[Breaking News — Further Revelations Following Construction Corruption]
[Minguk Party Convention, How Far Will It Fall...? Multiple Lawmakers Now Suspected of Collusion with Pension Fund]
One day before the Seoul convention.
News poured out that would make the already heated convention fervor burn even hotter.
[Could Become the Biggest Scandal Since the Hoam Electronics Merger Incident...]
A tip had been given to the press that Pension Fund employee A had distributed massive kickbacks to political circles.
Coincidentally, every lawmaker mentioned in the allegations belonged to Park Hyeonseop’s faction, and Park Hyeonseop, who had remained silent on the construction corruption until now, could no longer avoid answering.
“Candidate Park, please say something!”
“After construction corruption, now it’s fund corruption. Is this still a political maneuver?”
“The amount of illicit funds confirmed so far is around 50 billion won, making this the biggest scandal in history.”
“Candidate Lee Chanho wrote on social media, ‘The aides held it, but the real culprit is elsewhere.’ Did you perhaps receive these funds through your aides as well?”
Surrounded by reporters, Park Hyeonseop clenched both fists.
The construction corruption could somehow be overcome by rallying his support base. It happened all the time, after all.
But the fund corruption was a problem on an entirely different level, and above all, he was now even suspected of indirectly receiving funds through his aides.
“It is groundless.”
He answered through gritted teeth.
“I find the matter regrettable, but there was absolutely no indirect receipt of funds through my close associates.”
“Then who is Pension Fund employee A?”
“If I did not receive any funds, how would I know that person? I truly knew nothing about this.”
“But if you knew, wouldn’t that make you an accomplice, and if you didn’t know, incompetent?”
“That depends on the circumstances. In any case, I have absolutely no connection to this matter.”
Park Hyeonseop tried to leave, but pushing through the reporters was not easy.
“How can you have no connection to this? Every name on the list of suspects is a pro-Park lawmaker in the Park Hyeonseop faction.”
“Some are even raising suspicions about nominations. How did the lawmakers who received funds get their nominations?”
“As I said, I had no authority whatsoever during the last nomination process. You should go ask the person who held the nomination rights.”
“But the lawmakers elected that way took the exact opposite side from President Kim Sangcheol, who held the nomination rights at the time. Even if you had no authority then, didn’t you still have influence?”
“Did those lawmakers ask you for nominations? Even if they didn’t hand you money directly, did they make some kind of implicit request? If so, couldn’t that be seen as an economic community?”
Life was full of unpredictable turns.
Minister Park suddenly felt the futility of life. The remarks he had once used to pierce and attack his political enemies were now flying back like boomerangs to criticize him. As expected, the path to the presidency was a thorny one.
“Chief Choi.”
When he finally managed to get away, he called his chief of staff with a stiff expression.
“Yes...”
“What’s the gap in support now?”
“We’ve taken a slight hit, but we’re still ahead...”
“I’m asking how much!”
“Three percent... After the fund corruption broke, it narrowed to a two-percentage-point gap.”
He came to an abrupt halt.
The lead that had once been fourteen percentage points had, at some point, fallen within the margin of error... Now, he could no longer guarantee victory.
He spoke in a voice full of killing intent.
“Contact Prime Minister Lee. Tell him I want to see him today.”
*
“Goodness, Prime Minister. Have you been well?”
“Welcome, Minister. Thanks to you, I’ve been getting by without trouble. Haha.”
“It feels as though it’s been a very long time since I last saw you. In reality, it hasn’t been that long.”
“I feel the same. Perhaps it’s because our hearts have grown distant?”
“Now that you mention it, that must be it. Haha.”
Lee Chanho’s camp.
The Seoul convention was only a day away, but Park Hyeonseop set everything else aside and went to see Lee Chanho.
The fact that he had come to see his opponent the day before an Olympic match was proof of just how urgent the situation was.
The two exchanged greetings over teacups, but neither of them looked particularly sincere in wondering how the other had been.
“By the way, isn’t tomorrow quite an important day for us? What brings you here?”
When Lee Chanho broached the main topic, Park Hyeonseop set down his teacup.
“Prime Minister. Let’s stop this.”
“Pardon?”
“I don’t even want to bring it up. Let’s just stop everything. Looking back, I realize I failed to show you enough courtesy, and I may have unintentionally caused various misunderstandings. But in the end, aren’t we one family? After the convention comes the general election, and after the general election comes the presidential election. I am deeply concerned that if our relationship grows distant, the opposition party may profit from it.”
“If that’s your concern, please don’t worry too much. I hear the opposition’s convention was deserted even in Seoul. They haven’t even held the general election yet, and already there’s talk of an emergency committee over there. Haha.”
“Prime Minister.”
When Park Hyeonseop spoke with a stiff face, Lee Chanho’s expression also hardened.
“Oh dear. My joke went too far. Very well. But what do you mean by ‘stop this’?”
“Tell me what you want. I will give you everything.”
“I’m rather greedy, so it may be difficult for you to grant.”
“Say anything.”
“In that case...”
Lee Chanho gave a rotten smile.
“Please stop opposing the pension reform bill, which the Blue House considers its final task. Please also stop inciting the lawmakers close to you to shake the Blue House. As for easing the transfer tax on overseas stocks, please now grant the market its freedom. Those are the things I want.”
“Very well. I will grant them all—”
“But there is exactly one thing I truly want. Victory at the party convention.”
When Lee Chanho implied that he should withdraw, Park Hyeonseop’s face reddened.
“Are you really saying you want to see this through to the end with me?”
“It would be like entrusting fish to a cat. Our paths were different from the start, so how could I ask you to carry out these agendas?”
“I said I’ll do it! I’ll support the Blue House’s reform policies, stop playing opposition within the ruling party, and guarantee the President’s retirement. Most of all, if I become party leader, I’ll yield half the districts to you in the general election. Please take care of your close associates.”
“If it’s half either way, how about I give it to you instead?”
“Prime Minister!”
“Minister... It is already too late. Let’s simply leave it to the choice of the party members.”
Bang!
“You carry out this kind of petty political maneuvering and then say we should leave it to the party members’ choice?!”
“Minister...”
“I have eyes to see and ears to hear! That man who supposedly scattered money to my close associates—turns out he’s quite famous in that world, isn’t he? Ruling party, opposition party, this person, that person—there’s no one he hasn’t given money to, yet only my close associates got hurt! Do you think I don’t know what that means?”
Park Hyeonseop sprang to his feet.
“And there is something you are overlooking, Prime Minister. Public opinion is still on my side. Even after everything that could explode has exploded, I am still ahead.”
“...”
“It isn’t too late. If you withdraw and declare your support before the Seoul convention, I will give you everything I promised so far and hand over half the nominations. Are you truly going to see this to the end?”
Lee Chanho fell into thought for a moment, then spoke.
“I will make you the same offer. Even if I gain the nomination rights, I will yield half to you, Minister Park.”
It meant he had no intention of withdrawing early.
Park Hyeonseop gathered his belongings and said bluntly,
“Fine. Let’s wait and see!”
*
“Good evening, viewers. This is Kim Myeonggi of MBC News Desk.”
With the Seoul and Gyeonggi schedules, considered the fiercest battlegrounds, now finished, all of the Minguk Party conventions had come to an end.
The prevailing prediction among the public had still been that, for the sake of party unity, one of the two candidates would withdraw early, but regrettably, both candidates completed the race.
The fact that both candidates completed the race meant that the fight had been fierce to the end.
At the Seoul and Gyeonggi conventions, Lee Chanho openly attacked the corruption of Park Hyeonseop’s close associates, and not to be outdone, Park Hyeonseop attacked everything from Lee Chanho’s cabbage farming to his entire past.
“Today, the results of the Minguk Party convention will be announced. It seems to have been a more heated convention than ever. Today, we’ll discuss it with election expert Director Kim Myeongcheol. Director Kim?”
“Yes, good evening, viewers. I’m Kim Myeongcheol.”
The MBC studio handling the live broadcast was filled with more tension than ever.
“First, let’s look back on the schedule.”
“Yes.”
“Park Hyeonseop and Lee Chanho, Lee Chanho and Park Hyeonseop... It was a very fierce two-way race, wasn’t it?”
“Yes. Early support began with a gap of about ten percentage points, then widened to fourteen percentage points after the Gangwon convention. Then, after the court-mandated debate, it fell into single digits, and by the end, it narrowed to within the margin of error.”
“Is that why? Many people predicted a mid-race withdrawal, but in the end, both candidates completed the race. What does that signify?”
“Personally, I think it may be a sign of an impending party split.”
“You’re saying they’ve already parted ways?”
“Emotionally, they’re already divorced. In truth, if the convention had been fierce because of competition over pledges, it could have been patched up again at any time. But wasn’t it fierce because of issues like construction corruption and fund corruption?”
“Yes. Because of that, some have criticized it as not a party convention but a money convention.”
“That’s right. And in the conventions I know of, when they fight to this extent, party unity does not work well even afterward. The pro-Lee and pro-Park conflict, the conflict between candidates Kim Sangcheol and Kim Nagyeong, and so on. When people fight in the mud, it doesn’t patch up easily.”
“I see. Then, Director, who do you predict will be the winner of this convention?”
Election expert Kim Myeongcheol stroked his chin.
“Well. In truth, because of various issues and the scandal that erupted at the very end, public opinion polls seem to show Candidate Lee Chanho clearly overtaking him.”
“But something more important remains, doesn’t it?”
“Yes. The party sentiment is most important. In any case, a candidate must take the lead in support among delegates and dues-paying party members... and that is, naturally, a more favorable area for Candidate Park Hyeonseop, who has a broad support base within the party.”
Historically speaking, there had been countless cases where a candidate won the public sentiment but lost the party sentiment.
Because of this, the Republic of Korea had once gone through an experience it never needed to have.
“I see. As expected, we can’t predict even an inch ahead.”
“Yes. Whether Candidate Lee Chanho persuaded the party sentiment or not is something only the Minguk Party Election Commission knows.”
“Then, depending on which candidate becomes party leader, how do you foresee the future direction of state affairs?”
“I expect it to diverge starkly. With the opposition party having destroyed itself, if Candidate Park Hyeonseop becomes party leader, President Kim Sangcheol’s term will effectively be over. From now on, it would not be wrong to call it Candidate Park Hyeonseop’s term in office.”
“You mean the lame-duck period will come faster?”
“Yes. Accordingly, the National Pension reform and the overseas stock transfer tax issue, which the Blue House is currently pushing forward with enthusiasm, are highly likely to collapse entirely. After all, elderly welfare is one of Candidate Park’s major pledges.”
“But what if Candidate Lee Chanho is elected?”
“Even so, I believe it will be a thorny path.”
“Why a thorny path?”
“Both pension reform and the transfer tax are policies that face stronger opposition from the public. Domestic investors are anxious about easing the transfer tax, and the elderly are anxious about pension reform. But whether he can push them forward just because he has become party leader... I’m not sure.”
When the cool-headed analysis ended, the chairman of the Minguk Party Election Commission appeared on the convention screen.
“Ah, yes. Just as we speak, the election commission chairman has appeared. It seems he is holding the combined tally from both sides in his hands. Will he announce the results immediately? The winner is...”
With those words, a long silence fell over the studio.
Beyond the studio screen, the chairman of the Minguk Party Election Commission announced the winner.
“Thus, after combining the results of the public opinion poll, delegate vote, and party member survey, the elected party leader is...”