The Chaebol Returns To The Presidency 1967 [EN]: Chapter 1

1. Bermuda Triangle

The Caribbean Sea.

A point of light, like a lantern, drifted lazily on the inky black sea.

Shushushushuk-

A super-luxury cruise ship, a veritable floating hotel weighing 91,000 tons, sliced through the waves.

With 3,800 crew and passengers from 25 countries aboard, the captain proudly introduced the ship as a global Noah’s Ark.

Though it was nearly midnight, the lights blazed in the thousands of circular cabins, where onboard parties, shows, and casinos were in full swing.

VIP Suite.

The top-floor reception room offered a stunning view of the swaying sea through the terrace windows. Inside, the furniture was all in the European style.

The terrace, accessible through a large glass door, was spacious enough for a leisurely brunch.

A distinguished old man sat on a plush bed, a laptop resting on his lap, engrossed in a video.

The old man stood nearly 180cm tall, with a remarkably ruddy complexion for his age.

Despite being 82 years old, he boasted a full head of hair, with a surprising number of black strands still visible among the white.

Though he’d once been a computer illiterate, he could now play video files on the desktop, thanks to his secretary’s patient setup.

The video the old man was watching was a campaign broadcast from his presidential run a decade earlier.

In the video, he delivered a passionate speech.

– Politicians spend enormous sums to maintain their power. A single presidential election costs hundreds of billions. Then there are the National Assembly and local council elections. Isn’t it an open secret that you have to offer money to the higher-ups to secure the party’s nomination?

The old man chuckled, watching the video, and muttered to himself.

“Hmm, I was full of fire back then….”

– Politicians, do you know where they get that money? They extort it from companies. What politicians do is steal the performance of companies and package it as their own achievements. That’s why they say politicians are licensed thieves. If that money were used for economic development, we could double our exports.

The old man crossed his arms, his gaze fixed on the screen.

– They do everything based on school ties, blood ties, and regional ties. Bureaucrats are just neighborhood bullies who hold progress back. Is this still the Joseon Dynasty [Korea’s last dynastic kingdom, known for its rigid social hierarchies]? If I become president, I will completely transform the country into a meritocracy!

The old man stroked his scraggly beard.

“I wasn’t afraid back then, not afraid of anything.”

But now, wasn’t it all just a lonely memory, like fallen leaves scattered by the wind?

He sighed deeply.

“Hoo~ What a mess to be in at the end of my life.”

The old man was Chairman Chung Joo-hyun, the head of Hyunse Group.

The media had once lauded him as the ‘Economic President,’ the driving force behind Korea’s modernization.

A steel dynamo who tirelessly toured construction sites and heavy industry plants around the world, a chaebol [South Korean conglomerate] chairman with 80 trillion won in assets, and the head of 15 listed companies, he was widely known as the ‘King of Chaebols,’ hence the nickname Chairman Wang (King).

Ten years ago, against the advice of his closest aides, he’d launched his ill-fated presidential bid. The result – a third-place finish – came as a profound shock. The aftermath of the defeat was even more devastating.

When the government changed hands, his companies and affiliates were all subjected to relentless tax audits. It was blatant political retaliation disguised as a separation of politics and business.

Unable to conduct normal business, he declared his withdrawal from both politics and the management front lines, fleeing abroad.

Like a wanted fugitive, he had lived an unwanted life in exile for several years.

He had publicly vowed never to hand over the company to his children, promising to entrust it to professional managers to avoid becoming a family-run chaebol, but even that promise crumbled.

While he was abroad, his children had rushed in, fighting like vultures and tearing the company apart. The merit-based Republic of Korea he had championed had become a cruel joke.

Now, he was just a paper tiger.

Chairman Wang placed the laptop on the wooden table beside the bed and picked up the in-room phone, dialing the room number of Manager Lee (29).

Though officially a bodyguard, he simply called him Manager Lee.

Beep~ Beep~ Beep~

The signal went through, but no one answered.

“I was going to have a drink….”

Chairman Wang dialed another number. It was Nurse Jung (33), who served as both his head nurse and secretary. Others called her Section Chief Jung, for appearances’ sake.

Beep~ Beep~ Beep~

She didn’t answer either.

“Did they go to the lounge party?”

Chairman Wang took out a pen-like electronic cigarette, put on a gown, opened the room door, and stepped out.

Just two floors up was the top deck, boasting the best view on the cruise ship.

Just a few years ago, these stairs would have been no problem, but now his legs felt like lead weights.

Though it was a large ship, it swayed noticeably in the huge waves, making him feel slightly seasick.

Holding onto the railing, he walked down the deserted hallway of the fitness center.

Since no one exercised at this late hour, the lights inside were off.

But then he heard a sound from inside the gym.

And he could clearly make out the silhouette of a person moving intensely.

“Huff, huff!”

His ears perked up.

It was definitely the sound of a man and a woman matching their rhythms.

He was about to pass by without disturbing them, figuring they were young and in their prime, but his steps suddenly faltered.

“Could it be….”

The woman’s moans were a familiar voice.

He cautiously approached and peered inside.

The woman moving rhythmically on the exercise ball was none other than Jung Yang! The man panting above her was Manager Lee.

Chairman Wang’s fists clenched, trembling with rage.

“That… that thing is hooking up with a young buck-”

You couldn’t exactly blame unmarried young men and women for hitting it off. But Jung Yang was Chairman Wang’s personal physician and lover, with whom he shared intimate moments.

‘You bastards!’ The shout rose to his throat but died there. It was because of his reflection in the glass.

A pathetic old man, staring with jealous eyes at the affair of young lovers, was preserved like a grotesque portrait.

The old man looked down at his wrinkled, dry, branch-like hand gripping the glass.

Chairman Wang’s mind shattered like a broken window, the pieces pouring out in a rush of bitter realization.

Chairman Wang lowered his head and turned away sadly.

He emerged onto the deck, leaned on the railing, and sucked on the electronic cigarette until his cheeks were hollow.

Hoo~

The cigarette smoke quickly dissipated in the wind.

He muttered to himself.

“Money can’t beat youth, either. Even money… Hoo~ The most important things can’t be bought with money….”

Rich loser Chairman Wang, he consoled himself, recalling his past glory days with the dark sea as his silent witness.

I enjoyed it as much as I could. Except for one thing….

The old man, as the head of a chaebol, had tasted all the pleasures that a human could desire.

He had the most exquisite food, the most beautiful women, expensive clothes, grand houses, and luxurious cars.

But looking back on his life, there were two things he didn’t truly know and one thing he desperately wanted but couldn’t achieve.

Chairman Wang didn’t know the exact number of companies within his sprawling empire. There were 15 listed companies, but the affiliates below them were unfamiliar even by name.

The other thing he didn’t know was the number of children he had fathered. As the emperor of the night, he had used his wealth to possess any woman who caught his eye.

The only thing he couldn’t do was become president. Just thinking about his crushing defeat sent bitter gastric juices churning in his stomach.

As he reminisced about his glorious past, he regretted that his lust for power had been excessive. He had regained enough peace of mind to step back and observe.

But as he eliminated his desires, a profound emptiness washed over him like a relentless wave.

“Ah~ If I could be 30 years younger, I would give up all my wealth….”

He sucked on the electronic cigarette again and exhaled with a sigh.

Hoo~

Suddenly, a hazy fog rolled in, thick and impenetrable, making it impossible to see what lay ahead.

Come to think of it, wasn’t this the middle of the infamous Bermuda Triangle, where mysterious disappearances were commonplace!

Since 1609, as many as 17 ships and 15 planes had vanished without a trace in the Bermuda Triangle. The missing vessels included battleships, oil tankers, cargo ships, yachts, and even nuclear submarines, while the planes ranged from passenger jets and transport aircraft to fighter-bombers and reconnaissance planes, encompassing virtually every type of ship and aircraft.

“Miracles should happen in places like this….”

Whoosh~

As soon as Chairman Wang spoke, a strong wind arose as if by magic. The fog, which had been so dense, scattered like wisps of cigarette smoke.

A particularly bright star became visible in the sky above the horizon.

But it was growing closer and larger, trailing a fiery tail.

“They say that if you make a wish while watching a shooting star, it will come true….”

He wished with all his heart.

‘Please make me young again. So that I can become president in my next life….’

But the fist-sized shooting star grew as big as his head and was rapidly approaching him?

“Wh, what is that?”

The fireball swelled until it was as large as a car.

“Ah!”

The shooting star that hurtled into view was not a shooting star at all.

The falling object was a transport plane, seemingly resurrected from the depths of World War II.

“Aaaagh!”

The transport plane, engulfed in flames, crashed into the cruise ship like a guided missile.

Kwagwang!

Chairman Wang would never know what became of the cruise ship.

Along with the shock of his body being torn apart, everything was sucked into a silent, swirling vortex of darkness.

He couldn’t tell whether he was sinking into the sea or crushed into dust by the catastrophic collision.

‘Ah, so this is how I die….’

With that final thought, Chairman Wang’s lamp of consciousness flickered and died.

* * *

How much time had passed? Chairman Wang’s eyes fluttered open.

Flash!

When he fully opened his eyes, he found himself staring at a wooden desk.

On it sat a desk-sized Korean flag and a globe, a Parker fountain pen, a few sharply sharpened pencils and memo pads, printed materials, an intercom, a crystal ashtray and cigarettes, and a rotary dial telephone.

I died in the Bermuda Triangle when a military transport plane crashed into me, right? …Reincarnation?

But something felt profoundly strange.

If it were reincarnation, shouldn’t he be in a delivery room, surrounded by midwives or nurses? Instead, he was in a formal, austere office.

He opened his eyes wide and took in his surroundings.

On the opposite wall hung a magnificent, large photograph of Baekdu Mountain’s Cheonji Lake [a crater lake on the border between North Korea and China, considered sacred in Korean culture].

The windows and wooden pillars, decorated with traditional Korean patterns, and the imposing purple doors exuded a palace-like atmosphere.

To his left, a large Japanese Sony television was on. But it was an old-fashioned television with a built-in cathode-ray tube, as thick as a stereo.

His eyes widened in disbelief.

“Black and white TVs were a thing before the 80s?”

Looking more closely, the cigarettes were ‘Saemaul’ [a now-discontinued brand of Korean cigarettes], and the phone was indeed a rotary dial type.

“Is this some kind of retro museum of memories?”

He blinked his eyes, trying to make sense of it all.

He looked down at his hands. They were not the hands of a newborn baby, but the hands of a middle-aged man.

Ah, Bermuda! My prayers were answered! But… middle-aged as soon as I’m born? But why are all my memories intact? If it’s reincarnation, there’s no way I’d retain memories of my past life?

The clothes he was wearing were also expensive black tailcoats, impeccably tailored.

“Is this what they call regression?”

He turned his head to look around and discovered a familiar emblem behind him. It was a large crest featuring a pair of golden phoenixes facing each other, with a golden rose of Sharon [South Korea’s national flower] sculpture in the center.

“Su, surely? The Blue House [the former executive office and official residence of the President of South Korea]?….”

Looking at the handouts on the desk, he saw the title ‘Oath of Office of the 6th President.’

President? Who was the 6th?

The last line stated, ‘July 1, 1967, President Park Jung-woong.’

“Park Jung-woong?! What? Surely, I’ve regressed to President Park in ’67?”

Chairman Wang practically leaped to the mirror on the side.

“Gasp!”

In the mirror stood a petite man with dark skin, eyes lacking double eyelids, prominent cheekbones, and tightly closed lips.

If he covered his hair, which was slicked back with pomade oil, donned a straw hat, and held a hoe, he would look like a quintessential farmer, but his eyes held an intense, unwavering gaze.

“Park Jung-woong…. Su, surely I’ve become him?”

They say the position makes the person, and if you sit on the throne and wear the dragon robe, aren’t you the king, no matter what you look like?

He touched his face with his hands. His senses were undeniably intact. The reality that he was inhabiting someone else’s body was becoming increasingly undeniable.

He’s shorter than I thought. I can’t do manual labor on a construction site with this physique. But I’m young!

To become a young president, surely Bermuda’s wish has come true.

But he was deeply conflicted as to whether the fulfillment of his wish was a blessing or a curse.

Park Jung-woong is a president who seized power through a military coup.

In the beginning, he quelled the chaos and laid the foundation for economic development, earning high public support, but starting with the Third Amendment, he succumbed to the allure of lifelong rule through the Yushin Amendment [a series of self-coup measures that granted Park near-dictatorial powers] and met a tragic end.

Thanks to that, he is an indispensable figure in modern Korean history, receiving conflicting evaluations as a military dictator.

He touched his face again with his hand.

It’s definitely not a dream….

But it still felt unreal. No, it was hard to accept the reality of becoming Park Jung-woong.

Why did it have to be President Park!

The point in time when Chairman Wang regressed was the turning point when he embarked on the path of a dictator with the Third Amendment.