Republic of Korea in Yeokcheon - Chapter 261



Only Krnovel

#261. Surely you won’t come out again next time?

October 1957.

The official election period has begun.

The leading candidates were Lee Kang-cheol of the Republican Party, Lee Seung-man of the Liberal Democratic Party, and finally Cho Bong-am of the Progressive Party.

In addition, there were many candidates from minor political parties such as the Patriotic Party, the Christian United Party, religious parties, and the Korean Empire Party, which advocated for the restoration of the Yi Dynasty, but their original purpose was to run for president and show off their presence.

Their antics were so ridiculous that they only gave rise to gossip articles.

It was an election where it was obvious that Lee Kang-cheol, the Republican candidate and incumbent president who enjoys the absolute trust of the people, would win, but even so, the Liberty Korea Party and the Progressive Party need to win as many votes as possible in order to have any meaning as proper parliamentary parties.

So, as the official campaign period began, the excitement grew.

“I am Kang-cheol Lee, number 1 on the Republican Party list! I will bring about uninterrupted prosperity for the Republic of Korea!”

“Symbol number 2, Liberal Democratic Party, Lee Seung-man! Everyone! This is the government that established diplomatic relations with those unruly Japanese! It was only 10 years ago that we were suffering under those Japanese! And how can you say that you are already joining hands with them! When I become president, I will judge those Japanese properly again!”

Lee Kang-cheol, honestly, didn’t have much to say.

All he did was promise continued prosperity and promise to do better in the future, but even that alone was explosive in terms of his popularity.

No matter what anyone says, it was only natural, as he was the founding president of the Republic of Korea and the person who created the current superpower.

Moreover, even up until this time, there was a strong tendency to regard the president as almost a king.

This is because a significant number of middle-aged and older people experienced the late Joseon Dynasty, and perhaps because of this, many older people called Lee Kang-cheol “King” or “Mr.

For example, the words of the father of Choi In-gyu, the Minister of the Interior who led the March 15 rigged election in history and was sentenced to death at the revolutionary trial and died on the execution ground, are famous. Choi In-gyu’s father is said to have said the following about his son who was executed:

“My son is a loyal subject because he lost his life to traitors while being loyal to the king.”

In a world like this, loyalty to the holy king(?) Lee Kang-cheol could not help but be great.

Furthermore, Lee Kang-cheol was already in his late 60s, but since he had been a soldier all his life, he looked like he was in his 50s, and he was also quite handsome with a healthy physique.

As a result, I ended up unintentionally being called the ‘Ajumma Unit’, and even got teased by Go Seok-man for being the original idol.

On the other hand, all Syngman Rhee could boast about was his experience in the independence movement and his doctorate in the United States. Of course, the people respected him, but that has now become tiresome.

This was especially true because Kim Gu, who was the same age as him and other independence activists who led the provisional government, were all in the Senate and had withdrawn from real politics.

In the end, the only thing that allowed Syngman Rhee to criticize the current government was the visit of Emperor Akihito to apologize after the general election and the establishment of official diplomatic relations with Japan. However, this too was not well-received at all because the impact of the Emperor’s visit to apologize was so great.

“I will become president and judge the government! And I will judge the Japanese too… … .”

“Stop it!”

“huh?”

“Since the Emperor has already apologized, why are you going to judge him again? I’m telling you to do something moderately!”

“Wow! That’s right! You’re old, so you should take a break! Why don’t you stay in the Senate like everyone else?”

“This, this… … !”

This is how campaigns are often interrupted.

The Progressive Party’s Cho Bong-am simply asserted his beliefs.

“The current government is doing well! I admit it too. However, if you look into it, there are many things that are lacking! Also, it is said that absolute power is easily corrupted. I, Cho Bong-am, and our Progressive Party want to play a role in making the current President Lee Kang-cheol and the ruling Republican Party nervous so that they can continue to maintain clear water! Everyone! Please vote for me!”

He campaigned by pointing out that Lee Kang-cheol and the current government were doing well, but that they had too much power, and that he and the Progressive Party would act as watchdogs, and this approach actually won over voters.

In mid-October, when election fever was heating up, problems began to arise for Syngman Rhee.

There was one thing that was different about this election from the last presidential election.

The area where the election was held had expanded significantly.

It has already been over 12 years since the Pacific War ended.

Therefore, there were now many citizens of Manchuria, Hokkaido, Sakhalin, Okinawa, and other areas that had been acquired at that time who had gained the right to vote by performing military service or becoming civil servants and serving for a long period of time.

Approximately half of the adults were of Japanese descent, and about a quarter were of Chinese descent, and electoral districts were formed for them in Manchuria, Hokkaido, Sakhalin, Okinawa, and other places.

In other words, in the last presidential election, campaigning was limited to the Korean peninsula, but now they have to travel to a vast area several times that size.

At least the northern territories that were formerly part of the Soviet Union and the territories near Haenam Island and Noeju were still far away, but if they had been included, the official 30-day campaign period would have been impossible.

Of course, the government individually provided transportation conveniences, such as flights, to candidates from the ruling parties, and also made sure that candidates from minor parties did not experience inconveniences in campaigning in the newly acquired territories, such as by holding group campaigns at set times.

However, that did not mean that the hardship of having to travel across a vast territory went away, and it was especially no easy task for Woo-nam, who was well into his eighties.

“Doctor, you must now go to Dalian, the next campaign area.”

“Gasp gasp! Again?”

“Yes, it will be difficult, but you must cheer up.”

“Oh my god! I’m dying!”

“… … .”

In the end, after the last rally in Dalian, Unam collapsed.

“I can’t go! I can’t go now even if I die!”

“Hey, Doctor!”

Now, we have only been to a small part of the Liaodong region, but Unam’s energy is already exhausted.

No, in a way, it was amazing that he came this far at the advanced age of over 80, but the election campaign committee of the Liberty Democratic Party could not help but be in a difficult position.

“Huh! I knew it.”

Kim Seong-su complained to Song Jin-woo, but there was no way Song Jin-woo could have a good plan.

“Haa, what do I do now?”

“What should we do? We have no choice but to give up campaigning in new electoral regions such as Manchuria and Hokkaido. If we continue like this, we’ll have to hold a funeral before the election day. Let’s bring him to Seoul first, and when he regains his energy, we can campaign in the metropolitan area and then end it.”

“I’m going crazy.”

“Just hold on a little longer. This is the last time anyway.”

“… … .”

In the end, after Woonam found his energy, he just roughly traveled around the metropolitan area and ended his election campaign, but public opinion could not have been positive.

There were already loud voices criticizing him for running for president again at such an advanced age.

But it has been proven that this is not the case.

“If you keep doing that, won’t you end up sniffing around behind the screen during the election?”

“Who is it? Why don’t you come out and rest now? Why is a person in his eighties coming out? You’re a gentleman who could go back right now?”

“Tsk tsk! I should have just sent Mr. Goha away… … .”

The Liberal Democratic Party’s election ended up being a mess.

“Whew, this is quite a tough schedule for me too.”

The day before the election, after finishing his last schedule in Hokkaido, he returned to the Blue House and grabbed Ko Seok-man and complained.

“Hehehe! That’s right. The territory should have expanded a bit.”

“That’s why.”

“Fortunately, the former Soviet Union and the southern territories were excluded until this election. Furthermore, areas such as Manchuria and Hokkaido were not 100% included.”

“From now on, we have to extend the campaign period. Otherwise, we’ll be in a state of mourning.”

“Even without that, the National Election Commission said that they will consider extending the period to up to 60 days from now on.”

“Yes, that’s the extent of it. The candidates are all old, so we can’t just force ourselves like this every time.”

“Haha! Anyway, thank you for your hard work.”

“Ah! What did Mr. Woonam say?”

“It seems like he finished his campaign in the metropolitan area a few days ago and went straight home sick.”

“Tsk tsk! Why did you come out at that age and suffer like that… .”

“Well, how can that gentleman’s personality do something like that? More than that, I was originally curious about how he managed to run for president in the 1960s. No, even if Mr. Woo Nam was healthy for a person of this era, would it have been possible for him to rule properly at the age of 86? Even modern people who take good care of their health lose energy and become dull at that age. Look at Prime Minister Kim Ho-jin. He was so healthy because he didn’t drink or smoke much, but he must be having a really hard time as he approaches his 80s.”

“That’s why there was election fraud, and the April 19 Revolution happened. Anyway, he is a major figure in our country’s independence movement. Please take care of him at the Armed Forces General Hospital.”

“I already sent an ambulance to you and had you get checked out. They said there was nothing wrong.”

“okay?”

“Yes, it’s because I was old and had to march hard. I was discharged right away after getting a ringer, but the doctors warned me that if I hold another election like this, I’ll be in big trouble.”

“Surely you won’t come out again next time. You’re not some Phoenix guy, are you?”

“Poohaha!”

Election day has dawned.

Voting hours were from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., but fortunately, there was only one time slot so far, so there was no need to extend voting hours.

There was an opinion that the time zone of the Liaodong region should be GMT+8, one hour behind South Korea, like China Standard Time in history, but the overwhelming opinion was that it was too inefficient to have two standard time zones with only one hour, so it became a single time zone.

Of course, the western regions of the former Soviet Union territories in the north and the southern Hainan Island territory used different standard times.

In any case, if the former Soviet territories in the north and the Haenam Island territories in the south were to vote, the voting time would have been significantly extended.

As soon as voting ended at 9 p.m., the vote counting began, and the counting process that continued throughout the night was broadcast live on TV and radio.

5 o’clock in the morning.

When the vote counting rate exceeded 50%, the Central Election Management Committee officially confirmed Lee Kang-cheol’s election.

It was because Lee Kang-cheol was so overwhelming that there was nothing left to see.

And at 11 am, the counting was completed.

Candidate No. 1, Republican Party candidate Lee Kang-cheol, received 94.4% of valid votes.

Symbol 2: Liberal Democratic Party candidate Syngman Rhee received 2.5% of valid votes.

Candidate Cho Bong-am of the Progressive Party, number 3, received 2.7% of valid votes.

Candidate Kim Gil-soo of the Patriotic Party, number 4, received 0.1% of valid votes.

Symbol 5 Christian Union candidate Kim Sook-ja… … .

As expected, Lee Kang-cheol won by a landslide.

It doesn’t mean anything, but it’s 1% more votes than the last presidential election.

It was second place that caused the uproar.

Although the difference is only 0.2%, Cho Bong-am of the Progressive Party is ahead of Lee Seung-man of the Liberal Democratic Party by 0.2%.

It was truly an unexpected result, and it was a painful election for the Liberal Democratic Party.