Chapter 267
Chapter 267
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Chapter 267 - 징검다리
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Translator: crow
Chapter 267: Stepping Stones
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I decided to put my chief of staff, Kim Jeong-gil, front and center.
Kim Jeong-gil looked shocked the moment he heard my proposal.
“Pardon? You want me as deputy prime minister? I only know how to serve you, Your Excellency.”
“How many people in this country can I truly trust? I can only relax if you take on such a heavy responsibility.”
I appointed Jeong-gil as deputy prime minister.
No one could complain about handing the role to Jeong-gil, who had long served as chief of staff and was well-versed in politics.
Kim Jeong-gil’s promotion soon drew the world’s attention.
“Lee Sung-jun’s close aide, the chief of staff, has become deputy prime minister?”
“This guy seems like the frontrunner to succeed Lee Sung-jun.”
Overseas, people began viewing Kim Jeong-gil as Daehan’s next power broker.
I instructed Jeong-gil on how to act in his new position.
“From now on, you’ll play the role of restraining me in public settings. Think of it as just continuing what you did in the chief of staff’s office—it’ll be easy.”
“If it’s your order, Your Excellency, I’ll obey.”
“It’s not about obeying. Now, you need to raise objections.”
What I wanted wasn’t blind obedience, but a performance of harmonious pushback.
“Oh, and when you hand over chief of staff duties to your successor, make sure long-term vision office reports come straight to me.”
“I’ll do that.”
We immediately began our play for the world to see.
“We can’t yield an inch on tariffs. Don’t you know Daehan’s national interests hinge on exports?”
“Your Excellency, that’s precisely why we must maintain a cautious stance. If we push only our side and America comes down hard, we’ll suffer too. We need to solve this through dialogue if possible.”
Jeong-gil frequently reined me in during public appearances.
Those who saw it gossiped like this:
“Has Deputy Prime Minister Kim been gently managing a senile Lee Sung-jun all this time?”
“Then it’s safer to deal with Deputy Prime Minister Kim than a judgment-impaired Lee Sung-jun.”
Whatever the truth, the optics left no other interpretation.
“With new Deputy Prime Minister Kim Jeong-gil looking like the face of Korea’s moderates, we should build ties there too.”
Even diplomatic counterparts preferred Kim Jeong-gil as a negotiation partner.
They figured it was better to work him over than deal with Lee Sung-jun’s frequent irrational outbursts.
As meetings with foreign dignitaries increased, Kim Jeong-gil’s stature soared.
“How about it? After a few tries, it’s not so bad, right?”
I kept bolstering Jeong-gil.
I gave him opportunities to expand his influence and amplified his voice.
Jeong-gil felt burdened by my efforts to build his position.
But I had my reasons.
It was the age of the successors.
Succession candidates like Jang Dong-yoon were all still green kids in their thirties.
Handing supreme power straight to such novices would inevitably lead to leaks in the process.
To minimize power leakage, I needed a stepping stone to bridge the succession.
I believed Kim Jeong-gil was the perfect fit.
The reason was simple.
‘Kim Jeong-gil lacks a solid power base.’
I ignored his temperament or public persona.
What Lee Sung-jun trusted were only verifiable metrics.
‘That objective gaze is good. Flimsy things like faith don’t suit politicians.’
The Stalin in my heart nodded approvingly at my thinking.
After finishing my calculations, I conveyed my intent to make Jeong-gil the successor.
Jeong-gil balked at my proposal.
“Your Excellency, as I’ve said before, I’m not the vessel for that.”
“Then you think my judgment is flawed?”
No one in Daehan dared say such a thing.
Jeong-gil quickly backed down.
“No, that’s not it. Who would dare question your judgment?”
“Then trust my word. You’re qualified to succeed me.”
“Your Excellency.”
“Who else but you? If there’s someone suitable, name them.”
Military generals?
Jeong-gil knew how much I despised military rule.
I’d squeezed the military with talk of civilian control.
Bureaucrats?
Better than soldiers, but they lacked authority over the military.
Legislators?
They were puppets, then and now.
Entrust supreme power to those who only tinkered with the laws we wanted?
Nothing could be more absurd.
After much thought, Jeong-gil raised an unspoken possibility.
“There are the succession candidates, aren’t there?”
“Those guys are still too young.”
For a national leader, youth was an absolute flaw.
No one could look down on a leader dismissed as a ‘kid’.
“Even so, I can’t fill that role.”
I knew.
Kim Jeong-gil lacked the ruthless will required of a supreme leader.
Did I not realize that?
That’s exactly why I saw him as ideal.
Imagine if a mere ‘stepping stone’ had an overabundant thirst for power.
He’d cling to it until death, never handing it over.
“Do you think anyone starts out ready-made for prime minister?”
Even Lee Sung-jun had been desperate just to survive when staging the coup.
Once in power, he struggled to hold onto it.
After stabilizing the regime, he raced toward national survival.
The ideal leader image of Lee Sung-jun that Kim Jeong-gil remembered had formed over long years in power.
“This Lee Sung-jun ascended the throne unprepared too. Haven’t you seen and learned more than I did back then? I, Lee Sung-jun, guarantee it—you’ll make a fine ruler. And it’s not like I’m asking you to take power right now. No more, no less—just five years. For Daehan, no, for our revolution.”
Kim Jeong-gil fell silent for a long stretch.
Then he spoke gravely.
“Your Excellency, may I say something?”
“I’m listening.”
“Truth be told, I’m not without ambition for power. The Kim Jeong-gil you saw as unambitious does harbor some aspirations.”
It was unexpected, but not surprising.
Anyone would have some desire.
“Is that so?”
“If I seize power, I might not relinquish the throne forever, unlike what you wish.”
I chuckled at Jeong-gil’s words.
“At best, you’d last twenty years—and that’d be fortunate.”
Merkel had managed about twenty, hadn’t she?
Seeing I wasn’t bothered, Jeong-gil asked:
“Your Excellency, aren’t you worried I’ll turn into a corrupt tyrant once enthroned?”
I wasn’t afraid.
Because his foundation wasn’t solid.
“You.”
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
“What kind of country is this?”
“A free democracy.”
“In such a country, does long-term rule even make sense?”
I brushed off his serious concern with a joke.
“Still, if you can pull it off, go ahead. Isn’t that skill too? Breaking my record would be even better.”
Only then did Jeong-gil give a wry smile.
“You make passing the burden seem too easy, Your Excellency.”
“By my health, I’ve only got a few years left ruling anyway. It’s unrealistic to expect Jang Dong-yoon and the rest to be ready by then—what choice is there? You buy us time.”
“I didn’t realize you’d planned down to your retirement date.”
“Fool, when you’re old, you prepare ahead to avoid trouble later.”
With the succession structure clarified, I also informed Jeong-gil of my retirement timeline.
“You plan to step down that soon?”
Announcing a retirement date as a power holder often led to leaks, but I had no such worries.
Lee Sung-jun wasn’t an ordinary politician whose power tied directly to position.
Lee Sung-jun was an absolute force who could topple the state with his name alone, like Mao Zedong.
“What, do you want to see this Lee Sung-jun working for the country even at eighty? I’m human too—I need rest in my final years.”
Even if my stamina held, I had no intention of clinging to the throne.
Fine now, but what if true senility hit in my eighties? What then for Daehan?
So, 1970 it was.
Working beyond that would be greed.
“You do five years after I retire too. Then we can play go and chat.”
“I’ll obey.”
A few days later, I officially designated Jeong-gil as successor.
Not a public nationwide announcement, but notice to key figures in the National Salvation Military Committee and Grand Governance Conference.
“Your Excellency, is that true? Chief Kim—no, Deputy Prime Minister Kim—is the successor?”
“That’s the decision. Kim Jeong-gil has agreed to the burden, so all of you support him well once he ascends.”
Korea’s power elite couldn’t hide their shock at Kim Jeong-gil truly being named successor.
“Good lord. Kim Jeong-gil as your successor? This is bewildering.”
In truth, Kim Jeong-gil lacked both the aura and the faction fit for supreme power.
It was no wonder everyone was stunned that such a bland figure would follow Lee Sung-jun.
Whenever I encountered such reactions, I’d counter:
“What? Got an objection to my judgment? Speak up if you do.”
“How could we lowly ones dare utter such words?”
There was no backlash.
In this Daehan, Lee Sung-jun’s will was law.
By naming Kim Jeong-gil successor, I cleanly resolved all uncertainties in the succession line.