I Am the Third-Generation Heir of a Conglomerate - Chapter 427



Only Noblemtl

427. All-time (2)

The gist of the President’s speech was this.

Regardless of the truth of the suspicions, I will take full responsibility for causing social chaos.

As a citizen, not as the president, I will be judged fairly by the law.

It was a presidential speech that no one expected.

Vice President Han just stared blankly at the TV with his mouth open like an idiot.

“The president has declared his resignation. This is the first time in the constitutional history of the Republic of Korea.”

“It seems that Representative Choi Jae-seok went directly to the Blue House to negotiate.”

“Even if the leader of the largest political party takes action, is it possible for the president to step down?”

“There is absolutely no benefit to being at odds with the next power. Especially since the approval ratings are plummeting, those around the president would have been the first to come forward and call for his resignation.”

As with all regimes.

The corruption of those around the president was worse than that of the president himself.

So, in order to survive, they had to maintain good relations with the next power, and to do that, the current president had to step down.

“However, he is not stepping down right now, and has decided to remain in office until the presidential election, so the confusion will not worsen.”

“The presidential election schedule has simply been brought forward by about a year and six months.”

Before the return, the presidential election schedule was only brought forward by about six months.

However, since it was after impeachment, not resignation, the presidential election was held without even proper preparation.

Even a presidential transition committee hasn’t been formed.

I literally had to go into the Blue House without any preparation.

Of course, this time too, there wasn’t much time to prepare, but at least we were able to prepare a little better than before the return and have the next president enter the Blue House.

“According to the election law, the presidential election must be held within 60 days. We should consider the presidential election as having started today. Since all the parties are not prepared, we will have to fight with the basics.”

“It will be an election where the person who prepared well in advance will win. Since the president has chosen to step down, the election will focus more on economic development than on judging the current administration.”

The real fear of the impeachment situation was the aftermath.

Not only does it consume all the issues during the impeachment process, but even after the impeachment, the issue of judging the regime becomes the top priority for a while.

But this time it was different.

Since the president chose to step down, there was a high possibility that public sympathy would arise.

Since he declared that he would become a citizen and face the judgment of the law, the presidential election will be held with public anger having largely subsided.

“But wouldn’t this still be an election centered on the theory of judging the regime? Even if the president has chosen to step down, there are too many suspicions spread in the media. And the public’s attention is also focused on the suspicions.”

“You just have to implement a policy that is big enough to silence the attention focused on the suspicions.”

“Is this policy related to the plan the Chairman is thinking of?”

“You could say that. First, let’s meet with Representative Choi Jae-seok and talk to him and then explain.”

From now on, Rep. Choi Jae-seok had to be the main character.

With only about 60 days left until the presidential election, he had to monopolize all issues in order to be reliably elected president.

***

The next day.

We met at the annex of Rep. Choi Jae-seok and Captain Kang’s restaurant.

Rep. Choi Jae-seok looked very heavy-hearted the day after the news of the president’s resignation was announced.

“I don’t know if I did the right thing. If I hadn’t forced it, the president wouldn’t have chosen to step down.”

“History will judge whether Rep. Choi Jae-seok’s actions in the future are right or wrong.”

“I feel very heavy both physically and mentally. The presidential election is just around the corner, but I don’t know what to do or what direction to take.”

The current situation didn’t seem real.

That’s understandable. The presidential election, which was nearly two years away, was suddenly brought forward by 60 days. How can we determine the direction in one day?

But Rep. Choi Jae-seok had nothing to worry about.

Because all circumstances were turning in his favor.

“According to a recent opinion poll, you ranked first in approval ratings for the next leader.”

“Right now, I have a high approval rating, but as the presidential election approaches, supporters will eventually shift to the two major parties. It is very likely that the approval ratings will be split 30% each, just like in the last presidential election.”

Korean politics has maintained a solid two-party system until now.

Thanks to the birth of the People’s Economy Party, the two major parties became three parties, but in the presidential election, supporters were once again concentrated in the two major parties.

But the nature of this presidential election was a little different.

First of all, the support for the ruling party that produced the president who chose to step down has decreased significantly.

If the People’s Economy Party had just absorbed that support, it would have easily won the presidential election.

“They say the ruling party is split into two. Then, the ruling party will not be able to exert much influence in this presidential election. And for the opposition party, the new party will absorb some of the support, so the environment is favorable.”

“You never know what will happen in a presidential election. Split parties may collude to unify their candidates. So, no matter what variables emerge, you can only win if you have a solid support base.”

It was Representative Choi Jae-seok who gave up on the last presidential election.

That is why we are trying to move more cautiously in this presidential election.

“If you implement policies that can absorb progressives, conservatives, and even the middle class, your approval rating will rise even higher than it is now.”

“Haha, you’re talking about something too theoretical. It’s a policy that all politicians want, but it’s also a policy that has a low probability of being realized.”

“I have prepared a policy for the presidential election. I think you will like it very much.”

Rep. Choi Jae-seok opened his eyes wide and showed interest.

He was even more interested in the policy prepared by Taewoo Group, which had achieved a great victory in the general election by securing a majority of seats.

“If we can just implement the same policies and pledges as we did during the general election, it will be a huge help in securing approval ratings.”

“Since it is a presidential election, shouldn’t the scale be larger than the general election policy? In addition, it should have enough destructive power to immediately put the current administration’s issues to rest.”

“I can’t possibly fathom the scale of the policy that Chairman Kim is thinking of.”

I smiled and held up seven fingers.

The first digit meant 7, and the number of 0s at the end made Rep. Choi Jae-seok imagine.

“You said it was bigger than the general election, so it couldn’t be 7 trillion won. Are you planning a policy worth 70 trillion won? Do you have the capacity to invest an additional 70 trillion won when the general election has just ended?”

“There is enough room. But there is a zero missing at the end. We are planning a policy worth 700 trillion won, not 70 trillion won.”

“Are you talking about 700 trillion won?”

Was there ever a person with such big eyes?

It was Assemblyman Choi Jae-seok who opened his eyes so wide that his eyeballs were about to fall forward.

“Shouldn’t it be around 700 trillion won to put all the issues to rest? And all of these should be pledges led by Rep. Choi Jae-seok and the People’s Economy Party.”

“Where on earth are you going to invest 700 trillion won?”

“I’m thinking of creating a semiconductor city.”

Taewoo Group already had a huge semiconductor complex.

But we had plans to build a semiconductor factory that was not just a small city, but a city-level one, and we could easily build a semiconductor city with 700 trillion won.

“Are you saying that you will invest 700 trillion won in the semiconductor industry alone? I am not in a position to interfere with the affairs of Taewoo Group, but isn’t that excessive?”

“Is semiconductors called the rice of industry for nothing? No matter how much rice is grown, there is always a use for it. And semiconductors now also have value as a strategic weapon.”

“But China has started to dig into semiconductors. The Chinese government is investing heavily in the semiconductor industry. If China releases semiconductors at low prices, won’t it be a huge blow?”

China’s semiconductor boom.

He was a man of great ambition who wanted to become the best in his field.

China was trying to become the best in many industries, including not only semiconductors but also electronics and automobiles.

In particular, they were making huge investments in the LCD, semiconductor, and shipbuilding industries, which Korea has a virtual monopoly on.

“Other industries can do well with China’s strong capital and manpower, but they can never catch up with Korea’s technological prowess in semiconductors. Even if they could catch up, it wouldn’t matter.”

“Why do you think so?”

“Just think about China’s growth pattern. They copy good products and sell them cheaply, ignoring all patents. But most semiconductor patents are held by the United States.”

The United States possessed most of the semiconductor technology.

They simply did not build large semiconductor factories in the United States because it was more efficient to produce them in Asia.

But China produces semiconductors while ignoring US patents?

It was never going to stay still in the United States, and that was why semiconductors would be at the center of the future US-China trade dispute.

“It will certainly be difficult to export since the US holds the patent. However, China is a country that can survive by distributing only in the domestic market.”

“Don’t take it too seriously. The amount invested when we started the semiconductor industry two years ago was only 25 trillion won. They say they will invest an additional 35 trillion won soon, but that’s nothing compared to the amount invested by Taewoo Group.”

It was China that wanted to become the best in many industries.

That’s why we couldn’t focus our investment solely on semiconductors.

Of course, 25 trillion won was by no means a small amount, but it was not enough to become the best in the semiconductor industry.

“Are you saying that you will invest 700 trillion won over how many years?”

“We plan to invest 140 trillion won annually for five years. Now is the right time to invest in semiconductors. In fact, it doesn’t feel a little late.”

“You say it’s late? Hasn’t Taewoo Group already invested tens of trillions of won in completing the semiconductor complex?”

“That alone is not enough. The semiconductor city must be completed sequentially within three years at the latest.”

It didn’t take long to build a semiconductor factory.

For small factories, construction could be completed in as little as a year, and for large factories, three years was sufficient.

However, theory and reality are different, and it often takes between 5 and 10 years to complete a semiconductor factory.

The reason was that time was wasted during the construction process.

Various regulations, land purchases, etc. Various steps had to be taken to begin construction.

To minimize such steps, help from the political world was essential.

“Hmm, so you’re saying that in exchange for receiving an investment of 700 trillion won, you want the government to handle the construction process?”

“Wouldn’t anyone be able to block a presidential candidate’s number one pledge?”

“If 700 trillion won is invested in the region, it will be a great help to the development of the Korean economy. If Chairman Kim really wants it, I will run for this presidential election with the semiconductor city as my number one pledge!”

It was Rep. Choi Jae-seok whose expression brightened.

700 trillion won, what issue could have a greater impact than this?

Positive issues like the semiconductor city were more suitable for the People’s Economy Party than dark issues like the regime’s judgment, and were also good for capturing the public’s votes.