The First-Round Review

A council's plenary session is, fundamentally, an oven designed to roast the head of a local government.

In Baek Hyeong-guk's case, he would throw massive tantrums whenever a plenary session rolled around, and he became even more violent and destructive once it was over.

After all, he was thoroughly thrashed by the opposition party every single time he stepped into that chamber.

Even a mayor with a party affiliation could count on their own party for protection, but Lee Yun-hyeok was an independent. He had no choice but to take a beating at fifteen-to-one odds.

"...Or so I thought," Jo Hyeon-seo remarked as they stepped out of the chamber after ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the session adjourned.

"You actually went in there and walked out victorious."

"But I didn't get everything I originally aimed for," Yun-hyeok replied.

There was a real, hidden motive behind Yun-hyeok's decision to attend the plenary session and deliver that speech.

To secure the cooperation of the city council.

It was absolutely essential for the public project bid.

This was because central government bidding processes evaluated the level of cooperation between the local government and its council.

If the administration and the council within a local government were at each other's throats, the central government viewed it as a risk—a sign that the project could be derailed by political infighting.

Consequently, some evaluations explicitly included the local government's political stability and administrative cooperation framework as a scoring metric.

To win a major project from the central government, even bitter enemies had to sling their arms around each other's shoulders and smile for the cameras.

Yun-hyeok had made his point clear during the session.

He had explained that he was currently targeting a massive government-funded project with his trio of tech geniuses, and he needed the council's cooperation.

Ha Tae-hun, the Vice Chairman of the City Council, had responded that they would "deliberate and announce their stance at a later date."

"They're testing the waters," Yun-hyeok murmured.

That was his assessment of the council members. They were still keeping a wary eye on the voters of Mir City.

If Yun-hyeok's private contract failed to convince civil society, it would ultimately become a political liability. Thus, they couldn't blindly jump on board.

On the other hand, if Yun-hyeok's private contract actually secured the government project, it would be an astronomical political victory.

So, they couldn't blindly oppose it either.

Hence, they were testing the waters.

The proof lay in the fact that even hours after the plenary session had ended, they had yet to release a single press statement attacking him.

"But doesn't that mean we're in real trouble if we lose the bid?" Jo Hyeon-seo asked, his voice laced with worry.

"Don't worry," Yun-hyeok replied.

You worry too much.

Why would we fail when I've assembled a dream team?

Normally, when launching a project like this, the head of a local government would instruct a department like the "Future Strategy Bureau" to prepare the bid.

This was because such bureaus were responsible for planning and executing the municipality's mid-to-long-term development plans.

However, Lee Do-hun, the former head of the Future Strategy Bureau, had already been purged.

In that case, the task would typically be handed down to the Planning and Coordination Office.

But Kim Min-cheol, the Planning and Coordination Director, was currently swamped with the development of Doma-myeon and Hawol-myeon.

So, who would do it?

"I will handle it directly."

The monstrous mayor took charge of the team himself.

He mobilized the Future Strategy Bureau, the Economic and Industrial Bureau, the Construction and Transportation Bureau, and even the Environment and Greenery Bureau.

The reason so many diverse departments were participating was that the goal of this project wasn't merely to attract businesses or win a government bid; it was to completely revitalize the entire district of Durim-myeon.

And.

"We will pass the first round of screening with an overwhelming score."

At the first-round stage, they wouldn't look at things like the local government's political stability anyway.

The announced evaluation criteria for the bid were simple: corporate capability, the municipality's administrative capability, and commercialization potential.

With these parameters, aiming for a perfect score was well within reach.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups processed applications in the following manner:

In essence, the civil servants did not make the selection themselves; they outsourced it to a private entity.

There were two reasons for this: first, it provided excellent plausible deniability if any issues arose, and second, it ensured professional expertise.

The evaluation committee consisted of true experts.

They were broadly divided into three groups:

1. University professors in science and technology.

2. Researchers in regional economic policy.

3. Experts in finance, accounting, and commercialization.

Because of this high bar, proposals drafted by mere startups or city hall working-level officials rarely met their lofty standards.

As a result, most proposals typically scored a measly three or four out of ten from each evaluation group. Out of a total of thirty points, the highest score ever recorded in the history of the project was nineteen.

But that changed this afternoon.

Thirty points.

An absolutely insane proposal had appeared, securing a perfect score from every single evaluator.

"What on earth is this? Let me see that."

Since this was unprecedented even within the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, curiosity spread like wildfire among the working-level staff. Soon, division chiefs and bureau directors were digging up the files to see for themselves.

As the formal reports climbed higher and higher up the chain of command, they eventually reached the very top.

"A perfect score?"

The news had reached the ears of An Jae-gyeong, the Minister of SMEs and Startups.

"How did they manage a perfect score? Which municipality is it?"

"It's Mir City, Minister."

At the secretary's reply, Minister An Jae-gyeong froze in surprise.

Mir City.

He had heard of it.

A monstrous young man had emerged there, rallying immense public support, crushing established politicians, and seizing the mayoral seat.

"Lee Yun-hyeok."

That was his name.

"Is that correct?"

"Yes, Minister."

Though still relatively unknown to the general public at the national level, he was a name whispered among the political elite, who advised keeping a close eye on him.

"When is the final meeting for the first-round review?"

"It is at four o'clock this afternoon."

The minister checked his wristwatch.

Two-thirty.

If he wrapped up his next meeting quickly, he would just barely make it.

Normally, a minister would never attend a first-round screening. There were still second-round on-site inspections and third-round presentation evaluations to go. Typically, a minister would only meet a local government leader after the final selection was complete. Attending the screening process itself could be perceived as political pressure, so it was safer to self-censor and stay away.

And yet, Minister An Jae-gyeong was simply too curious.

Just what on earth had this man done to secure a perfect score from those notoriously stingy evaluators?

"Request an unofficial visit. Tell them I won't speak; I'll just listen."

Keep an eye on him.

The rumors circulating through the political grapevine continued to echo in Minister An's mind.

It was, in all honesty, a shocking scene.

The final meeting for the first-round review was supposed to be a mere formality to rubber-stamp the documents that had already been vetted. Instead, the evaluators spent half their time discussing the data and the other half singing Lee Yun-hyeok's praises.

The reason for the perfect score?

Looking at the proposal now, it was practically inevitable.

First, there was Group 1: the university professors representing various fields of science.

The moment they saw the three startups listed in the business plan, they began babbling in sheer excitement. These were people they regularly encountered at academic conferences.

"Actually, I begged Dr. Moon in the past not to go to Russia. I was terrified his drones might end up crossing into North Korea."

"Hahaha!"

"I'm so glad he didn't go."

"Isn't Dr. Hwang's plastic the same one featured in Nature Materials last time?"

"Yes, that's the one. My lab tried to replicate that coating technology, and it worked beautifully."

"We were actually researching Dr. Kim's AI chip in our university's industrial complex to launch a startup of our own, but Mir City snatched him right up."

"Well, municipal support is bound to be better than what a university complex can offer anyway."

As experts themselves, they recognized true genius when they saw it. The consensus among the professors went far beyond merely praising the high level of technology.

"The state ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠should be managing the brain drain of talent like this. It's truly fascinating how the leader of a small municipality managed to pull this off."

To Group 2, the regional economic policy researchers, this was a thrilling, almost miraculous feat that left them unable to contain their excitement.

"The mayor went all the way to Seoul himself to recruit these talents."

"What has been one of the biggest reasons regional economies keep failing? It's the lack of a talent pool. People are already reluctant to move to the provinces for regular jobs, let alone to launch a startup."

"Naturally, even with nationwide promotion, it's incredibly difficult to attract outside talent for startup bids. Yet, most local governments remain obsessed with their own voters' sentiments and try to source entrepreneurs strictly from within their borders, which causes the failure rate to skyrocket exponentially."

"This is an issue we've pointed out continuously, but here, they didn't just actively seek outside talent—the mayor himself went out and headhunted them. It's truly..."

A research fellow from the Korea Research Institute for Local Administration (KRILA) was so deeply moved he looked on the verge of tears.

"Other regional cities must learn from this! This is how local governments should study, gather talent, and run their projects!"

On the other hand, there had to be clear incentives to bring such people in and solid measures to keep them there.

The solution proposed in the plan was so brilliant that the commercialization experts in Group 3 practically applauded.

"They matched the startups with abandoned factories ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠owned by the city hall and leased them out at dirt-cheap rates."

"And they provided customized spaces equipped with the exact facilities each company needed, with pinpoint accuracy."

"Most early-stage startups carry high risks because they rely solely on seed funding. This proposal was brilliant because it utilized the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠city's factory assets as a form of in-kind contribution."

"It minimizes initial startup costs while simultaneously anchoring the core of their businesses to Mir City."

"It reads like it was written by a seasoned venture capitalist."

"Leveraging geographical advantages was also excellent. They structured it so that revenue could circulate internally through local military bases, public offices, and within the industrial cluster itself."

For these reasons, the proposal swept the highest scores across all three expert groups, culminating in the bizarre and unprecedented result of thirty out of thirty points.

"If there's just one concern..."

A research fellow from the Technology Guarantee Fund (T-Kibo) spoke up. As a government institution that provided financial guarantees for small businesses and startups, they evaluated risks from every conceivable angle.

"It's whether a political rookie and an independent mayor can successfully persuade the city council. For a project of this scale, political coordination is crucial."

However, that risk could be assessed during the second and third rounds of evaluation. The document screening stage did not factor in political dynamics.

"I sincerely hope this succeeds. It should be held up as a model for regional economic policy."

Listening to the endless stream of praise, Minister An Jae-gyeong felt a growing desire to meet Lee Yun-hyeok in person.

What a truly bizarre individual.

To a minister who had spent his entire life navigating the gears of politics and administration, Lee Yun-hyeok was a character who defied all conventional logic.

Despite possessing significant public recognition, he refused to join a major party and continued to run as an independent. One might mistake him for a mere civic activist, yet his achievements put seasoned members of the National Assembly to shame.

And now, he had used his city's abandoned factories to lure elite scientists directly to Mir City, securing a perfect score from that notoriously difficult evaluation committee?

How was this even possible?

Did it make any sense for a thirty-one-year-old rookie to achieve this?

This man will absolutely not stop at Mir City.

An Jae-gyeong was certain of it.

The by-election term had begun in October 2023, and with the local elections scheduled for June 2025, his remaining term was a mere one year and eight months.

Where would Lee Yun-hyeok go after that?

Would he run for re-election in Mir City?

Or would he set his sights even higher?

"Can Lee Yun-hyeok actually pull this off and win the project?"

The politicians from both parties in the city council were wrestling with that very question. Even to their eyes, the trio of tech geniuses seemed exceptionally brilliant. Perhaps he really could succeed.

However, the number of selected municipalities for this project was incredibly small.

Normally, when the government opened bids for such projects, they would select around ten municipalities. This time, they were choosing only three.

Since the previous methods had yielded poor results, the policy had shifted toward selecting a few municipalities and concentrating the budget on them. Thanks to this, the first-place winner would receive a staggering sixty billion won.

"Mir City has never even come close to being selected for a unique project like this, so how are we supposed to gauge..."

It was at that exact moment, while Ha Tae-hun, the Vice Chairman from the Liberty Party, was contemplating the council's direction of cooperation in his local constituency office.

"Vice Chairman!"

A Liberty Party council member burst into the room, completely out of breath.

"It's a perfect score!"

"What is?"

"Lee Yun-hyeok got a perfect score in the first round of screening!"

"What..."

Ha Tae-hun let out a near-shriek.

"What?! No, wait a minute."

Ha Tae-hun pivoted instantly.

"Contact the mayor's office immediately! Tell them we will put our full weight behind supporting this project! No, actually, I'll go myself!"

He hurriedly threw on his overcoat.

The council members had yet to elect a new Chairman. Following the ousting of the former Chairman, Lee Chae-hyeong, due to embezzlement, intense internal conflicts over complex political issues had left the council deeply divided.

"Hurry, hurry!"

A perfect score in the first round?

That meant the likelihood of being selected was astronomically high!

Even with the on-site inspections and presentations still to go, wouldn't a candidate with a perfect document score pass easily as long as they performed decently?

Twenty percent of that sixty-billion-won budget would require matching funds from the council. Whoever held the power to allocate that budget would highly likely secure the Chairmanship.

The opposing side was equally flabbergasted.

"What? A perfect score?"

Choi Hyeon-ju, the Chairperson of the Steering Committee from the Hanmin Party, grabbed her coat the second she heard the news.

"Let's go, quickly! Everyone, hurry!"

She had to meet the mayor immediately.

The local elections were only one year and eight months away. Depending on how they positioned themselves in this project, a massive seismic shift could occur in the next round of party nominations.

Who would claim the Chairman's seat also depended entirely on this project.

"Release a press statement under the local constituency committee's name right now!"

Choi Hyeon-ju shouted to her staff as she bolted out the door.

"State that the Hanmin Party will fully support whatever the mayor does in Durim-myeon!"