s office rushes into the room.

“Mr.. Chairman. I need you to answer the phone for a moment.”

“Who is it?”

“This is the President.”

“what?”

Chairman Min hurries to the secretary’s office and answers the phone.

“Mr. President. What is it that makes you call me so personally?”

“Chairman Min. This may be out of the blue, but Chairman Min, I heard that your headquarters will be moving to Yeouido this time. Is that true?”

“Uh… How did you know? Recently, due to a merger and acquisition, we have too many employees, so we are moving to a larger building in the Yeouido area.”

Chairman Min answers in surprise.

“Is that so? But Chairman Min, I heard you were worried because the building that Sejun Financial used to use wasn’t available. Is that true?”

“You know that much. That’s amazing.”

The number of employees in the National Intelligence Service alone has increased to 10,000.

Currently, all information in South Korea goes through the National Intelligence Service.

There was no way I didn’t know.

“So, would you be willing to lease that empty building to the government for a few years? But let’s cut the monthly rent to half of the original amount.”

“Half price? No, Mr. President. Even so… half price… I can give you a discount of up to 20 percent.”

Minjeongpal speaks with a slightly troubled expression on his face.

But in fact, Min Jeong-pal also knew.

I said it was difficult to express my feelings and expressions, but it turned out to be a pretty good deal.

If a company is having a hard time and can’t pay rent, and you refuse to move out despite being notified that you have to pay rent for several months, you have to take legal action to evict them. There are a lot of complicated things to deal with.

In comparison, the government rarely runs into money woes, so even if they received a little less money, it was a good contract.

But isn’t that what courtesy negotiations are all about?

I asked for 80% because I thought I should get at least a little more than half price.

I thought that if I said this, the president would raise the price even a little.

“Is that so? Okay. Then I guess I’ll have to look for another building.”

But the president wanted to hang up the phone without further negotiations.

“Ah… no, Mr. President! Mr. President! Then how about 70 percent?”

Chairman Min urgently calls President Kim.

“Okay. I’ll hang up now.”

But President Kim was resolute.

“Ah.. I see. That’s right.. Mr. President.. I was trying to get even just a penny more.. Mr. President is no ordinary high-level official.”

Great negotiators don’t negotiate.

This was Han Myung-ho’s negotiation philosophy in 2023.

A certain negotiator who kept calling for only four dollars was his role model as a negotiator.

“But Mr. President, which department is coming in?”

“The people currently at the Central Government Complex (former Government-General of Korea) will enter.”

“Is the central government building undergoing construction?”

“No. This time, we plan to blow up the entire Government-General of Korea building as part of the liquidation of Japanese imperialism.”

“yes..??”