The Chaebol Returns To The Presidency 1967 [EN]: Chapter 13

13. The New Blue House Trio

Lieutenant General Kim Gaewon was on a train to his hometown of Yeongju with his wife, looking forward to a rare vacation.

Clatter-clatter-

Feeling the train’s vibrations, Kim Gaewon said to his wife,

“After riding only military jeeps, taking a train feels like a real trip.”

“It’s been so long since we’ve visited our hometown.”

Seeing ordinary people, not soldiers, was refreshing.

“Why isn’t the train moving?”

The train, stopped at an intermediate station, hadn’t moved for several minutes.

“Is something wrong?”

Passengers craned their necks to see what was happening.

Just then, the stationmaster, in uniform, boarded the train, calling out,

“Is General Kim Gaewon here? General Kim Gaewon!”

Kim Gaewon, surprised, raised his hand.

“Are you looking for me?”

The stationmaster hurried over, bowed, and said,

“Are you General Kim Gaewon?”

“Yes, I am.”

The stationmaster sighed in relief.

“Phew, you’re here. Please disembark immediately.”

“Here? We still have a ways to go.”

“We received an urgent message. You must return at once.”

“Return! What’s going on? Who sent this message?”

“I’m not sure. I’m just relaying an urgent message from railway headquarters.”

“…….”

A recall order during a soldier’s vacation meant an emergency.

As Kim Gaewon and his wife got off the train, a jeep arrived.

An officer approached and saluted.

“What’s the emergency?”

“A helicopter is waiting at the nearby training ground.”

“A helicopter? Has the North invaded?”

“I don’t know, sir. Please get in.”

Kim Gaewon turned to his wife.

“You go on to our hometown. I have to go alone.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Whoosh~

At the nearby unit, the unit commander saluted.

Kim Gaewon asked,

“What’s the emergency?”

“We received an urgent recall order.”

“I’m asking what happened! Has there been a skirmish on the DMZ [Demilitarized Zone]?”

“No, sir. The order came from the KCIA [Korean Central Intelligence Agency], not the Ministry of National Defense.”

“The KCIA?”

Tu-ta-ta-ta-

The helicopter took off with a deafening roar.

He learned the reason from the pilot.

“We’re going to the Blue House [the presidential residence].”

“The Blue House?”

Kim Gaewon realized he was the new Director of the KCIA.

The KCIA’s power was so immense it could stop a train and commandeer a military helicopter.

Kim Gaewon found this power overwhelming.

Before his regression, Kim Gaewon was appointed Director of the KCIA in 1969, succeeding ‘Namsan Wild Boar’ Kim Youngwook, after retiring as Army Chief of Staff with the rank of general. Now, he was being chosen two years earlier.

Kim Gaewon was often compared to Kim Youngwook.

He tried to uphold his conscience and avoid unnecessary violence, leading the opposition party to call him ‘Namsan Scholar’ with mixed praise and mockery.

He avoided political intervention before the 7th presidential election and remained neutral, drawing criticism from the ruling party for incompetence and leading to his dismissal in less than two years.

His tenure as Director of the KCIA was short.

Afterward, he served as ambassador to Taiwan and Japan, then became President Park’s last Chief of Staff, succeeding Kim Chungryeom.

Unfortunately, he was present at the October 26 incident in 1979 and sentenced to death with Kim Jaegu for failing to act after hearing Kim Jaegu say he would kill Cha Jicheol just before dinner, and for aiding the President’s assassination.

His sentence was reduced to life imprisonment, and he was later pardoned in a special amnesty.

Kim Gaewon didn’t believe Kim Jaegu would actually shoot, thinking it an angry outburst. Immediately after the incident, he reported Kim Jaegu, providing crucial information for his arrest, but was framed as an accomplice.

Kim Gaewon was a necessary figure for the KCIA’s political neutrality during the transitional period.

* * *

The Blue House, Presidential Office.

The President shook hands with Kim Gaewon.

“I want you to take charge of the KCIA.”

“Your Excellency, I’m overwhelmed. But I’m not familiar with intelligence matters and don’t think I’m the right person.”

“Hmm, you don’t like the KCIA because of the strong-arm tactics, do you?”

“…….”

That was true. Kim Gaewon wasn’t power-hungry like Kim Youngwook.

He was a gentleman with a common-sense approach.

He was on his way to his hometown, planning an honorable military retirement.

He didn’t think the KCIA, which required playing the villain, was his path.

The President said,

“I’m going to reform the KCIA. You don’t have to use violence like Kim Youngwook. Focus on collecting and delivering information. Political neutrality—a gentleman like you is perfect. I want you to take it!”

The President, knowing he’d decline, showed his sincerity by sending a helicopter.

Kim Gaewon couldn’t refuse the President’s earnest request.

The next key appointment was the Chief of the Presidential Security Service.

He chose Jang Taewan.

Before his regression, Jang Taewan was a true soldier who opposed the 12.12 coup [a military coup led by Chun Doo-hwan] led by Chun Doohwan.

When the Korean War broke out, he volunteered for the Army General School, crossed battle lines, and fought on the front lines. He was labeled an ‘ideologically impure person’ for arguing for the dissolution of the Defense Security Command in his Army University thesis.

After serving as Chief of Staff of the Capital Defense Command and commander of the 26th Division, he became commander of the Capital Garrison Command after the October 26 incident.

But it was the beginning of his misfortune. A month after taking office, the ‘12.12 Incident’ broke out.

Jang Taewan defined Chun Doohwan’s group as ‘rebels’ and risked his life to suppress them, fulfilling his duty as a soldier, even knowing it was a ‘losing battle’ because the Army Chief of Staff had been kidnapped.

After failing to suppress the new military, he was arrested by the Defense Security Command, investigated at the Seobinggo annex for two months, forced to resign, and placed under house arrest for two years.

His misfortune continued.

His father, seeing his son dragged away by the Defense Security Command on TV, stopped eating and only drank makgeolli [Korean rice wine] before passing away. His only son, attending Seoul National University, went missing and was found dead.

When Roh Taewoo took power, he advised him as a special advisor.

Although an enemy of Chun Doohwan, Roh Taewoo restored his honor and resolved his resentment.

The President appointed a true soldier as Chief of the Security Service to check both the old and new military factions, intending to appoint him Minister of National Defense later for military reforms that would remove the Hanahoe [a secret military society] and focus on the military’s original duties.

With this, the selection of the three key figures in the Blue House was complete.

Before announcing the cabinet reshuffle, the President called the Chief of Staff.

“Your Excellency, you called for me!”

“We need to communicate with the opposition party. We can’t let the National Assembly be idle forever.”

“Of course. Normalizing the political situation is urgent.”

“I want to meet the opposition party’s floor leader. Invite him to the Blue House.”

“Are you referring to Assemblyman Kim Yongsam?”

“Yes.”

The Chief of Staff looked troubled.

“Well, he’s currently holding a street protest against the fraudulent election and has publicly stated he’ll refuse all political schedules unless a re-election is held….”

“Hmm, I know. We’ll do as he wants.”

“Yes? A re-election?”

“We’ll discuss the details later. The opposition party is reluctant to meet publicly, but politics is about behind-the-scenes coordination. Arrange a private, one-on-one meeting with me at the Blue House.”

“Yes, Your Excellency!”

“The opposition party’s leadership will definitely refuse. The Chief of Staff should secretly contact him directly and convey my words.”

The President told the Chief of Staff the agenda.

The Chief of Staff’s eyes widened.

“Ah, really with that agenda….”

“Really. Otherwise, would he come?”

“I understand.”

The Chief of Staff tilted his head as he left.

It was because of the surprising content that would shock the ruling party if they heard it.

* * *

Police Station, Temporary Special Investigation Headquarters.

Local detectives were smoking cigarettes in the office.

The atmosphere was uneasy.

The investigation chief, with a receding hairline, frowned.

“Even if they came from the central government, how are they going to catch Assemblyman Cha Jincheol?”

“That’s right. Don’t they know he’s a favorite of the President?”

“They must have ten lives. They’ll just pretend and then stop.”

“Of course. Election crime investigations are always anticlimactic.”

In that era, if local investigators handled election crimes, it was just a formality to grant immunity because the influential figures and local police were in cahoots.

However, this time, by the President’s special order, prosecutors were dispatched from the central government to major cities to set up special investigation headquarters and conduct a high-intensity investigation.

Interrogation room.

Prosecutor Na was interrogating Yeo Cheolgu, the planning director in charge of Cha Jincheol’s funds, who had been arrested.

The planning director, unlike a suspect, leaned back in his chair, smoking and making smoke rings.

Next to him was a lawyer from a prosecutor background, hired by Cha Jincheol, guarding him.

The lawyer was a senior colleague, ten classes ahead of Prosecutor Na in the training institute.

He’d come to intimidate the prosecutor with his seniority for a large sum of money.

The suspect remained silent, and the lawyer with gold-rimmed glasses stepped forward, threatening Prosecutor Na.

“Hey, Prosecutor Na. If there’s anyone among the voters who hasn’t received a bowl of makgeolli or a pair of rubber shoes, tell them to come forward. If that’s a crime, the entire general election has to be redone. It’s a matter of fairness.”

“The local steering committee chairman handed a cash envelope on the spot to someone who marked ballot number 1 next to the polling booth. This is unacceptable.”

“Oh, my. Why are you so stubborn? I’m a lawyer, you’re a public official. Don’t you want a promotion? Summoning the President’s right-hand man like this won’t help during personnel season.”

Prosecutor Na slammed his palm on the wooden desk.

Thump!

The lawyer’s eyes widened.

“Good heavens! What are you doing to your senior?”

Prosecutor Na’s eyes turned fierce.

“Are you threatening me, lawyer?”

“…….”

“Are we having an alumni meeting? This is an investigation! Refrain from using informal language.”

“Hey, you….”

“I’m asking if the planning director handed over this money envelope!”

“Ahem, okay. So you want to argue the law….”

The lawyer straightened his posture and smirked.

“How many money envelopes are there in Korea? Why are you making assumptions? Do you have a picture of it?”

“We have multiple witness statements.”

“Oh, those are unreliable confessions. The opposing candidate maliciously spread false rumors. I’ll get a bunch of counter-witness statements saying that’s not true. Then it’s settled, right?”

It was a tactic to cover up the confession with a counter-confession to muddy the waters.

Until then, investigations by prosecutors and police mainly relied on confessions unless they caught the perpetrator on the spot.

So, confessions obtained through torture were rampant, just like during the Japanese colonial period.

Wealthy people could hire lawyers to avoid torture, so the saying ‘유전무죄 무전유죄 [the rich are innocent, the poor are guilty]’ was ingrained in the public like a law.

Prosecutor Na took out a decisive piece of evidence from a yellow document envelope.