1953 Bare-handed Tycoon - Chapter 362



Only Noblemtl

362 – Conflict with Yun Bo-seon

After the Tet, the revolutionary government began to introduce a series of innovative measures.

On February 6, the day after the Lunar New Year holiday, the was released, announcing that 580,000 technicians, technical workers, and skilled workers would be trained by 1966 and the number of students in industrial high schools would increase by 20%.

It was different from the previous government, which mainly announced agricultural policies in the new year.

He showed a strong will to industrialize.

On February 8, a measure was also taken to exempt small business owners from unpaid taxes.

It was to provide relief to the class that could not afford to pay taxes despite having insufficient tax revenue.

On February 10, it was announced that Chairman Park, along with the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction, would visit Jeolla, Gyeongsang, and Gangwon provinces on a local inspection tour for the purpose of gathering broad public opinion.

The keynote speech predicted that Chairman Park would begin full-scale political action after seeing the various measures he was putting forth in the next two days.

This was because there was not enough time to revise the Constitution and hold general elections within the year.

The keynote speech became reality the very next day.

February 11, before leaving for a local inspection to gather public opinion.

Speaker Park announced that he would abolish ‘prior censorship of the press’ and hold a on March 15.

It was a measure taken nearly a year earlier than originally planned.

At the press conference, Speaker Park summarized the core of the 5th constitutional amendment as a four-year term for the presidency, a unicameral parliamentary system, and a political system centered on political parties, and announced that a national referendum would be held immediately after a 30-day public notice period.

Chairman Park emphasized that all of these measures were efforts for a ‘quick transfer of power to civilians.’

Meanwhile, Chairman Park added a controversial additional measure.

It was the .

The Political Activity Purification Act was intended to collect pledges from a total of 4,369 politicians under the pretext of “purifying political activities and establishing new political ethics.”

The pledge was to obtain a pledge not to commit anti-democratic acts and not to repeat the rotten old politics of the past.

One had to personally visit the established in the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction, deliver the pledge in writing, and pass the qualification screening before being able to resume political activities.

The keynote speech focused on the changes in the from its original history.

The original Political Activities Purification Act was to be announced on March 16th of this year and was a law banning political activities by approximately 4,000 politicians.

However, after his visit to the United States, the promise made to Kennedy was changed to allow politicians to engage in free political activities, but if they broke their pledge to the revolutionary government, they would be banned from political activities again.

Chairman Park took action that was met with both welcome and concern and left for a local inspection on the 12th.

The keynote speech predicted that this would cause a political uproar.

First of all, the media gave a favorable evaluation of Chairman Park’s ‘decision’.

There was no fault to be found in his promise to lift media censorship and to revise the Constitution to expedite the transfer of power to a civilian government.

However, existing politicians strongly opposed the Political Activities Purification Act.

There was a counterargument that it was unreasonable for the entity that committed the anti-democratic act of a coup to admonish politicians not to commit anti-democratic acts and even receive a pledge from them.

President Yun Bo-seon immediately protested.

While Chairman Park was away on a local inspection tour, President Yun Bo-seon announced his position that the Political Activities Purification Act was an evil law.

After Yoon Bo-seon’s statement of objection, Kijo spoke with Jang Ki-young, co-president and president of the Hankook Ilbo, in the DBC president’s office.

“President Yun Bo-seon is in a dilemma. They say that if the president rejects the political purification law created by the Supreme Council, he will be violating the Constitution.”

Jang Gi-yeong said that under the current constitution, the president does not have the right to veto laws made by the legislature.

“What happens if I don’t sign the new law?”

“If the president violated the Constitution, wouldn’t he be impeached?”

Yun Bo-seon, a symbolic head of state with no real power under the prime ministerial system, was caught up in a double standard.

If we accept Chairman Park’s bill, we are agreeing with the anti-democratic bill, and if we do not accept it, we are violating the Constitution.

In Yuan history, he chose to sign the Political Purification Act and step down.

Instead of protecting the Constitution, he protested against injustice and protected his political conscience.

The keynote speaker waited for Chairman Park’s response.

In the original history, Chairman Park visits Yun Bo-seon to persuade him and upholds the .

But this time, Chairman Park in the province did not respond at all.

Then, the president announced his resignation on Friday the 16th.

Only when President Yun Bo-seon planned to step down did Chairman Park take action.

He stopped his local inspection activities, came up to Seoul, and announced an emergency statement at the Supreme Council building.

“The sudden resignation of the head of state is not desirable for the nation and the people. However, I do not think it is right to ask someone who so easily abandons an important position to reconsider his resignation.”

It was an unexpected downpour.

In this history, they showed an attitude of ‘If you want to go out, go out.’

As if surprised by Chairman Park’s hard-line policy, the Blue House was quiet for two days, Saturday and Sunday.

Did President Yun Bo-seon anticipate the scene where Chairman Park would grab his trouser leg and try to dissuade him from resigning?

When Chairman Park did not visit the Blue House over the weekend, President Yun Bo-seon left the Blue House on the morning of Monday, February 19.

The presidential spokesperson said that President Yun Bo-seon had notified the Supreme Council of his resignation as he was leaving the Blue House, but it was a verbal notification, not a written notification.

Nevertheless, the Supreme Council issued a statement permitting President Yoon’s resignation.

It was announced that all 28 members present at the 4th plenary session of the Supreme Council unanimously approved the resignation and decided not to elect a successor to the president.

To this end, the Emergency Measures Act was partially revised to allow Speaker Park to assume the powers of the acting president.

Yun Bo-seon’s resignation was significant.

Although he was only a symbolic head of state, he was a legitimate power established through popular election and was the only hope for those who could not accept the May 16 coup.

Now that he has left of his own accord, only the revolutionary forces remain in the government.

On the same day that Yun Bo-seon left the Blue House, Chairman Park entered the Blue House right away.

Public opinion was divided into two as President Yoon suddenly took over the Blue House without giving it a single chance.

There was a favorable evaluation that he did a good job, but there was also criticism that he was blinded by power, as he had to visit the president several times to persuade him.

The keynote speech did not have much significance because Chairman Park’s takeover of the Blue House was going to happen anyway.

Rather, it was noted that Chairman Park had become more decisive and unstoppable than before.

In the history of Won, Chairman Park was seen visiting Yun Bo-seon, who was planning to resign, and trying to persuade him several times.

Whatever his true intentions, he often acted as if he was watching public opinion.

It was unclear how this change by Chairman Park would change history in the future.

A few days later, public opinion turned against Yun Bo-seon.

Despite Yun Bo-seon’s resignation in protest against the ‘Political Purification Act’,

The Supreme Council for National Reconstruction was packed with politicians pledging to engage in democratic political activities.

With the constitution amended through a national referendum and general elections in December almost certain, he set out to seek permission to resume political activities.

The article looked at the list of politicians who have resumed political activities, which is announced by the Supreme Council every day.

Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae-jung were also included.

And gradually, newspaper articles criticizing Yun Bo-seon began to increase.

There were articles criticizing the adults in the political world for leaving their positions so easily as being irresponsible.

February 28th, the last day of February.

On that day, which also marked the anniversary of the February 28th Democratic Movement, reporter Lee Young-hee from Yonhap News Agency visited Gijo’s house.

For Lee Young-hee, who came to visit in the evening, Ki-jo prepared a small table for drinks at the house across from Yeong-su’s study room and had a meal with him.

Although we had become close while sharing a room during my visit to the U.S., it was unexpected that Lee Young-hee came to visit me.

After sharing a few drinks with stew and rice, Lee Young-hee asked Ki-jo.

“What does Mr. President think of Chairman Park?”

Kijo thought deeply about why Lee Young-hee was asking him that question.

There seemed to be only one reason.

As press censorship was abolished and restrictions on the political activities of private politicians were lifted by the Political Purification Act, public opinion favorable to Chairman Park was forming.

When the coup was staged, people supported the prediction that Chairman Park would keep his promise to transfer power and return to the military if new and conscientious politicians emerged.

The social atmosphere was also becoming more vibrant.

However, contrary to outward appearances, the keynote speech was that preparations for the establishment of the Democratic Republican Party, promoted by Kim Jong-pil, were also gaining speed.

At the Central Intelligence Agency level, a ‘talent scout’ operation would also be carried out fiercely.

Surprisingly, in the history of the original, Lee Young-hee becomes the target of the Democratic Republican Party’s scouting.

He was also encouraged to join the Democratic Republican Party because Kim Jong-pil had set the political position of the Democratic Republican Party as a progressive reform party that included the ‘innovative group’.

In fact, the Democratic Party and the New Democratic Party, which had collapsed, were conservative parties, and the revolutionary forces that took power through revolution tried to unite all other forces in order to differentiate themselves from them.

While recruiting famous progressive figures, he displays surprising inclusiveness, including Lee Young-hee, who exposed in the history of the original that Park Chung-hee’s visit to the United States did not have proper results.

In this case, since Lee Young-hee did not make any such revelations, Kijo assumed that she must have been invited to join the Democratic Republican Party and asked her back.

“What do you think of Chairman Park?”

In response to the keynote speech, Lee Young-hee emptied the glass she was given and spoke.

“It’s confusing. Until recently, many people who had been antipathetic to the military government were now looking favorably on Chairman Park. It suddenly changed. To be honest, I’m confused.”

The keynote speaker nodded.

People like Shin Chang-gyun, a figure from the innovation community, as well as several reporters who worked with Lee Young-hee at the joint news agency, would have joined the organization that founded the Democratic Republican Party.

Among them was a university professor whom Lee Young-hee knew, and they must have tried hard to persuade Lee Young-hee.

“Have you ever heard the story of why people change their minds?”

“That is… … , a reform party supporting Chairman Park was created and is scheduled to hold a general election, and they promised to release the reformist figures who were detained if they win the general election. Among them is Cho Yong-su, the president of Minjok Ilbo… … .”

The keynote speaker thought that Lee Young-hee had brought up a pretty deep topic.

That story was not one to be brought up lightly.

Those who recruited him must have told him to keep his mouth shut, but he felt he had to tell him the truth, as he had confided in him.

Kim Jong-pil’s promise to revive the innovation community in the history of the country was not kept.

The innovative figures were used by the Democratic Republican Party and enthusiastically supported the party in the general election, but what they received in return was betrayal.

“Reporter, don’t listen to what others say and trust your feelings.”

“How does it feel…?”

“Yes. Aren’t you asking for my opinion because you don’t know who made that promise and whether you can trust it?”

“Right… .”

“In times like that, trust your instincts.”

Lee Young-hee nodded slowly.

It seemed that he still could not abandon his distrust of Chairman Park.

“I should just do some policy research and then leave… … .”

Lee Young-hee said.

He also left the Democratic Republican Party’s founding organization, the Reconstruction Comrades Association, after writing a paper on international relations.

He joined the Reconstruction Comrades Association after being recommended to do so by his close acquaintances, including his seniors from Gyeongseong High School, his military schoolmates, and reporters he worked with. However, he felt aversion to the unique vertical military culture and quit on his own.

It seemed like Lee Young-hee would make the same choice this time too.

At the same time, the keynote speech seemed to suggest that the Democratic Republican Party would succeed this time as well.

Seeing that many innovative figures like Lee Young-hee were joining the Reconstruction Comrades Association, it seemed that the Democratic Republican Party would get more votes.

Kim Jong-pil’s Democratic Republican Party was not a conservative party even when it ran its first election.

The keynote speech was that the image of the party was that of a progressive reform party with socialist overtones.

As the economy becomes more difficult, public opinion in favor of change tends to grow stronger, and the Democratic Republican Party has directly tapped into that public opinion.

Lee Young-hee, who had received Kijo’s advice, smiled brightly as she accepted a drink from Kijo.