1979, Manager Kim is Inheriting Dictatorship! - Chapter 67



Only Krnovel

Episode 67

“Oh, that’s right. I’m sure it was Yeodongguk.”

“Yeodongguk? Who is that? It seems like the first time I’ve heard of it···.”

CEO Choi Hyeon asks back as if it is unfamiliar.

Even though he was a presidential candidate, it was a name I had never heard before.

“Well, I’ve also built a wall after getting involved in politics. I’ve only heard his name. There’s a story that he’s someone’s son…”

YS, who had gone out first, supports TJ, who was drunk at that time, and urges JP on.

“What are you doing, Unjeong? Let’s go quickly!”

“I’m leaving. I’ll see you next time, Mr. President.”

3 Gold returned like an old neighborhood friend.

And CEO Choi Hyun also greets me and leaves.

“Mr. President, I will go too. See you next time.”

“Haha. Today was fun. Go in.”

I also smoke a cigarette and prepare to return to the Blue House.

But the person JP talked about earlier keeps lingering in my head.

‘Yeodongguk..? Who is she···.’

As soon as I returned to the Blue House, I opened my smartphone and started searching about Yeo Dong-guk.

Surprisingly, the content started coming out right away, as he was a fairly famous person.

[Yeo Dong-guk: South Korean politician. Known as the grandson of Yeo Heon-bong, he is the xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx of the unified Republic of Korea]

‘Was Yeo Heon-bong’s bloodline still alive?’

It was unexpected.

Yeo Dong-guk was none other than Yeo Heon-bong’s family, who were already thought to be dead.

Dreamy Spring Yeoheonbong.

As an independence activist and socialist, he lived in North Korea after liberation and was purged by Kim Il-sung in the late 1950s.

At the time of liberation, he was ranked first in opinion polls on Korean leaders, beating out Kim Il-sung and other leaders in the South.

First, I clicked on the blinded article to see what the next steps would be.

[This is an unconfirmed history. You cannot view the blinded content.]

Unlike usual, where points are paid and the blinds are released, an unfamiliar message appears and the blinds are not released.

‘Is it possible to know who will be elected in the current situation?’

I put my phone down for a moment and lost myself in thought.

‘The grandson of Yeo Heon-bong…’

I ended up calling the chief secretary and asking him about Yeo Dong-guk.

“Chief Secretary. Have you ever heard of Yeo Dong-guk, who is running as a candidate for the Gongmin Party presidential election?”

“Oh, you mean Yeodongguk? I know. Aren’t you Yeoheonbong’s grandson?”

The chief secretary nodded and answered as soon as he heard Yeo Dong-guk’s name.

“That’s right. What do you think? Even though he is the grandson of Mr. Yeo Heon-bong, I’m a little surprised that he’s a presidential candidate. To be honest, it was the first time I heard his name. In the first place, how is the Yeo Heon-bong bloodline still alive? Weren’t they all purged?”

I heard that Yeo Heon-bong and his family were all killed in the North during Kim Il-sung’s purge in the late 1950s.

That’s why it was actually quite surprising when Yeo Dong-guk said that he was his family.

“They say that while the rest of the family was all killed, only Yeo Dong-guk was taken to a political concentration camp and somehow managed to survive.”

“okay···.”

‘I guess I should call this luck…’

I then asked the Chief Secretary about the current situation.

“I see. So what is the public opinion?”

“Nothing is known to the public right now. I heard that the Gongmyeong Party is secretly in contact with him, knowing that he is the grandson of Yeo Heon-bong. However, if he really runs for president, I think he will have more destructive power than expected.”

“Well, I guess I can’t ignore him since he is the blood of Mr. Yeo Heon-bong.”

Even in 2023, opinions on Yeo Heon-bong were divided. Although his merits and demerits always accompanied him and there was always much to say, no one denied his contributions in the past independence movement or his absolute popularity during the liberation process.

“Whew.. There is no such thing as an easy election.”

I take out a cigarette and put it in my mouth, saying:

But the chief secretary confidently tells him not to worry.

“What are you worried about? Of course, he is the grandson of Mr. Yeo Heon-bong, so as I said, he will have some destructive power, but that is all. Mr. President, even if Mr. Yeo Heon-bong comes back alive, you cannot win.”

“Hahaha. Am I that good? This is truly an honor.”

I answered with a smile, but inside I began to think that this election would not be easy.

###

The Gongmin Party eventually persuaded Yeo Dong-guk to nominate him as its presidential candidate.

Yeodongguk has started to create quite a stir among the middle-aged and elderly people who certainly remember Yeoheonbong.

The Gongmyeong Party swept the nation, centering on Yeodong-guk, and began to gather winds.

But I still didn’t have time to worry about the election.

Although the presidential election is only three months away, the position of president is not one in which one can only worry about the election.

The State Council meeting that started this morning has already been going on for two hours.

“Then, the next agenda is···”

Suddenly, the letters in front of my eyes become blurry.

‘Why are my eyes so bleary…’

Today, for some reason, I can’t see the words written on the paper.

I think my eyesight has gotten worse recently, but I’ve been seeing a lot of blurry letters like this.

“So, next is···”

When I was unable to continue speaking, the Minister of Justice sitting next to me asked if I was okay.

“Are you okay, Mr. President?”

“I’m sorry. I can’t see the letters properly these days. I think it’s time to change my glasses.”

I wonder if I’m starting to age little by little, but recently my body has started to have problems one by one like this.

‘Well, even if you calculate it based on Han Myeong-ho’s age, he’s close to 40 now···.’

I told the people that it was okay and resumed the cabinet meeting.

“Next is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”

The Minister of Foreign Affairs pushes up his glasses and says.

“Mr. President, international human rights organizations have recently been raising concerns about human rights violations against us.”

“We are violating human rights? What do you mean?”

Suddenly, at such an unexpected remark, the eyes that had been dim just a moment ago began to look clearer.

‘Was there anything that could be considered a human rights violation? Was it a labor-related issue?’

If that’s the case, I can understand it to some extent.

After all, working hours in South Korea are still quite long.

Although they are continuously trying to reduce the amount of work, it is still not a small amount of time as it is still well over 50 hours per week on average.

I looked at the Minister of Foreign Affairs and asked.

“Is this a problem related to working hours?”

The Minister of Foreign Affairs answers, sweating slightly.

“No, it’s not about that. It’s about the death penalty.”

As soon as the word death penalty came up, something immediately came to mind.

“Are you saying we should abolish the death penalty?”

“Yes, that’s right. There is frequent pressure to abolish the death penalty not only from international human rights organizations but also from the EC (European Community).”

The Foreign Minister’s expression became stern as he talked about this issue.

Our government’s views on the death penalty were firm.

Executions must always be carried out with caution.

In order to ensure that not a single innocent person is born, the death penalty system was carried out with the utmost care.

Just one question came to mind.

“But that’s strange. Recently, hasn’t South Korea ever sentenced or executed a person for political reasons? In the past 10 years, I don’t remember any cases of sentencing or executing a person for the death penalty, except for murder, the Hanahui coup, and some of the highest-ranking North Korean leaders.”

In the case of the Hanahoe coup, it was inevitable as they literally led tanks to try to overthrow the country.

And when it comes to North Korea’s top leaders, only a very small number of them have been sentenced to murder for abusing their power and killing countless people.

Most people were sentenced to prison depending on the nature of their crime.

“I think it’s more about opposing the death penalty itself than political issues. I’m expressing my dissatisfaction with the fact that the state is taking people’s lives.”

“Usually, people who are sentenced to death are those who have harmed other people’s lives, so why do you say such things?”

The Minister of Foreign Affairs bows his head and apologizes.

“sorry···.”

“Raise your head. I didn’t say anything to you, Minister.”

As countries develop, these types of human rights issues always arise.

When a country is poor, people are more interested in growth than in human rights and things like that.

But as the country develops, some people begin to take an interest in these human rights.

Of course, human rights must be protected in order to become a proper advanced country, but sometimes the direction of human rights has flowed in a strange direction.

‘Should I think that Korea has grown that much? It’s a headache. Really···.’

At that time, the Minister of Justice also said something.

“Mr. President, since we’re on the subject, domestic human rights groups have been consistently demanding the Ministry of Justice to improve correctional facilities.”

“When you say correctional facility, are you talking about prison?”

The Minister of Justice nods and says.

“Yes. I mean prisons and detention centers.”

“No, is our correctional facility really that problematic right now, Mr. Attorney General?”

Korean correctional facilities are not as nice as hotels, but in general, there were no major problems with living there.

It was not run in an inhumane manner like North Korea’s political prison camps of the past, and it was not at a level that would cause major problems for an average adult living there.

“No. There is no major problem with food or living facilities.”

“Then what exactly do you want me to improve?”

The Minister of Justice takes out a piece of paper and reads what is written on it.

“Prohibit violence against inmates, provide beds, improve the quality of meals, and allow them to pursue hobbies···.”

“Haa… Stop it. Why are those people here for a retreat?”

I couldn’t control my anger for a moment and raised my voice.

Of course, since the inmates are also human, they should have their minimum living needs met, but it is against the law for those who have committed crimes to live excessively happily in prison.

“sorry···.”

“Really… why is there so little interest in the victims of crime, who are really important, and so much interest in the perpetrators…?”

I sighed and asked the Attorney General.

“But what about the assault on the inmates?”

I couldn’t hear anything else, but if there was indiscriminate violence against the inmates, it had to be stopped.

“Oh, sometimes when the inmates rebel against the guards or fight among themselves, they use physical force.”

“Huh? Are you really asking me not to use physical force in such a situation?”

“sorry···.”

The Minister of Justice also bows his head, saying he is at a loss for words.

“Ha, do those people think of correctional facilities as kindergartens?”

I sighed and spoke to the cabinet members.

“Don’t worry about such things in the future. If they say something like that again, tell them this. Korea is too busy worrying about the human rights of victims and their return to their daily lives to worry about such trivial human rights of perpetrators.”

I spoke firmly.

But the Minister of Foreign Affairs spoke to me with a slightly troubled expression on his face.

“Mr. President, how about meeting with people and listening to their stories? Recently, as Korea has developed, we have been receiving countless complaints from overseas human rights organizations and European countries.”

Perhaps, because Korea’s position in the world has changed, unlike before, it seems to be attracting the attention of human rights groups and the EC.

‘Is this also the path to becoming a developed and powerful country···.’

I finally sighed and answered the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

“Whew, I see. Get ready for a public hearing on the death penalty and reform of correctional facilities. We have to make sure that this kind of talk never happens again.”