1979, Manager Kim is Inheriting Dictatorship! - Chapter 22



Only Krnovel

Episode 22

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At a little past 7 o’clock, the restaurant’s sliding door opens and Choi Hyun comes in.

“I’m a little late, Mr. President.”

“No, I just got here.”

His expression, which I saw after a long time, actually looked better than when he was Prime Minister.

After the meal and drinks were served, I poured myself a drink and asked Prime Minister Choi.

“How are you doing these days now that you’re retired?”

“Haha. It’s good. I get to see my grandchildren’s talents, travel with my wife, and I’ve been so busy that I haven’t been able to take care of my family, but now I feel like I’m finally fulfilling my role as a father and husband.”

Prime Minister Choi Hyun retired cleanly from politics after I was elected last time.

I asked him to remain Prime Minister after I was elected, but he consistently refused.

“Mr. President. During the last rebellion, I realized that I was not qualified to be a leader. If it had been President Lee Jung-hwan instead of me, would they have even imagined a rebellion? I am not qualified to take that position.”

Prime Minister Choi pours me a drink too.

I said to him as I emptied my glass.

“These days are really tough. If the Prime Minister had continued to serve as Prime Minister, I would have had an easier time running the country. I miss the Prime Minister’s foresight.”

“You are too kind. As I said last time, I am not qualified to be a leader. If it weren’t for President Kim, this country might have fallen to the Hanahwe.”

I set my glass down on the table and waved him off.

“No, Mr. Prime Minister. It is because you held on with a strong will until the American troops arrived that this country has not fallen to the rebels.”

Prime Minister Choi begins to smile, seeming a little happier.

“Haha. Is that so? I’m glad that I was able to be of some help to the Republic of Korea. It seems like I didn’t live my life in vain.”

I poured myself another drink and spoke frankly.

“I’ve had a lot of worries lately.”

“Is it because of President Kim?”

“Yes. I never thought you would hit me in the back of the head like that.”

“I never expected it. To expel the president of one’s own party… This is truly an act that goes beyond the pale!”

Prime Minister Choi becomes angry and furious.

He is fundamentally a man of principle.

He was not a popular or powerful man politically, but he did not engage in politics that went beyond the pale.

“But is it okay for you to meet a retired person like me? Aren’t you busy preparing for the launch of your own party?”

I put out the cigarette I was smoking and got back to the main point.

“Prime Minister. Actually, the reason I came today is because of the party establishment issue.”

“What about the party foundation issue? Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Prime Minister Choi Hyun. Would you be willing to take the position of leader of the new party I am forming?”

Prime Minister Choi’s eyes widen in surprise as if he had never thought of it.

“Yes? I am the representative of the new party? Isn’t that the position that President Kim is supposed to take?”

President Lee Jung-hwan concurrently served as the leader of the Democratic Republican Party during his presidency.

But I had no intention of caring about political parties.

“No. I think the Blue House and the party should be separated.”

“Are there any members who will participate?”

Prime Minister Choi shows interest.

Now retired, he pretends not to be interested in politics, but he cannot hide his true feelings.

In the first place, there is no such thing as retirement for politicians.

If there is retirement, it is only death.

A politician is someone who doesn’t want to give up power as long as he or she still has the strength to hold a spoon in his or her hand.

“Although it is a rule for lawmakers belonging to the Yushin Political Friends Association not to join political parties, half of them have actually declared their support for me. However, the Democratic Republican Party is still… a bit… sluggish.”

“There’s nothing we can do about it since the Democratic and Republican Party members are tightly controlled by JP.”

I held Prime Minister Choi’s hand tightly and asked him.

“It is good that the Prime Minister is retiring and starting a new life, but the Republic of Korea still has a long way to go. It is at times like this that Prime Minister Choi needs to step up.”

Prime Minister Choi did not have high public support, was not a very powerful person, and was not a person with political ambitions.

But as a managerial politician, few were more capable.

And crucially, this guy was an idiot.

At that time, it was taken for granted that any politician would have at least one back pocket to fill.

But this person didn’t have anything like that.

Even the shoes he was wearing were so worn out that they had holes in them.

It wasn’t widely known to the public, but it was widely known among lawmakers.

That’s why there were quite a few people among the members of the National Assembly who respected him.

Certainly, if he becomes the party leader, many of the Democratic and Republican Party members who were hesitating will come over.

Although there were people who criticized Choi Hyun the politician, there was no one who criticized Choi Hyun the human being.

The shoes he reported wearing today were so worn out that it was hard to believe they were the shoes of a former prime minister.

“Mr. Prime Minister, I have a gift for you.”

I received a shoebox from Youngho, who was outside, and gave it to him.

“Mr. President, I cannot accept this.”

“I bought this with my own money. If you become the party leader, please accept it.”

“Heh heh.. this is really..”

Prime Minister Choi Hyun looked embarrassed, but there was a smile on his face, knowingly or unknowingly.

From the next day, work began on founding a new party centered around Prime Minister Choi Hyun.

When Prime Minister Choi Hyun announced that he would be coming as the new party’s leader, some of the Democratic Republican Party’s lawmakers who had been hesitating left the Democratic Republican Party and joined the new party.

The name of the party is ‘Korea Japan Party’

It was a political party name that aimed to make this country the best in the world, without being bound by ideologies such as conservatism or progressivism.

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“Geosan. Are you really going to keep wasting time like this?!”

bang!!

TJ slams his fist on the table and shouts.

YS and TJ have been meeting for several days to discuss unification, but their differences are not being narrowed down.

“So. You get out of my way. I have no intention of getting out of my way!”

YS had no intention of giving in.

Of course, the same was true for TJ.

Both of them believed that only they could beat President Kim in the election.

“Let’s form a coalition government. If I am elected, I will give Geosan the power to appoint half of the cabinet members, including the prime minister.”

YS laughs after hearing TJ’s words.

“Huh. I have no intention of standing by. If you want to form a coalition government, then give me the presidential nomination and make yourself the prime minister.”

The poll was not accepted by either party due to differences of opinion on the method, and in the end, all that was left was for one side to make concessions, but neither side had any intention of making concessions.

Yang Kim ended up having the same thought in his head.

‘In the end, is there no one else but JP···.’

Bringing the low-approval JP to one’s side.

They believed that was the only way to defeat President Kim.

###

The presidential election is set for Thursday, November 7th.

Currently, it is a one-strong, two-weak, one-weak system, with President Kim Jung-guk leading the way, with the two Kims chasing after him, and JP following behind.

Excluding Kim Jung-guk, who received support nationwide, the other candidates had their support bases in their respective regions.

All three candidates, YS based in Gyeongnam and Busan, TJ based in Honam, and finally JP based in Chungcheong, had strong support in their respective regions, enough to be called kings.

Current approval ratings are 37% for President Kim Jung-guk, 14% for JP, 24% for YS, and 22% for TJ.

‘Hmm… It’s ambiguous.’

Although it was the highest approval rating, it was an unstable approval rating.

It was an approval rating that could have been reversed if the three Kims had unified.

And the regional support base was weak. There was support in the metropolitan area and nationwide, but the support rate was not significantly high in specific regions.

This four-way structure was originally reminiscent of the 1987 presidential election in history.

And in that election, as the two Kims failed to unify, Noh Dae-jun was elected by a landslide.

If history goes by that, I will be elected this time too, in a landslide victory.

But it wasn’t the kind of easy election I wanted.

I wanted to be elected with at least a majority of the votes.

‘Ultimately, someone has to come up with the support. Someone with a strong local base needs to help.’

The presidential election is fought with the faces of the candidates, but the candidates’ supporters are equally important.

Prime Minister Choi Hyun is a good person, but he ultimately has low public recognition.

‘A person with good public recognition and who is popular in a certain region..’

Someone comes to mind.

‘Lee Hye-jeong’

She was President Lee Jung-hwan’s second daughter and the person who could show overwhelming support more than anyone else in the TK region.

“Uh… no.”

This is not it.

No matter how much I think about it, even if it wasn’t me who killed him, in the end, the main body of this body killed President Lee Jung-hwan.

But asking his family, Lee Hye-jeong, for support was an act that crossed the line, even if she said she didn’t know.

Someone else was needed.

‘Popular awareness… popularity in a specific area…’

Then someone else pops into my head.

‘Wait a minute… That guy was there..!’

###

A Makguksu restaurant in Gangneung.

This place was famous as a regular restaurant for Chairman Oh Wang-guk of Hyunjoong Construction.

“Mr. President, if you had told me, I would have come and seen you.”

“Haha. No. I came here because I heard that this Makguksu is so famous that I wanted to try it.”

Take a bite of Makguksu topped with lots of seaweed powder.

‘Oh… Are you doing quite well?’

The charm of Makguksu is extraordinary. Before I could become too absorbed in Makguksu and do nothing, I started a conversation with Chairman Oh.

“How is it, Chairman Oh? Is the construction of the nuclear power plant going well?”

“Oh.. yes. In fact, it is going surprisingly well. The practitioners are getting more and more surprised as time goes by.”

“Haha. That’s fortunate.”

“Where on earth did you get this technology? Is this America after all?”

“Well, where could it be? Haha.”

Chairman Oh stops eating his buckwheat noodles and looks closely at my face.

“But… Your Majesty, have you eaten any ginseng? Your face…”

Chairman Oh Wang-guk was known for taking good care of his health.

It was a fairly famous story that he bought hundreds of years old ginseng from Simmani for a large sum of money.

To him, my current youthful face would be the object of envy.

I took a bite of the Makguksu noodles and answered.

“Mmm… This is delicious. I guess I’ve become a little younger because I’ve been eating such delicious food for a long time.”

“Haha.. is that so?”

Chairman Oh bursts into laughter as if he finds it absurd.

“But did you really come here to eat Makguksu today?”

Chairman Oh tells them to get to the point.

“How could that be?”

I inhaled all the buckwheat noodles in one go, bowed my head, and spoke to him.

“Oh, Mr. Chairman. Could you help me with this election?”

Chairman Oh’s influence in Ulsan and the Yeongnam region was extraordinary. His influence in the Yeongnam region, where the shipyard he built is located, was absolutely not something to be ignored.

And the influence he had was not limited to Yeongnam.

He was of displaced origin.

In 2023, elections and displacement had little to do with each other.

The reason is that most of the displaced people have already passed away.

However, in 1980, less than 30 years after the division, there were still nearly 800,000 displaced people and their families alive.