IWSF – Ch 199

At the time of the impeachment vote and resignation announcement in the U.S., it was midnight in South Korea.

It was such a sensitive issue that Park Si-hyeong stayed awake to watch the situation unfold on TV from the Blue House.

The reason Ronald found himself in this predicament was entirely because of Kang Jin-hoo. Now, Kang Jin-hoo would lose all his wealth and honor, falling into ruin.

Park Si-hyeong chuckled as he imagined that scenario.

‘Finally, the long-standing grudge comes to an end.’

Perhaps they could have had a good relationship, but it was he who first aimed the blade at the passive Kang Jin-hoo.

This was inevitable because OTK Company had expanded into the automotive industry.

Kang Jin-hoo acquired Chrysler and supported Ronald. Both posed a threat to Eunsung Motors and PAS.

Thus, they attempted to bind his hands using power.

From this point, things started to unravel. The unlawful investigation by the prosecution and the illegal surveillance by the National Intelligence Service were exposed, and, bizarrely, Ronald, whom they thought was a sinking anchor, was elected.

The unfortunate connection continued thereafter.

Instead of seeking forgiveness, Kang Jin-hoo retaliated. The revelation of the mismanagement at Hoseong Savings Bank dealt a fatal blow to the regime.

Park Si-hyeong waited for an opportunity to retaliate, and thankfully, that opportunity appeared before his term ended.

The reason he couldn’t mobilize law enforcement directly as before was that Ronald was backing him.

However, Ronald found himself politically cornered. The boldly pursued policies were hindered in the Democratic-controlled Congress, and endless scandals erupted. In addition, Kang Jin-hoo stirred chaos in the U.S., leading to rapidly declining approval ratings.

Everyone believed he would not only lose the upcoming elections but would also be unable to secure a second term.

Determining that Ronald was no longer a threat, Park Si-hyeong mobilized conservative groups, media, and law enforcement to seek revenge. Now, he just had to watch with joy as Kang Jin-hoo and Ronald fell.

But when Big One arrived, everything changed.

In an instant, Ronald transformed from a president on the brink of impeachment into a strong leader, while Kang Jin-hoo, once ridiculed, became the hero who saved California from crisis.

Park Si-hyeong was engulfed in shock.

“What the hell went wrong?”

It felt like he had poked a hornet’s nest by unnecessarily seeking revenge.

Park Si-hyeong had faced countless crises over time. Despite that, he could manage to get through safely because the investigative agencies acted according to his wishes.

However, those who had previously acted on their own initiative began to rebel one by one. He applied pressure to halt the investigation, but the police and prosecutors did not comply.

It was not incomprehensible.

While Park Si-hyeong had only a few months left in his term, behind Kang Jin-hoo stood a U.S. president with a support rate exceeding 90 percent and a guaranteed re-election. In such a situation, the command of the investigation would not make an impact.

Park Si-hyeong coolly assessed the circumstances.

Contrary to some criticisms, he loved democracy more than anyone else.

Anyone born a commoner could, through effort, sit on a throne and wield power. Where is there a more rational system than this?

But that power is temporary. Anyone must step down after five years. He had enjoyed enough glory in those five years and had little attachment to the position.

What he was concerned about was whether he could safely step down from the throne.

As soon as Park Si-hyeong became president, he launched political reprisals against the previous administration. There was no guarantee that the same fate wouldn’t befall him after a regime change.

He felt he understood why Syngman Rhee manipulated the constitution or why Chun Doo-hwan announced the constitutionality measures.

Unfortunately, doing such things in today’s era was impossible.

He needed to strategize to survive.

***

Park Si-hyeong secretly met with Lee Jeong-hye.

The ruling party, the Korean Party, had many talented individuals. Among them, the reasons for his choice of Lee Jeong-hye as a successor were twofold.

One was her great ambition, and the other was her numerous weaknesses.

A person with great ambition is easy to understand, and someone with many weaknesses is easy to manipulate. If Lee Jeong-hye became president, he could leave the Blue House with a comfortable mind.

“Recently, it seems the media and the prosecution are keeping an eye on Kang Jin-hoo. An individual’s influence becoming too large isn’t good for running the nation,” Lee Jeong-hye said calmly.

“Right now, he’s celebrated as a hero, but how long will this situation last? Soon, he will be forgotten.”

People may not forget their grudges, but they easily forget kindness. So, Kang Jin-hoo’s popularity will fade with time, but… the problem is now.

With the Hoseong Savings Bank incident leading to the arrest of his family, approval ratings plummeted. Recently, the Blue House’s involvement in a service protest was revealed, causing another drop.

“Is all of this ultimately because of Kang Jin-hoo?”

When talk of the presidential election arose, Lee Jeong-hye confidently replied.

“There will definitely be no regime change.”

Park Si-hyeong shook his head.

“No, a regime change is necessary.”

A look of surprise appeared on Lee Jeong-hye’s face.

“As you know, in the current situation, it’s hard to guarantee a victory.”

Polls showed Lee Jeong-hye trailing Heo Chang-min within the margin of error, and a sense of crisis was rising in the Korean Party that they might lose the election.

“So…?”

“Start party reforms. The leader should apologize to the public for the current government’s failures and change the party name. ‘Liberal People’s Party’ sounds good. Change the party logo from red to blue and purge the pro-Park faction from within. That way, we can transition from the Korean Party to the Liberal People’s Party.”

Lee Jeong-hye was taken aback.

“Are you saying we should get rid of the pro-Park members?”

“Of course. We need to drive them out to reform the party.”

From a distance, a political party appears to be a collection of individuals with similar political ideologies.

However, the larger the party, the more factions exist, dividing into mainstream and non-mainstream groups. The non-mainstream can only be dragged along by the mainstream, who hold power within the party.

The mainstream of the Korean Party was associated with the pro-Park faction, known as the Park Si-hyeong group.

They had been loyal to Park Si-hyeong for a long time and played a significant role in making him president. Naturally, they would not easily relinquish their power within the party.

“There will be chaos within the party.”

“That’s good. The stronger the backlash, the more genuine it will appear to the public as an effort for regime change.”

Of course, Park Si-hyeong would stand by the pro-Park members until the end, but a president experiencing a lame-duck period can only assist to a limited extent.

If Lee Jeong-hye goes against Park Si-hyeong while ousting the pro-Park faction, the regime change narrative will resonate.

“The most important thing is winning the presidential election. To prevent the power from being handed over, some sacrifices will have to be made.”

Those sacrifices would fall on those who have been loyal to the president and the party.

Lee Jeong-hye asked with a worried expression, “Is it really okay to do this?”

Nonetheless, Park Si-hyeong’s ability to maintain power was rooted in his approval ratings.

While this strategy might draw in the centrist conservative supporters who harbor resentment towards Park Si-hyeong, it could also lead to the possible alienation of existing supporters.

However, given that there is only one conservative candidate, there are no other alternatives.

“There’s nothing to worry about. I have thought of other methods as well.”

***

Park Si-hyeong’s close aide, Cheong Wa Dae’s Secretary for General Affairs Bae Jin-han, secretly met with a man.

He was Choi Moon-gil, the representative of the Reform Party, with a robust appearance in his mid-60s.

The political landscape is often divided into progressives and conservatives, or left-wing and right-wing. However, even among progressives, not everyone shares the same views.

Political positions differ significantly based on economics, diplomacy, security, welfare, and taxation.

In this context, Choi Moon-gil was the most radical and reformist. Originally active as a representative of a civic group, he has advocated for the dismantling of conglomerates, elimination of irregular jobs, tax increases, and expanded welfare.

Elected as an independent, he gathered like-minded individuals to establish the Reform Party, which has now grown into the fourth-largest party in the National Assembly with nine members.

Choi Moon-gil, with a displeased expression, asked Bae Jin-han, “What’s the reason for this meeting?”

Bae Jin-han replied politely, “Are you considering running in the upcoming presidential election?”

“Hm, I’m not sure why you’re asking that here.”

If corruption is the problem for conservatives, division is the issue for progressives. The reason for Park Si-hyeong’s loss in the last presidential election was also because the progressive camp ran two candidates.

The top priority is a change in government. Thus, the opposition parties in the Assembly had implicitly agreed to support the New Politics Party candidate Heo Chang-min.

“Then how about you run in the presidential election? No, I hope you will.”

For a moment, Choi Moon-gil wondered if he had misheard due to disbelief.

“What did you just say?”

“Rather than words, it’s better to show you first.”

Bae Jin-han took out a bag he had placed under the table and opened it. To his amazement, it was filled with 50,000 won bills.

Upon seeing that, Choi Moon-gil was taken aback and immediately stood up.

“What are you trying to do?”

Bae Jin-han calmly replied, “It’s a wonderful world. In the past, when there were only 10,000 won bills, they used to carry them in apple boxes; now, even a bag can hold 500 million.”

A bundle of 50,000 won is 5 million won. In other words, that bag contains at least 100 of those bundles.

“This money has no issues. Cash cannot be tracked, and if both the giver and the receiver keep quiet, there’s no way to get caught. I’ve brought a few more identical bags.”

Choi Moon-gil glared at him and said, “If you don’t leave immediately, I will call the police.”

“If you hand me the keys, I’ll load it into the trunk for you.”

“It seems words won’t suffice.”

Choi Moon-gil actually appeared to be getting ready to report to the police, pulling out his phone from his pocket.

Bae Jin-han didn’t stop him.

“I’ve heard you recently suffered a significant loss from a poor investment. Who would have thought there would actually be an earthquake in San Francisco?”

Choi Moon-gil paused his movement, about to press the call button.

“What do you mean…?”

“You established a paper company in Bermuda and conducted transactions through an offshore account, didn’t you?”

“Wha-what?”

Bae Jin-han had been exposing various corporate malpractices since his days as a civic group leader.

In the process, he managed to obtain critical information earlier than others. This included positive news that could raise stock prices or negative news that could cause declines.

In modern society, information is money. Knowing something but not being able to utilize it makes one no better than a fool.

However, using information obtained from civic activities for investments poses ethical and legal issues. To circumvent this, he set up a phantom corporation abroad and used that account to invest and grow his wealth.

It’s true that he recently incurred losses. He thought an earthquake wouldn’t happen and engaged in FX margin trading, but ended up losing half of his principal due to unexpected market movements.

With many enemies around, he had always been careful to avoid being caught. In fact, no one had suspected anything so far.

He felt cold sweat running down his back.

“How on earth…?”

“Your son, studying in the U.S., made a slight mistake when purchasing real estate in his name. If it weren’t for that, I might not have known.”

Choi Moon-gil’s expression hardened.

“Are you spying on me?”

It’s unusual for the presidential office to spy on the opposition leader; that’s more typical of a dictatorship. However, it’s worth noting that a paper company investment by the opposition leader is also uncharacteristic of a democratic nation.

Bae Jin-han pretended not to hear and changed the subject.

“Even leftists who shout anti-American sentiments and advocate for reform all wish to educate their children in the U.S. I understand.”

Choi Moon-gil was still reeling from the shock.

‘How on earth did they find out?’

Suddenly, he thought of President Park Si-hyeong.

Since his time as governor of Gyeonggi Province, he had initiated numerous national policy projects. After becoming president, he funneled trillions of won into overseas corporate acquisitions and resource development projects under the guise of securing foreign resources.

Yet, there were hardly any results, and the public enterprises involved had sunk into capital erosion.

The opposition raised multiple issues and even called for a national investigation, but the invested money all vanished, making it impossible to trace.

Some suspected that Park Si-hyeong was manipulating funds to embezzle state money.

If that were true, Park Si-hyeong would be akin to an expert at hiding assets using offshore accounts.

The police can’t find money hidden by a thief; it’s usually the thief that knows where it’s concealed.

“Huh….”

He let out a hollow laugh.

Is it like a petty thief making a fuss in front of a grand robber?

For so long, he had criticized the Blue House and ruling party as the opposition leader. From Park Si-hyeong’s perspective, he must have been a thorn in his side.

Yet, he remained silent until now.

Of course, since it was discovered through illegal means, it couldn’t be publicly disclosed, but he could have easily leaked suspicions to the press.

‘Could it be that he was holding onto this until the very end to use in this situation?’

Bae Jin-han asked him,

‘What will you do? Will you run for president, or will you disclose the fact that you invested in an overseas account and face punishment and criticism?’

‘……’

Choi Moon-gil was at a loss for words.

But the answer was almost predetermined.