I Became Park Jeong-ui’s Nephew - Chapter 135



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He became Park Jeong-ui’s nephew. – (135)

“Is there an alternative that Your Majesty would accept?”

“As I have said before, we must establish His Excellency as the head of state and implement a cabinet system. That is the best option for now.”

This is the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea,

The politicians gathered in one place continued their marathon meetings.

The president has no intention of continuing his term, but the people want him to, so what cards do politicians have to play in this situation?

That’s a cabinet system.

Meanwhile, Korea had an imperial position in which the president served as both head of state and head of administration, which led to dictatorship.

So, wouldn’t it be better to separate the head of state and the head of administration?

The current president remains a symbolic figure as the king, and politics is conducted by members of the National Assembly in a democratic system.

But this is not a problem that can be considered so simply.

If there had been a majority party in Korea, they would have formed a cabinet and taken administrative positions in each region. In fact, for the past 17 years, the Korean People’s Party has held the majority in the National Assembly and has been responsible for administration.

In fact, the National Assembly was operating under a cabinet system.

But the Korean People’s Party rebelled against the president and was destroyed.

In the last general election, we only won 70 seats.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Republican Party of Korea led by Kim Jong-pil won 57 seats, putting it on par with the ruling party.

So how are you going to implement a cabinet system with this?

How can you form a cabinet and establish an administrative system with only 57 seats?

Even if a cabinet is formed somehow, the Korean People’s Party, which holds 70 seats, can declare a vote of no confidence in the National Assembly or push for the impeachment of the Prime Minister at any time.

The bigger problem is that if we adopt a cabinet system, only members of the National Assembly can become ministers.

Ministers are ultimately administrators, so can people who have worked in the National Assembly serve as ministers? That is why countries that have adopted a cabinet system have also opened the way for financiers and experts in various fields to become ministers.

So, there are cases where a certain political party recruits a person who would become a minister, makes him a member of the National Assembly, and then puts him in the position of minister.

But is there a political party in Korea with that level of talent?

First of all, the Democratic Republican Party of Korea cannot do that.

Although the Korean People’s Party no longer holds the absolute position of 190 seats as it used to, it is still a huge party with 70 seats, and of course, many administrators and talented people from various fields are stationed there.

It is impossible to form a cabinet while ignoring them.

So the Democratic Republican Party of Korea is trying to make the current president a king.

If the monarch were granted the right to dissolve parliament and become head of state, like in Britain, he would be able to check not only the executive branch but also the Korean People’s Party.

Kim Jong-pil judged that this was the only way to overthrow the Korean People’s Party dictatorship and pursue checks and balances.

And if the president is elected as a king, wouldn’t the people be dissatisfied?

The Korean People’s Party had no other choice.

The problem is who will become the prime minister and form the cabinet. Even if the Korean People’s Party, which has 70 seats, produces a prime minister, it could face a vote of no confidence from the Democratic Republican Party, which has 57 seats, at any time.

The same goes for the Democratic and Republican parties.

Who would want to become prime minister in this unstable political climate?

Even if he becomes the prime minister, it would be half-hearted. If that’s the case, it would be better for the Korean People’s Party and the Korean Democratic Republican Party to join forces and create a huge party with 127 seats.

But to anyone who looks at it, it is a disjointed action.

The people were so disappointed in the corruption of the Korean People’s Party that they turned the Democratic Republican Party from a minority party with 13 seats into a party with 57 seats.

But you want to join hands with the Korean People’s Party to create a vested interest party again? That is betraying the people.

“Woah, whoa, citizens, calm down.”

“You should look at the law carefully. The King has the right to dissolve the National Assembly and the right to vote no confidence in the National Assembly. If we do something wrong, the King will check the National Assembly and the executive branch.”

But the vested interests also have something to say.

Wasn’t the position of head of state offered to the king in preparation for such a situation?

As long as there is a safety device called the king, politicians cannot act as they please. Then, wouldn’t the people also support the merger?

However, the merger of the Democratic Party of Korea and the Democratic Republican Party is something that is unimaginable at the moment.

Kim Jong-pil and Park Jeong-ui had to face each other over this issue.

***

“I am satisfied with the position of Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications. So I will yield the position of Prime Minister.”

“Haha~ Are you saying you’ll appoint me as Prime Minister?”

“Do you really dislike me to the point where it sounds like that? I’m making concessions, not appointing you as prime minister.”

This is the headquarters of the Korean People’s Party.

Park Jeong-ui and Kim Jong-pil continued their war of words over the merger.

Now that the people have rejected the presidential election, forming a cabinet with the members of the National Assembly elected in the general election is no longer an option but a necessity.

However, if the cabinet is formed as it is, the National Assembly will only become a battleground, so instead of fighting each other, we should merge and use that as a driving force to lead Korea forward.

Kim Jong-pil acknowledged that Director of the Political Bureau Park Jeong-ui had exercised great influence in the party and the National Assembly over the past 17 years, and so decided to yield the position of Prime Minister.

The problem is that Park Jeong-ui is not a great person who can tolerate that.

Even if I become the Prime Minister, I am the one doing it. Who should I ask for understanding from?

Park was shocked to see that a minority party that had 13 seats in the National Assembly just two years ago was now on par with the Korean People’s Party.

‘Do I have to ask for the understanding of this kind of person while becoming Prime Minister?’

In this case, it would be better to throw away the cabinet system and everything else, hold another presidential election, and have whoever wins take power.

The question is whether that will work,

Who can become president when the voter turnout in the presidential election is only 11%?

It was an absurd but inevitable fate; Park Chung-hee demanded the right to appoint 16 ministers as a condition of accepting the position of Prime Minister.

But Kim Jong-pil rejected this,

The 16 ministers insisted that they be selected through discussions within political parties rather than as individuals.

“The position of minister cannot be chosen based on political logic. Experts from each region should be brought in and placed in that position.”

“So you became the Minister of General Affairs because you are an expert? Aren’t you an expert?”

“I’m an expert now. Things are different now than they were then.”

Kim Jong-pil now considered himself an administrative expert.

At first, I was worried about how I would do this, but as I received instructions from the President and worked with the Central Intelligence Agency, I gained some experience.

The connections that follow you here are also not to be ignored.

Not long ago, Kim Jong-in was recruited and appointed as an economic advisor to the Democratic Party of Korea.

Kim Jong-in is an elite who went on to graduate school and doctorate in Germany. Does the Korean People’s Party have an economic expert of this level?

Now, it is not just a simple ruling party, but a huge force that stands shoulder to shoulder with the Korean People’s Party. Park Chung-hee laughed in vain as Kim Jong-pil grew too big.

“I don’t know how I ended up like this. Even a few years ago, you wouldn’t have been in a position to say such things to me.”

“The director kicked that position out himself.”

“What? What does that mean?”

“Didn’t the Korean People’s Party attempt a coup against Your Excellency?”

The mood here has become chilly.

The Korean People’s Party, which had grown its influence in politics and administration by receiving favors from the president, tried to grow the real estate market and make it their home turf after the president left office.

They tried to create their own world by getting out of the hands of the president.

What is this, treason?

When Kim Jong-pil touched a sore spot, the Korean People’s Party members exploded.

“A coup d’état?!! How about you be more careful with what you say?!!”

“I’m not wrong, am I? For what purpose did you sell your real estate to raise political funds? You must know what that means, right? If you think about it, you are the ones who made His Excellency give up his second term as president. Since the Korean People’s Party that you raised staged a coup, the president decided that he could no longer serve another term. Isn’t that right?”

The Korean People’s Party officials, who were hit hard, kept their mouths shut.

The traitors who had popped the champagne too early, even though the president had not yet stepped down, and Park Chung-hee, who had lost the president’s trust by being labeled a traitor while establishing his own power base, could not speak any more.

I can barely suppress my anger while sitting there,

Even though I didn’t like it, I had no choice but to accept Kim Jong-pil’s proposal.

In this way, Park Chung-hee became the Prime Minister, but it was only half-hearted, and because of the checks and balances of the Democratic Republican Party of Korea, the Korean People’s Party was no longer able to be a dictator as before.

***

“Your Majesty, please sign now.”

“Can’t you just let me go? I want to go to America now and do business. I want to make money.”

“That is not what the people want. Please ascend to the throne.”

The same routine that repeats itself today,

I had a quarrel with Speaker of the National Assembly Ji Cheong-cheon and Prime Minister Lee Beom-seok over the report.

If you are going to step down as president, you are asking me to remain as a symbolic figure of the king. What does that king mean to me?

Now I want to travel freely around the world and grow my business, but the country doesn’t allow me to do that.

Even if the National Assembly gives me the position of head of state and the power to dissolve the National Assembly, then there is no point in retiring.

I will still reign as the master of this country, only in a different form.

So I held on for a while.

“I will make a concession and accept the position of head of state. But isn’t it a bit much to take the right to dissolve the National Assembly as well?”

“If that happens, there will be no means to check the Congress and the executive branch.”

“Yes. The Korean People’s Party and the Democratic Republican Party merged to form a huge party, but if the King does not have the power to dissolve the National Assembly, how can the two be kept in check?”

“So why do you make things so complicated by making it so reasonable? Can’t we just divide the parties and check each other?”

“That’s the nature of politics. When you’re in power, you don’t want to be interfered with by anyone.”

I frowned slightly at the remark made by National Assembly Speaker Ji Cheong-cheon.

Well, I also wanted to do what I wanted, so I destroyed the New Democratic Party and created a one-man system for the Korean People’s Party.

The price we are paying now,

I thought the Korean People’s Party and the Democratic Republican Party would check and balance each other, but they chose to merge.

A huge party with 127 seats was born, and although it may appear to be united, it is internally snarling at each other and could tear itself apart at any time.

So how will I, as king, check the parliament in the future?

No, how can one pursue harmony and national development as the head of state? In fact, I gave a lenient treatment to the Korean People’s Party for that purpose.

It is outrageous that they staged a coup, but if we blow them all away, will the Democratic Republican Party be able to handle the administrative power of Korea alone?

So, I didn’t cut off the airway,

If you take power like in the Joseon Dynasty and purge the opposition, that is not politics.

Didn’t Kim Jong-pil of the Democratic Republican Party choose to cooperate with his uncle because I didn’t wipe out the Korean People’s Party?

This is what I think democracy is like,

Even if it is dirty and deadly, what can we do at times like this? And now I have a duty to watch the birth of democracy in Korea from afar.

That is also the reason why he must step down from his position as head of administration and remain a formal king.

After much deliberation, I ended up signing.