Republic of Korea in Yeokcheon - Chapter 251



Only Krnovel

#251. The principle of the immutable rag

March 8, 1956.

Each political party has completed candidate registration and the official election campaign period has begun.

The campaign period was 20 days, which was longer than originally planned due to the fact that it was the first election, the territory had expanded, and the times were still lacking in means of communication.

There were some suggestions to make it a little longer, but there were concerns that it would only cause unnecessary confusion if it was too long, so it was ultimately decided to be 20 days.

“Voters! I am Lee Jang-oh, the son of Jecheon! I will represent the people of Jecheon-eup and run for the assembly to achieve great things! I am number 2! Number 2!”

“Everyone! This is number 1! Even under the Japanese, you fought fiercely and became a person of merit for independence! Now, I will use that passion for the sake of our Republic of Korea!”

“Are we the ones who are the ones who are the ones who did not suffer in our family during the barley pass in the past?”

This is the first general election in South Korea.

There are 300 constituencies in total.

There were a whopping 2,600 people who registered and ran as candidates to become members of the House of Representatives in those 300 constituencies.

There were a whopping nine candidates registered per constituency.

The reason there are so many candidates is probably because it is the first general election, so not only candidates from powerful parties like the Republican Party or the Liberal Democratic Party, but also everyone who farts in the neighborhood is running.

This was an unexpected result for the government, as it had set the deposit at 10 million won, equivalent to 100 million won in modern value, in order to prevent a proliferation of candidates.

“Oh my, there’s this much money?”

“I was surprised too. Well, I guess it means that the economy has developed to that extent and there is an abundance of money in the market.”

“That’s true, but there’s also a reason to believe in the public election system.”

“No, do you think it’s easy to get over 10% of valid votes?”

“You don’t know how hard elections are. It’s never easy to get more than 10% of the votes.”

“It won’t be a bad thing since it will be returned to the national treasury anyway.”

“… … .”

The major political parties, especially the ruling Republican Party, enjoy absolute support from the people.

They don’t fully realize how difficult it is to get more than 10% of the valid votes in an election like this.

In the end, it seemed like I had to get hit on once to come to my senses.

As the election campaign drew to a close, the election scene became more heated.

“Are you going to leave all state affairs to the people of Kanggye? To people whose origins are not even clear!”

“There is a saying that the Ganggye guys are actually communists!”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Is that guy crazy?”

Most of the ‘Kanggye people’ who ran for office semi-forcibly did not campaign very hard, but once they attached the title of ‘Kanggye’, the support of the people was absolute.

As a result, the Liberty Korea Party candidates, who had become anxious, lost their sense of reason and attacked the Republican Party candidates from Ganggye with absurd words, but this only had the opposite effect.

This is because attacking the people of Kanggye was considered as attacking Lee Kang-cheol, who was absolutely revered by the people.

Also, if you were to swear, you would have to take responsibility for it.

“We will severely punish candidates who spread black propaganda and fake news!”

“This is the Minister of Justice! As the election fever heats up, the election campaign is becoming chaotic! I warn you! Any candidate who violates the election law will be severely punished without exception, and even if they are elected, they will be pursued to the end and punished, and they will be permanently banned from holding public office!”

The Minister of Justice came forward and issued warnings on several occasions, but there were always those who would take action.

“Makgeolli and rubber shoes, sprinkle them all around!”

“If it doesn’t work, buy it with money! People tend to take pictures even when they feel uncomfortable when they receive money!”

“And if I get caught by the police… … .”

“Just don’t get caught! What kind of god are they? They’re telling you to spread it secretly!”

But the current government had god-like powers in this era.

Under Lee Kang-cheol’s instructions, all kinds of cutting-edge equipment brought from Hyundai were mobilized to collect evidence of election fraud, but there was no way they could be defeated.

“Malfunctioning candidate! You are under arrest on charges of violating election laws, including bribery!”

“What are you talking about! Show me the evidence! Show me the evidence!”

“Evidence? This photo is the evidence. And I recorded the voice in which you personally ordered the distribution of bribes!”

“Uh, how… … .”

A number of candidates were arrested by the police before they could even complete their campaign period, and almost all of them were from the Liberal Democratic Party, minor parties, or independents.

The ruling Republican Party candidate had no reason to be drawn into election fraud because the party itself enjoyed absolute support, and most of them were from Ganggye or had contributed to independence, so there was no need to do anything petty.

The Liberty Democratic Party headquarters in Yeouido.

“We’re in trouble! Our candidate has been arrested again!”

“What? Where is it this time?”

“that is…….”

“Why can’t you speak?”

“This is Gochang.”

“Oh, Gochang? Oh no! I told you to be so careful!”

“… … .”

Kim Sung-soo was so shocked that he felt like steam was coming out of his head.

depot.

This was an area where the influence of the family of Kim Seong-su, a wealthy man, was very strong, and it was an area with high expectations for this election.

Especially for Kim Seong-su, who could not run in the election himself, it was shocking that he strategically nominated a replacement candidate, but then got arrested by the police.

“What on earth is the charge against you?”

“It is said that they provided makgeolli and food to voters on market days.”

“Ugh!”

This was the problem.

Not only Song Jin-woo, but also the leaders of the Liberty Korea Party, including Kim Seong-su, did not underestimate the current government’s will to protect the election law.

They thought that punishing even the smallest act of providing food was excessive, so they had no objection to the fact that the law was enacted that way and that the punishment was so severe in order to establish a proper election culture.

So, we warned the candidates several times in advance, but they kept falling for it, and eventually even Kim Seong-su, the hometown candidate who was considered a strong candidate for election in a competitive district, was caught.

“Shouldn’t we protest this or something? If this continues, there won’t be any candidates left.”

“What should I say?”

“yes?”

“What are you protesting about?”

“No, shouldn’t we ask why they only target our party’s candidates?”

“So, are you saying that I should protest that your words are biased?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“You, be honest with me. Do you really think the election commission and the police are biased?”

“Well, the result is… … .”

“I strongly urged our party comrades to keep their eyes wide open to see if the Republicans are rigging the election. I used my own money and party dues to buy hundreds of expensive cameras. But they still haven’t come out, so what are you going to complain about?”

“… … .”

“Those Ganggye guys aren’t even campaigning properly. And the other candidates are so confident in their name recognition that they don’t seem to feel the need to rig the election. So what are you going to protest? Just say something.”

“… … .”

One of the election campaign committee members brought up the issue and then lost it without even getting his money’s worth.

“Whew! I’m warning all the candidates from our party! Those who are caught doing useless things will be expelled! The same goes for those who are elected!”

“All right.”

“And where is Mr. Woonam?”

“Today, you went out to support the campaign in the Kaesong district.”

The people of the Republic of Korea fundamentally respected those who contributed to independence.

The atmosphere was like that originally, but the current government’s special treatment of those who contributed to independence has made this trend even stronger.

Among them, Woo Nam and Song Jin-woo, who are among the biggest names among big names, are still so popular that even though they are at odds with the current government, which has absolute support, they are going around dividing up the regions to support the election campaign.

“I thought Gaeseong was scheduled for yesterday?”

“The teacher said he was tired yesterday and rested.”

“ha…….”

This was the problem.

Woonam, now in his early 80s, would often not be able to go out the next day because he was too tired to go out for a campaign one day.

Because I’m so old, I’m running out of energy.

So what’s the point of being popular?

What if I can’t go out to campaign?

“What are you saying?”

“He went to Yeoju to support the campaign. Even so, Mr. Goha is pushing ahead beyond his original schedule.”

“That’s fortunate.”

Honestly, I was glad that Song Jin-woo was there.

“Okay! This is a very difficult election! There is not much time left for the campaign, so let’s work harder!”

“yes!”

March 28, 1956.

The morning of election day has dawned.

The official campaign period ended yesterday, so the roads were quiet, reflecting the temporary public holiday.

Slurp! Slurp!

While numerous reporters held cameras and took pictures, Lee Kang-cheol and the First Lady stopped by the polling station under the Blue House early in the morning to vote.

Chorrrrrr!

“Mr. President! Please look here!”

“Please put your ballot in the ballot box with the First Lady!”

“Could you please tell me which party candidate you voted for?”

“Hahaha! Sorry, but that’s difficult.”

Lee Kang-cheol felt as if he was asking a ridiculous question, but he didn’t show it and just smiled as he left the polling station.

But as soon as he got into the special vehicle with First Lady Lee Sun-young, his complexion changed.

“No, what kind of reporter is that? Doesn’t this so-called reporter not even know the principles of secret elections?”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

“Hey! A rag is a rag, whether it’s modern or modern times.”

“… … .”

It seemed like there was some kind of immutable principle.

Finally, at 8 p.m., the voting period closed and the vote counting began immediately.

And the vote counting was relayed live on TV and radio, and Lee Kang-cheol watched it with Ko Seok-man at the official residence.

“Oh! It seems like our expedition team members have nothing to see?”

“Haha! Really?”

As expected, the Republican candidates did very well, but it seemed that the candidates from the expedition team in particular would not even see the results of the vote.

That is an overwhelming voter turnout.

That is how strong the public support is for the expedition team members, including Lee Kang-cheol.

Why not?

There was no one who did not know that it was the work of the so-called ‘Kanggye people’ who regained the country that had been suffering under Japanese colonial rule only about 10 years ago and, moreover, made the Republic of Korea a global power.

“As expected, the named people are also great.”

“I see.”

Following the expedition team, relatively young, big-name independence fighters like Kim Hong-il, Kim Won-bong, and Lee Beom-seok were also doing so well that they didn’t even have to wait to see the results.

“As expected, it was a landslide victory.”

“Okay. Okay, turn off the TV.”

“yes.”

“Want to have a glass of soju? It’s been a while.”

“Hehehe! Sure.”

The next morning.

All ballot boxes have been counted and the Central Election Commission has announced the results of the first general election.

Republican Party 251, Liberal Democratic Party 25, Progressive Party 20, Independent 4.

It was a landslide victory for the ruling Republican Party.