1979, Manager Kim is Inheriting Dictatorship! - Chapter 4



Only Krnovel

Episode 4

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The first person to arrive was Minister of National Defense Do Jae-woo, followed immediately by Prime Minister Choi Hyun.

‘Prime Minister Choi Hyun’ was a man of considerable size despite being born in 1919. In terms of actual power hierarchy, he was not in a high position, being pushed aside by the counterintelligence agency or the military, but in any case, he was legally in a position to act as the president in the event of the president’s death.

Prime Minister Choi approaches Chief Secretary Jeong Se-won, who is smoking a cigarette with an anxious expression in front of the door, and asks him.

“Chief Secretary, why on earth did you call me to the central office at a time like this? Did something big happen?”

“Oh, the Prime Minister is here. Well… first… I’ll tell you once everyone gets here. It’s cold, so please go inside for now.”

“Heh heh.. What on earth is going on? Okay. Let’s go in, Minister.”

Prime Minister Choi enters the inner conference room with the Minister of National Defense. At the top of the conference room is Kim Jong-guk, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

‘One is Choi Hyun… and the other is who…’

Prime Minister Choi, although it was only for a short time, was someone who had served as president, so I could recognize him right away. However, he was a face I had never seen before, sitting next to me.

I got up from my seat and greeted them.

“Prime Minister. Minister. Are you here? This is a matter of such urgency that I had no choice but to call you, who are very busy, at this hour of the night. I apologize.”

Prime Minister Choi asks me with an anxious expression.

“Director Kim. Did Director Kim gather the State Council members together today?”

“Yes, that’s right. I asked the Chief Secretary.”

Then the man next to him intervenes.

“What on earth is going on? Have you discovered any strange activities in the North?”

‘North? Are you the Minister of Defense?’

When I saw the mention of the North, I thought there was a high probability that this man was the Minister of Defense.

“That’s not it. And don’t you think the Department of Defense knows better that no special trends have been found?”

“No. No matter how good the military intelligence is, it is still not at the level of the central government. Anyway, if there is something in the North, what on earth is going on?”

He was, of course, the Minister of Defense.

‘That’s the guy who ran away on 12/12.’

“Once the other ministers arrive, I will speak with them. Please rest for a moment.”

“Haa… Okay, I understand, Prime Minister. Please sit down.”

Only then did Prime Minister Choi and the Minister of National Defense sit down. I spoke to my staff and brought them sweet coffee. When Prime Minister Choi and the Minister of National Defense drank the sweet coffee, the anxiety on their faces eased a little.

And I went to the bathroom under the pretense of going to the bathroom before people came and checked the faces and names of all the cabinet members on October 26 on my smartphone.

‘This person… Ministry of Finance… This person… Ministry of Construction…’

After memorizing all the faces of the State Council members in my head and returning to my seat, I realized that a total of 14 State Council members were gathered there, excluding a few who did not answer the phone.

Although not all of them were present, all of the key cabinet members, including the Prime Minister, the Minister of Defense, and the Minister of Finance, were present.

“Director Kim. What on earth is going on that you’ve summoned all the State Council members at this hour?”

“Okay. Can we meet tomorrow when it’s light?”

People sound annoyed even from the sound of their voices, perhaps because they were suddenly called out in the middle of the night without any reason.

I started my speech by first looking at the State Council members, bowing at a 90-degree angle and apologizing.

“I apologize, gentlemen. The reason I asked you to come to the courthouse at this late hour is because the Republic of Korea is currently in a state of national emergency.”

“That’s right. Why are you taking so long? Now, please tell me. Manager Kim!”

“Huh.. Director. Please speak.”

I took a deep breath and then handed the floor to Chief Secretary Jeong Se-won.

“Me…me?”

When the right to speak is suddenly given to him, Chief Secretary Jeong Se-won is flustered. It would be okay for me to speak, but if Chief Secretary Jeong Se-won speaks, people will not suspect that it was me who did it.

And this was to save Chief Secretary Jeong’s face. It is natural that the Chief Secretary should announce the president’s death. No matter how high I am in the hierarchy, I thought it was the right decision to give him the right to speak here in order to save his face.

I nodded my head, looking at Director Jeong, who seemed a little embarrassed.

He cleared his throat for a moment and then spoke in a trembling voice.

“Whew… Actually, His Majesty was murdered a few hours ago at Anga in Gungjeong-dong.”

“What.. what did you say!!!”

“Is that true!!!”

“Who the hell killed Your Majesty!!”

“Shouldn’t we declare martial law right away?”

In an instant, the conference room becomes a scene of chaos.

“Okay… Wait a minute… Everyone, please be quiet. I’ll tell you everything, so please be quiet for a moment. Committee members.”

The chief secretary barely manages to calm the people down. The excited people finally calm down a little. When the conference room becomes a little quieter, Prime Minister Choi asks the chief secretary.

“Sir. Who on earth killed Your Majesty?”

“The person who killed Your Majesty..”

Chief Secretary Jeong Se-won hesitates for a moment before opening his mouth. If my name were to come up here, I was even thinking of getting rid of all the State Council members.

“This is Chief of Security Choi Cheol-gi.”

‘Whew..’

As soon as the name Choi Cheol-gi comes out, the conference room becomes noisy again.

“Director Choi said that?”

“Why is the person Your Majesty loves the most..”

“No.. If you think about that person’s usual personality..”

The chief secretary calms the people down once again and continues speaking.

“It would be better to hear the details from Manager Kim, who was there at the time.”

Director Jeong gives me the floor again at a good time.

“Manager Kim, tell me in detail what happened.”

Prime Minister Choi speaks with a serious expression.

‘Whew..’

I took a deep breath and began to recount the scenario I had created in my head.

“A few hours ago, His Excellency, Chief of Security Choi Cheol-gi, and I were having a drink together at Anga. But when the alcohol took its toll, Chief of Security Choi Cheol-gi started telling His Excellency to retire and make a decision now.”

“What did you say!”

“This son of a bitch···!”

Harsh expressions abound.

At that time, President Lee Jung-hwan literally had absolute power. And the loyalty of the cabinet members under him to President Lee Jung-hwan was also considerable. So it was natural that such harsh expressions would come out.

“Your Majesty was naturally furious and immediately shouted at the security chief to get out. And at that moment… Choi Cheol-gi took out a pistol from his inner pocket and fired several shots at Your Majesty. The central police and I returned fire and were able to subdue Choi Cheol-gi and the security staff… but Your Majesty was already… dead.”

Sighs are heard here and there.

“First, His Majesty’s body has been brought to the courtyard and placed in another room with controlled temperature. Since everyone has gathered, how about we go and see His Majesty briefly and then come back to discuss future plans?”

I will take the lead and guide the State Council members to the room where President Lee Jung-hwan’s body is kept.

When I went to the room where President Lee Jung-hwan’s body was kept, President Lee Jung-hwan’s body was placed on an expensive-looking desk, and a white cloth was covering it. Next to the body, three staff members were guarding the body with guns.

‘It was a short period of time, but it seems like a lot of effort was put into it.’

Since I have put so much effort into treating President Lee Jung-hwan well in such a short period of time, the State Council members will at least not have any suspicions about me.

I briefly lifted the white cloth covering President Lee Jung-hwan’s body to show his face.

“dismissal!!!”

“dismissal..!!!!!”

Some of the cabinet members burst into tears upon seeing President Lee Jung-hwan’s body, and some began to look serious as they wondered what to do next.

“Then… let’s pause for a moment.”

I took the lead and had a moment of silence, and now I returned to the conference room to clean up the mess, or rather, to seize power.

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“For now, I think we should put our sadness aside and come up with a plan. Oh, and can I take over the proceedings for a bit?”

I looked at Prime Minister Choi, who was legally acting president, and asked. In fact, even though I asked, it felt like a post-mortem payment. He was a figurehead prime minister with no power anyway.

No one complained, and Prime Minister Choi agreed.

“Let’s do that.”

I sat down at the head table and began conducting the meeting.

“First of all, aren’t the two biggest issues ultimately the investigation into His Majesty’s assassination and the stabilization of state affairs?”

“Yes.”

“First of all, can we, the Central Intelligence Agency, take charge of the investigation into Your Excellency’s murder? I think it would be unreasonable for the police or prosecutors to investigate Your Excellency’s murder.”

“That makes sense. In an emergency situation like this, it would be more trustworthy for the Central Intelligence Agency to take charge of the investigation rather than the police or prosecutors. What do the State Council members think?”

The chief of staff is encouraging me with his story. It seems to be a reward for the encouragement he gave me while announcing President Lee Jung-hwan’s death earlier.

“And… the remaining one is national stability. Wouldn’t it be better to go with an acting president system for now?”

“The acting system is an acting system, but shouldn’t the martial law currently in place in Busan be expanded nationwide?”

The Minister of National Defense had a point. In an emergency situation like the death of a head of state, martial law is natural, but martial law inevitably strengthens the military’s power.

‘Then I’ll be completely out… I can’t leave it like that.’