Republic of Korea in Yeokcheon - Chapter 93



Only Krnovel

#93. Speed ​​up mass production.

“Our Republic of Korea, which shines with a long history and tradition, inherits the tradition of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea established through the Kimi March 1st Movement…”

February 5, 1947.

On this day, the first full moon of the year, the Constitution of the Republic of Korea was enacted and promulgated.

The term ‘constitution’ may seem grandiose, but in fact, it was not.

Because the constitution itself stipulates the most basic laws of the country, it does not change much as time passes.

For example, there was basically no difference between the original Constitution in history and the Constitution in 1987, which was the last constitutional amendment in modern times.

It was even the same as the preamble to the Constitution, starting with ‘Bright in its long history and tradition…’.

However, the difference was only in the composition of the country’s political organization and the principles of political operation, and the newly created constitution was also modified to fit the current era by gathering together former lawyers belonging to the expedition team and listening to the opinions of the military, including Lee Kang-cheol.

In other words, the power of the president, the head of state, has been greatly strengthened.

Since many modern people feel uncomfortable with the term president, the term was eventually changed to president, and although temporarily, in principle, he is in a virtually dictatorial position, commanding all three branches of the legislature, administration, and judiciary.

Because of this, there was a reaction from some within the expedition team that it was a bit harsh, but since it was originally agreed to go to a dictatorship system for the time being, there was not much backlash.

Moreover, although all of the 15,000 members of the expedition team had individual differences, there was something they sympathized with as they encountered people of this era.

In this era, if democracy was introduced sloppily, it would lead to failure.

Even after over two years of hard work, only about 40% of the population over the age of 12 could decipher Korean.

Fortunately, the illiteracy rate, which boasted an illiteracy rate of 80% in 1944 when the Korean peninsula was recovered, was reduced to this level after much effort.

In particular, the illiteracy rate among women was serious, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that they were almost illiterate, except for new women who attended some schools.

What kind of election will we hold in this situation, and what kind of democracy do we have?

In particular, Minister of Political Affairs Kim Ho-jin, who was not from the military, took a strong stance.

“What kind of democracy are you talking about against people who don’t know anything about their scythes? “Do you have minds?”

“…”

“Don’t even think about it until the adult literacy rate falls below 10%.”

“Then when?”

“When I looked through the data, I found that even in history, the illiteracy rate for those over 12 years old fell to 10% in 1956. We may be a little faster, but anyway, let’s not even dream about another 10 years. By providing proper democracy education for 10 years, we will do it right from the first election. “Only then will the country stand upright!”

“…”

In the end, it was decided that the presidential election system would be one in which the president could be reappointed up to three times in a five-year term, but that the first presidential election would be postponed for 10 years.

In addition, voting rights were given to citizens of Manchuria and areas that were formerly Japanese territory only to those who passed the Korean language literacy test.

In short, it was a measure that said that if you cannot speak the Korean language, you have no right to vote, no right to be elected, and you cannot even dream of it.

The National Assembly is divided into the Senate and the House of Representatives, and the Senate is an honorary position with up to 600 members appointed for life by the President after a resolution of the State Council.

In fact, it is a kind of veterans’ system for independence activists and those who will contribute to the country in the future. It guarantees significant remuneration and activity expenses, so there is no problem in maintaining dignity, and allows some minor political participation, except for some sensitive issues such as national defense. gave.

Therefore, it was not a completely worthless institution, as it could have put considerable pressure on the government if the Senate had truly united and passed a resolution.

In particular, although it had to be passed by the House of Representatives, the executive branch would have to pay attention to some extent because it can propose legislation and has the right to request audits of each agency or public official of the executive branch.

The House of Representatives, which is a legislative body in name and reality, is composed of 300 members, and for the time being, elections will be held only in the Korean Peninsula, similar to the presidential election 10 years later.

Citizens of territories acquired from Manchuria and Japan were classified as special administrative regions and could have the right to vote and be elected for the first time after 20 years, and even then, electoral districts were determined according to the situation.

“Chairman, congratulations.”

“haha! “This is a bit embarrassing.”

When Lee Kang-cheol congratulated Kim Gu, the chairman of the Senate, which was inaugurated on the same day, Kim Gu looked a little embarrassed with a sheepish expression.

“yes? “Do you feel uncomfortable?”

“Is that possible? “It’s like being treated undeservedly.”

“Then why?”

“It’s because Brother Woo-nam was completely excluded from the Senate. “That makes me a little uncomfortable.”

“It’s what you wanted. Never mind.”

“Huh! “I don’t know why they are so reluctant to cooperate with the government.”

“Our government has done enough for Woonam. We gave the entire Donamjang to a man who had nowhere else to go, and designated him as a level A independence activist, paying him generous living and activity expenses. And honestly, the Vice-Chairman of the Senate made the proposal even though there was a lot of internal opposition.”

Donamjang was originally a place where Woo-nam temporarily stayed.

At the time, Donamjang was owned by Jang Jin-young, president of Chosun Tire Co., Ltd., a pro-Japanese entrepreneur, and he begged Woonam to live in a part of Donamjang.

However, now Jang Jin-young was sentenced to a long prison sentence and all his assets were confiscated, so the Donamjang was also owned by the state, and it was given to Woo-nam, who had no place to go.

Just as the government confiscated Gyeonggyojang, which belonged to pro-Japanese entrepreneur Choi Chang-hak, and gave it to Kim Gu.

In addition, the expeditionary force government was really good to the independence activists, at least financially.

Since the road was effectively blocked politically, there was a big reason to compensate in some way.

For example, the family of brothers Lee Hoi-yeong, Lee Si-young, and Lee Seok-young, who were one of the richest families in Joseon, purchased 100,000 pyeong of the 330,000 pyeong of land in Hwado-myeon, Yangju-gun, Gyeonggi-do that their family originally owned from the government and handed over ownership to them. They were even able to create special exceptions to the Meritorious Persons Act and real estate-related laws, allowing them to be permanently owned by the Lee family without any restrictions.

In addition, the descendants of independence activists will be required to receive additional points in all national civil servant appointment exams in the future, and since the word limits political participation, there is no actual legal restriction, so young independence activists can participate in politics by running for members of the House of Representatives as much as they want 10 years later. There is.

In short, the government’s policy was to restrict participation in real politics for the time being, but to provide the highest level of respect.

Therefore, there were few dissatisfied independence activists, and even if there were, the people’s support for the current government was so absolute that it could not be expressed.

“I know very well. How can I not understand that the government treats us with respect? “It’s just a little embarrassing for me personally, so don’t worry about the president.”

“All right. Chairman, please feel at ease.”

“Hehehe! All right.”

“Oh, you know that there is a special event on March 1st this year, right?”

“haha! “Of course, right?”

March 1, 1947.

As the March 1st event neared its end, Hong Jin-taek took the microphone.

“Those whose names are called, please come forward. Ji Cheong-cheon, Kim Won-bong, Yoo Dong-yeol, Kim Hong-il, Lee Beom-seok…”

About a dozen people came forward, and surprisingly, they were dressed in the uniform of a South Korean general.

To honor the generals from the Liberation Army, the government decided to officially award him the rank of general in the National Army, and the parties also agreed, so the appointment ceremony was held today on March 1st.

Although they would not receive assigned positions, they were scheduled to be treated with courtesy as official generals of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces.

Soon, Lee Kang-cheol gave Ji Cheong-cheon, Kim Won-bong, and Yoo Dong-yeol the rank of captain and gave them the rank of Samjeong, and gave the rank of lieutenant general and the rank of Samjeong to Kim Hong-il and Lee Beom-seok.

“The next people whose names are called, please come forward. Jang Jun-ha, Park Seung-heon, Yun Seong-bin…”

About 50 young people in their 30s or so came forward, also wearing military uniforms.

These were young men from the liberation army. They were first commissioned from major to captain and decided to serve in the national army after completing one year of education.

Since they were young and educated enough to take on the backbone of the national army, their experience in the liberation army was recognized and they were commissioned first.

Of course, as in the case of Kim Jun-yeop, those who decided to engage in other areas of academia were to become reserve forces upon commissioning.

Clap clap clap!

“Whoa whoa whoa!”

“Long live Korean independence!”

“hurray! Long live!”

“…”

During this period, whenever there was a shout, it was unconditionally a sign of independence for Korea.

April 3, 1947.

Yongsan Shooting Range.

Tadang! Tadang! Ta-da-dan!

Lee Kang-cheol was shooting with a K2 rifle while several people were watching.

Ta-da-da-da-da-dan!

When I fired it repeatedly, the 30-round magazine was empty in an instant.

“Hmm, not bad?”

“Is that so?”

A civilian wearing a work jumper spoke next to him.

“Yes, it feels a little heavy, but I guess this is something I can tolerate?”

“It is about 500g heavier than the original K2 rifle. “There was nothing we could do because the materials were not yet as good as Hyundai’s.”

“is it so? That can’t be helped. But things like the stock have actually gotten better, haven’t they?”

“Yes, we made it adjustable like Hyundai. In addition, the charging handle and gas cap, which were always pointed out as problems, were improved, the control rod and pistol grip were changed, and a Picatinny rail was installed for future use.”

“So I think it’s better than the original K2.”

“haha! “I clearly understand the problem, but no matter how much we copy it, something better has to come out.”

“You left out the fortune telling?”

“There were many opinions that there was no need to include that.”

“Well, anyway, you did a good job.”

A domestically produced assault rifle has finally been released based on the K2 rifle.

This would have been evidence that the industrial base was starting to turn around.

“thank you.”

“When will mass production be possible?”

“Once the combat suitability decision is officially announced, production will begin immediately. “The Ministry of National Defense is requesting at least 30,000 tablets this year and 100,000 tablets every year from next year.”

“Is that possible?”

“We have to make it possible, even if it means replacing our children.”

“Why do you have to go to such lengths?”

“I don’t know how angry the Minister is. “At a time when the AK-47 was officially adopted by the Soviet Union, this was the only thing we could do with modern knowledge and technology.”

“Huh! Is that happening already?”

“Mikhail Kalashnikov is a genius.”

“Hmm, that won’t work. “We will provide more support, so please speed up mass production.”

“yes?”

“50,000 tablets this year, and at least 120,000 tablets starting next year.”

“…”

Hong In-beom, who worked at Sunt Precision and then followed Eoyoung Buyoung to take charge of the firearms division, just wanted to sit down.

It seemed like I was in the wrong place.