1979, Manager Kim is Inheriting Dictatorship! - Chapter 23



Only Krnovel

Episode 23

###

The Five Kingdoms.

He was a representative figure of the Han River myth in South Korea.

The company he founded could be called a symbol of South Korea’s growth.

It was a company that led the growth of South Korea in various fields such as construction, shipbuilding, and automobiles.

And the one who founded the company with nothing but his bare hands and grew it from the ground up while enduring all kinds of hardships was Chairman Oh.

But even he, who had lived for decades while enduring all the hardships of life, could not help but be bewildered by the current situation.

Even in 1980, it was still an era when politicians had much more power than conglomerates.

Even for President Lee Jung-hwan, it would not be a big deal if he wanted to destroy a single company.

But, it was because a man who was the head of the Central Intelligence Agency during that bloody time of the Yushin regime and is now the president bowed his head to me and asked me to help him with the election.

“Mr. President, please don’t do this. Raise your head. I’m afraid someone might see you.”

Chairman Oh stands me up in embarrassment.

I raised my head and looked at Chairman Oh and said.

“Oh, Chairman. This election is a major turning point for the Republic of Korea. It is a time that will determine whether the Republic of Korea can become a powerful nation in the future.”

“Are you saying that President Kim can do that? Why can’t other people do that?”

“Yes. Only I can do it. I think YS, TJ, and JP are all capable people. But they cannot make this Republic of Korea a great power. Only I can make the Republic of Korea a great power.”

I looked at Chairman Oh with a more upright gaze than ever before.

Chairman Oh hesitates for a moment and then speaks to me.

“Mr. President. Then, why don’t you just not amend the Constitution? If you had declared martial law after stopping the Hanahwe Rebellion, wouldn’t you have been able to continue to hold power?”

Chairman Oh seemed to understand that I wanted to be a dictator.

I said, shaking my head.

“I do not want to be like Your Excellency or Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. I want to be like Roosevelt. Power that has no legitimacy and suppresses freedom in the process of taking power will eventually collapse.”

Roosevelt in the US and Chancellor Merkel in modern Germany, although their circumstances were different, both were in power for a long time. But no one in the world calls them dictators.

Rather, both men are among the most respected leaders in their respective countries.

“Please help me, Chairman Oh. I need your help, Chairman Oh.”

Chairman Oh, who had been listening silently, speaks to me.

“Mr. President, I am a businessman. I never do anything that does not benefit me. If I help you in the election, what can you do for me?”

We couldn’t give special favors to certain companies just because they helped with the election.

That kind of politics will eventually reach its limits.

That’s why I can’t promise to give you any special privileges.

But the Five Kingdoms could promise whatever they wanted.

“You mentioned last time. You said you wanted to set foot on North Korean soil before you die. I told you that it would take 15 years. If I get elected this time, I will make sure you can do it within your first term.”

“If you say within the first term… are you talking about within 6 years?”

“Yes. I will make it possible for Chairman Oh to return to his hometown within six years.”

Chairman Oh’s eyes turn red as he misses his hometown.

“Really… can you promise me that?”

“Don’t worry. This isn’t just because of Chairman Oh’s dream. It’s also an essential condition for the Republic of Korea to become a powerful nation.”

Even though I didn’t say the word unification, I think he knows what I’m talking about.

Chairman Oh had met Kim Jeong-guk several times in the past when he was the Minister of Construction during the presidency of Lee Jeong-hwan.

Clearly, the Kim Jung-guk I met back then was not like other politicians who were obsessed with money, nor was he a rough-tempered person.

But he was definitely not an ambitious person like Kim Jung-guk is now.

The Kim Jeong-guk in front of Chairman Oh now seemed like a completely different person from the Kim Jeong-guk back then.

‘I think what the chief secretary said was right.’

“Please, Chairman Oh.”

I bow my head once again and ask you for your favor.

“.. .. .. .. Okay. I am lacking, but I will help. If it were the president a year ago, I would not have believed you, but the president now is different from the president then. I will believe you.”

“I will definitely repay your trust. Thank you, Chairman Oh.”

###

[YS, TJ unification failed.]

[Comrades of democracy eventually split.]

[Former comrades who turned their backs on each other.]

Two giants of democracy have finally split.

Accordingly, those in the opposition who had been united under the single value of democracy began to split among themselves.

The opposition figures were divided into the so-called candidate unification (abbreviation: Hudan) group, which supported YS, who was less rejected by the relatively conservative voters, the critical support (abbreviation: Biji) group, which supported TJ, who had a strong progressive color, and the independent candidate nomination (abbreviation: Dokhu) group, which believed that the party should field its own candidate.

Even though it was divided into three, in fact, except for some small number of labor movement forces, most of the non-mainstream figures supported TJ.

And up to this point, the series of events was almost identical to that of 1987.

But there was one big difference between 1980 and that time.

Compared to the original 1987 presidential election, which featured a four-way race between Roh Dae-jun, Kim Yong-shin, Kim Tae-jun, and Kim Jung-pil, Kim Yong-shin and Kim Jung-pil unified.

[JP, YS agree on unification.]

[Mutual agreement on forming a coalition government.]

[YS is the candidate. We are considering a merger after the election.]

JP received a promise from YS to become the next presidential candidate if he was elected, and yielded his candidacy to him.

This is because he believed that if YS was elected, did not run for re-election, and nominated himself as his successor, he would certainly be able to become president in the future.

###

With the appearance of Prime Minister Choi and Chairman Oh, the approval rating began to accelerate.

Prime Minister Choi’s sense of stability resonated with conservative voters.

In addition, with the emergence of Chairman Oh, public opinion in the Gyeongnam region centered around Ulsan began to sway violently, and public opinion among displaced people across the country also began to change.

With about 50 days left until the election, my approval rating was at 44%, far exceeding YS and TJ, who had approval ratings of 32% and 22%, respectively.

Clearly, other people might have thought it was a winning election.

But in an election, this level of approval rating was one that could have easily been overturned.

That’s why I wanted to make it a little more certain.

That’s why I went through Wikipedia to check the results of this election.

“What is this.. there’s nothing to see.”

There was no better way to prepare for the presidential election results than to know them in advance, but the changed future was not as blind as before.

For example, most of the 12 presidential election articles on this Wikipedia were blinded and could not be read properly.

[The 12th presidential election was held on Thursday, November 7, 1980. It was held from 6:00 AM to 6:00 AM, recorded a voter turnout of xx. xx%, and candidate number x xxx was elected with xx. xx%. It is analyzed that xxx xxx xxx, a month before the election day, had a significant influence on this result.]

‘What the heck is all this xxx···.’

If TJ and YS fail to unify and go with a three-way structure, it will not be difficult to win.

But there was one catch.

This is about an incident that happened just a month before the vote that is listed on Wikipedia.

‘How can you not see it?’

I press the smartphone here and there to see if there is a way.

At that moment, I pressed and held the blinded area and a message arrived on my smartphone.

[Would you like to pay 100 points and remove the blinds?]

There was a way to check on the blind future.

‘But… just one sentence for 100 points?’

I think it’s too much to pay 100 points just to read one sentence when you can get early access to world-changing technology by paying just a few hundred points.

“Hmm..”

But there was nothing I could do.

If we lose this election, all my plans for the Republic of Korea will fall apart.

Any chance you get to design for South Korea will fly away forever.

That’s why we had to prepare even more thoroughly.

I ended up paying 100 points and checking the blinded portion.

And I realized that those 100 points were not wasted.

[It appears that President Lee Jung-hwan’s second daughter Lee Hye-jeong’s declaration of support for YS a month ago had a significant impact.]

“This is a bit difficult···.”

This was obvious without even looking at anything else.

YS would probably have been elected.

I knew in the past how much affection the people of the TK region had for this person named Lee Hye-jeong.

‘When I first ran for the National Assembly elections, the candidates from other parties were not even able to campaign.’

When she came out of seclusion and ran for the first time in the National Assembly elections, the love of the people of TK for her was so genuine that wherever she went, there was a sea of ​​tears.

Even in 2023, a year after the impeachment of the president, support for her in the TK region remained solid.

If he supported YS, it was clear that a significant number of conservative voters, including those in the TK region, which is my current support base, would turn away.

But there was something a little strange.

It was not yet time for her to enter politics.

It was still a time when I was holding my breath.

To begin with, she was not yet 30 years old.

‘It seems like JP is up to something…’

YS is not close with Lee Hye-jeong.

It was clear that JP had done something.

“Should I go and see it sometime..”

But soon he shook his head.

‘No… that doesn’t make sense…’

The problem wasn’t President Lee Jung-hwan’s guilt.

At this time, the relationship between Kim Jeong-guk and Lee Hye-jeong was not good.

The reason is Pastor Cho Dae-in.

Because of the relationship between Jo Dae-in and Lee Hye-jeong, Kim Jeong-guk and Lee Hye-jeong did not have a good relationship in the past.

Even now that he has become president, nothing will be particularly different.

Jo Dae-in, Jo Mi-ok, and Lee Hye-jeong.

The relationship between these three threw South Korea into chaos in 2017.

Perhaps JP’s persuasion of Lee Hye-jeong was also related to Jo Dae-in.

“Whew… I guess I’ll have to do it someday.”

As soon as I made up my mind, I immediately called in Kim Moon-sik, the director of the National Intelligence Service.

Director Kim enters the Blue House in less than 30 minutes.

“Mr. President. Have you called?”

“Director Kim. I’m sorry to call you when you’re busy.”

“No, Mr. President.”

I took a cigarette and said, blowing out smoke.

“Director Kim. I called you today for nothing else. Do you remember Cho Dae-in?”

“If you are a pastor, are you talking about that pseudo-pastor?”

When the story of Cho Dae-in comes up, Director Kim’s expression changes.

This is because Director Kim also knew what kind of person Jo Dae-in was.

“Director Kim. Take care of both Jo Dae-in and his daughter Jo Mi-ok.”