Republic of Korea in Yeokcheon - Chapter 205
Only Krnovel
#Episode 205 It’s so pessimistic
Candidate registration for the presidential election has closed.
Of course, the Republican Party registered Lee Kang-cheol as a candidate, and the Liberal Democratic Party registered Syngman Rhee.
A few other unheard of candidates registered, but they were not of interest.
In this election, it was naturally expected that Lee Kang-cheol would be elected with overwhelming support, and the main concern was how many votes Lee Seung-man of the Liberal Democratic Party would receive.
And the interest was focused on whether the Liberal Democratic Party would be able to secure 10% of the votes as it claimed.
If the Liberal Democratic Party achieves 10%, it is still only the beginning, but it could grow into a powerful political alternative force.
The official campaign period began in late September, the day after the candidate registration deadline.
The official election campaign period lasted 35 days, much longer than the modern 22 days.
This is because the territory where elections are held and the number of citizens with the right to vote has increased, and although it is limited, it takes more time physically to be held not only in the Korean Peninsula but also in Manchuria and other places.
That’s how Korea’s first election campaign began.
The start went fairly smoothly for a first election.
The majority of the people perceived it as an election with an obvious outcome, and since it was the first election in history, they seemed to think of it as a kind of festival.
However, this atmosphere changed rapidly when the results of public opinion polls began to come out in early October.
The first place to conduct an opinion poll was the Kyunghyang Shinmun, founded by the Catholic Diocese of Seoul.
The Kyunghyang Shinmun was originally founded in 1906 during the Korean Empire, but was discontinued in 1910 due to oppression by the Japanese after the establishment of the Gyeongsul National Rule.
It was republished by the Catholic Diocese of Seoul after liberation.
Anyway, the results of the first opinion poll were as follows.
1st. Republican Lee Kang-cheol 93.5%.
2nd place. Syngman Rhee of the Liberal Democratic Party 5.2%.
And the remaining 2.3% appeared to support candidates they had never heard of.
bang!
“What kind of nonsense investigation is this! “We are only 5.2%!”
Shouts erupted from Ehwajang.
Changrang and Jang Zesang were so furious that they slammed the conference table and screamed.
“Changrang! Keep your voice down! “It’s in front of Teacher Woonam!”
“S-sorry.”
No matter how angry he was, slamming the table and screaming in front of Syngman Rhee was an extreme action.
When Jang Taek-sang was stopped by Song Jin-woo, he hurriedly bowed his head to Woo-nam.
However, Woo-nam, who was sitting at the head of the table, closed his eyes and said nothing.
Song Jin-woo glanced at Woo-nam and then quietly opened his mouth.
“It’s just a poll. This is my first time running it, so I don’t know how big the error will be. “Just make sure you don’t ruin the mood by being reckless.”
“All right.”
“And we are not giving the election campaign period for nothing. This means that the election starts now. From now on, if we publicize our party’s policies and appeal for support, our approval rating will undoubtedly rise. Do you understand?”
“I will do that.”
“I’ll say it again, the election starts now. And because this is Korea’s first election, there will be a lot of confusion. If you don’t stay centered, the lower organization will shake. So, I hope you will prepare yourselves and go into the election. especially! Problems are more likely to occur in fatty tissue. If we are caught up in outdated practices and do something outrageous and it gets reported, it could be fatal for us. “Don’t forget that TV is a world full of newspaper names.”
“All right.”
After the meeting, Woo-nam spoke to Song Jin-woo.
“Look here, lord.”
“Yes, doctor.”
“Aren’t you worrying too much? If we put too much pressure on our campaign staff, they may become stiff and unable to move. “If the Central Party says this and that can’t be done, how should we conduct an election campaign?”
“Doctor, that’s not true.”
“Isn’t that right? I’ve watched many elections in America. Elections are a festival of democracy. “A festival has to be a festival.”
“I understand that the United States has also established this through trial and error while holding elections for a long time. But not us. “Especially in this election, our party’s image is very important.”
“What do you mean image?”
“Doctor, you know this well. “Isn’t an election a contest between policy and clarity?”
“yes.”
“But will we be competing over policy? “With those ghostly people?”
“… … .”
Woo-nam was left with nothing to say.
As Song Jin-woo said, this is because we are in a situation where policies cannot be put into words properly.
Even if the people who say they are born in the Liberal Democratic Party come together and come up with policies, they fall short of the policies proposed by the current government.
To be honest, it was the current administration and the Republican Party that were churning out policies that even the South Koreans couldn’t help but admire.
It made me wonder where on earth they came up with such a policy.
These were novel policies that Woonam had never seen before in the United States or anywhere in developed Europe.
“Why not? Yes, honestly, I am amazed at the current government’s policies. Economic policy, social policy, labor policy, foreign policy… … . “Nothing is lacking.”
“Ugh! so? “What are we going to do?”
“If policy doesn’t work, what’s left? All that remains is the image. “It is a clean image, and an image that our party truly cares about the country and the people.”
“… … .”
“Furthermore, we are falling behind in terms of image to begin with. Senior governors such as Beom Baek are not openly joining the Republican Party, but in fact, they support them. Most of the mid-level governors and prestigious people joined the Republican Party. Us? Honestly, who else but you and me? Even Minse (Ahn Jae-hong) supports them? As a result, the people who came in… … . ha!”
Although they rarely say it out loud, most landowners are left alone and unable to adapt to the changed world.
At least, if the Protestant forces had not joined forces, there would be nothing to see.
To be honest, Song Jin-woo himself would not have joined the Liberal Democratic Party if the current government had not punished his close friends Kim Seong-soo and Jang Deok-soo in an overly hard-line effort to clean up the past, and if Woo-nam had not persuaded him.
When I think about it this way, the person I feel even more disappointed about is Ahn Jae-hong.
He was a member of the same media industry and had great name recognition and reputation.
Among those who remained in the country and fought against Japan, there was no need for clarity because they fought against Japanese colonial rule to the end and were in and out of prison as if they were eating a meal.
However, despite earnest requests, he ultimately refused the invitation to join the party.
He said that there are too many people in the Liberal Democratic Party who do not agree with him, and that he supports the current government.
“We don’t say it in front of other people, but this is our reality. In a situation like this, people like those who failed last time should have an accident. “This election is going to be a big one.”
“That’s too pessimistic.”
“What did Teacher Godang (Cho Man-sik) say?”
“Why Godang?”
“You are making statements every day in the name of the Chairman of the National Election Commission, aren’t you? They say this election is the first election that will set our country’s election climate straight. They say that if you get even one meal, they will fine you 100 times more. Needless to say, the person who fed it will be severely punished.”
“Would you really go that far? Since this is a position, it’s probably just a threat. “Even in America, we didn’t do that with what we ate.”
“Doctor! Don’t you know Godang’s personality? “That guy is a blackmailer!”
“… … .”
Song Jin-woo became increasingly frustrated.
When it comes to being wise, the second most unfortunate nobleman is Godang Jo Man-sik.
So much so that when the government appointed Cho Man-sik as chairman of the National Election Commission, no one nodded.
“You know, right? That person is a person who will do something if he can do it. And as I said before to the election committee members, we are now in a world with TV. “If you hit me a few times on air, that’s it.”
“What a adventure! What you say is harsh. “Aren’t we talking as if we are going to commit some kind of election fraud?”
“… … .”
Honestly, I was scared of that.
I was afraid that I might do something I wasn’t told to do with the few pennies I had.
As Song Jin-woo left with a tired expression on his face, Woo-nam called Lee Ki-poong.
“Doctor, did you call me?”
“Yes, I called you. “What do you think of your Highness?”
“hmm… … .”
Lee Ki-poong noticed that Woo-nam seemed dissatisfied with Go-ha squeezing people too much.
In that case, it was obvious what he would do as a henchman.
“It looks like there is a lot of dissatisfaction from below. “I am complaining that they are holding me back so I can’t even breathe.”
“Huh! “I knew that.”
“What should I do? Should we recognize someone else now?”
“no. “It is better for you to take charge until this election.”
“Is that so?”
“okay.”
Lee Ki-poong seemed to be able to guess Woo-nam’s thoughts to some extent.
This election is not easy.
In that case, someone would be needed to take responsibility.
October 14th, when the election campaign was heating up.
Suddenly, what Song Jin-woo was afraid of happened.
Jump up!
“Wow, something big has happened!”
An office worker came running into the conference room where we were meeting until late at night.
“Uh-huh! What a frivolous thing! “Can’t you see we’re in a meeting right now?”
“That’s not it. Go ahead and turn on the TV!”
“TV? “Why TV?”
“Oh my, just take a look.”
The clerk hurriedly turned on the TV in the conference room.
Then, breaking news comes out.
“As the election heats up, people who are engaging in election fraud are appearing one after another. Today, the National Election Commission filed criminal charges against Cho Cheol-bong, chairman of the Liberty Democratic Party’s Hongseong Party Committee, who gathered villagers and provided entertainment, and Jin San-wol, chairman of the Liberty Democratic Party’s Kaesong Party Committee, who indiscriminately distributed 2,000 rubber shoes, for violating the Public Official Election Act. In addition, Lee Soo-man, chairman of the Jochiwon Party Council of the Liberal Democratic Party, was also accused of spreading black propaganda by claiming that candidate Lee Kang-cheol raped dozens of people without distinguishing between men and women. “In addition, the National Election Commission has secured evidence of about 100 election campaigners belonging to the Liberal Democratic Party on charges of illegally campaigning, and plans to file charges against all of them as soon as the evidence is organized.”
“… … .”
“… … .”
The next scene shows Jo Cheol-bong setting up a tent in the school playground, providing alcohol and food to hundreds of people, shouting to get the number 2 symbol, and shouting, ‘Long live Woonam!’ A video of rubber shoes with the words, ‘Definitely number 2!’ was broadcast endlessly.
“It’s over.”
Song Jin-woo closed his eyes tightly.
Even though we were told to be careful, the local landowners and chairman of the committee did exactly what they were told not to do.
There was nothing to see anymore.
November 5, 1952.
Almost all citizens with the right to vote came to the polls early in the morning to cast their historically precious vote.
And the next day, November 6th, at 2pm.
The National Election Commission announced the results of the election after counting the votes overnight.
The voter turnout was a whopping 92%.
It was said that everyone who could walk had voted.
And the result is.
Number 1 Republican candidate Lee Kang-cheol received 93.4% of valid votes.
No. 2 Liberal Democratic Party candidate Syngman Rhee received 4.7% of valid votes.
Symbol No. 3: Patriot Party candidate Kim Gil-soo received 0.3% of valid votes.
Symbol number 4… … .
Lee Kang-cheol was elected President of the Republic of Korea with an overwhelming majority of votes.
And since the Liberal Democratic Party failed to exceed 5%, let alone 10%, it was confirmed that the entire deposit would be given to the national treasury.
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