1979, Manager Kim is Inheriting Dictatorship! - Chapter 53



Only Krnovel

Episode 53

Even with America’s support, it was not an easy competition.

The current situation in Korea is actually better than during the original 1988 Olympics bid.

At that time, the economic situation was much worse than it is now, and when Jeon Dae-hwan took power, international public opinion was not positive because it was a military regime.

In addition, due to the nature of the divided country at that time, there was strong opposition, especially from communist countries, to South Korea hosting the event alone.

But now the economic situation is much better than it is now, and international public opinion is much better due to direct elections.

There, decisively, unification meant that Korea was no longer a divided nation.

Now there was no need to worry about being terrorized by North Korea.

Looking at these circumstances alone, one might think that it was much better than the process of hosting the 1988 Olympics, but there were two big problems.

First, the 1988 Olympics were held in none other than Nagoya, Japan, a fellow Asian city.

Although it was not written down, this was a big problem because the Olympics were not preferred to be held on one continent in succession.

But actually, the second problem was bigger than this.

It was the rival country, Spain.

Spain itself was not the great nation it had been in the 1980s, during the glory days of the Armada, but they had a great weapon.

The fact that the current IOC president is a Spanish national.

That is why, in order to turn this difficult situation around, we had to gather the heroes of the original 88 Olympics comeback in history, who had defeated Nagoya in an absurd comeback.

The person who played the biggest role in the process of hosting the 1988 Olympics was Chairman Oh Wang-guk of Hyunjoong.

Of course, this person accepted the position of chairman of the kindergarten committee as soon as I asked him to.

He has been very cooperative with the government’s work since unification.

“Mr. President, let me give it a try. Thanks to you, I can freely travel to my hometown, so what could be so difficult about something like this?”

Of course, help was needed from people other than Chairman Oh.

‘Who else is there besides Chairman Oh···.’

Since the 1988 Olympics were not hosted, records from that time no longer appear properly when searching on smartphones, so it was necessary to look into the history before that.

‘We must look for it in history before it changes.’

While I was searching like that, I found information about the 1978 World Shooting Championships held in Korea.

[Park Jun-gu, who successfully hosted the 1978 Shooting World Championships, told President Lee Jung-hwan that it was time for Korea to host the Olympics. However, due to the October 26 Incident and the Second Korean War, the hosting of the 1988 Olympics was… .. ..]

‘Park Jun-gu?’

It was a name I had heard before.

However, compared to people like Choi Cheol-gi or Jeon Dae-hwan, it was a somewhat unfamiliar name.

I immediately searched for the name Park Jun-gu.

[Park Jun-gu, also known as Pistol Park, was the former Chief of Staff to President Lee Jung-hwan. He enjoyed power as the number two man at one point, but he resigned from his position in 1974, taking responsibility for the shooting of Ms. Yoo Jae-hee.]

“Ah..! Pistol Park!”

When I heard the nickname, I remembered who it was.

‘This gentleman is an interesting gentleman···.’

He was clearly a man known for his excessive loyalty to President Lee Jung-hwan.

“He was clearly a person who was fanatically loyal to President Lee Jung-hwan···.”

***

“Master. How are things going these days?”

“Yes, of course, Your Majesty. With the recent distribution of Tongil rice, the harvest has increased significantly, and farmers’ income has increased significantly.”

“Yes, yes. This Jeonbuk is a very important place as the agricultural center of South Korea, so the role of the owner is very important. Do you know that?”

“I will do my best!”

President Lee Jung-hwan drinks and chats with the governor of Jeollabuk-do Province near the Jeollabuk-do Provincial Office.

And President Lee Jung-hwan, who is somewhat drunk, takes out a cigarette.

“Master, do you have a light?”

President Lee Jung-hwan looks at the governor and asks.

The governor quickly takes a lighter out of his pocket and holds it up to his cigarette, lighting it.

“Thank you.”

But then something unexpected happened.

Wow!!!

“Wow···!!!”

The lighter flame rose much higher than expected and brushed past President Lee Jung-hwan’s face.

“Your Majesty!!! Are you okay···! I’m… sorry!!!”

The governor bows his head and apologizes, seemingly at a loss.

President Lee Jung-hwan puts down his cigarette and says it’s okay.

“It’s okay. I was just a little surprised. It was nothing serious, and I’m apologizing. But you need to change your lighter. It burns too strongly.”

And while the drinking party was continuing, President Lee Jung-hwan left the table for a moment to go to the bathroom.

“I’m going to the bathroom for a bit, so finish drinking.”

“Yes, Mr. President. Have a nice day.”

And then, Chief of Security Park Jun-gu, who had been watching from the side, took advantage of the president’s departure to approach the governor and speak.

“Governor Choi. Are you crazy? What would you do if His Majesty got hurt?”

He was the chief of the presidential security service who was said to make even the sky fall.

The governor bows his head and apologizes.

“I’m sorry.. I didn’t know the lighter would burn so strongly.”

“Shouldn’t you have checked that in advance!!”

The chief of security, unable to control his anger, kicks the governor in the shin.

“Ugh..!!”

“Wake up! If anything happens to Your Majesty, I won’t let you off easy. You understand!!”

Bam! Bam!!

After that, Park Joon-goo assaulted the governor several times before the president returned from the bathroom.

And then the president returns and the chief of security is away for a while on business.

The drinking party between the governor and the president continues like this.

“Ugh..”

“Master, why are you drinking so quickly? What’s wrong?”

After drinking a little, the governor vents his anger to President Lee Jung-hwan.

“Your Majesty… Even though I am the chief of security, I am also the governor. How can you beat me like this, like a corporal beating a private…!”

“What are you talking about? Director Park beat you up?”

“Oh my god.. The lighter flame was too high earlier.. His Majesty beat me while I was in the bathroom..”

President Lee Jung-hwan sighs deeply.

“Haa… Master… I’m sorry. I’ll make sure to tell Director Park not to do that again. Let’s just forget about this incident and just pretend that you got hit by me.”

And after returning to the Blue House that evening, President Lee became furious at the chief of security.

“Director Park! You’re going to assault the governor for one mistake like that? If you’re going to do something like that, stop it right now!”

This excessive loyalty continued after that, but he continued to serve as the head of the security service until the incident of Ms. Yoo Jae-hee being shot.

If nothing else, it is because President Lee Jung-hwan acknowledged his unwavering loyalty.

***

After that, I continued to search for information about Park Jun-gu.

And the more I searched, the more certain I became that this was the person I needed.

[In the early 80s, he was almost the only person in Korea who could exert influence in the international sports world.]

He was clearly a person with many problems, but he was clearly someone absolutely necessary for hosting the Olympics.

‘I have to meet you sometime.’

###

It was a little late, but I headed straight to his house without delay.

After driving for about 20 minutes, we arrive in front of a luxury mansion in Seoul.

When I press the doorbell, a middle-aged woman comes out.

“Who are you at this hour.. .. .. .”

As soon as she sees my face, she is startled.

“Go.. Your Majesty..!!!”

“Sister-in-law. It’s been a while.”

I spoke to her comfortably, calling her Sister-in-law.

Because I was sure that we had seen each other a few times.

They were contemporaries and both worked as second-in-commands under President Lee Jung-hwan, so it was impossible for them not to be friends.

I looked at her and asked.

“Is Jun-gu inside?”

“Yes.. but now..”

She trails off as if she’s having trouble with something.

Then a man’s voice is heard from inside.

“Honey! Who is it at this hour!!”

Park Jun-gu’s wife shouts loudly into the house.

“Honey.. Quickly.. Come out..!!”

“Ugh.. Who are you..”

Park Jun-gu drags his heavily intoxicated body out with difficulty.

Then he looks at my face in surprise.

“Hyung Jungkook.. Ah.. No.. Your Majesty..”

“What is your Majesty? Just call me ‘hyung’ like you used to. Is it okay if I come inside for a bit?”

“Yes, please come in.”

When I came inside the house, it was full of alcohol bottles.

“Why did you drink so much?”

“After Your Majesty passed away… I can’t sleep without alcohol because of the guilt that I couldn’t protect Your Majesty.”

“Why is it your responsibility? It’s my responsibility.”

In fact, I couldn’t relate to anything he said, but I continued talking to him, pretending to sympathize with him as much as possible.

“But you have health issues and a sister-in-law, so take care of yourself.”

“Yes… Brother. By the way, Brother, you’re really amazing… In unification… Even taking care of those Hanahweh guys… You’re really amazing.”

“You… were close with the Hanahoe kids, right? You even helped a few of them, and you didn’t resent them, did you?”

His resume, which clearly showed up in the search, said that he had supported Hanahwe in the past.

“Resentment? Weren’t they involved in His Majesty’s death? It’s a real regret that I promoted and supported them. When I was the chief of security, I should have shot and killed them all along with Choi Cheol-gi. Haa. I am a sinner···.”

He empties the glass of alcohol next to him in one go.

Then he asks me.

“But… I’m sure you’re busy with state affairs… How did you end up here?”

“Jung-gu. You, just help me with one thing.”

I asked him like I was a friendly neighborhood older brother.

“Huh? Work?”

He spoke to the main point in a serious voice.

“We are going to host the 1992 Olympics. And as you know, next year is the year when the host city is selected.”

He shakes his head and says, “Absolutely not.”

“Brother.. The 92 Olympics are impossible. Isn’t Spain a competitor? The IOC president is from there. It’s absolutely impossible.”

“That’s why I came here to ask you a favor. Right now, everyone, including Chairman Oh Wang-guk, is preparing hard. But there’s no one in the international sports world with as much influence as you. We absolutely need you to host this Olympics.”

“.. .. .. ..”

He hesitates for a moment.

At times like this, it was necessary to exploit his greatest weakness.

‘Loyalty to President Lee Jung-hwan…’

“Do you remember that Your Majesty wanted to host the Olympics? Hosting the Olympics was Your Majesty’s last dream. And to make that dream come true, you, Jun-gu, are needed.”

When President Lee Jung-hwan’s name came up, he seemed to have mixed emotions.

And then he pours another glass and says.

“Okay, brother. I’ll work for my country one last time.”

I said, holding his hand tightly.

“Thank you! I’m sure His Majesty will be pleased!”

After that, we exchanged many stories and got up from our seats around 12 o’clock.

And as I was leaving, I gave him a word.

“And you should go to the hospital tomorrow and get a checkup. Your face doesn’t look good. Stop drinking and go.”

His currently recorded death is December 1985.

The cause of death was liver cancer caused by continued drinking.

If you start treatment now, you will definitely be able to live a few more months until the host city is selected.

‘I don’t know if this is too much for someone who will die soon…’