1979, Manager Kim is Inheriting Dictatorship! - Chapter 51
Only Krnovel
Episode 51
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“Ugh.. As expected, it’s President Kim!!”
The Lee family gathered together in one house for the first time in a long time.
Among them, the eldest son speaks passionately while emptying his glass.
“You little swindlers. We need to confiscate all the money you swindled! I really did choose a good president!”
The political climate heated up for a while after President Kim Jong-guk’s speech to open the National Assembly.
Although the president had always proposed many groundbreaking policies, the revision of the law on fraud in particular caught the attention of the entire nation.
“No. Brother. No matter what, isn’t life imprisonment for fraud too much? To be honest, the person who was scammed also had some problems..”
At that moment, the second son, who had been quietly listening from the side, spoke carefully.
“What? Hey! Inma! Then it’s my fault for the scam I got from Mr. Choi in the neighborhood next door last year!”
The eldest son suddenly asks excitedly, as if remembering the scam he suffered last year.
“No, bro.. That’s not what I meant..”
“That’s not what I meant! You just said that!”
Even though the second son tried to stop him, the eldest son, who was already very drunk, seemed ready to fight him at any moment.
The third eldest daughter, who couldn’t stand to watch, steps forward.
“Oh my… You guys are fighting again. You always fight about politics… Stop fighting and eat this.”
The eldest daughter puts food in both their mouths and dries them.
The eldest son, still angry, looks at the third son and asks.
“What do you think about what President Kim did this time?”
The eldest daughter hesitates for a moment and then answers.
“Well… isn’t that a good thing? Life imprisonment seems a bit harsh, but those con artists don’t change as people.”
“yes!”
The eldest son vehemently agrees with the third son’s words.
The third one shakes his head and says that he is tired.
“Some guys who hit people, steal money, and do other things like that go to prison and come back to their senses. But I really can’t deal with real con artists.”
Then, suddenly, the fourth daughter, who had been quietly eating meat, opened her mouth.
“But why is it a confiscation of assets for fraud and corruption crimes, not a confiscation for fraud crimes? Doesn’t that seem a bit strange?”
The eldest son listens to the fourth son’s words and only then does he read the subtitles on the news in detail.
“Huh? Well… Now that I think about it… what is a corruption crime?”
The second one answers in a chic voice.
“Isn’t it the same thing as saying that those who take bribes will be subject to the same confiscation? Anyway, I’m telling you, this is an excessive bill.”
Only then does the eldest son speak with a slightly anxious expression.
“Hey, what… I don’t think I’ll catch something like that..”
“If that passes, the good times are over for you, oppa.”
The eldest daughter speaks as if teasing her older brother.
The eldest son’s occupation is none other than a customs officer.
There were many cases where they turned a blind eye to illegal imports of various items in exchange for money.
“Inma! Is that something you should say to your brother? Did he receive it because he wanted to? Everyone was trying to raise you!”
“I’m joking. I’m joking. Hurry up and finish eating the meat. It’s all going to burn.”
The eldest son watches the news with a slightly anxious expression and talks to himself.
“Hey.. Surely not..”
###
“What is this confiscation of assets for corruption crimes! Isn’t this something that was created entirely to target us!”
“That’s right. Even if it’s a bill proposed by the President, it can’t be passed!”
Complaints are pouring out at the Korean Party’s general meeting.
They denounce the bill as one that the president created by completely targeting them.
CEO Choi Hyun holds his forehead with his hand as if he has a headache.
‘I filtered it like that, but···.’
Even though we filtered out people who seemed greedy for money, it seems that there are still many people among the members of the National Assembly who take bribes.
“Anyway, I am absolutely against this bill!”
A member of parliament speaks excitedly.
CEO Choi Hyun also raises his voice, as if his patience has reached its limit.
“Stop it! What’s wrong with this bill! How long are you going to take bribes and do politics?”
When the story of back money came up, the lawmakers protested.
“Sir! That’s not what I meant!”
“That’s right! Doesn’t this look like President Kim is trying to frame us as corrupt politicians? Wasn’t that whole donation thing just aimed at us?”
At that moment, 3-term lawmaker Kim Seong-jun stands up and speaks loudly.
“And honestly, how many lawmakers here are doing politics without receiving political funds? If this bill passes, if they are caught taking bribes in the future, they will not only lose their seats, but they will also have to pay back all the money they have received so far!”
“Congressman Kim!!”
Representative Choi Hyun becomes furious when Representative Kim Seong-jun, who has been elected multiple times, appears so shamelessly.
However, Kim Seong-jun continues to express his opinion, paying no attention to CEO Choi’s anger.
“When you are elected for the first time, you give money to a multi-term lawmaker. When you are re-elected, you give money to the party leader. When you are elected for the third time, you receive money from various places and then collect the money you have received. Is there anyone here who has not done this?”
“I’ve never done politics like that!”
“Have other lawmakers really lived as uprightly as you, sir? Are we doing this just to live well? Shouldn’t we make good laws and such only when we have enough to live well?”
“Hey!!! Kim Sungjun!!!”
Rough, informal language bursts out of the usually gentle CEO Choi’s mouth.
That meant his anger had reached its peak.
“Anyway, I will never let this bill pass!”
Congressman Kim Seong-jun kicks the door open and goes out.
And a majority of the members come out against him.
###
And a few days later, some of the Liberty Korea Party lawmakers finally took action.
[Today, some members of the Korea First Party announced their withdrawal from the party. It is known that the reason for the withdrawal is the law on confiscation of assets for fraud and corruption crimes, which President Kim Jung-guk requested legislation for in his speech at the opening of the National Assembly some time ago. The total number of people participating in the withdrawal is .. .. .. .. .. ]
And a few days after the defection, Rep. Kim Seong-jun and other defecting lawmakers stood up at a press conference at the National Assembly and spoke.
“Everyone, I, Kim Sung-jun, and the 26 members of the National Assembly are standing here to warn the President. The President has treated our members of the National Assembly as if they were people who only care about money. In addition, we have judged that this bill itself is an extra-legal bill that makes the executive branch’s power too strong. .. .. .. .. We are warning the President. If this bill is not withdrawn.. .. .. ”
Turn off the TV and put a cigarette in your mouth.
I tried not to smoke in the office as much as possible, but now I felt like I would start swearing if I didn’t smoke.
“Whew.. Isn’t this too transparent?”
“I have no face to show… Mr. President.”
The senior secretary for civil affairs keeps bowing his head.
He also tried to persuade the lawmakers somehow to stop them from leaving the party, but it was not enough.
“Haa.. How many lawmakers have left the party?”
“Right now, there are 27 people, but it is expected that there will be additional defections.”
“Okay, come on in.”
The senior secretary for civil affairs bows his head and leaves.
I took out another cigarette and lit it.
“Whew..”
‘I didn’t know it would be this rotten…’
I never imagined there would be this much backlash over a crime of corruption, let alone fraud.
This further solidifies our resolve to pass this bill.
‘Well, in this day and age, it wasn’t just the members of the National Assembly who were the problem…’
Even in the 80s, it was a time when anything could be solved with just a little money.
Since taking power, they have been trying their best to hold on to it, but it has not been easy to change deeply rooted problems that have been entrenched for decades.
It was a time when if you were caught speeding or driving under the influence, you could just show your driver’s license to the police officer and slip him a bill to get away with it.
Until the mid-80s and 90s in South Korea, if you worked as a traffic police officer and couldn’t buy a house, you were called an idiot.
Of course, it wasn’t just the police.
This kind of corruption was rampant everywhere, including the prosecution, the courts, and customs.
And this was when there was no awareness that there was anything particularly wrong with it.
‘It’s not easy. Really.’
I take off my glasses, close my eyes for a moment, and lose myself in thought for a moment.
It was clear that if we tried to catch all of those things at once, there would be a huge public backlash.
Even drunk driving wasn’t considered a crime until the late 1990s.
Rather, it was a time when if a man did not drive after drinking, he was treated as a so-called ‘slut’.
“Whew..”
As I continued to sigh, the chief secretary approached me and asked.
“Mr. President, are you feeling unwell? Should I call your doctor?”
“No, I just have a bit of a headache. Don’t worry about it too much.”
“Is it because of the issue of leaving the party?”
“Yeah.. well that’s something too.. but my head is a bit pounding because of all the problems. Haha..”
The chief secretary looked at me for a moment and then spoke to me.
“How about sorting it out through the National Intelligence Service···?”
The method of organizing a party resignation is easy.
It’s just like before.
Then this problem of leaving the party could have been solved quickly.
If the National Intelligence Service were to raid the members of the National Assembly or physically threaten them, they would probably come back right away.
But I now want to avoid doing politics in that way.
“That’s enough. Now we need to let go of that kind of politics. The National Intelligence Service will not interfere in domestic politics.”
“I’m sorry… I talked nonsense….”
“No. I’m not ignorant of the Chief Secretary’s feelings, so don’t worry about it.”
The chief secretary repeatedly bows his head and apologizes.
I looked at that chief secretary and asked.
“Chief Secretary… Do you happen to drive drunk?”
“Yes? No.. I don’t drink and drive. I tell my employees not to do it either.”
“I see.. Is there anyone around you who does that?”
“Yes.. Even if I tell them not to.. it’s actually harder to find people around me who don’t drink and drive. Well.. if they get caught, they can just give 5,000 won or so and it’ll all be resolved, so it seems like everyone does it without any sense of problem.”
It was a common sight in this era.
“I wonder if we should push forward with a policy that is likely to receive strong public opposition when it is actually the right policy. Haha..”
“Why are you worrying about that? The president has shown us what he has done so far, so the people will not unconditionally oppose what the president is doing. I think they will do it even more if it is the right thing to do. You have to trust the people, Mr. President.”
“.. .. .. ..”
It felt like I’d been hit in the head with a hammer.
I was ashamed of myself for not trusting the people.
“That’s right. It’s the right thing to do. How could the people oppose it? Even if there are some complaints at first, everyone will eventually understand.”
Even if he had left the party, the bill would have had enough seats to pass.
In the end, if I stand strong, it will pass.
We must trust the people and move forward strongly.
“Chief of Staff. Please tell the Commissioner General of the National Police Agency and the Minister of Justice to come in.”