Candidate Unification (2)
The mayor of Jeonju was beaming. The expressions of the people who had gathered to watch the groundbreaking ceremony were equally filled with anticipation. YK Department Store—the most prestigious luxury department store in South Korea, a place everyone dreamed of visiting at least once. The news that it would soon be opening in Jeonju was the cause of all this excitement.
"Assemblyman, thank you so much!"
Honam was never traditionally a stronghold for N. However, N was the one who had played the biggest role in securing the Jeonju branch of YK Department Store. Because of this, both the mayor and the citizens of Jeonju were chanting N's name and applauding wildly.
[[[[[ N! N! N! ]]]]]
In reality, when a department store is built in a local community, it inevitably gains massive support from the citizens. Yoon-gi was effectively utilizing something he "had to do anyway" as a powerful tool for his pre-election campaign.
* * *
"The effect was truly incredible."
Seeing N's flushed face, Yoon-gi smiled with satisfaction. "No matter how much someone dislikes you, the moment you bring them tangible benefits, their evaluation of you tends to improve."
If a sworn enemy suddenly brought you 1 billion won, people might still refuse it. But if a wealthy neighbor from next door handed over 1 billion won for no reason other than simple goodwill, accompanied by ironclad legal documents, the perception of that person would skyrocket instantly. N was exactly in that position. While JD and JSD had committed countless atrocities, N hadn't even revealed his face to the public until two years ago, and his recent conduct had been prudent, leaving him with a "neutral" evaluation in the public eye.
Of course, being part of the ruling party meant his evaluation couldn't be entirely positive. But because he was also perceived as a "puppet," he wasn't judged too harshly either. In that situation, N had accepted the "direct presidential election system" demanded by the people during the February Democratic Struggle, which turned his neutrality into a "positive neutrality." In such a climate, he went to a region that wasn't his stronghold and dropped a place that ordinary citizens coveted: a YK Department Store. Naturally, his approval ratings were bound to soar.
"You were certainly right. Conversely, I started to distrust JD because I was treated poorly by him."
In N's candid confession, there was no longer the sense of inferiority toward JD that he once held. Why? Because JD was now confined to the Blue House, and he himself was on the verge of becoming president.
"Isn't that natural for a human being? People who treat me well are on my side, and people who treat me poorly are annoying. It's simple, isn't it?"
Hearing this, N burst into laughter, and Yoon-gi continued, "Now, you should go around the Gyeongsang region and do something similar."
"Hmm? Gyeongsang too? Should I take that as a suggestion to firmly snatch away the few votes JP has left?"
Yoon-gi shook his head. "The votes JP has aren't worth snatching."
"Then?"
To the curious N, Yoon-gi explained simply, "Because it has to be fair."
"Huh?"
"Logically speaking, if you, the candidate whose stronghold is Gyeongsang, go to Jeolla and build a YK Department Store and MEV, but don't do the same for Gyeongsang, there will be an uproar, won't there?"
"Ah... I had momentarily overlooked that."
"People don't mind if things aren't fair when they are the ones benefiting, but it becomes a huge problem if others benefit unfairly. So, naturally, we need to build them in Gyeongsang as well. Of course, it was something I had to build anyway, so there's no burden."
"So you're saying YK will now expand its branches nationwide, not just in Seoul?"
"Yes, and at the same time, we plan to close all the Mini Department Stores."
"What? The Mini Department Stores?"
N was startled. The Mini Department Stores were a simple and effective way to keep a tight leash on influential figures. To hear that they would be closed without hesitation was naturally baffling.
"Are you disappointed?"
At Yoon-gi's sly joke, N waved his hands vigorously, as if that were impossible. "Of course not! I'm already receiving more than enough help from you; there's no reason for me to cling to 'those measly Mini Department Stores'!"
"I was joking. But the plan to close them is no joke."
"What is the reason?"
"Because the era of the military regime is coming to an end."
N instinctively realized Yoon-gi's intent, but he understood it only to the extent that he couldn't express it outwardly. So Yoon-gi continued, "During the military regime, you had to offer bribes just to survive."
"Hmm, that's certainly true."
Just as N agreed, during the military era, one had to offer bribes not to achieve something, but to survive. Of course, the former wasn't non-existent. Yoon-gi himself had offered bribes to military figures to survive. However, the military regime also viciously harassed those who didn't pay up. Hadn't one group been crushed simply because Kang Seok-ho's personal assets weren't donated properly? It wasn't just groups; countless small and medium-sized enterprises and small merchants had to offer bribes to military figures. But if the era of the military regime ended? At the very least, it would become much harder to harass people just because they didn't pay bribes. They wouldn't disappear entirely, but it wouldn't be as easy to harass people openly as it was before.
"So, compared to the past, the utility of bribes will decrease significantly. Therefore, there is no reason to maintain the Mini Department Stores as they are now."
"Your words are certainly correct. But how do you intend to control influential figures? It's not something that can be done just by winning me over, is it?"
At N's words, which sounded almost like loyalty, Yoon-gi smiled. "Instead of supporting them by operating Mini Department Stores, we can just support them directly. Just as I am helping you with the presidential election, couldn't I also help members of the National Assembly with the general elections?"
"Indeed, indeed...!"
N slapped his knee. The reason he felt the highest level of affection for Yoon-gi was that he had helped him achieve his life's goal. As such, there was no reason for other figures not to clearly show their affection for Yoon-gi if he supported their goals as well.
"Candidate, this is just my personal opinion, but I think you only need to do one thing to control the state affairs of a country."
"What one thing?"
"Winning over 67 percent of the National Assembly members."
"Ah!"
It was so simple, yet incredibly difficult to execute. If you control 67 percent of the National Assembly members, you can control almost all state affairs. After all, the threshold for entering a national referendum for constitutional amendment is the consent of 67 percent of the National Assembly members.
"Your government will always receive the support of many National Assembly members. Because I will make it so."
Yoon-gi's words were full of confidence. As N listened to Yoon-gi's arrogant statement, he felt a conviction that it was possible. 'If it's this guy in front of me, it's possible. It's the truth.'
That was why N had one question he was genuinely curious about.
"Do you intend to enter politics later?"
Yoon-gi shook his head without a moment's hesitation. "No, not at all."
"Why? If it were you, you could easily become the president of a country."
"Because I am a businessman, not a politician."
It was a textbook answer. However, another question immediately popped into N's mind. [What on earth is your ultimate goal?]
To N, the existence of Yoon-gi was too mysterious. To say money was the goal didn't make sense; he showered his aides with money without restraint. Of course, Yoon-gi personally had an infinite amount of money. The problem was that most chaebols didn't share that money with others. Even with their aides. But Yoon-gi shared what he had with his aides without restraint. It was just that he had so much that even after giving his aides wealth and glory, his financial power seemed bottomless. Yet, he had no greed for political power either.
'No, in the first place, there's no reason to have greed for political power.'
People with greed for political power have two reasons. One is money, the other is the power to control the fate of others. But Yoon-gi already had both. Of course, there was one exception. That was "evaluation." The only reason a person who has everything would jump into politics is truly for the "evaluation others have of them." However, N stopped his train of thought here, thinking, 'Surely that's not it.'
What answer would N get if he asked five years later? In fact, N himself didn't realize it, but he actually knew the answer. That Yoon-gi was an answer who was overflowing with "attention-seeking tendencies."
* * *
N began to tour medium-sized and larger cities across the country, excluding Seoul. Just like a popular idol group on a concert tour, he created issues in every region he visited, and the citizens of those regions sent him thunderous applause.
A YK Department Store branch. An MEV branch. These two facilities, which boasted the best entertainment in South Korea, were exactly what the local citizens had been dying for, so N's stock price skyrocketed. This was enough to make YS and DJ flustered.
"Isn't this a violation of the election law?"
At YS's direct words, DJ shook his head. "I trust you aren't asking because you don't know."
"No, that's true, but..."
YS smacked his lips. In reality, N hadn't technically violated the election law. Because the "construction of YK Department Store branches" and "construction of MEV branches" that N had provided to the local communities weren't being done with N's money. If N had been building them with his own private funds, an attack on the grounds of "money-based electioneering" would have been possible. However, it was an obvious fact to anyone that those promises were being fulfilled solely with YK's funds. It was also difficult to attack him for collusion between politics and business. To attack him for collusion, YK would have had to receive special favors during the construction process. But no matter how much they dug, YK hadn't received any special favors in this construction. Did N receive bribes? That wasn't the case either. N's role was merely to deliver good news to the local community. But that alone was too effective. It was because the local community perceived it not as "something that was going to be built anyway," but as "something N obtained by demanding it from YK." There were even rumors in the local community that "N might even resolve local disputes." This was bad for YS, DJ, and JP alike.
Why would National Assembly members use "from our region" as their most powerful campaign slogan when running for office? This was the same for the president. But the other preliminary candidates, excluding N, were about to lose such weapons.
"Shouldn't we unify the candidates now? Please support me. I will definitely support you as president in the next election."
At YS's straight-talking approach, DJ shook his head. "That's not a problem that can be decided so easily."
It was a polite refusal. Since it was effectively a definitive refusal, YS couldn't help but feel anxious. But he couldn't yield his position to DJ either. On this day, the talks between YS and DJ dragged on sluggishly, and in the end, they concluded without any results.
And in the evening, when YS returned to his home, he couldn't help but be shocked to see one person waiting in the living room.
"Ugh!"
Even though JD had fallen, he was a figure he couldn't help but fear instinctively. No, to be precise, it was that figure's henchman. Shin Ho-jun, JSD's secretary, was waiting for YS in the living room of YS's mansion.