Republic of Korea in Yeokcheon - Chapter 169
Only Krnovel
#169 Why do you look at me like that?
The presidential election was tentatively decided for next year, in the second half of 1952.
Political party activities were now banned, and there were many institutional shortcomings, so it was impossible to implement it sooner.
Once an early election was decided, the government immediately began working behind the scenes for the election.
First, he quietly informed senators who were favorable to the current government, including Kim Gu, of the decision and informed them of the approximate schedule.
Of course, I only delivered it to lawmakers who I thought were on the same side.
In this day and age, there was no need to make a fuss by talking to lawmakers who were not identified as affiliated.
And in preparation for the election, systems and institutions began to be reorganized.
The current Republic of Korea has never held a democratic election and has no related organizations, but in order to hold an election, an election management committee was first needed to take charge of political party affairs and election work.
“The National Election Commission has civil servants from the National Election Commission, so we can prepare according to the manual brought from Mirae, but the chairman of the National Election Commission must be appointed separately.”
“That’s right.”
“The question is who to appoint. Because we must remain neutral by nature, we must exclude not only ourselves but also senators known to be close to us. “If you make the wrong appointment, you could become embroiled in unfair disputes from the first election.”
“Hmm, that’s a bit difficult.”
Lee Kang-cheol was embarrassed because he had Kim Chang-sook in mind.
Although he was flawless in terms of personality and reputation, Kim Chang-sook was well known for supporting the current government.
Now that I think about it, other than Kim Chang-sook, the people who were considered suitable candidates were all close or friendly to the current government, so there was no suitable person.
“Mr. Chancellor, is there no one worthy? This is the beginning of our country’s elections. “There is no reason for us to appoint someone who is on our side, but since this is our first time, it would be nice to have someone who can remain truly neutral take charge.”
“Then what about Godang?”
“Teacher Godang?”
Godang (古堂) is the pen name of Jo Man-sik (曺晩植), and he is a great figure who can be said to be the top among domestic nationalist independence activists in the North Korean region centered on Pyongyang.
In addition, he was considered the head of Christianity in the Pyeongan-do region, which was the home of early Christianity.
Therefore, his reputation and personality were excellent without any need to discuss them again.
And above all, there was a reason why Kim Ho-jin recommended it.
He was not very close to the current government.
Even after liberation, Cho Man-sik himself did not want to leave Pyongyang, where he was born and lived his entire life, and since Lee Kang-cheol had a tendency to want to distance himself from the religious world as much as possible, the fact that he was a big name in the Korean Protestant world was burdensome, so he tried to meet him whenever possible. Because I refrained.
Moreover, his inclination was conservative.
In particular, he was conservative on taxes such as inheritance tax, welfare policies, and labor policies, and did not hesitate to criticize some of the policies implemented by the Lee Kang-cheol government after liberation.
Therefore, he was viewed as a suitable candidate for the position of chairman of the neutral National Election Commission.
“Yes, it is. As the world knows, the late Cho Man-sik was not very close to our government. So, even if Cho Man-sik takes over as chairman, no one will argue about neutrality.”
“Hoo? “It certainly is.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“But will Mr. Godang accept the position of chairman of the National Election Commission that we are proposing?”
“ha ha ha! Don’t worry about that. “I will take care of convincing you.”
“Mr. President?”
“Yes, I am probably the closest person to Godang among our expedition team members.”
“is it so?”
“Yes, they say I am the oldest among the people in our government and they treat me very respectfully. “I said the other day that the next time I see him, I will call him brother.”
“Huh! “It’s no big deal.”
“ha ha ha!”
“… … .”
Three days later, Jo Man-sik appeared at the Seoul Government Complex with a man in his late 30s.
Secretary-General Kim Ho-jin immediately began persuasion efforts and brought Cho Man-sik from Pyongyang.
“Welcome, Teacher Godang.”
“It has been a while since we last met. President,”
“It’s been a while, Godang.”
“haha! long time no see. “Mr. Woosa.”
I thought it would be easier to talk with Kim Gyu-sik, a fellow independence activist and the only person of this era who is serving as a minister and deputy prime minister of the South Korean government, so I sat down with him.
“By the way, who is the tall young man next to you?”
At first glance, he appears to be in the mid 180s.
For a person of this era, he was literally tall, almost like a giant.
“Ah, this is my student and secretary. He has a high reputation as a poet. Gihaeng, say hello to the President and Teacher Usa.”
“It’s called white travel. Greetings to you both.”
“A famous poet?”
“I just scribbled something mediocre, but my teacher praised me too much.”
“You man! “There is no one who doesn’t know the poet Baekseok. What do you mean?”
“ah! “This person is Baek Seok?”
“Oh oh! Baekseok!”
Lee Kang-cheol and Kim Gyu-sik were impressed, but the meaning of their admiration was slightly different.
Lee Kang-cheol simply admired Baek Seok, a genius poet with a high reputation in his time, and Kim Gyu-sik exclaimed in admiration because of his linguistic talent.
Poet Baekseok.
Although he was a genius poet, in history he was originally stigmatized as a writer who defected to North Korea, and it was not until 1988, when the military dictatorship ended, that the ban was lifted.
He was originally born and lived in Pyongyang, and even though people around him encouraged him to go to South Korea, he was worried about his family and could not go down there. However, he was unfairly stigmatized during the Cold War.
In any case, that did not happen now, and Baekseok was currently reigning as the greatest poet of his time along with Yun Dong-ju.
This was inevitable, because he was originally famous as a genius poet, but after liberation, many of the figures who were famous for their modern poetry were punished for pro-Japanese activities, so there were not many left.
That is why he was able to continue his heyday together with Yun Dong-ju, who had no restrictions on his activities because he was imprisoned for his anti-Japanese independence movement.
Yun Dong-ju was originally destined to die after being subjected to a biological experiment at Fukuoka Prison in February 1945, but because the National Intelligence Service sent an agent in advance and bribed the prison guard, he was able to be liberated safely together with his friend and comrade Song Mong-gyu.
“It’s a shameful lie.”
“Oh dear! If poet Baek Seok is Heo Myung, then who on earth in Korea would hold out a business card as a poet? ha ha ha! Anyway, nice to meet you.”
“Uh-huh! “Me too.”
“?”
“… … .”
Kim Gyu-sik seemed overly pleased, so Lee Kang-cheol glanced at him, and Kim Gyu-sik’s eyes were full of greed.
Baekseok was a linguistic genius who was fluent in English, French, German, Chinese, Russian, and Japanese.
So I have no choice but to covet it.
And Jo Man-sik felt slightly uncomfortable seeing that.
“Teacher Usa, why are you looking at me like that?”
“Look, Godang, I see you as a human being with my own eyes. Why are you doing this?”
“Your eyes are full of greed, aren’t you?”
“I’ve never done that.”
“Kihaeng, let’s be my secretary. “I don’t have any eccentricities, and there are a lot of inconveniences, so don’t be greedy.”
“Uh-huh! This person? “Isn’t he someone who will do great things for the country?”
“Oh really!”
“Stop it. “Isn’t this meeting today to confirm Mr. Godang’s future?”
The war of words stopped only when Minister of State Kim Ho-jin, who was no better than him, came forward and tried to stop the two people.
No matter how big the two were, they could not continue their war of words despite the dissuasion of Kim Ho-jin, who was officially next to the president.
Moreover, Kim Ho-jin is an older person, as is his personality.
“ha ha ha! That’s right. Today’s topic is about Teacher Godang’s future. Teacher Godang, did you hear what our President Kim Ho-jin said?”
“Yes, it is. Are you planning to hold a presidential election soon?”
“That’s right. “The House of Representatives election will be held as originally scheduled, but the presidential election will be brought forward and held in the second half of next year.”
“You thought it well. No matter how well you are ruling, there is currently a formal flaw.”
“ha ha ha! “Do you think I’m doing a good job?”
“Of course, right? It’s true that I was dissatisfied with some policies, but that’s it and this is it. No one in the Republic of Korea can deny the achievements made by the President and the people of Ganggye. Even if King Sejong or King Gwanggaeto came back to life, they wouldn’t be able to compare.”
“haha! “So, do you support our government now?”
“Jiji, we’ve been doing this for a long time. However, there were some policies that I didn’t think were right, but when I looked at them a few years later, I realized that wasn’t the case either. “I was short-thinking.”
“Thank you for your kind words.”
Lee Kang-cheol bowed his head and expressed his gratitude.
“He says all kinds of things. “Anyway, you need a general manager in charge of election management?”
“That’s right. This is our country’s first election. They say starting is half the battle. Since this is the first election, we need someone in charge who can manage it without impartiality. As you know, Ms. Godang has not had much contact with our government so far, so she was seen as the best candidate for the job.”
“I am willing to do anything for the country, but I am illiterate in such matters. “I wonder if I can do it well.”
“There will be a separate secretary-general who oversees practical affairs. Mr. Godang, you just need to make sure that the election is managed fairly. “It won’t be too difficult.”
“Hmm, is it really okay to manage things fairly?”
“Mr. Godang, looking at it objectively, do you think I will lose the election?”
“That’s not true. To be honest, wouldn’t you be elected if you just leave?”
How many Koreans think Lee Kang-cheol is unfit to be a leader?
“It’s a bit embarrassing because it feels like I’m putting gold on my face with my mouth, but we think that way too. So, the teacher is saying that you just need to stay focused so that the election can be held fairly. “We will never intentionally encourage unfair voting.”
“In that case… … . All right. “It’s not enough, but I’ll try my best.”
“ha ha ha! thank you.”
In this way, it was confirmed that Cho Man-sik would serve as chairman of the National Election Commission.
However, Kim Gyu-sik caught Baek-seok leaving Lee Kang-cheol’s office following Jo Man-sik.
“Look, Baekseok.”
“yes? teacher?”
“Aren’t you planning on moving to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs? “If so, do you intend to help me grow bigger?”
“Thank you for your words, but I like it now.”
“Look, why don’t you think again? “If you don’t use your linguistic talent for diplomacy, it’s really a waste of talent?”
“No, it’s really okay?”
“Don’t be like that, I’ll be really nice to you… … .”
“Teacher Usa! “Are you really going to do this?”
“… … .”
Kim Gyu-sik’s scouting stopped only after hearing something from an angry Jo Man-sik.
March 1, 1951.
It’s March 1st.
In his commemorative speech, Lee Kang-cheol announced that in addition to the approval of political party activities, presidential elections would be held early on the first Thursday of November, 1952, next year.
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