1979, Manager Kim is Inheriting Dictatorship! - Chapter 56



Only Krnovel

Episode 56

“If you support Korea this time, we will definitely export weapons to you.”

“Are you really going to export that weapon at that price?”

The IOC member asks in surprise.

“That’s true. We will be able to export them as soon as the supply is confirmed. There are already a lot of K9 self-propelled howitzers that have been produced. We can export them at any time.”

An IOC member who had been thinking for a moment stands up, shakes my hand and says:

“Okay! We will support Korea!”

With this, all seven countries scheduled to meet today have decided to support Korea.

Arms exports were an all too attractive proposition for them, given their weak national defense and unstable domestic situation.

The day passed like that and the next day came.

There are now two days left until voting opens.

‘It’s not easy yet.. We need to secure about 10 more votes to finish the first round with a majority..’

Then something unexpected happened.

“Mr. President!”

The chief secretary comes running out of breath, which is unusual for him.

“What’s going on?”

Then he took a moment to catch his breath and told a shocking story.

“That’s… I heard that the UK and Australia have given up on hosting the Olympics. And they announced that they will support Korea!”

“Is that true!”

“Yes. This is the breaking news that came in a little while ago. It’s certain!”

Just then, a secretary comes running saying that he has an urgent call from the President of the United States.

When I picked up the phone, I heard President Bush’s voice.

“President Kim. Are you preparing for your speech?”

“Yes, no problem. I know you’re busy, so why did you call me?”

He speaks in a voice that seems a little proud.

“Mr. President Kim, you heard the story. This is all we can do. Now it depends on President Kim’s speech tomorrow.”

‘Is it because America did it after all?’

UK, Australia.

Both countries are among America’s closest allies, known as the Five Eyes.

In fact, it seems that the United States persuaded them since the possibility of hosting both countries was slim.

“The President has helped me. Thank you. It will be a great help. Thank you. I thank you on behalf of the Korean people.”

“Don’t worry. My approval rating has also gone up a lot thanks to President Kim.”

President Bush’s approval ratings soared early in his term, fueled by the repatriation of American prisoners of war and the recent excavation of American remains in northern Korea.

This was probably the reward.

“President Kim, I hope you will hold the Seoul Olympics. And I believe you will know about the next bidding process.”

“Of course.”

And this was also to get Korea on their side during the 1996 Olympic bid process.

He was a very cunning person.

‘Well, if the 1992 Olympics are held in Korea, I can support the next Olympics as well.’

###

A day before the Olympic bid.

It was the day of the presentation.

The Spanish Prime Minister comes forward first and begins his speech.

It was a pretty good speech, but since it was in Spanish and had to be interpreted, it was relatively less impressive.

And finally, it was Korea’s turn.

“Whew..”

I took a deep breath and went up the steps one by one.

“Good morning. Honorable President Samaranch. And distinguished IOC members. I am Kim Jung-guk, President of the Republic of Korea.”

People were surprised when he spoke in fairly fluent American English, unlike previous Spanish prime ministers.

“The President of Korea. Your English is pretty good, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. I’ve seen you on TV a few times before, and you spoke English quite well back then. You’re pretty good.”

I looked at the people for a moment and then continued my speech.

“I stand here today for the 1992 Seoul Olympics. What is the Olympic spirit? The Olympic spirit is to overcome cultural and national differences through sports and create a peaceful and better world.

We have been living in a new fear called the Cold War for the past ten years. However, the world is slowly emerging from the fear of the Cold War.

And as you have seen in many news reports, Korea was the first to escape the horrors of the Cold War.

A unified Korea simply showed the world that people living under different systems can become one.

Dear friends, Korea has shown many things so far. It has grown from one of the poorest countries in the world to a country that can host the Olympics, and from a divided country to a unified country.

IOC members, everyone around the world who is watching this, I promise you on behalf of the Korean government and the Korean people that Korea will show you the Olympics that are perfectly prepared.

Also, through this Olympics, Korea will show the world that it is now moving from the era of the Cold War to an era of peace.

I look forward to seeing you in Seoul in 1992.

thank you.”

As the speech ended, applause broke out.

In particular, the West German representative was shedding tears, perhaps because they felt a sense of kinship with each other as a divided nation.

So, after all the countries’ presentations were over, voting day finally arrived.

After about an hour of silent voting, IOC President Samaranch comes up to the podium.

In his hand he held a piece of paper listing the host cities of the 1992 Olympics.

Everyone holds their breath and looks only at Chairman Samaranch’s mouth.

“The International Olympic Committee is proud to announce that the 25th Summer Olympic Games will be held in 1992…”

Chairman Samaranch takes a piece of paper out of the envelope he was holding.

And when he looks at the paper, his expression changes subtly.

And then, a moment later, the venue is announced from his mouth.

“SEOUL”

[1992 OLYMPIC SEOUL]

And on the piece of paper he showed to the audience, the word SEOUL was written exactly as it was.

South Korea finally succeeded in hosting the Olympics in the hometown of the IOC president.

###

The voting results after the announcement of the host city showed that Korea won a majority of the votes in the first round.

[Korea: 49 votes]

[Spain: 14 votes]

[France: 8 votes]

[Yugoslavia: 8 votes]

[Netherlands: 6 votes]

[Australia: 0 votes]

[UK: 0 votes]

In the first round of voting, he received 49 votes, more than half of the total 85 votes.

The European votes were split between Spain, France, the Netherlands, etc., and some communist countries’ votes went to Yugoslavia.

The original number of votes that Korea had expected to secure was around 25.

The votes obtained in exchange for arms exports in the last three days and the votes of countries that supported Britain and Australia, which the United States had stepped up to support, had a greater impact than expected.

And in his final speech, the Korean president gave a speech in fluent English, in contrast to the Spanish prime minister who gave a PPT in Spanish, which also touched the hearts of several English-speaking countries.

In particular, Kim Jong-guk’s speech about moving from an era of Cold War to an era of peace moved the hearts of many countries, including Germany.

When it was confirmed that the Olympics would be hosted, the whole country was in a festive mood.

“Father, are we really going to hold the Olympics in our country now?”

A middle school son asks his father while watching TV.

“Yes. I’m telling you, it’s true!”

The boy’s eyes lit up at the news that the Olympics were being held, and his father’s eyes filled with tears as he recalled old memories.

“Father, are you crying?”

“Honestly, even 20 years ago, we couldn’t even hold the Asian Games because we didn’t have money···.”

In 1967, Korea hosted the 1970 Asian Games, but gave up hosting the event due to financial burden.

Of course, my judgment at that time wasn’t wrong.

Some developing countries have had their economies sink into a pit of despair after hosting the Olympics or World Cup due to huge deficits.

In some ways, it was a wise decision given the economic situation in Korea in the 1960s.

However, apart from the wise judgment, the fact that they gave up on holding the Olympics or even the Asian Games due to lack of money was a great loss to the people.

It made them realize once again how poor their country is.

But now it was different.

It’s not even the Asian Games, but the Olympics that will be held in Korea.

“Father! Our president. I think he is truly amazing! From unification to the Olympics… he has accomplished everything that people have only dreamed of!”

My middle school son speaks with admiration.

His father speaks while stroking his head.

“Yes. If you want to become like the President in the future, you have to study hard. Got it?”

“Yes! Father!”

And this kind of appearance was not limited to the South.

“Are the Olympics really being held in Seoul?”

“That’s right. Have you been living a life of deception?”

A TV factory built by Samjeong in Sinuiju, North Korea.

When it’s break time, two employees sit down and chat while drinking mixed coffee.

“Hey.. Shouldn’t we take a vacation and go down to Seoul?”

“Why are you coming down to Seoul? There’s no need to do that.”

“Oh, you don’t want to watch the Olympics, do you, Class President?”

“That’s not it. Some games are held in Sinuiju. There’s no need to spend a lot of money going all the way to Seoul.”

“Is that true?”

“That’s right. Why can’t you trust what people say?”

It was the Seoul Olympics, but at the same time it was the Korean Olympics.

Even if unification had taken place in the first place, the entire territory of Korea was within a two-hour flight distance.

Although many of the games were held in Seoul, some games were split and scheduled to be held in Busan, Daejeon, Daegu, Gwangju, Pyongyang, and Sinuiju.

In particular, the games held in Pyongyang and Sinuiju will once again show the world that there is no longer a place called North Korea and that only a unified Korea remains.

The employee is in tears.

“President Kim… is such a nice person. He always takes care of the northern region like this….”

“What is the northern region? Now it’s all the same Korea.”

“From now on, I will work harder to feel sorry to President Kim for being deceived by those piglets!”

Before I knew it, the mixed coffee I was drinking was empty.

The class president pats him on the back and gets him up.

“Okay. Let’s go in and work hard today. I have to work hard if I want to go watch the game with my family.”

###

After the Olympic bid was confirmed, the political situation was gradually moving towards a presidential election once again.

In the ruling Liberty Korea Party, no one other than President Kim Jung-guk even dared to think of running as a candidate.

Rather, the Blue House secretly hoped that someone from the Liberty Korea Party would run as a candidate for the primary, but with the president’s approval rating fluctuating between 80% and 90%, there was no fool who would run as a candidate for the primary.

Of course, this was also the case for the opposition party. The Democratic Party still had two presidential candidates, YS Kim Yong-shin and TJ Kim Tae-jun, but both of them seemed reluctant to run for president, unlike in previous elections.

If he gets a little more votes than expected and gets over 30%, his standing within the party will increase significantly, but if he gets the worst result of getting less than 15%, it will effectively lead to his retirement from politics.

Even though it was not a three-way race but a two-way race, a vote percentage of less than 15% meant the death of political life.

“What should we do about this election···.”

There is a lot of talk going on at the Democratic Party’s highest council meeting.

“Honestly, it is impossible to defeat President Kim Jong-guk in the current situation.”

JP evaluates it coolly.

Although he was already lagging behind Yang Kim in terms of standing within the party, he was a realist.

This understanding of the situation was relatively quick.

“Isn’t this election about the entire northern region? Then, isn’t it possible that you don’t know?”

One of the top lawmakers is banking on a vote in the northern region.

But TJ, who was listening, shook his head.

“I’ve already heard that support for President Kim is higher there than in the South. Just the fact that he ended the food shortage is enough to make his approval rating absolutely high.”

North Korea has always suffered from food shortages, even in the past when its economy was doing well.

The land in the northern region was not suitable for farming, and the Honam region had long been the granary of the Korean peninsula.

Rice was always in short supply, and even corn was a blessing in disguise.

For them, solving the food shortage was more important than anything else in their daily lives.

Their support for President Kim Jong-guk, who helped alleviate the food shortage, was firm.

YS asks with a deep sigh.

“Haa.. I wonder if everyone doesn’t have a good method.. But at least we should get 20% of the votes to at least save face.”

Then one of the top members cautiously speaks up.

“Then… how about this?”

“What is it, tell me.”

After checking several times to make sure no one is around, he begins to speak cautiously.