I Became Park Jeong-ui’s Nephew - Chapter 142



Only Krnovel

He became Park Jeong-ui’s nephew. – (142)

“Mr. President, what kind of leader do the people want?”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“That is the enemy’s biggest worry.”

This is Gyeongseong, where former Dong-A Ilbo president Park Sang-ui welcomed guests.

The guest’s identity is a butler working at Changgyeonggung Palace.

Why is the person who is aides to my son talking to me like this? I first listened to what the butler said.

“Are you aware of the commotion at the prosecution office a while ago?”

“Yes, because I have ears too.”

“Is the position of prosecutor supposed to be held by the smartest and hardest-working person in Korea? Or is it supposed to be held by someone who is not very good at studying but has a sense of justice?”

“Of course, both. It would be good if you were smart and had a strong sense of justice…”

Park Sang-ui trailed off.

How many people in the world are smart and have a strong sense of justice?

First of all, Park Sang-ui himself did not fall into that category.

During the Japanese colonial period, he wanted to become a teacher so he applied to a teachers’ college, but failed. So he became a reporter and somehow ended up participating in the independence movement.

So is this a smart and righteous person?

How can someone who couldn’t even get into a teachers’ college talk about intelligence? The same goes for political ability. He won the hearts of the people by promoting left-right cooperation in the New People’s Association, but that’s about it.

“Now that Mr. Yeo Woon-hyung’s health has recovered, can you please go out?”

“????”

A failed politician who was completely defeated in the political arena,

The military council appointed Park Sang-ui as the president of the company to replace the ailing Yeo Woon-hyung.

He was the president of the company for three whole years, but during that long time, he was ignored because he was unable to build up his own power.

Of course, at the time, Yeo Woon-hyung was a huge star with a 70% national approval rating, so he could not have surpassed that status by creating a faction.

Then, instead of being used by the prefecture, shouldn’t you step into a place where you can exert your power?

In fact, the Korean Democratic Party, which was centered around pro-Japanese collaborators, did make an offer, but Park Sang-ui turned down their advances.

‘If you have a conscience, how can you act like that?’

How could someone who has been active in the left wing for a long time and, above all, participated in the nationalist movement, join hands with pro-Japanese collaborators?

Because of that old-fashioned side, he was rejected by his own people and was unable to form a political force.

How frustrated must such a father have been for his son to go up to Gyeongseong and create a political force?

The son joined hands with pro-Japanese collaborators and made contact with the US military government, and when the US military government promoted left-right cooperation, he absorbed leftist forces and created a major political party called the Korean People’s Party.

This is political power,

Although his son’s actions at the time cannot be called righteous, he was able to create the country he envisioned thanks to the power he had created.

If you look closely, it is a case of securing both political power and the justification to rule the country.

So, isn’t that why he became an irreplaceable leader to the people? But even such an absolute being repeatedly criticizes himself.

‘I don’t think I’m that righteous?’

This is my son’s concern,

Do you think he only did righteous things while serving as president for 17 years?

Sometimes he killed people, and in Pyongyang, he burned to death over 2 million people. He also received over 3 billion in bribes from businessmen, and there is no force that can restrain this monster.

The prosecution can just go and arrest and investigate, so who would dare to check the head of state?

The head of state chose his father for the role.

He was not a good enough student to enter a teachers’ college, and he was an incompetent father with no political power who couldn’t even build his own power base, but at least he said what he had to say for the sake of the country.

[Japanese people are being hunted for human lives. Is it best to catch them and forcibly repatriate them to Japan?]

[Commuting is hell, the government must understand the workers’ grievances.]

If I were to summarize the major events, it would be something like this:

When the Japanese who refused to return to their homeland hid in the mountains, the Koreans carried out a human hunt. They wanted to catch them and send them back to Japan, but is it the role of a leader to ignore the madness of such a people?

Park Sang-ui wrote the article, prepared to be hated by his son, and eventually 12,000 Japanese people obtained Korean citizenship.

The aftereffects of this continue to this day,

The fact that 40,000 Jews, 1.34 million Japanese, and 32.9 million Chinese people became Korean did not happen overnight.

The same goes for the improvement in workers’ treatment.

Workers spend more than an hour commuting to and from work, and Park Sang-ui experienced that hell and wrote an article saying that this is not the case.

Why is Korea trying to build a planned city and adjust commuting time to 30 minutes? The idea is to solve both the population density and housing problems. All of these projects started from an article by Park Sang-ui.

He was not a good student, to the point of failing the entrance exam for teachers’ college, and he did not have much political ability, but he proposed a policy for the country.

Why can’t smart college graduates come up with policies like this?

Because I don’t have the ability? To be exact, I’m not interested.

Isn’t that what the prosecutors did this time, showing career-oriented behavior by engaging in politics because they have no interest?

Park Sang-ui also wanted to say something about this incident, but he decided that it was not right for someone who had already retired from the media to say such things.

The problem is that people are too old-fashioned, but the head of state chose such a father as his political partner.

“Your Majesty would like to appoint you as an advisor to Changgyeonggung Palace. Please accept it.”

“I am over 60 years old. I don’t know when I will die, so what kind of politics would I do at this age?”

“Your Majesty thinks that the only person who can give him a hard time is his father. If you understand his feelings, then please accept it….”

“Ugh~.”

Park Sang-ui let out a long sigh.

How talent-deprived must this country be to bring in a senior citizen over 60 years old. After much deliberation, I accepted the position of advisor.

***

“Prime Minister, your advisor has arrived.”

“Tell them to come in.”

This is the government building of the Republic of Korea,

Prime Minister Park Jeong-ui welcomed the distinguished guest.

My older brother, who was appointed as an advisor to Changgyeonggung Palace,

Although he has no real authority, he will be coordinating the relationship between Changgyeonggung Palace and the government building in the future.

It is said to be a place to monitor whether politicians are doing the right thing, but politicians who have lost the trust of the head of state due to corruption scandals must somehow make up for it this time.

But what is the method?

Are you offering a wad of money to bring the advisor over to your side?

First of all, although advisor Park Sang-ui maintained his status as the president’s father for 17 years, he never revealed any desire to enter politics.

In a word, an old-fashioned person,

Prime Minister Park Jeong-ui knew that and was therefore difficult with his brother.

“Advisor, I ask for your help in the future.”

“You entered politics too late. You should have held a position by now.”

“That’s right. Haha~.”

Those close associates who talk nonsense without any sense,

Park Jeong-ui felt a sting and his brother gave the expected reaction.

“I’ll tell you in advance. I’m not smart enough to get into a teachers’ college like you, Prime Minister, and I’m a political failure. I think the fact that I became an advisor to Changgyeonggung Palace is a message the President is sending to the political world.”

“A message?”

“Your Majesty trusts this incompetent old man more than any smart politician.”

The place where the bomb fell became quiet.

As expected from a former journalist, he may have said pretty things, but this personnel action is a declaration from the head of state that he does not trust smart people.

Korea is now a country with a population of over 80 million.

It’s not like the illiteracy rate is high, so there aren’t any smart people.

Then, young talents should become advisors to Changgyeonggung Palace and give advice to the head of state, but the number of them is filled by old people.

Park Sang-ui continued to speak his mind.

“Everyone here graduated from prestigious universities and has been in politics longer than me. Our Prime Minister passed the difficult teacher’s exam on the first try and graduated from the Military Academy in Manchuria. Why doesn’t he have the Marshal’s trust? What on earth is the reason?”

Prime Minister Park Jeong-ui wiped the sweat from his forehead.

It is true that I studied much better than my older brother, and I am proud to say that I also have some political skills.

But why did it turn out like this? Was it because he abandoned his wife and had an affair? Or was it because he was the second most powerful person in the country and was subject to restraint?

Many former members of the Korean People’s Party are also present at this event.

Traitors who went against the president’s wishes and tried to make a fortune through real estate development and fell into the abyss in one fell swoop, it is actually a miracle that they are alive and serving as bureaucrats.

If the president were a tyrant who would kill all traitors, how many people would be here today?

Park Sang-ui made that point clear.

“I’m not saying this because you’re my son. The Marshal is a leader who encourages us to do well together. If he were a leader who only used people who suited his taste, he would have purged everyone and made them fight each other to maintain his power. The reason you can still work as bureaucrats is because the Marshal is generous. He wants you to work hard for the country and the people. I believe you know this well because you’re smarter than me.”

“Is there…any chance?”

“We must never disappoint you again. We have survived thanks to your generosity.”

Prime Minister Park Jeong-ui also understood his brother’s intentions, although he did not say anything.

Even though he is retired, his nephew still exerts great influence over the administration. If it weren’t for his generosity, would he have been able to become prime minister?

It was already a mortal sin to have raised 44.5 billion won in political funds by selling real estate, but he was still grateful and thankful that he survived.

***

“Father, I donated 15.5 billion won in political funds this time.”

“What…what does that mean?”

“That’s exactly what it says.”

The same routine that repeats itself today,

I had a conversation with my father, who was now an advisor at Changgyeonggung Palace.

I wear the mask of a righteous leader who does not tolerate corruption among officials, but that is not my true self.

Politicians also need money to do politics, so do they dig the ground to find money?

That’s why I put chains on them so they can’t accept any money other than the one I give them.

The average monthly salary of Korean workers is 35,000 won, while that of politicians is just over 100,000 won.

The Prime Minister’s salary is 180,000 won, but do you think politicians would be satisfied with that amount?

So, if I give them money in advance and support them like this, and they still get greedy, is it the politicians’ fault or mine?

The Joseon Dynasty emphasized only the integrity of officials, so officials fell into corruption.

So, what I’m saying is, you should eat while you work.

What can we do if those who receive political funds from the head of state and a monthly salary of 100,000 won commit corruption? They should be punished.

“I trust you guys. You can do it, right?”

“Ah… Okay, I understand.”

So I did about three purges during my term.

However, that doesn’t mean they were all killed, some were kept alive and are still being used.

It’s easy to kill a traitor, but it takes the leader’s ability to use them. That’s why my uncle has been using them for 18 years.

This time, he called his father and appointed him as an advisor to Changgyeonggung Palace in order to put pressure on his uncle.

My uncle, who grew up being beaten by his father, will feel even more pressure now that his father has become an advisor to Changgyeonggung Palace.

A carrot-and-stick strategy, my father scolded me that day.

“Are you putting me through torture to pressure your uncle?”

“Of course. What other reason could there be?”

“I thought I put you here to tell you the truth.”

“That’s true too. That’s why I’m asking you this. What do you think about me giving away 15.5 billion won in political funds?”

“No, it’s better to give that money legally. If you give it away as political funds like that, it becomes a practice and becomes corruption.”

“Father, the public opinion is that the average salary of bureaucrats is too high. But what would happen to public opinion if I officially distributed 15.5 billion won? If I give this kind of thing secretly, public opinion will be quiet and politicians will listen to me.”

My father looked dumbfounded.

I know what you’re thinking, but I do this for a reason.

But I need someone to be there to give me a hard time, so I dragged my father into the torture.

In the end, I am a person who feels satisfied when I do what I want.

Is it impossible for an honest and upright bureaucrat to emerge under a leader like this?

But this is politics, and although it is far from ideal, I also ran the government according to my own standards.