IWSF – Ch 288

Mayor Won Sang-hoon was taken aback after hearing Kang Jin-hoo’s announcement.

‘I never expected him to come out like this.’

Mayor Won Sang-hoon had long emphasized communication with residents and had cultivated an image as a mayor who always communicates and listens.

His original plan was to talk to Kang Jin-hoo, persuade him, and reach a compromise at a reasonable level. However, Kang Jin-hoo refused Seoul City’s request for cooperation and announced that he would continue to push forward with the dormitory construction. This was tantamount to completely ignoring him.

‘Seriously, shouldn’t he at least pretend to listen when the Mayor of Seoul speaks?’

What businessperson would dare to do this to the Mayor of Seoul? Even Im Jin-yong wouldn’t do this.

But…

Come to think of it, Kang Jin-hoo had been like this even to the President. There was no reason why he wouldn’t act this way towards the Mayor of Seoul.

He had already said he would listen to residents’ opinions, so backing down now would be difficult. If he were to change his tune now, he would face fierce criticism from the ruling party and backlash from landlords and local residents.

Already, studio apartment owners and residents were flocking to City Hall to protest vehemently due to Kang Jin-hoo’s remarks, and calls were pouring into district offices and community centers non-stop.

Some studio apartment owners expressed extreme anger.

“If this happens, we can no longer do business. We’ll just kick out all the students and shut down the studio apartments collectively!”

“We’d rather die than allow the dormitory to be built!”

“I’d rather set fire to my building and die in it!”

These people are all voters with precious votes.

If he were to be seen as backing down to Kang Jin-hoo like this, it would hinder his path to the presidency.

Perhaps, if he uses this opportunity to show himself as a strong leader who can stand up to even a conglomerate, he could solidify his support base.

Mayor Won Sang-hoon spoke in a strong tone.

“Housing and land are public assets, not private property. Until a reasonable solution is reached by gathering the opinions of local residents, the city will not issue a building permit.”

Opposition intensified, and supporters of Won Sang-hoon were outraged.

– Is this Otaku VS Mayor of Seoul?

– Mayor Won Sang-hoon is the next presidential candidate for the New Politics Party.

– He even stood up to the President and got him arrested, would he be afraid of a mayor?

– I used to support Kang Jin-hoo, but this is not it.

– This bastard made money and became a conservative right-winger.

– What’s wrong with listening to the opinions of local residents?

– Ignoring the Mayor of Seoul and saying he’ll build as he pleases! Is this still the era of developmental dictatorship?

– Just because you’re a wealthy conglomerate doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want. The sovereignty of the Republic of Korea belongs to the people, not conglomerates!

– The Republic of Korea is a democratic republic, not a conglomerate republic!

– Right on! Protect the property rights of ordinary people!

– Mayor Won Sang-hoon, stop the construction!

– Kang Jin-hoo, apologize immediately!

– Yes. Next studio apartment owner.

-ㅋㅋㅋ Leftists are triggered.

– They only listen to residents’ opinions, but not students’ opinions?

– Let’s be honest, Won Sang-hoon is now blinded by the presidential election.

– Anyway, it’s a civil war between leftists. Whoever wins, it’s gonna be fun and hilarious.

– Crazyㅋㅋㅋ Everyone-bashing doll. Bashes leftists and rightists too.

Lawmakers from the Free People’s Party, who were usually at odds with Mayor Won Sang-hoon, also lent their support this time. In particular, National Assembly members with constituencies in Seoul were furious.

Assemblyman Ma Sang-tae of the Free People’s Party directly visited his constituency and spoke at a meeting with residents.

“A dormitory on that site! It’s outrageous. A Korean medicine hospital should be built there to create jobs and promote residents’ health. We will drive out the dormitory and work with Seoul City to promote the construction of a Korean medicine hospital there!”

Local residents cheered, but netizens reacted with bewilderment.

– Wait, we’re talking about a dormitory right now, why is a Korean medicine hospital suddenly popping up?

– People who voted for that guy, kneel down and apologize!

– Don’t be too harsh. I heard that after being hit by a thug in front of the National Assembly during his hunger strike not long ago, he’s been only looking for Korean medicine hospitals.

– Tsk tsk! He needs to get acupuncture.

– Assemblyman Ma Sang-tae is in a coma again. Please come to your senses.

-ㅋㅋㅋ Coma Sang-tae.

– Leave him alone. He’s saying he’ll build a hospital where he himself can be admitted.

Reading the articles and comments, Taek-gyu said.

“Your insults are overflowing again today. They say if you get insulted a lot, you’ll live longer, are you going to become immortal at this rate?”

“……”

Having been insulted so much, I feel full even without eating.

In any case, construction permits are under the jurisdiction of local governments. No matter how much you say you’ll build according to the law, there’s no solution if they don’t issue the permit.

“What are you going to do now?”

“Well…”

Honestly, the dormitory is not a big deal. It’s not like anything will happen if I don’t build it, and I won’t particularly lose anything.

However, this incident clearly showed the problems Korea has.

It is the group egoism of the vested interests.

Unless there are special circumstances, prices are determined by supply and demand. If a new competitor emerges, prices will inevitably fall, or sales will decrease.

No one welcomes a situation where they lose out. Especially if it’s a matter related to their livelihood.

So, I can understand why studio apartment owners are opposed.

“The really bad guys are the politicians who ride on this local egoism.”

There are even city and district council members who were elected on pledges to block dormitory construction in their districts. At this point, it feels like the country is going crazy.

The easiest way to avoid getting insulted in Korea is to do nothing.

If you do nothing, no problems will arise.

If I hadn’t been at odds with the regime, I wouldn’t have been insulted by conservatives, and if I hadn’t said I would build an electric vehicle factory in Korea, I wouldn’t have been insulted by the Eunseong Motors union and the two major labor federations.

If that were the case, wouldn’t everyone, both progressives and conservatives, like and support me?

It’s the same this time. I’m getting insulted by local residents and even ruling party supporters for needlessly stepping up to build a dormitory.

Due to opposition from existing unions, I can’t create 40 million won annual salary jobs, and because taxi drivers oppose it, ride-sharing and carpooling can’t be implemented, and even dormitories for students can’t be built because studio apartment owners oppose it.

Due to the existing powers trying to protect their interests and politicians being mindful of their votes, all that can be done is to maintain the status quo.

It would be no problem if the whole world maintained the status quo together.

If there had been no external invasions, the Joseon Dynasty might have lasted another 500 years. However, while Joseon was pursuing an isolationist policy, Japan was moving towards modernization.

Less than 10 years after the Meiji Restoration, Japan led warships and invaded. And they signed the Treaty of Ganghwa with defeated Joseon.

If Joseon had sought change just 10 years earlier, would the country have fallen so easily?

Now is a time of rapid industrial change, even to the point where the term “Fourth Industrial Revolution” is being used. The flow of change can be delayed for a while, but change itself cannot be stopped by anyone.

While Korea is clinging to maintaining the status quo, other countries are changing at a tremendous pace. Looking only at the issue of ride-sharing, which taxi drivers vehemently oppose, developed countries are already moving on to driverless cars.

Then, should the development of driverless cars also be stopped to protect the livelihoods of taxi drivers?

This may seem like something far in the future, but it is happening right now. Autonomous driving has already been commercialized, and unmanned trucks are about to be put into operation on fixed routes for logistics.

But Korea is still arguing about whether to allow ride-sharing and carpooling.

Even if I get insulted and lose votes, if it’s the right thing to do and necessary, I have to do it. However, the political establishment, whether ruling or opposition party, is only being mindful of public opinion and watching for cues.

Someone has to break this situation.

And the only person who can do that is me. Because I am not bound by the existing social system, and I am used to being insulted.

If dormitories for students cannot even be built because residents oppose it, then what can be done in this country?

Kang Jin-hoo announced that if Seoul City does not issue a permit, he will not hesitate to file an administrative lawsuit. Now, the dormitory issue was taking the form of an all-out war between the Mayor of Seoul and Kang Jin-hoo.

OTK Company sent official letters to the student councils of universities in Seoul. Along with the plan to start construction immediately once Seoul City’s permit is granted and complete it within a year, the architectural renderings and costs of the dormitory to be built were included. The cost was about 150,000 won per month for a 4-person room. Rooms can be freely vacated during vacation periods.

As this happened, university students rose up in protest.

Students had consistently voiced their opinions on the dormitory issue, but no one had listened. However, this time was different.

Student councils declared their intention to fight in solidarity. Students flocked to City Hall to protest.

“Approve the dormitory construction!”

“OTK Company says they’ll build it, why is Seoul City blocking it?”

“Students are not just here to pay rent to studio apartment owners!”

“We will launch a campaign to defeat Mayor Won Sang-hoon of Seoul and related politicians who oppose dormitory construction in the next election!”

Mayor Won Sang-hoon was taken aback by the students’ collective action. What he was aiming for was the presidential election, not even the local elections.

Although resident votes may be more numerous than student votes, the students from 42 universities combined were a number that could not be ignored. He had to consider not only the students’ votes but also their families’ votes.

‘Why did Kang Jin-hoo have to escalate things like this?’

Mayor Won Sang-hoon subtly changed his tune.

“There seems to have been a misunderstanding in my words. It’s not that I’m saying we won’t allow dormitory construction, but that the city will support it so that it can proceed while sufficiently gathering opinions, and through dialogue and communication.”

Then studio apartment owners raised their voices again. Some merchants welcomed it, expecting revitalization of the commercial district, but their voices were quickly drowned out by the opposition.

Studio apartment owners opposed it, fearing rent decreases and vacancies, but local residents opposed it for literally all sorts of reasons.

The neighborhood atmosphere will worsen, it will cause problems for children’s education, sunlight rights will be infringed, house prices will fall, the educational environment will deteriorate, they want something else to be built, they just don’t like it, and so on.

Various opinions were posted in the local community.

– If we keep opposing, won’t they give us something?

– Of course. How much money does Kang Jin-hoo have?

– If he really wants to build a dormitory, he should build community amenities for residents too.

– That’s right. If they are going to build a nuisance facility, they should build cultural centers or sports centers for residents to use as well.

– It would be great if they just built a Korean medicine hospital in the neighborhood, like Assemblyman Ma Sang-tae said.

– They have a lot of money, so they can easily do that much.

– The squeaky wheel gets the grease. You have to oppose strongly to get more.

– Other areas are also opposing, so let’s cheer up and oppose to the end!

As the issue surrounding the dormitory grew larger, Mayor Won Sang-hoon announced his position again.

“I think we should solve this problem through dialogue and communication. I propose a public debate to CEO Kang Jin-hoo. Wouldn’t it be good to gather in one place and listen to residents’ opinions and students’ opinions as well?”

Taek-gyu asked.

“They’re asking for a public debate, what are you going to do?”

The reason they suddenly pulled out this card must be because they think I won’t appear at the debate, right?

Opposition to dormitory construction is the same in all areas. Among them, Seoul has the most candidate sites, and the most opposition.

If Seoul City allows it, other areas will have no choice but to allow it as well.

“Why not.”

I instructed the public relations team leader.

“Say we’ll agree to a public debate, and compile all the counter-arguments and send them to me.”

Kang Jin-hoo is the wealthiest investor in the world.

Therefore, his actions were always a hot topic overseas as well. CNN, BBC, NHK, and other media outlets also reported on this incident extensively. The protests and interviews of residents demanding the dormitory be driven out were shown as they were.

– What the heck is going on there?

– They are opposing dormitory construction for university students like that?

– I don’t understand. If it’s for the benefit of students, shouldn’t the government step in and support it?

– I heard that studio apartment owners are protesting because rents will fall, so Seoul City is not issuing a permit.

– Puhaha! No way. Is this a joke?

– Are you guys looking down on Korea? It’s possible in Korea!

– Wow! Amazing Korea!

– Why do anything in a country like that? If I were Kang Jin-hoo, I would just say I won’t do it.

– If Kang Jin-hoo gets angry and immigrates to Germany, that would be great. If he says he’ll build a dormitory in Berlin, everyone will welcome him.

– Bring your money and immigrate to Australia!

Interest in the public debate also grew.

People who had seen how Kang Jin-hoo had acted against politicians in the parliamentary hearing expressed great anticipation, and the viewership ratings for the public debate showed signs of being a huge hit.