"Hey, President Park."
Accompanied by a lady in a beautifully arranged hanbok, Executive Director Woo Chun-il entered the private room of the Ojinam restaurant. With a smile on his face, he greeted Seok-won, who had been waiting.
Seok-won rose from his seat and slightly bowed his head. As he did, Woo Chun-il extended his hand towards him.
"It's been such a long time since we last met."
"I should have visited more often, I'm sorry."
Grasping Seok-won's hand, Woo Chun-il smiled and said, "Hahaha. No need to apologize. I shouldn't bother someone as busy as you."
"No matter how busy I am, if you call, I should always make time to come."
This made Woo Chun-il burst into hearty laughter.
"Ha! You've really become quite the flatterer!"
"I mean it."
Seok-won also smiled slightly and responded in a playful tone.
"Well, even if it's just empty words, it still feels nice to hear. Please, have a seat."
Woo Chun-il gave his shoulder a light tap in a friendly manner before sitting down.
On the small table before them was an array of delicacies, more than thirty dishes in total.
The lady, a graceful beauty with a refined air, picked up a porcelain teapot and poured their drinks. With a gentle voice, she asked,
"Shall I bring the children in now?"
"Let's wait a bit before we call them in. I have something to discuss with the Executive Director first."
Noticing the unspoken cue, the lady gracefully excused herself.
"Alright. I'll go check on the children and leave you to your conversation."
As the sliding door quietly closed behind her, Woo Chun-il raised his cup and leaned forward, starting the conversation.
"I met your father at the recent event hosted by the Federation of Korean Industries. He's still full of energy."
"He's still young."
Seok-won lightly clinked his glass and responded.
"True, there's that saying, 'Life begins at 60.' He's still at the prime age to be active."
"Exactly."
After Woo Chun-il downed a glass of Andong soju in one gulp, Seok-won filled his glass again with the teapot while agreeing.
Then, he glanced at Woo Chun-il's expression and spoke.
"The convention is scheduled for next week, so I know you must be busy, but I really appreciate you making time for this."
Woo Chun-il waved his hand dismissively.
"You're just making excuses to take a day off. Besides, the urgent matters are all taken care of, so I'm a bit more free now."
"After the convention, Chairman Kim will challenge for the presidency for the fourth time."
"It's already set, I suppose."
Woo Chun-il set his glass down, his expression a bit sour.
Though the convention hadn't even happened yet, both of them had already accepted as a foregone conclusion that Chairman Kim Jae-chun would win.
It was inevitable, given that the new era of the Nationalist Party was essentially formed by those loyal to Chairman Kim, particularly the Donggyo-dong faction, making his victory all but guaranteed.
Even though there were some rivals, it was more of a formality, a mere coronation of Kim Jae-chun as the party's presidential candidate.
"Once the convention is over, the campaign for the presidency will begin, right?"
"Other parties will start naming their candidates soon too, so that's likely to happen."
Seok-won took out a folded note and a key from his pocket and placed them in front of Woo Chun-il.
"I've prepared this, thinking it might be of some help to you."
Woo Chun-il looked at him for a moment before picking up the note and unfolding it.
[Yeouido Taechang Office 1311]
With a furrowed brow, Woo Chun-il looked up and asked, "What's this?"
With a calm voice, Seok-won answered, "Running for president requires a lot of funding, doesn't it?"
"...!"
"So, I prepared it with care. But because of the real-name system, the volume got large, so I placed the cash there for your convenience."
Executive Director Woo Chun-il, surprised by the unexpected gift, asked with a shocked expression.
"Just how much are we talking about, that you had to rent out an officetel?"
"Ten billion won."
At the amount that far exceeded his expectations, Woo Chun-il's eyes widened.
"T-Ten billion, did you say?"
"Yes, that's correct."
Swallowing dryly, Woo Chun-il could only let out an exclamation, seemingly at a loss for words.
"Well, I'll be damned..."
As if his throat had gone dry, he lifted his glass and downed it in one go, setting it down with a sharp clack before looking at Seok-won.
"You really do have a knack for surprising people."
His voice softened as he continued.
"To be honest, I've been racking my brain about how to raise funds for the presidential campaign. For you to come forward with such a large sum in advance... I'm truly grateful."
"I only regret that I can't help you even more."
"No, no. This alone is more than enough. Frankly, if it weren't for you, who else would willingly provide such a huge amount to an opposition party like ours?"
Indeed, up until this point, most people assumed that the ruling Gongjeong Party's candidate would win the next presidential election.
'Even if we united into one force, it'd be a tough fight. But with the opposition divided into several factions, people had no choice but to think that way.'
However, the IMF crisis had completely upended not only the Korean economy but also the presidential race.
Looking at Seok-won, who remained calm despite delivering such a massive sum, Woo Chun-il's eyes were full of gratitude.
"Just like in the last election, I don't even know how I'll ever repay this debt I owe you."
"Please, think nothing of it. I'm simply doing this because I want to."
"Still, if there's anything you want, don't hesitate to tell me. If it's beyond my power, I'll speak to the Chairman himself to make it happen."
"I didn't offer my help expecting anything in return."
Seok-won declined with modesty.
Seeing this, Woo Chun-il grew even more fond of him and asked again.
"It's not that I don't understand your heart, but I feel bad just accepting without giving back."
At this, Seok-won hesitated for a moment before speaking, as if giving in reluctantly.
"If you insist... there is one thing I'd like to ask."
Woo Chun-il leaned in with curiosity.
"Go ahead, tell me."
"There's someone I believe has too much talent to be left buried in the shadows. If it's alright with you, I'd like you to consider him as one of the candidates for the nomination in the upcoming by-election."
Thinking that Seok-won would surely ask for some business-related favor, Woo Chun-il looked puzzled.
"So... you're asking for a nomination slot?"
"I just hope you can include him as one of the candidates."
However, given how much Seok-won had already helped, merely placing his recommended person among the list of candidates wouldn't do justice—not just for Secretary-General Woo Chun-il, but also for Chairman Kim Jae-chun's dignity and authority.
Even setting aside the 10 billion won he received today as campaign funds, considering all the support he'd gotten from Seok-won until now, granting a nomination for a parliamentary seat was well within reason.
Naturally, Woo Chun-il assumed that Chairman Kim would readily approve as well. Smiling generously, he asked,
"Is there a particular district you have in mind?"
"No, sir. He's originally from Seosan in Chungcheong Province, but he has no political background, so any district would be fine."
"Hmm. In that case, it might be difficult to send him to a tough district."
Woo Chun-il muttered while folding his arms.
But in truth, since this was a candidate recommended by Seok-won, they had no intention of sending him to a difficult battleground. They would place him in a safe district where simply running under the party banner would ensure victory. The lack of political experience wasn't much of an issue.
"So, who is this person you want us to nominate?"
At this, Seok-won, as if waiting for this question, answered right away.
"His name is Choi Bok-rak. Until recently, he was a manager at the Securities Supervisory Board. He was forced to resign after being falsely accused by forces behind a stock manipulation scheme."
"Oh? Was there such a case?"
"You may recall Bosung Telecom, sir. Chairman Kim is familiar with them too."
At that, Woo Chun-il slapped his knee, as if his memory had just been jogged.
"Ah! You mean that stock manipulation scandal involving Woo Ho-geun, the eldest son of Donghae Group?"
"That's right. At the time, Manager Choi Bok-rak was leading the investigation. When the operators couldn't sway him, they framed him, claiming he had used his position to secure a job for a relative, and forced him to resign."
"I think I remember seeing an article about that."
Woo Chun-il frowned slightly, looking a bit uncomfortable.
"It's true that a relative was hired at a supervised institution, but unlike what the article claimed, Manager Choi never engaged in any improper actions. It wasn't reported in the media, but an internal audit later cleared his name."
As he explained, Seok-won filled Woo Chun-il's empty glass with soju.
Any lingering record of influence-peddling would become a vulnerability if Choi Bok-rak were to enter politics, so after the high-ranking officials involved in the scandal were all purged, Seok-won had made sure to arrange a re-investigation to clear Choi's name.
"Hmm. Still, the fact that his name was involved in such a scandal and appeared in the papers doesn't exactly help his political prospects."
As Woo Chun-il muttered while stroking his chin, Seok-won quietly slid a black briefcase toward him.
"In addition to the funds placed in the officetel, I thought you might also need some cash on hand, so I prepared this separately."
"Heh. You didn't have to go this far."
Though he said this, Woo Chun-il made no effort to refuse and subtly pulled the briefcase toward his side.
Then, with a warm, agreeable smile, he spoke.
"It might not be entirely ideal, but if he's been cleared of wrongdoing, it shouldn't be a big problem. You said the young man's name is Choi Bok-rak, right?"
"That's right."
"If he's from the Securities and Exchange Commission, he must be knowledgeable about the economy."
"He's been nicknamed 'Dokodae,' as he was excellent at tracking down and thoroughly punishing stock manipulation forces who tampered with the market."
Hearing Seok-won's words, Woo Chun-il nodded.
"The economy has been in rough shape lately. We've been in need of someone knowledgeable in this area, so this timing seems perfect."
"He resigned from the SEC and then studied economics at a university in the U.S., so if you keep him close, he'll be of great help."
"Oh, really? That's even better then."
Woo Chun-il made a decisive gesture, slapping his leg.
"Alright, I'll talk to the Chairman about it. I'll have him send over his resume, so tell him to come find me."
By now, with this decision made, it was practically guaranteed that Choi Bok-rak would receive the party's nomination for the upcoming by-election or the next general election.
With the upcoming presidential election approaching, Seok-won, who had successfully placed his ally in the New Era National Assembly party, couldn't help but smile inwardly.
"I appreciate you agreeing so readily, even though it's such a difficult request."
"Come on, it's your request. I can do this much easily. Is there anything else you need help with?"
"No."
"Then let's stop with the serious talk and enjoy our drinks."
"Right."
Seok-won stood up and picked up the intercom located on the wall. A short time later, Madam returned.
"It looks like your conversation is over."
Behind Madam were two young beauties with looks that could rival any celebrity.
"Oh, Madam, you're back."
"It was tough picking the right girls for you two."
With that, Madam closed the sliding door behind her.
TL/n -
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