1979, Manager Kim is Inheriting Dictatorship! - Chapter 20



Only Krnovel

Episode 20

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The referendum date is August 15th, Liberation Day.

Since there wasn’t much time left, we worked as quickly as possible.

All departments originally located in the Central Government Complex (Government-General of Korea) building moved to Sejun Financial’s building.

After the move was complete, we conducted a safety inspection around the building to prepare for any problems that might arise during an explosion.

To prevent any leaks, we told the employees who were moving and those living near the Governor-General’s Office that the entire building was being remodeled.

It was meant to be a little more dramatic.

And as the referendum date approached, the media and the three Kims began to criticize me every day.

[Kim Joong-pil, Chairman of the Democratic Republican Party: “There is no communication at all with President Kim’s party. He still thinks he is the head of the Central Intelligence Agency.”]

[No citizen gave power to President Kim Jong-guk.]

[President Kim Jung-guk. The arrogance and arrogance of a clumsy amateur politician.]

[Taejun Kim (TJ) “President Kim Jong-guk’s constitutional amendment proposal to remove term limits is ultimately an extension of the Yushin Constitution.”]

“How is it that not a single media outlet is on my side?”

I put down the newspaper, looked at Youngho and said.

Youngho bowed his head with an apologetic expression.

“I’m sorry, Mr. President. The media just won’t listen to me. Because the ruling party has turned its back on me. If it’s the Blue House’s words, they won’t write even a single line in the article.”

Perhaps they thought of me as a president already trapped in a lame duck period.

The ruling party and the opposition media joined forces to attack me.

There were less than 30 congressmen who sided with me.

‘Well… I guess this way we can make it more dramatic.’

###

Two weeks before the referendum.

The approval rating fell a little further.

The approval rating within the ruling party was 24%, a pitiful level compared to JP’s approval rating of 56%.

The only good thing is that even though my approval rating is going down, JP’s approval rating is not going up significantly.

And the day the Japanese Government-General of Korea was bombed was ten days before the national referendum.

In other words, there were four days left until the explosion.

As I was editing the speech to be delivered along with the explosion, the door to the office suddenly opened.

“Mr. President! Mr. President! Please take a look at this newspaper!”

Youngho suddenly runs over and hands me a newspaper.

But it wasn’t a newspaper from our country.

The newspaper Youngho handed over was a Japanese newspaper.

“What is this? Isn’t this a Japanese newspaper?”

“This is a newspaper that the NIS agent from Japan brought this morning. It contains an article about what the Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary said while having dinner with reporters yesterday. But that’s a bit…”

“What did the Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary say that led to that? Let’s take a look.”

Thanks to having studied a lot of Japanese in college, I had no problem reading articles like this.

Originally, Kim Jung-guk was quite good at Japanese, so it wouldn’t seem strange.

[At the time of the Japan-Korea Annexation, Korea had no choice but to do it because it was a weak country. Furthermore, Japan benefited Korea through the Japan-Korea Annexation. They built schools, railroads, and roads. Korea forgets all of those facts and only remembers the bad things about them.]

My stomach was churning.

He threw the newspaper he was holding onto the floor.

“Chief Secretary. Did the Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary really make such a statement?”

“Yes.. This is an article that has already been published in other newspapers. It was not an official event, but it is true that he made the remarks.”

“Haa… This is driving me crazy. I didn’t expect an apology, but I never thought it would come out like this.”

“What should we do? Should we first summon the Japanese ambassador?”

“Okay, summon the ambassador immediately.”

“Okay, I understand. Then I will contact you right away.”

Youngho leaves the room in a hurry to make contact.

‘No… Wait a minute… This…’

“Just a moment, Chief Secretary.”

The chief secretary stops and turns around.

“Yes? What’s going on, Mr. President?”

“Do not contact the Japanese embassy.”

“Are you telling me not to call?”

“Yes. Let’s respond more aggressively four days later than the initial attack. Invite the ambassadors of each country to the Government-General of Korea four days later. But the bombing must be kept a secret.”

###

The Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary’s remarks were not official, but they were so shocking that they were reported on the news that evening.

[It is reported that Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yusuke Kitano made this outrageous remark during an informal meeting with reporters. Our government and the Japanese government have yet to respond to this.]

[After hearing such remarks, New Democratic Party leader Kim Yong-shin strongly criticized President Kim Jung-guk, asking whether a president who does not even summon the ambassador is qualified to be president.]

Anti-Japanese sentiment reached its peak and public opinion began to boil over.

“Shouldn’t we cut off diplomatic relations with Japan immediately?”

“What on earth is the President doing!”

“Even though you say such things, you can’t say a single word to Japan!”

And so anti-Japanese sentiments boiled over, and finally that day arrived.

The detonation time is 2:00 p.m.

They invited people and reporters, pretending that it was just a big announcement.

And as planned, we invited ambassadors from various countries.

Fortunately, the Japanese ambassador also came.

The Japanese ambassador sat in the front row with the other ambassadors, with a solemn expression on his face, pretending not to know anything.

Thousands of people were seated, and I walked up to the stage and began to speak.

“Dear citizens, this is Kim Jong-guk.”

Even though I just said hello, people’s reactions were not good.

It wasn’t like this when the event was held a week ago, but public opinion seems to have gotten much worse in the past few days.

Although I heard some boos, I ignored them and calmly continued my speech.

“Citizens. As you all know, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yusuke Kitano once again touched the painful wounds of the Republic of Korea with his outrageous remarks three days ago.”

Sighs erupt from all over.

“The person who knows that is not doing anything!”

“You are going too far, Mr. President!”

I continued my speech before things got any more confusing.

“I know why you are booing. I just thought that a simple invitation to the ambassador would not be enough to make Japan feel how angry we are about this nonsense.”

I was silent for a moment, then looked at the Japanese ambassador sitting in the front row and said:

“So, as a strong protest to Japan about that outrageous remark, today I will blow up the Government-General Building, a building that is a historical disgrace to us, behind here.”

When the topic of bombing came up, the Japanese ambassador sitting in the front looked flustered and didn’t know what to do.

“I hope that by blowing up this shameful building today, the Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary will realize how wrong his remarks were. And I hope that this blowing up will be a turning point for Japan and its diplomacy to move in the right direction in the future.”

People are making a fuss.

And the boos from a moment ago gradually turn into cheers.

And a little while later, a loud explosion is heard along with the Chief Secretary’s radio transmission.

“Blow it up.”

bang!!!

The history of shame collapses with a huge roar.

The cheers of the people reach their peak.

It was safely detonated after some pre-dismantling, but the feeling that the detonation gave was definitely not ordinary.

“Mr. President!!”

“and!!!”

A bunch of flashes start going off.

As soon as the reporters took the photos, they all rushed to the company to publish articles in the evening papers.

And as evening came, the evening newspapers and broadcasts were filled with stories about the bombing of the first governor-general’s office.

[President Kim Jong-guk. Blowing up the building of shame.]

[President Kim Jong-guk. Showing Japan an example.]

[The Japanese government expressed its displeasure at the bombing of the Government-General of Korea without prior consultation.]

[Citizens watching the explosion cheered and chanted President Kim Jong-guk’s name.]

Even the three Kims, who were hostile to each other, had no choice but to say good things about this constitutional amendment.

[TJ “President Kim established the country’s pride.]

[YS “The President fixed Japan’s shabby hair.]

Public opinion was turning completely in my favor.

###

A week later, on August 15th, Liberation Day.

The long-awaited constitutional amendment referendum has begun.

Because it was a special referendum on a constitutional amendment proposed by the president himself, despite opposition from the National Assembly, public interest was at its peak.

Although the bombing of the Government-General of Korea a week ago had led to a huge surge in approval ratings, the three Kims had clearly stated their opposition to the constitutional amendment until the end, and since they could not ignore their loyal supporters, they could not be certain that the constitutional amendment would pass.

Starting in the morning, people line up endlessly at the polling station.

Then, each person marks whether they are for or against something and then puts their ballot in the ballot box.

And at 6pm, voting ends. After voting ends, the ballot boxes are delivered to the counting center and counting begins at a rapid pace.

I sat quietly in my office and calmly waited for the results. Then, around 10 p.m., Chief Secretary Young-ho came into the office.

“Have you got the results?”

“Yes, Your Majesty..”

His voice was shaking quite a bit.

“What happened?”

“Results of the constitutional amendment vote.. Currently, 52.44% of the votes are in favor···.”

Youngho pauses for a moment and then opens his mouth again.

“For.. 74.91%.. Against 25.09%!! It looks like the amendment will pass for sure. Mr. President!”