1979, Manager Kim is Inheriting Dictatorship! - Chapter 96



Only Krnovel

Episode 96

“The presidential election is just around the corner. Wouldn’t it be better for the Minister of Foreign Affairs to participate?”

During the dinner, Representative Min Jeong-gi suggested to me that I send him to the UN General Assembly on behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Since the UN General Assembly is held every year and requires leaving Korea for about a week, it is not always the case that heads of state participate, but rather the ministers of foreign affairs often participate.

Crucially, since there are only two months left until the presidential election, it is advantageous in many ways to stay in the country.

However, this UN General Assembly was significant in that it was the first UN General Assembly after the AEU was properly formed.

That’s why I shook my head and refused to listen to Representative Min’s words.

“I’m sorry, but I have to participate this time. This is the first UN General Assembly since the establishment of the AEU. It’s time for me to participate in person and express our position to the international community. Oh, and I also have some things to discuss with Clinton before the Korea-US summit.”

The Korea-US summit, which was originally scheduled to be held immediately after the UN General Assembly, was ultimately decided to be held in Korea in January 1999 after much discussion due to the schedule of the Korean presidential election.

Even if he loses the presidential election, he will remain in office, but it is not common to have a summit at this time.

But the U.S. government didn’t seem to have considered the possibility of me losing the election in the first place.

I spoke to Representative Min Jeong-gi, who seemed uneasy even as I spoke like this.

“It’s okay. Don’t worry too much. You can’t neglect the things that the president should do just because you’re preparing for an election. On the contrary, if I neglect the things that I should do because of the election, the people won’t vote for me even more.”

Only then does Representative Min nod his head.

“Understood, Mr. President. Then I will do my best to keep the party atmosphere high while you are away.”

Representative Min Jeong-gi is a person with strong individual skills.

Surely, even while I am away, I will be able to heat up the atmosphere for the presidential election at the party level.

“Please take good care of me. After all, this time, candidate Lee Hae-chang is a strong opponent compared to candidate Yeo Myeong-guk. You shouldn’t take him lightly.”

“Yes. I know. He certainly has a higher popularity than the Yeomyeongguk candidate. In particular, voters with strong conservative tendencies and those who are a bit tired of long-term rule are moving towards Lee Hae-chang. The party will also do its best to plan a good strategy.”

“I will believe you.”

The approval rating for the government was not low, and Representative Min was not politically inferior to Lee Hae-chang.

In fact, even if Representative Min Jeong-gi had run for president, he was a person with outstanding personal ability who could have easily won against Lee Hae-chang.

‘Let’s leave domestic politics to this side for now.’

Rather, this time it was necessary to express Korea’s changed position to the world.

* * *

The third Tuesday of September 1998.

United Nations Headquarters in New York, USA.

“eww……!”

As soon as he gets off the plane, he groans and turns on the air conditioner.

The chief secretary standing next to him also answers, moving his frozen body here and there.

“Wow, America is really big.”

“Yes. I thought Korea had become quite large, but it doesn’t seem to be as large as the United States. But I guess the chief secretary is getting older now. In the past, you could fly for dozens of hours and still be fine.”

“Mr. President, I am now over 50. My body is not what it used to be.”

“Already, Chief Secretary, you’re over 50? Time really flies. Haha.”

I stretched once more, got off the plane, and looked out at the endless expanse of American territory.

“By the way, it’s really big. It’s really far to go from the Habarab Special Self-Governing Province to Busan, and in the US, it’s more than twice as far to go from California to New York. If we had such a good land, Korea could have developed a little faster. It’s a shame.”

The chief secretary speaks while preparing various things on the side.

“But doesn’t Korea have a president? If the United States had a president, it would have developed several times more than it does now.”

“Haha. The Chief Secretary’s flattery is getting worse and worse.”

“I’m serious. I’m serious.”

In that way, everyone on the private plane got off.

When everyone got off, it got quite crowded.

At this UN General Assembly, Korea sent about 150 people, including staff and reporters.

In the past, the number of people attending the UN General Assembly was usually around 50, but as the country grew in size and the economy grew, naturally, whether I wanted it or not, I had no choice but to pay more attention to security and other things, and so the number of people increased like this.

“Oh, Mr. President. I have an interview scheduled with a reporter from Tongil Ilbo in the car on the way to the hotel.”

“Interview? Oh, come to think of it, I think we talked about this last time.”

Tongil Ilbo.

The Tongil Ilbo, which was founded after unification, has grown at an incredible rate to become the largest newspaper in the country.

Among them, the reporter in charge of today’s interview was Lee Gu-seong, a reporter covering the Blue House, and he was a man who was considered the best elite within the newspaper company.

As we get into the car, a reporter with a recorder and notebook gets in next to us.

As soon as the reporter got into the car, he bowed his head to me and greeted me.

“Hello, Mr. President. It is an honor to be able to interview you in person.”

“No. I am the one who usually reads reporter Lee Gu-seong’s articles.”

Reporter Lee Gu-seong asked me with a slightly surprised look.

“Do you read our Tongil Ilbo?”

“Of course. I usually read about five or six newspapers, including the Tongil Ilbo, the Silla Ilbo, the Seoul Morning Edition, and the Hansung Ilbo.”

Waking up in the morning, reading the newspaper and understanding the political situation was a basic among the basics for a politician.

I spent about an hour before breakfast reading the newspaper, including an English one.

The car starts and reporter Lee Gu-seong asks the first question.

“First of all, I cannot help but ask this, Mr. President. What is the reason for establishing the AEU this time?”

The original purpose was to gain export profits by using a common currency, but since it was difficult to tell that truthfully to the press, I gave the superficial reason that is commonly referred to.

“Of course, it is for the common growth of the Asian economy. Asian countries have always fought each other since the past. I thought it was time to go beyond that and show that Asian countries are united and developing together.”

“I see. Some foreign media outlets have been making outrageous claims that Korea is trying to turn Asian countries into economic colonies. As expected, you have another purpose.”

“Of course. Haha.”

The reporter moves his pen diligently and asks the following question.

“Mr. President, there are less than two months left until the presidential election. You are running again in this election, but some citizens are saying that you are doing it for too long. What do you think about this?”

After nearly 20 years in power, no matter how high the approval rating for the government was, some citizens felt tired.

But that doesn’t mean I have any intention of backing down yet.

‘There’s still a lot of work to do, so I can’t stop here.’

“Well, for now, I want to do it until my health allows it. Of course, if the people don’t choose me, I’ll have to quit politics that day. Hahaha.”

After that, various questions about recent policies and foreign relations pass by.

And after all the important questions have passed, the reporter asks me cautiously.

“Mr. President, now that we’ve covered the basic questions, may I ask you a personal question?”

“Yes, of course. I will answer all your questions as long as it does not cause any major problems.”

“Thank you. Then I have to ask you this first. Mr. President, you are now well over seventy in Korean age, but you are still unmarried. Is there a reason for this?”

It was inevitable that people would wonder if the average man in Korea lived his entire life like this without getting married.

“Well, well, there wasn’t really a particular reason. Actually, before I became president, I was so focused on work that I missed the right time to get married, and after I became president, I got too old and it wasn’t easy to meet someone.”

“Some citizens say that President Kim Jong-guk is married to the state, like Queen Elizabeth I of England. Is it okay to see it this way?”

The reporter is packaging me appropriately.

I answered with a big laugh.

“Hahaha. I’m so grateful that you think so highly of me, since I married the country.”

The next question follows:

“The President says he will continue to be active in politics, but as he gets older, some citizens seem to be curious about who his successor will be. Do you have a political successor in mind?”

“Haha. I don’t think I’m that old, but I think the people might think that way when they see me. I have many politicians that I like, but I won’t mention a specific political successor. Isn’t the Republic of Korea not a hereditary country?”

This successor had to be careful at all times, as if he was not careful, it could easily be seen as a political hereditary succession, and this could literally lead to a crisis in democracy.

I took a moment to catch my breath and then continued.

“However, if you look for it, there are many good politicians in our Liberty Korea Party and the opposition party, the Gongmin Party. Even if I am not able to go into politics, I hope that the people will look for good politicians who think carefully about the country.”

The reporter, still curious, asked me more specifically.

“The President said he would not mention a specific political successor, but people are talking about Oh Young-ho, who has been the Chief of Staff for nearly 20 years, and Min Jeong-gi, the leader of the Liberty Korea Party. What do you think about these two people?”

The reporter seemed to really want to hear about the successor from my mouth.

“Of course, both of them are great people. In the case of Chief Secretary Oh Young-ho, he has been quietly doing his job by my side for nearly 20 years, and in the case of Representative Min Jeong-gi, he is a person with outstanding political ability, although he sometimes clashes with me. However, as I said earlier, I personally have no business talking about a successor.”

I spoke firmly, and the reporter didn’t ask any more questions.

After that, several more personal interviews continued and before I knew it, I arrived at the hotel.

“Oh, you’re already here. Thank you so much for the interview today, Mr. President.”

“No. I enjoyed it too. Please keep up the good work during the remaining UN General Assembly period.”

The reporter gets out of the car first, and I also get out of the car while receiving security.

The hotel we arrived at was the New York InterContinental Barclay Hotel.

This is the hotel where many foreign leaders attending the New York General Assembly stay.

The 7th to 9th floors of this hotel were leased from Korea.

This also shows that Korea’s status has changed a lot compared to the past, when only one floor was rented at a time.

* * *

After resting at the hotel, the opening ceremony was held the next day.

After the opening ceremony, several countries approached Korea to have a conversation at least once.

And starting the day after the opening ceremony, each country’s head of state or foreign minister began giving speeches expressing their country’s position.

Especially on the second day, Putin, who was inaugurated as the new president of Russia, made some pretty strong statements.

“Today’s Russia is virtually exploited by Western countries! Because of this, our Russian people and the countries of the former Soviet Union are still living in poverty… … .”

As expected, it was a typical statement from him, who seeks a strong Russia.

‘It’s a little dangerous… I think it’s time to start restraining ourselves.’

And the third day.

Finally, it was Korea’s turn.

After putting on my tie properly, I went up to the podium, stood in front of the microphone, and began to speak.

“Mr. Chairman, Mr. Secretary-General, and distinguished delegates. This is Kim Jong-guk.”

After greeting, I looked at the representatives in front of me for a moment and then began my speech in earnest.