1979, Manager Kim is Inheriting Dictatorship! - Chapter 50
Only Krnovel
Episode 50
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“Is the voting going well?”
“Yes. It is progressing smoothly without a hitch.”
The chief secretary is frantically making phone calls here and there to check.
In particular, since this general election was being held as a pilot election in some northern regions, we had to make every effort to avoid any problems.
The chief secretary keeps running around without resting, to the point that it’s a little bit sad.
‘Come to think of it, this guy barely got any rest…’
Since I don’t rest, people around me hardly ever rest either.
As the story goes that it is difficult to get even one proper day of rest a month once you move to the Blue House, the number of civil servants who avoid being transferred to the Blue House has increased significantly, unlike in the past.
The public may have a good opinion of him, but to his subordinates, he was a black company.
“Chief Secretary. But aren’t you having a hard time getting some rest these days? How about taking a vacation for a few days?”
In particular, Chief Secretary Young-ho has been working without a single day of rest for nearly a year.
“No. The President works tirelessly, so how could I rest?”
“Well, I only have one family member, my mother, but the chief secretary has a wife and children, right?”
Secretary Young-ho is now in his forties.
At the time of his appointment, there were concerns within the party that he was too young to be appointed as the Chief Secretary, but now even within the party, there was talk that they could not imagine any other Chief Secretary other than Young-ho.
“It’s really okay. Shouldn’t the President take a vacation for a few days?”
“If the president rests, who will take care of state affairs? There will be enough rest later, even after retirement.”
“But you have to worry about your health too.. Ah..! It’s already time for the exit polls, Mr. President.”
As we talked, time passed quickly and it was almost time for voting to end.
Starting with this election, exit polls were conducted for the first time in a Korean election.
I quickly turned on the TV and the anchor was talking to me.
“1985 National Choice. Today’s National Assembly election is the first in the history of Korean broadcasting to conduct an exit poll. The results are not long now. Okay! There is now one minute left until voting ends. As soon as voting ends, the exit poll results will be released. Okay, there are 30 seconds left.”
A 30-second countdown begins, with some graphic effects that look a bit shabby, as befitting 1985.
“30.. 29.. 28.. 16.. 10.. 9.. 8.. 7.. 6.. 5.. 4.. 1.. 0..!! Voting is over! Exit poll results predict that the Korea First Party will secure 237 seats, more than half of the 363 seats nationwide!”
‘237 seats···.’
If it came out like this, it would be a number slightly short of the 2/3 threshold for constitutional amendment.
The results of the vote are out and each party is highlighted.
First, let’s look at the opposition Democratic Party.
Even though they only won a little over 100 seats, the Democratic Party was celebrating like victorious generals.
“Wow!!!! Kim Yong-shin!!! Kim Yong-shin!!!”
“Kim Tae-jun!! Kim Tae-jun!!!!”
Just a few weeks ago, the Liberty Korea Party’s projected number of seats was over 300.
Except for a few seats in some local areas, it was expected that the Liberty Korea Party would monopolize most of the regional seats.
However, with only a week left until the election, YS and TJ, who had been anxious that their political careers might end, miraculously reunited.
Originally, these two people were people who repeatedly combined and torn apart.
Although the combination of these two was not particularly impressive, the merger of the two political heavyweights had a huge impact.
The news was full of talk about the merger all day, and among the opposition supporters, they started saying, let’s believe it just this once.
And as a result, they won more than 100 seats, which was more than expected.
“Mr. President···.”
The chief secretary is at a loss as to what to do about the lower-than-expected grades.
“That’s okay. We’ve won nearly two-thirds of the seats, which is pretty good.”
By about 10 p.m., the outlines of the election were beginning to emerge.
The Liberty Korea Party appeared likely to win around 247 seats, slightly more than the exit polls had suggested.
I immediately contacted the Liberty Korea Party headquarters and congratulated Representative Choi Hyun on his election victory.
“This is Mr. Representative. Congratulations on your election victory.”
Even though CEO Choi Hyun, who received the call, congratulated me, he first apologized.
“I am ashamed. I apologize, Mr. President.”
“What are you talking about? You won so much, and yet you are so ashamed?”
“Just a few weeks ago, it was predicted that we would win over 300 seats. The fact that we won this many seats despite the fact that the president’s approval rating has not fallen is all due to my lack of ability.”
“We’ve done well enough. Don’t say that. Rather, if there is this level of tension, the elected members will work harder.”
I encourage him, telling him that it’s okay.
The Korean Party still needs him.
He should have served as party leader for at least a few more years.
“.. .. .. Thank you, Mr. President.”
“Please congratulate those who were elected, and comfort those who were defeated, and tell them that they will definitely win next time.”
So the election was over and the next day the newspapers were filled with articles about the unexpected election results.
[247 seats out of 363 for the Liberty Korea Party. Although it is over 2/3 of the total seats, it is much lower than expected and shocking. Some strong lawmakers are demanding the resignation of Representative Choi Hyun.]
[Although lower than expected, the Liberty Korea Party swept the northern pilot election districts. Once again confirming the solid support for President Kim in the northern region.]
[YS and TJ’s merger. The desired result. The sight of Yang Kim holding hands for the first time in a long time]
After the election, there were quite a few lawmakers within the party demanding the resignation of Representative Choi Hyun.
Their argument was that the reason the results were worse than expected despite the president’s approval rating still being high was because the party leader’s weight was lower than that of YS or TJ.
They tried to use me to attack CEO Choi Hyun.
But now was not the time for CEO Choi Hyun to step down.
I invited him several times after the election to protect him, thus reaffirming the strong relationship between the president and the party.
I had no intention of interfering with the party’s affairs, but I thought it was absurd to shake up someone who had won an election like that.
[President Kim. Invited to lunch with Representative Choi Hyun three times this month. His trust in Representative Choi Hyun seems certain. Since then, the lawmakers who had been demanding Representative Choi Hyun’s resignation have not expressed any opinions.]
###
Fortunately, after that, the lawmakers who had been arguing for resignation also became quiet.
And after two months of somewhat peacefulness, the day of the new National Assembly’s opening approached.
As has been the custom so far, he headed to the National Assembly to give a congratulatory speech on the opening of the National Assembly.
When I arrived at the National Assembly and entered the main conference hall, the Korean Party members stood up and applauded.
Of course, the Democratic Party members also stood up and applauded.
But the expression on his face was not very welcoming.
‘Let’s relax your expression a bit. From day one···.’
I walked up to the podium, grabbed the microphone, gave a quick bow, and began to speak.
“Hello, honorable members of the National Assembly. This is Kim Jeong-guk.”
There is applause again.
“I sincerely congratulate you on the launch of the 12th National Assembly. The Republic of Korea is currently in a period of tremendous development, but also a time of chaos. Especially in times like these… .. .. ..”
He gives the usual congratulatory remarks and says things he must say to the National Assembly as the President.
As the speech became a bit boring, some of the members of the National Assembly began to doze off.
‘Let’s get to the main point…’
“And from here on out, it’s a bit more important. If there are any members of the National Assembly who are sleeping, I would like you to wake up. Representative Lee Seong-bin! Aren’t you too sleepy?”
Lee Seong-bin, a three-term member of the Liberty Korea Party who had been sleeping, was startled awake by my story.
Then he wipes his saliva and bows his head in apology.
“Haha. I guess you are very sleepy. It’s okay. Then I will finish talking. As the head of the administration, there is a bill that I would like you to pass urgently in this National Assembly. First, it is the law on the treatment of independence activists, veterans of the Korean War, and veterans of the Second Korean War. This law includes a law on various benefits in addition to lump sum compensation.”
A member of parliament asks me a question.
“Mr. President, aren’t there already laws for that?”
“Yes, of course. But the treatment provided for in that bill is too shabby for those who fight for the country.
“If the treatment of those who fought and sacrificed their lives for their country is this shabby, who will step forward when this country is in danger again?”
A proportional representative from the Democratic Party who entered as a welfare expert asks.
“Mr. President, of course, it is important to treat those people well, but aren’t there other places where we need to spend money? Korea still has many blind spots in welfare.”
“That’s right. But that’s a welfare issue. What I’m trying to do for these people is not welfare. It’s not welfare that guarantees their basic rights, but it’s about respect for the noble sacrifices they’ve made. I don’t think this should be connected to the budget for welfare.”
Fortunately, there were no further questions from lawmakers about this bill.
He takes a sip of the water on the table and continues talking.
“And this is a separate story, but I plan to donate part of my salary to veterans and independence activists. If there are any interested members of the National Assembly, I would like to ask you to participate. Of course, it will be voluntary.”
The members of the National Assembly are in an uproar.
Although they said it was voluntary participation, they said the president would step forward and make the donation, so it would be difficult for lawmakers, especially those from the ruling party, to refuse.
“You are making too much noise. Don’t worry too much. As I said before, only those who are interested can do it voluntarily. Voluntarily.”
The faces of some greedy congressmen harden.
I have my complaints, but which member of Congress can say, “I don’t want to donate when there are so many cameras behind me?”
After a moment of silence, I bring up the most important story of the day.
“And.. the last one, I think it might be a little controversial.. I would like to request an amendment to the law on fraud.”
“A revision to the law on fraud? What exactly is it, Mr. President?”
A member of parliament, who is a former lawyer, asks:
“Yes. First, I would like you to pass the Property Confiscation Act for Fraud and Corruption Crimes so that the government can step in and confiscate the money from the perpetrators for the amount of damage caused by fraud.”
The National Assembly becomes noisy once again as talk of confiscation of property comes up.
“If the law is passed, we will establish a separate ministry to confiscate the damages from confirmed fraud cases and have the state directly pursue the perpetrators until they die so that the victims can recover as much of their damages as possible.”
Again, a former lawyer asks:
“What would you do if the fraudster had already spent all the money?”
“So, along with this revision of the bill, I would like to see the law on forced labor revised as well. Now, I would like to see the bill changed so that forced labor is not just about fines, but also about confiscated amounts. Of course, I would also like to see the article on the maximum number of days of forced labor removed.”
“Isn’t that the state stepping forward and taking the lead in forced labor? This is against human rights!”
One member of parliament, who is usually interested in human rights, vehemently opposes it.
I looked into the congressman’s eyes and spoke in an impassioned voice.
“Congressman. Many of the victims of fraud have saved up their money over the course of decades. So why can criminals who have used the money to live lavishly pay it back in just a few months? Even if they aren’t forced to work 20 hours a day or something like that, shouldn’t they at least have the awareness that they ‘have to work their whole lives to pay back’ the money they’ve swindled?”
bang!
I step down from the podium and speak a little more passionately.
“The government will also mobilize all administrative powers available to the country to ensure that perpetrators of fraud cannot survive without paying back the money, including banning them from leaving the country, prohibiting them from opening or issuing any bank accounts, and prohibiting them from using certain administrative services.”
After several days of deliberation, we have concluded that while increasing the sentence is important, it is more important to ensure relief for the victims.
The biggest problem with this fraud is that even if you are punished criminally, you must still recover the amount of damage caused by the fraud in a civil lawsuit.
Even in the original history, it was only in 2020 that the state was finally able to confiscate the proceeds of crime for only a few vicious fraud crimes.
But it’s hard to imagine how many people died from fraud before this law was enacted.
“And regarding the revision of the law on punishment, I would like to see the maximum sentence of 10 years be increased to life imprisonment depending on the amount of damage. And in the case of this life imprisonment, I would like to request that the bill be revised so that parole is absolutely not possible until all the damages incurred to the victims are paid.”
The death penalty was good, but I thought it was too lenient a punishment for a perpetrator of a large-scale fraud that had left hundreds of victims.
Rather, I thought it would be right to make it so that he would not be able to enjoy his freedom unless he paid the money back for the rest of his life.
“Mr. President, I agree with the legislative intent, but aren’t you going too far in the direction of punishment? Life imprisonment without parole? This is completely against other laws and fairness.”
A member of the Korean Party voices an opposing opinion.
“Sir, do you know anything about the recidivism rate for fraud crimes?”
“Well, isn’t it similar to other crimes?”
“Compared to other heinous crimes, the recidivism rate for fraud is overwhelmingly high.
And while most crimes are accidental, fraud is fundamentally intentional and planned.
“While crimes like violence or theft usually only have one victim, fraud usually has multiple victims.”
The Korean Party member is speechless.
“Members of the National Assembly. Why is it that a crime with clear intent and planning, a high rate of recidivism, and multiple victims receives such a light sentence? Isn’t such a light sentence itself encouraging fraud crimes?
How long will we continue to believe that the victims of fraud are stupid? It is time for the government to step up and take action against this fraud. Honorable members of the National Assembly, please pass this law, if only to create a trustworthy Korean society.”
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