Chapter 732: Even If I Send Them Back, It Won’t Stop

The National Convention, known as the flower of party politics.

National Conventions were events held to elect party leadership, revise the party constitution and regulations, and gather party opinions, such as for the presidential election candidate selection.

This National Convention of the Moderate Party was the first in a long while, drawing considerable attention from the public.

I arrived at COEX, where the National Convention was being held.

COEX was already swarming with people.

The National Convention, which had traveled throughout the country starting in Busan, was concluding today.

With this final day, the long journey would end. A new party leadership would be elected and lead the party.

After getting out of the car with Manager Ma, I immediately called Myeong-su.

—Oh, Mu-hyeok. Did you get home alright last night?

Myeong-su’s voice mixed with the surrounding noise came through the receiver.

“I’ve arrived at COEX, can I just go in?”

—Wait a sec. I’ll send someone right away. Where are you now?

I gestured to Manager Ma, and he told me our current location.

I relayed the information and Myeong-su cheerfully replied.

—Okay. I’ll send my aide over right now.

After ending the call I looked around.

Police were controlling the area and people were constantly getting off the chartered buses that had come from all over the country.

It was a sight that made it clear why the National Convention was called the flower of party politics.

I don’t know how long I waited. A bespectacled man could be seen running towards us in a hurry.

“Boss Kim Mu-hyeok.”

“Aide Han Seok-jin. It’s been a while. How have you been?”

I extended my hand for a handshake, feeling pleased. Han Seok-jin then took my hand with both of his.

After a brief handshake, he turned first.

“Please, allow me to escort you this way.”

“Alright. Sorry for the trouble.”

“No, it’s an honor just having you attend this National Convention.”

“That’s a relief. I was worried I might get cursed out for being an unwanted guest who wasn’t even a party member.”

“Haha. You’re not a party member but aren’t you someone who loves the Moderate Party more than anyone?”

I had worried that he might be wary of me since I wasn’t a party member but, instead, Han Seok-jin responded with a playful remark.

He used to be so stiff at first, but it was quite refreshing to see him cracking jokes now that he was with Myeong-su.

I followed Han Seok-jin towards the National Convention hall.

Han Seok-jin received two entry passes from the part-time workers confirming party members and handing out passes.

“Just hang them around your neck. Then let’s go inside.”

Manager Ma and I took the passes he handed us, hung them around our necks and went inside.

“It must have been difficult to secure the venue, but you managed to rent COEX.”

“Haha. We’ve been preparing for this months in advance, so we were able to hold the National Convention without much trouble.”

I’d heard that renting COEX wasn’t easy. It seems the Moderate Party had put in quite the effort to prepare.

The spacious National Convention hall was already packed with people.

The heat was so intense that the sheer number of people made it hard to breathe.

“There are so many people.”

“It’s the first National Convention in a while and today is the last day, isn’t it? So people have flocked from all over the country. The party leadership will be announced today.”

“I see.”

“Then let’s go to your seats…”

Han Seok-jin was about to guide us to the seats in the front.

Aren’t those seats too noticeable? I shook my head slightly.

I didn’t particularly feel like going through the crowds of people.

“Aide, I’ll just watch from the back. I don’t really like crowded places.”

“Ah…”

“Don’t worry. Manager Ma is here so there won’t be any problems. Just tell Myeong-su where I am. He’s my friend he knows my personality better than anyone so he’ll understand.”

“Understood.”

“You must be busy, so go ahead.”

I sent Han Seok-jin away and went to sit in the furthest corner.

There weren’t many people around.

I spent the time chatting with Manager Ma.

“Boss Kim Mu-hyeok.”

At that moment, someone called out to me. I turned my head and saw a familiar face.

“Assemblyman Lee Gi-ho. Or rather, I should call you Chief Secretary now.”

“Haha. Thank you.”

After the recent bloodshed, the Blue House undertook a large-scale reshuffle in order to appease the public.

The person who had come to find me was Assemblyman Lee Gi-ho who was appointed Chief Secretary this time.

The positions of Chief Secretary and Assemblyman were not to be held simultaneously. Lee Gi-ho abandoned his seat as a National Assemblyman without regret, and chose to be Chief Secretary.

Lee Gi-ho looked around and spoke to me in a low voice.

“The President wants to meet you quietly.”

“Has he arrived already?”

“He’s just left. I arrived earlier to wait for you.”

“He could have just called me to the Blue House.”

“That’s…”

Assemblyman Lee Gi-ho hesitated, not speaking easily as he kept looking around. It seems like something was bothering him.

“If it’s difficult to talk about, you can tell me later.”

“Thank you.”

I stood up from my seat.

There was no reason for the President to ask to meet me in a public place.

“Let’s go. Where should I wait?”

“The President will come to the place where he’s waiting. I’ll escort you there.”

Assemblyman Lee Gi-ho was a colleague of President Yoon Chang-ho from the training institute.

He had entered politics before President Yoon Chang-ho, but originally he was someone without any real clout.

However, things changed when President Yoon Chang-ho was elected.

He was referred to as the President’s confidant, and slowly grew in stature.

He was willing to abandon his assemblyman position on the President’s orders, which showed his ambition and loyalty.

I thought about what kind of person Lee Gi-ho was as I followed him out of the National Convention hall.

Staff members who had already come from the Presidential Security Service were checking the President’s route.

“Please wait here.”

“Okay.”

“Then I will go meet the President.”

After Lee Gi-ho left, I sat down on the sofa. I felt uneasy.

“There’s something going on, but I don’t know what.”

Manager Ma replied in a low voice to my mutterings.

“I cannot grasp the atmosphere inside the Blue House. All the people we had placed were removed during this reshuffle.”

“Really? It can’t be that they knew they were our people, so…”

“I’ll look into it more.”

I nodded and waited for President Yoon Chang-ho.

A moment later, the door opened and President Yoon Chang-ho and Lee Gi-ho entered together.

I stood up from my seat after confirming Yoon Chang-ho’s face.

“Boss Kim. It’s been a while.”

“It has been a while. It’s been a long trip to Japan.”

Yoon Chang-ho nodded and extended his hand. I took his hand and smiled.

“You’ve lost quite a bit of weight.”

“My wife said I look better though?”

“Still you should lose more for your health. If the President were to collapse…”

“Oh, come on, enough. Don’t you start with those kinds of nagging too, Boss Kim. Let’s sit down first.”

As soon as Yoon Chang-ho sat down, he stated why he had called me.

“I’m sorry for calling you here like this. However, I had no choice but to call you through the Secretary-General. I wanted to meet quietly.”

“I could have just gone to the Blue House.”

“That would be a bit difficult. Even if we meet secretly, rumors will spread.”

Yoon Chang-ho also suffered losses due to the bloodshed and Chinese pressure.

He had to be careful about gossip, so it was an understandable action.

“As you know, there was a large-scale replacement of staff at the Blue House during this reshuffle.”

Even though most of the staff were replaced, he didn’t call me to the Blue House.

This meant that he couldn’t trust everyone yet.

“Besides, it has been a while since we have seen each other. I wanted to talk with you face to face, rather than on the phone.”

As if to ease the heavy atmosphere, Yoon Chang-ho made a light joke.

I nodded with a small smile, and Yoon Chang-ho smiled softly and continued to speak.

“It doesn’t matter who I meet at the National Convention. No one would even pay attention to us, right? They are more focused on who will become the leadership.”

“It would have been better if you had done the reshuffle with people you could trust.”

“It was a rushed reshuffle so there was nothing I could do. Public opinion was quite negative, wasn’t it?”

Seeing his bitter expression, I offered a light word of comfort.

“Things are slowly being sorted out, so your approval ratings will rise again.”

“I hope so. The reason I called you here today is because of China. A few days ago, China sent an unofficial letter to the Blue House.”

“An unofficial letter?”

I asked, surprised, and Yoon Chang-ho nodded with a grim face.

“They said that if we do not repatriate their citizens involved in this incident back to China, they will impose disadvantages on Korean companies in China. They also warned that there could be various other disadvantages.”

“…Is that true? China would also lose money.”

Their reaction was stronger than I expected. China hadn’t fully grown yet.

With time, they would become an economic superpower, following in the footsteps of the U.S., but they still needed to grow.

Later, they would use economic sanctions as a weapon to pressure other countries, but they were still not powerful enough to do so.

If that happened, Korean companies would be greatly damaged, but China would suffer even more.

“That’s why it’s unofficial. Officially, they’ll deny it.”

“They’re crazy.”

“I think so too. I’m more worried since there are already signs of it.”

“They are quite strong. I hear that they are also putting pressure on North Korea in the name of aid.”

“North Korea too?”

Yoon Chang-ho asked, surprised. It seemed Yoon Chang-ho didn’t know about this.

“Why North Korea? China has no reason to abandon North Korea, right?”

“It seems they are afraid that their influence on the Korean peninsula is decreasing, since the North and South are getting too close, and are also working on various projects together with Russia.”

“Ha! Those arrogant bastards. Who do they think they are to talk about influence…”

Yoon Chang-ho clicked his tongue as if displeased, but his face was full of worry.

“Mr. President. If things go as they warned, Korean companies will suffer significant damage. We cannot give up the Chinese market.”

China was Korea’s largest trading partner.

One of the reasons why they were able to quickly overcome the financial crisis was because of the increased exports due to China’s growth.

Korea, with its small domestic market, relied heavily on exports, so if trade with China was blocked, the damage would be significant.

“That’s why there are ongoing calls to send the Korean-Chinese people back.”

“Even if we send them back, it won’t stop. It’s just a pretext to tame Korea. They’ll make up another excuse if we send them back.”

This wasn’t an issue that could be resolved by sending back the Korean-Chinese people who had committed crimes in Korea.

“I know. But shouldn’t we do that to appease China? We have to show them that we do not want to fight with China.”

“If we step back once, they will make more outrageous demands next time. Can you handle that?”

At my words, Yoon Chang-ho pursed his lips. It seemed like he was having difficulty with his decision.

A moment later, Yoon Chang-ho asked me with a serious expression.

“Boss Kim. Let me ask you one thing. Please answer me honestly.”

“Please, go ahead.”

“As far as I know, I believe you’ve made quite a large investment in China. And Jungwoo Group is also building several factories in China.”

“Yes. That is correct.”

“The one who will be most affected is not me, but you. Even so, are you saying that we shouldn’t step back?”

I wasn’t expecting that question.

He seemed to think that I wouldn’t be able to give an answer right away, Yoon Chang-ho urged me to answer quickly.

“Are you worried about me? You know me better than anyone.”

“I know you well. But this is not an easy matter. China is a country where common sense doesn’t work. You could have a difficult time.”

I looked straight into Yoon Chang-ho’s eyes. His eyes were filled with genuine concern.

“It’s alright. I’m not entirely without responsibility in this matter. I didn’t think that things would get this big, but this was something that would happen eventually. It is China we’re talking about.”

“That’s right. But it wouldn’t have happened during my term. Then, even if there is some damage, I’ll reject China’s demands.”

“Yes. Please do so. I will focus on expanding our projects with North Korea and quickly pushing them forward in order to minimize the impact as much as possible. I will give priority to the companies that are affected by this first.”

Yoon Chang-ho let out a small sigh of relief at my words.

“Will you do that? I was worried about the companies, but if you do that, it will be reassuring.”

“And I’ll try to find a separate solution. Don’t worry too much. In the short term, Korea will suffer damage, but in the long term, China will suffer even more. It’s a method that cannot last.”

“I understand. For now I will continue to hold on.”

Yoon Chang-ho nodded with a stern face.

Even if the President made a decision, the issue would inevitably be shaken by those around him, so he had to harden his resolve.

“Mr. President. It’s almost time for you to leave.”

“Has time already passed so quickly?”

“Yes, it has.”

At Lee Gi-ho’s words, Yoon Chang-ho nodded and stood up from his seat.

“Boss Kim. There’s another reason why I didn’t call you to the Blue House. The information from the Blue House is constantly being leaked to the outside. And it’s going to China.”

“Mr. President.”

Lee Gi-ho urgently stopped Yoon Chang-ho.

However, despite Lee Gi-ho’s restraint, Yoon Chang-ho continued to speak.

“Are you saying that there is a Chinese spy within the Blue House?”

“Yes. They are completely aware of our strategies. I’ve determined there is a spy among the Chief Secretaries. That’s why I’m meeting you this way.”

“If there is a Chinese spy among the Chief Secretaries… it must be one of the new Chief Secretaries.”

Yoon Chang-ho, who now had a troubled expression, nodded.

“That’s also not for sure. It could be among the old Chief Secretaries. Could you look into it for me? It’s a bit difficult for me to do it myself.”

“Understood.”

“Thank you. I’m counting on you, Boss Kim.”

Yoon Chang-ho, who managed a faint smile, left the room to attend the National Convention.