The Chaebol Returns To The Presidency 1967 [EN]: Chapter 135

135. Receive the Iron Hammer

Zhiing~

The iron bars of the gate opened.

She quickly entered through the gate.

Woof! Woof!

The German Shepherd barked madly at the sight of a stranger.

The reporters who entered through the open gate stood awkwardly in the yard as the Shepherd went wild.

Her younger brother came out.

He was holding a shotgun in his hand.

He pointed the gun at the reporters who were trying to take pictures.

“What right do you have to take pictures of people! Hand over the cameras now!”

The reporters, unfazed, continued to click their shutters, capturing the scene of him threatening them with a gun.

Click!

Bang!

Dirt splattered next to a reporter.

The warning shot seemed to snap the reporters to attention, and they froze.

“Hands up!”

As the reporters hesitated, he pulled the trigger again.

Bang!

Dirt flew up right in front of the reporter’s feet.

The reporters flinched.

She got scared and shouted.

“Namsu, you can’t shoot the gun!”

“I’ll handle this, Sis!”

He shouted at the reporters.

“I said, put your hands up! Throw the cameras over here!”

This time, the reporters panicked and threw their cameras in front of him.

In the meantime, her brother reloaded the ammunition.

He smashed the cameras with his feet.

Thump, Thump!

Smash!

The reporters were dumbfounded to see their cameras, like guns to soldiers, being destroyed.

“What are you looking at! Get out of here now!”

The reporters lowered their hands, hesitated, and retreated.

Her brother shouted to his sister.

“Sis, we have to leave! Pack your bags quickly!”

She hastily packed her bags and got into the car.

Her brother put the shotgun in the back seat and grumbled.

“How the hell did those reporters find this place?”

“…….”

She felt a pang of guilt but remained silent.

The car accelerated rapidly.

Vroom~

The two sped down the bumpy, unpaved road.

“Oh, what’s that?”

Looking in the rearview mirror, she saw a car chasing them.

It was the reporters who had been kicked out earlier.

“Bastards! They’re going to see this through to the end.”

Vroom~

The car, with the accelerator pedal floored, sped away, kicking up a cloud of dust.

“Slow down!”

“The reporters are following us!”

Vroom~

A chase scene unfolded on the unpaved road in broad daylight.

But suddenly, a car appeared on a sharp curve.

It was the caretaker couple’s car.

Her brother quickly swerved the steering wheel.

“Aah!”

Crash! Bang!

The car plunged down the cliff.

After hitting the rocks hard and rolling several times, it stopped, emitting white steam from the radiator.

Chik, chik~

All the windows were broken, and the car was a wreck.

The reporters and the caretaker couple got out and looked down from the cliff.

After a moment of silence, the younger brother in the crashed car, bleeding from his head, twitched and soon regained consciousness.

“Ugh…. Sis… Sis, are you okay?”

There was no response.

He barely managed to lift his head and looked to the side.

The bumper had been pushed into the seat, and she was already dead.

“Sis! Sis!”

He shook his sister, who was slumped over, and screamed, but it was no use.

“Sis~”

*

The Yangpyeong accident once again dominated the media.

The President was also reviewing related newspaper articles.

– Ms. Jeong, who is said to be raising the President’s son, dies in a mysterious accident

– Shotgun found in the crashed car. Firing confirmed just before the accident

Most of the articles stimulated readers’ imaginations, portraying it as an assassination by a powerful figure.

The Chief of Staff entered.

“Your Excellency, I have inquired with the local police chief about the details of the accident.”

“What did he say?”

“It was a traffic accident that occurred while speeding to evade the reporters’ pursuit. The shotgun found in the car was a hunting gun that was being kept at the villa, and he fired two warning shots to threaten the reporters who came to the villa.”

“Even though the cause of death is so clear, the newspapers are calling it a mysterious death?”

“They probably just wrote down what the offending reporters said to their advantage. Or, the desk [editor] wrote a novel.”

“Very intentional and wicked….”

“…….”

“We need to hold a press conference to reveal the truth.”

*

Press Room.

The Chief of Police briefed over a hundred reporters, showing a timeline of the incident.

After the briefing, the President appeared with documents in his hand.

The crowd stirred at the unexpected appearance.

The President stood on the podium.

“I saw in the newspapers ‘mysterious death,’ ‘assassination by power.’ Because such articles are rampant, I came here to answer questions and clarify things directly. Please ask me any questions you have.”

A reporter asked.

“The defendant in the paternity suit against the President suddenly died in a car accident. The public may have doubts as to why the accident happened at this particular time.”

The President took out a document and said.

“I am very sorry for causing disappointment.”

“…….”

“This is the result of the DNA test for paternity confirmation. It was delivered to me the day before yesterday, that is, the day before the mysterious (?) traffic accident.”

The reporters’ eyes sparkled, wondering what the result would be.

“As a result of the DNA matching test, it is a mismatch. In other words, it is not his child.”

The President held up the original document.

The reporters competitively clicked their camera shutters.

Click! Click!

“Now, let’s reconstruct the incident. It was confirmed that he was not his child, so why would there be a need to contract the victim for murder? Does that make sense? It’s a contradiction, isn’t it?”

“…….”

At that time, a weekly magazine reporter asked.

“Isn’t it possible to manipulate the DNA test at the National Forensic Service [South Korea’s primary forensic science agency] to suit the regime’s taste?”

“Hahaha, knowing that you might not trust the domestic test, I also requested it from a US genetic research institute. The results matched the domestic National Forensic Service results. You can see that there are two testing institutions on this document, right?”

The reporter who raised the question’s face turned red.

The President asked back.

“I would like to ask that reporter a question. Reporter, did you sexually assault a minor in a back alley yesterday?”

“Huh? Me?”

“Yes. I’m asking.”

“Your Excellency, I have never done such a thing. Why are you asking me that question?”

“Well, I am now providing you with an exclusive scoop.”

“…….”

“‘Reporter X, allegations of sexual assault on a minor!’ How about this as a main title?”

“…….”

“You can write such sensational articles without on-site coverage or fact-checking. Isn’t that what the Korean media is doing now?”

A heavy silence fell.

The President pressed on.

“It has been revealed that it was an accident that occurred while trying to avoid the reporters’ pursuit. But the newspaper didn’t even do on-site coverage and wrote a complete fantasy mystery novel at their desks. Is that the media?”

“…….”

It was a rebuke to all the reporters gathered at the press center.

The President said.

“I have filed a lawsuit for a large sum of money against the newspapers that have tarnished the President’s reputation with speculative reports under the guise of freedom of the press. This is already a document sent to the Press Arbitration Commission.”

Only the sound of swallowing could be heard in the silent crowd.

“Freedom comes with responsibility. This time, as an example to others, you will have to bear the damages for defaming the highest decision-maker of a country and paralyzing state affairs.”

The newspapers that were not involved published the full text of the President’s briefing, while the related media outlets were busy reducing and distorting it.

*

Supreme Court.

The judge read the final verdict of the lawsuit filed by the President.

“It is recognized that the facts were intentionally distorted, not just a simple misreporting, but with the aim of increasing sales and viewership, and even holding countermeasures meetings without confirming on-site coverage. Since freedom of the press is one of the core values of liberal democracy, the responsibility for abusing it is also significant. Because it paralyzed the President’s duties and tarnished his reputation, the mentioned media outlets shall each pay 20 billion won [approximately 15 million USD] in damages!”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The defendants turned pale.

“20 billion won!”

The judiciary struck an iron hammer against the yellow journalism [sensationalist or biased journalism].

*

President’s Office.

The Minister of Public Information told the President.

“The representatives of the media outlets are begging to see Your Excellency, what should we do?”

“No need. We must follow the law.”

“They say that if you turn a blind eye this time, they promise to write very pro-government articles in the future.”

“Singing eulogies to the dragon [praising the powerful]? Hahaha, what kind of nonsense is that! Media outlets that don’t think about representing public opinion and draw lines according to the owner’s taste have no value in existing.”

“Understood, Your Excellency!”

“Go and tell them exactly what I said.”

“Yes!”

“Bitter medicine is good for the body. Endure the results with that spirit! Lessons are never learned for free. Got it?”

“Understood, Your Excellency!”

Shortly after, when they failed to pay the damages, the court placed seizure stickers on the three media outlets.

In this era, 20 billion won was a huge sum, so the newspapers could not have accumulated such cash.

The following article appeared in other newspapers.

– 00 Newspaper finally files for bankruptcy! The other two media outlets that are being pursued for huge damages are likely to follow suit

The reporters who came to the villa were also found guilty of trespassing and violating portrait rights.

The younger brother was sentenced to 10 years in prison for illegal possession of firearms and attempted murder.

In prison, he called a reporter and claimed that the Australian ambassador was the child’s father, demanding a paternity suit.

The Australian ambassador refused the paternity suit and resigned voluntarily.

The media outlets eventually all went bankrupt.

It was the first case in the country where media outlets went bankrupt due to damages rather than oppression from the regime.

The media outlets held a general meeting and established voluntary reporting guidelines and journalistic ethics.

*

President’s Office, rooftop.

The President was drinking soju [Korean distilled rice liquor] with Chairman Jeong, watching the sunset.

The President shook his head.

“Even though I prevented the assassination in the previous life, how can the results of this life be the same as the previous life?”

Even during Chairman Wang’s time, Ms. Jeong died, her brother went to prison, and the Prime Minister was dismissed.

Chairman Jeong, who emptied his glass, said.

“Indeed~ That’s what I’m saying. You can change events and accidents, but it seems you can’t change a person’s destiny.”

The President also drained his glass.

“I’m also working hard to change my destiny. So, I’m quite disappointed with this result. If I can’t change my destiny, there’s no point in living, is there?”

“That’s right. But in my opinion, Your Excellency has changed a lot yourself.”

“Really?”

“Unlike the old days when it was ‘strong, strong, strong,’ you now play ‘medium-strong-weak, medium-strong-weak’ very well. Even this time. If you had suppressed them with power, the media outlets would have jumped up and down, saying it was oppression of the press. But you sued them in your personal capacity, so the political world can’t say anything.”

“Haha, Chairman Jeong has changed a lot too. Your flattery has increased a lot.”

“Oh, really? Hahaha-”

“The reason why you can’t change your destiny is probably because you don’t know the path you’ve walked.”

“…….”

“If you don’t know the cycle of your destiny, you’ll repeat the same thing over and over again, like a squirrel on a treadmill, no matter how many lives you go through. It seems that we can improve even a little only if we know the path of our previous life, like us.”

“Ah, that’s an important point, Your Excellency! There is such a big difference between ordinary people and regressors [people who can relive their past lives]!”

The President filled Chairman Jeong’s empty glass.