I Will Stage A Coup D’état - Chapter 46



Only Noblemtl

EP.46 Our Style of Democracy (2)

In fact, middle-class voters who are interested in politics had a hard time judging Lee Seong-jun.

Before the coup, Lee Seong-jun seemed like a democratic person who longed for Western-style reform.

“A person with common sense like General Lee should lead this country.”

After the coup, Lee Seong-jun was a typical authoritarian ruler who advocated developmental dictatorship.

“Look at that. When the military takes power, it becomes Park Han-jin.”

Before and after the coup, Lee Seong-jun displayed the ignorance characteristic of a military dictator who showed off his iron fist rule.

“A worse bastard than Park Han-jin.”

And now they say they will implement ‘Korean-style democracy’.

People were briefly confused by the word ‘democracy’.

This was also the effect that the original author was aiming for.

“Is democracy a big deal? Democracy is about electing someone through proper procedures.”

I decided to prepare to run for prime minister in order to gain legitimacy for my regime and also to use the packaging of democracy.

The reason I decided to become prime minister now is because I felt the need to refine the form as I was concretizing my ideology.

Of course, he did not intend to become prime minister by giving the people the right to vote.

However, it was not like he was promoted while receiving applause from places like the National Conference for Unification.

“Mr. President. Then how do you plan on becoming Prime Minister?”

“Sir, wouldn’t it look better if the Prime Minister were to be elected by the members of the National Assembly?”

“But there is that one chance.”

“Your Majesty, what you said makes sense.”

There was nothing special about voting for members of the National Assembly.

If you have the security service take advantage of the weaknesses of the members of the National Assembly, getting votes is easier than eating cold porridge.

But just in case, we decided to do ‘this kind of constitutional amendment’.

“Your Majesty, prepare to nominate one-fourth of the members of the National Salvation Military Committee.”

The military’s method of appointing lawmakers was exactly the same as that used by the Yushin regime or the military juntas in Thailand and Myanmar.

This way, 1/4 of the table was basically guaranteed a seat.

What if we trick 1/3 of the remaining members?

Then half of them will definitely go.

If it’s half, you win.

This is how I built the ‘foundation for permanent rule’.

Incumbent Prime Minister Noh Jae-woo and the National Assembly have agreed to fully cooperate with this constitutional amendment.

It was not difficult to persuade them, as they had promised to hand out seats to the National Salvation Military Council.

As the ‘Yushin’ was being prepared behind the scenes, there was also a statement of support from the military.

“Our leader, General Lee Sung-jun, has finally made the decision to lead this country from the front. Now, we must unite in one voice to support General Lee’s actions and pave the way for his future. How about we pledge all our loyalty to the General here?”

“Yes, I agree.”

Amid the generals’ applause, the army unanimously expressed its support for me.

Although the military nominally has no authority to appoint a prime minister, the lawmakers were left helpless when they exerted pressure like this.

On September 5, 1940, the constitutional amendment was announced.

Even for the Yushin Constitution, it took a year to prepare, but we finished it in exactly one month.

In fact, since it had the outward appearance of a constitutional democracy, there was no major need to modify it.

As a result of the constitutional amendment, our laws have become much worse than before.

But the practical part has improved a bit.

‘But wouldn’t it be better and more plausible for the Prime Minister to be the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces rather than the Minister of the Army or his deputy?’

Immediately after the constitutional amendment, Prime Minister Noh Jae-woo issued an order to dissolve the National Assembly.

We appointed members of the Yuhyeokhoe, which is the military’s share, according to the new constitution.

And then elections were held for the remaining three-quarters of the seats.

Because Korean elections themselves are such an unfair game, the previous largest party, the Grand National Party, once again won most of the seats.

When the seats of the Grand National Assembly and the Yuhyeokhoe are combined, the phenomenon of party bias is more serious than when the Grand National Assembly was previously running alone.

‘That worked out well.’

If we were to consider another constitutional amendment, the more members of the National Assembly the better.

Of course, if there were not enough members, the ratio could be adjusted by putting incumbent members in jail, but it was best to avoid such drastic measures as much as possible.

On September 10, in the election held in the National Assembly, Lee Seong-jun, number 1 on the ballot, was elected Prime Minister with 284 votes out of a total of 300.

“Your Excellency the Prime Minister! Congratulations!”

“Your Majesty, congratulations.”

I was first greeted by the members of the Yuhyeokhoe, who were sitting in their seats wearing military uniforms.

Afterwards, he shook hands with the members of the Grand National Assembly who had come.

‘Now the empire has some semblance of a country.’

Yesterday and today, it appeared to be a democratic country on the outside, but there was a big difference between whether the head of government wore a military uniform or not.

“I congratulate you on your inauguration, Prime Minister.”

In the afternoon, congratulatory messages from ambassadors from various countries arrived.

Among them was one sent by German dictator Adolf Hitler.

“I congratulate Your Excellency the Prime Minister on his inauguration and hope that Germany and Korea will continue to build a close friendship as before.”

I answered the letter from Ambassador Eugen Ott with a smiling face.

“South Korea also wants to get along well with Germany.”

Actually, that’s a lie.

If we join hands with the Nazis, who may be arrogant now but will soon self-destruct, it is clear that we will be isolated from the entire world.

Even Franco almost lost his life after the war, but he survived thanks to the Cold War.

Given the German ambassador’s attitude today, it would not be surprising if Germany made contact again soon.

‘Maybe Hitler will tempt you to get involved in attacking the Soviet Union.’

Of course, I had no intention of joining hands with Hitler no matter what conditions were presented.

Why fight a war when we don’t even have enough energy to modernize our country?

However, if war had to be fought, it had to be the minimum investment to gain a post-war position.

After meeting the ambassador, I prepared a speech to the nation.

“Dear citizens, I am Lee Seong-jun, who has been elected as the Prime Minister of the Korean Empire.”

The voice was cold and hard.

If I took a friendly stance in public, there might be people who would look down on me.

That was difficult.

Although he was formally appointed as Prime Minister, it was beneficial for his reputation to maintain his image as a tough military man.

At first, I explained why I should become Prime Minister.

“For the past three years, the National Salvation Military Committee that I led has worked hard to modernize the country in every part of the empire and has achieved results. However, there were still many areas where things were lacking. There were many things that I could not do while wearing a military uniform.”

Of course, it was a complete lie.

Does power care about the shape of a uniform?

I was the Army Chief of Staff in name only, but I was a dictator who controlled all the power organs of this country as I pleased.

All I’ve changed now is a business card.

But the world looks at things differently depending on the packaging.

It’s like thinking that products sold in marts are luxurious if they are sold in department stores.

I also sat in the Prime Minister’s seat with the aim of achieving that effect.

“That is why I ran for Prime Minister. Fortunately, thanks to the people’s representatives giving me this opportunity, I, Lee Seong-jun, who is lacking in many ways, can serve you.”

In words it is service, but in reality it is rule.

Who will serve me?

It’s something even the emperor can’t do.

“In the next five years, this Lee Seong-jun will make a big change to the empire. I will reform the country to the point where the word ‘Yushin’ will come out. I will protect Korea from the storms of the World War. Please trust this man, Lee Seong-jun.”

This alone was a sincere promise.

It couldn’t be a lie, because protecting the empire meant protecting myself.

It was not a lie that if you did not innovate in the storm of world war, you would not survive.

Immediately after the broadcast, I went around the Security Service to find out the public’s reaction.

The reaction was mixed.

The betrayed urban middle class that had placed its hopes on me,

“Are you going to trust the military dictator again?”

Rural areas were enjoying the fruits of rural modernization.

“I’m sure General Lee Seong-jun will do a good job. Yes.”

The urban poor,

“They say the general will change the country, so I have to believe him just once.”

Expectations and doubts, favors and hostilities, trust and distrust intertwined.

However, it was not easy for even a dictator to gain the support of the entire nation.

Even Russian dictator Putin only received support from 70% of the population out of 140%.

Even a dictator with 20 years of experience like Putin has a batting average of less than half, so how could I expect an approval rating higher than that?

I never had such delusions.

All it took was just a level of approval rating that would have allowed the regime to remain in power.

To begin with, my support base was the military, not the people.

Now that I have the gun to create power, I just need to have enough control to keep the gun from coming back to my head.

“Your Majesty. You don’t have to worry too much about the people’s reactions. No matter how well you treat them, there are those who are dissatisfied, and that can’t be helped.”

“Master, I know that too. By the way, Master, you should also take off your military uniform and join the government soon.”

Kim Seong-ju was surprised by my suggestion.

“Am I the one talking?”

“Yes. I’m thinking of offering you a position in lieu of the army. What do you think?”

“Do you think I can dare to do that?”

If you were the Army Minister, you were at the top of the previous military regime.

“I said I would do it, so what does it matter? You will do it, sir.”

“I will faithfully assist Your Majesty.”

“Okay, fine.”

I appointed many of my former revolutionary comrades to key posts in the military regime.

This kind of nepotism was an act that undermined meritocracy, but there was no other choice.

If you don’t want to be involved in a coup, you have to use your close associates. What can you do?

By carrying out the cabinet appointments, I announced the beginning of our own (Lee Seong-jun style) democracy.