I Became Park Jeong-ui’s Nephew - Chapter 309



Only Noblemtl

He became Park Jeong-ui’s nephew. – (309)

“We reject oversight by Congress.”

“The president also exercised his veto.”

This is America, a sensitive topic that permeates society.

It is true that the CIA tortured and spied on civilians during the Cold War – wiretapping, etc. – but now it is under the surveillance of eight members of Congress.

But that alone is not enough, the council argues.

The U.S. Congress pushed a bill to increase the number of CIA surveillance personnel from eight to 40, but it was met with fierce opposition from the CIA and, most importantly, the president, who held the final say on the matter, exercised his veto.

The CIA is a secretive organization. Can it conduct proper operations while under the oversight of Congress?

But the Democratic Party members’ position was firm.

“This incident proves that the CIA can interfere in U.S. elections. If we do not strengthen our oversight of the CIA, there is a great risk that not only the separation of powers but also democracy will be threatened.”

The United States introduced punch card voting in the 1988 House of Representatives elections.

Punch cards were developed in France around 1725. They are a storage medium for recording digital data by punching holes in a card the size of banknote paper.

Later, American engineers developed computers that could read punch cards, and from 1951 onwards, all data was computerized.

Couldn’t this simple technology be used in elections?

As the manpower and cost required for elections grew, American society felt the need to replace the voting method with a modern one, and voted using the punch card method.

The problem is that a serious error was discovered during this process.

What the Democrats found in the CIA’s internal documents was shocking in itself.

[It was revealed that about 180,000 votes were omitted during the recount due to errors in the punch cards, but the CIA covered this up.]

Did the United States simply adopt electronic voting for the convenience of voters?

According to the U.S. State Department’s election public relations materials, voter turnout in the United States has been steadily declining for the past two decades.

In the last House elections, voter turnout was less than 60%, and there were 78 instances in which the winner of a House-Senate election did not receive a majority of the votes.

This means that American citizens no longer find hope in elections.

Because this guy is that guy and that guy is that guy, politicians who get a majority without even voting are starting to disappear.

Electronic voting was a system that started with the expectation that it would break this trend, but 180,000 votes were omitted? And the CIA hid the fact?

If this is the case, which citizen would believe the election results?

Even the politicians involved will not be able to accept the results of the victory or defeat.

This is why the Democrats have labeled the CIA an enemy of democracy and a target of surveillance, but the CIA’s position is firm.

“It’s not that 180,000 ballots were missing, but that they were simply invalidated due to a computer error. In fact, if you look at the results at the time, the Republican Party recorded 31 million votes, the Democratic Party 27 million votes, and the gap was clear.

“That 180,000 votes would not have changed the course of events. The Democrats are now making a big deal out of a small incident. The CIA will remain a secret agency and will not be subject to congressional oversight.”

If you were a voter living in a democratic era, how would you react to this announcement?

But did the CIA do anything wrong?

Or are the Democrats just blowing the whack?

The debate over invalid ballots comes up every election, and while it varies with each election, in the United States there are times when the number of invalid ballots exceeds 500,000 in the primary elections.

Compared to that, aren’t those 180,000 invalid ballots nothing?

Of course, it would be better to minimize invalid votes, but such errors are inevitable, and what if they were computer errors?

Are we going to expose all of that and then hold another election?

Is the Democratic Party trying to undermine the transparency of the election and sway public opinion by claiming to check the CIA?

This incident split public opinion in the United States.

“I can’t trust the CIA, I can’t trust the Federal Election Commission!! Let’s have a new election!!”

“Are you saying you won’t accept the election results now?!!”

“There are 180,000 uncounted votes!! How can you just ignore this?!!”

“Even when we did it manually, there were over 500,000 invalid votes!! Compared to then, the number of invalid votes has decreased by 1/3!! What are you dissatisfied with?!!”

“Electronic voting is not a revolutionary method to manipulate elections, but to reduce invalid votes!! The Democratic Party that claims conspiracy theories about it is the ones shaking democracy!!”

With American society in turmoil, trust in elections has fallen to rock bottom.

In a society like this, are the elected officials qualified to represent the country and its people? This issue was no different in Korea.

Korea is now a country with a population of over 130 million.

The number of voters alone is close to 52 million.

How many of them will vote and which politician will get a majority? If the voter turnout is less than 60% and he doesn’t even get a majority, is he qualified to serve as a constitutional organ?

This is why Korean politicians also urge their citizens to vote.

Because the number of votes itself gives legitimacy to politicians,

However, Korea’s parliamentary politics have failed repeatedly, and the people no longer have expectations of the parliament.

When the Korean president held a presidential election, the voter turnout was over 80%, but when looking at the general elections since then, the voter turnout has been below 60%.

“The head of state will take care of it.”

“Those congressmen are useless, they just make up for the number of people.”

“I won’t vote.”

This is the reality of Korea. In this world, can Korean lawmakers gain the trust of the people?

That was revealed by the voter turnout.

***

“Everyone!! The election is just two weeks away!!”

“As a sovereign of this country, please give me your precious vote!!”

Here, in Gyeongseong, Park Myeong-ui, the representative of the Joongdo New Party, took to the streets to encourage voting.

The last general election in Korea was in 1987, and six years have passed since then.

The Republic of Korea, which had been running well even without a parliament, agreed to a constitutional amendment that would hand over everything to the head of state.

At that time, the voter turnout for the constitutional amendment was a whopping 80% (support rate was 78%), meaning that more than half of the population of South Korea agreed to the head of state’s iron fist rule.

But now you’re saying you’re going to hold a general election?

Of course, it is true that the centrist party has 45% of the public’s approval rating.

But is that because the centrist party is good at politics?

The New Center Party is a political party supported by the head of state, and its leader is the son of former Prime Minister Park Jeong-ui. Therefore, it is receiving support from the Yeongnam region, and the elderly who still have some support and nostalgia for Park Jeong-ui are also lending their support.

This is the limit of the moderate party.

They haven’t accomplished anything on their own.

So, there is nothing to say about the general elections, other than to call on the people to exercise their sovereignty.

In addition, public opinion has become even worse as they are receiving political party subsidies. Who are they to receive 4 billion won in national taxes?

You already receive a subsidy, but now you want to wear a National Assembly badge and get a salary?

As the general elections approached, public opinion that had been positive toward the centrist party completely changed.

“Just do some political activities!! Don’t even think about getting a National Assembly badge!!”

“They are giving us 4 billion won in subsidies for political parties, and you guys are even receiving a salary?!!”

“Honestly, I’m not interested in voting in the general election.”

A really cool public opinion,

That means trust in Congress has fallen to that level. If the US is in that state, how can Korea be any different?

If this continues, won’t the voter turnout be less than 50%?

Park Myeong-ui began to feel increasingly anxious.

‘Can I win this election? No, if I don’t get a majority, it’s meaningless.’

Park Myeong-ui ran for office in Seodaemun-gu, Gyeongseong this time.

He deliberately avoided his father’s home ground (Gumi, Gyeongbuk), who was elected to the National Assembly five times. Even if he were to be elected there, he would only be evaluated as having bitten the spoon his father had handed him.

So, he deliberately jumped into the rough terrain, but the evaluation of former Prime Minister Park Jeong-ui in Gyeongseong is very harsh.

Not only did they protest in Gyeongseong, but they even committed a terrorist act by attacking the National Assembly, so it was only natural that the son of such a person would run for office to receive the people’s votes, which must have seemed ridiculous.

Of course, there are quite a few people who cast sympathy.

“What crime did Representative Park commit? He was born with a father like that, and on top of that, he was almost abandoned because he was an illegitimate child.”

“I said that my father was not the one who staged the coup. I’m not trying to put the shadow of former Prime Minister Park Jeong-ui on Representative Park.”

“That’s right, since you learned politics under the head of state, you’ll do well in the future.”

Evaluations that are literally polar opposites,

Can we be sure of a majority in this atmosphere?

The same goes for Lee Yeon-soo, the leader of the Women’s Peace Party. What kind of politics can a 22-year-old college student do?

Moreover, in Korean society, where prejudice against women still remains, it was not easy for female representatives to gain support.

Representative Lee Yeon-su is running in Dongdaemun-gu, Gyeongseong, and the expected approval rating is 41%.

There is no problem with being elected, but is a politician who falls far short of a majority, or who does not even receive a majority, qualified to represent the people?

Representative Lee Yeon-su also took to the streets to encourage voting.

“Everyone!! I know very well that I am young, inexperienced, and have accomplished nothing!! That is why I bow my head to you all and ask for your permission!! If I do not receive the support of the majority, how can I fulfill my role as a constitutional institution representing the people even if I am elected?!! The only thing that can give me such a justification and power is your vote!! Please cast your precious vote!!”

A voice that goes beyond screaming and is filled with sadness,

The centrist party also adopted this slogan into its election strategy.

It is true that public support gives strength to the National Assembly members, but can the rookie politicians in their 20s and 30s secure a majority? As the National Election Commission actively promotes the issue, public opinion is starting to show interest little by little.

***

“Has it started?”

“Yes, my lord.”

This is AOPR headquarters in Sri Lanka, I was watching the Korean general election while commanding the Indian war.

Can parliamentary democracy, which I uprooted with my own hands, be revived today?

First of all, the voter turnout must exceed 60%. If that doesn’t happen, there is no reason to hold a general election.

Will the people exercise their sovereignty or will they remain silent and veto the decision? The results are finally in.

[There were a total of 51,456,764 voters in this general election, of which 32,345,566 exercised their right to vote. The voter turnout was 62.85%. This is a 3.4% increase from the last general election in 1987.]

“Oh, okay, not bad.”

I found myself clapping without realizing it while watching TV.

The voter turnout in the last general election was less than 60%, but this time it will exceed 60%.

Did the people cast their votes with the intention of believing in the outcome? Then, the identities of the leading candidates for each district were revealed.

[First, let’s look at Seodaemun-gu in Gyeongseong. Park Myeong-ui, the representative of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy, recorded a preliminary vote rate of 55.69%. – (omitted) – And in Dongdaemun-gu in Gyeongseong, Lee Yeon-su, the representative of the Women’s Peace Party, recorded a preliminary vote rate of 56.5%.]

“Okay, very good~.”

I applauded again without realizing it. Aren’t both of them politicians that I raised?

If the voter turnout exceeds 60% and the approval rating also exceeds 50%, then it means that they have the qualifications to represent the people, and there is hope for the revival of parliamentary democracy.