The Chaebol Returns To The Presidency 1967 [EN]: Chapter 153

153. I’m Going

The Minister of the Interior arrived.

“Welcome, Minister.”

“I am sorry for causing you concern, Your Excellency.”

“Is it true that the reason for this hostage situation in broad daylight is due to the contents of this leaflet?”

“We are currently investigating, but the corporation and union officials are denying it.”

“Really? Then have you asked the hostage-taker for their opinion?”

“Pardon?”

“Looking at the TV, it seems like a hostage-taker is threatening the president by hanging him from the railing with an air gun, but who created this situation?”

“…….”

“Who violated the Public Interest Whistleblower Protection Act?”

“…….”

“Do you think those people will conduct a fair investigation?”

“I’m, I’m sorry, Your Excellency.”

“Isn’t it a fact that a public interest whistleblower who reported corruption at the port corporation had their identity exposed by public officials and faced threats of contract killing, leading them to take the extreme measure of a hostage situation?”

“…….”

“The hostage-taker doesn’t trust public authority right now.”

“…….”

“What are the hostage-taker’s demands?”

“They are demanding punishment for the relevant corporation executives, union officials, and police officers.”

“Immediately go with the Commissioner of the National Police Agency and promise a fair investigation, and apologize for failing to protect the Public Interest Whistleblower Protection Act. Punish all personnel involved in the leak severely.”

“Yes, Your Excellency. But it may be useless even if I go.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“The hostage-taker is demanding a meeting with the President.”

“With me?”

“Yes, that is correct.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

The President paused for a moment.

And then said.

“Alright. Let’s meet. I will go.”

The Minister jumped up as if electrocuted.

“Your Excellency?”

“What are you doing? Let’s go quickly!”

The Minister vehemently dissuaded him.

“Your Excellency, meeting a violent hostage-taker directly is extremely dangerous! The public’s view will not be favorable either. Criminals might start committing copycat crimes, demanding meetings with the President at every turn, Your Excellency!”

“Stop with the sophistry!”

“…….”

“We must apologize for the public authority that turned a person who reported corruption into a criminal. If public interest whistleblowers are treated like criminals, how can we achieve a clean and fair society!”

“…….”

The President instructed the Chief of Staff via intercom.

“Prepare the helicopter. We are going to 00 Port Corporation.”

*

00 Port Corporation rooftop.

Section Chief Shin was facing off against the police special forces.

Thump, thump, thump-

When a helicopter appeared overhead, Section Chief Shin, assuming it was an arrest operation, aimed his air gun.

The police chief, surprised, shouted through a megaphone.

“It’s the President’s helicopter! Don’t shoot! It’s the President!”

The reporters buzzed at the word “President.”

Thump, thump, thump-

The helicopter landed in the corporation’s backyard, and the President, Minister of the Interior, Minister of Justice, Commissioner of the National Police Agency, and Prosecutor-General got out together.

The police command rushed over and bowed deeply.

The President ordered the command.

“I will go up to the rooftop, so do not let anyone else in. I am telling you not to conduct a suppression operation.”

“Your Excellency, directly? They are armed, so it is extremely dangerous, Your Excellency!”

The President rebuked them in an angry voice.

“Don’t pretend to care about me!”

“…….”

“I won’t say it twice. Do as I instruct!”

“A, understood, Your Excellency!”

“And the police chief of this district!”

“Yes, Your Excellency! You called for me?”

“Let’s go up to the rooftop together.”

“M, me?”

“We need a three-way meeting.”

“…….”

Escorted by the police special forces, the President’s party went up to the rooftop.

Arriving on the rooftop, the President sent the police special forces down and shouted to Section Chief Shin.

“Section Chief Shin, I am the President! Open the door!”

“Really, are you the President?”

“You asked to see me!”

“That’s true, but there’s no way you’d come this quickly….”

“Since the door is closed, how can I prove it? Only the President can ride in that helicopter.”

“…….”

Section Chief Shin opened the rooftop door lock.

The heavy padlock opened.

Clang!

*

With the appearance of the Minister and the police chief, Section Chief Shin’s wariness of the President eased.

The President said to Section Chief Shin.

“Section Chief Shin, as the head of public authority, I apologize on behalf of the authorities for driving a public interest whistleblower to this point.”

Section Chief Shin’s eyes reddened, and he couldn’t speak.

“Thank you, Your Excellency. Just coming here like this….”

The local police chief interrupted.

“It’s a one-sided claim, so we need to investigate, Your Excellency!”

“Really? All the heads of the investigation are here, so let’s have a three-way meeting.”

“…….”

“Section Chief Shin, bring the president up and let’s have a three-way meeting. I will interrogate him.”

“Understood.”

Section Chief Shin pulled up the suspended president.

President Jo was startled to see the President’s party.

“Y, Your Excellency, how did you come here?”

The President spoke closely to his face.

“I came last time, and I’m here again this time. We’ve met before, haven’t we?”

“Yes, Your Excellency!”

“I am so ashamed of myself for being deceived by your duplicity and sweet talk. Today, let’s properly separate the wheat from the chaff [separate the valuable from the worthless].”

“…….”

The President asked President Jo, who had turned pale.

“Is it true that the company and the union colluded to commit employment irregularities?”

“W, well, that is, it’s true that we favored relatives of port workers. We favored them because they adapted faster than those working for the first time, Your Excellency.”

“Is there a clause in the company rules or labor laws that favors relatives?”

“…….”

“If the father is the President, is the son also the President?”

“…….”

“Is this the Joseon Dynasty era [Korean kingdom lasting for approximately five centuries]?”

“…….”

Section Chief Shin shouted in a voice filled with resentment.

“That’s not all! They pushed out legitimate candidates and illegally hired those recommended by city councilors, the mayor, and the police chief, and the labor and management took money for hiring! They are all accomplices!”

The President pressed.

“Is what the personnel manager is saying false, President Jo?”

“…….”

“Why can’t you speak! If you check the accounts and investigate the hiring documents, everything will come out. With this situation becoming national news and even the President dispatched, do you think you can gloss over it?”

“I’m, I’m sorry. T, that’s the truth.”

“You son of a bitch!”

The attendees swallowed hard.

The President asked the Commissioner of the National Police Agency.

“To whom do you assign the investigation of the complaint filed with the prosecution?”

“The local police station conducts the primary investigation, Your Excellency. But it is a principle not to reveal the identity of the complainant, Your Excellency.”

He asked the local police chief.

“Did you receive the case assignment from the National Police Agency?”

“Yes, Your Excellency!”

“Did you know that it was an investigation based on a public interest whistleblower’s report?”

“W, well….”

The President’s eyes were burning with anger.

“This case will not be glossed over. All related police officers will be investigated. There will be nothing left if you are caught then! In the military, this is a death sentence!”

The President rebuked, and their spirits were broken.

The President pressed President Jo.

“Who told you that Section Chief Shin reported it?”

“…….”

“Can’t you hear me? Who told you about the investigation details submitted to the police!”

“T, that….”

President Jo glanced at the local police chief.

“Did the police chief tell you?”

“It’s hard to say….”

“Are you kidding me right now? Should I call the news cameras and reporters over there? Should I broadcast it live to the entire nation?”

President Jo frantically waved his hands.

“No? Oh~ no, Your Excellency!”

“Police Chief, come here.”

“Yes, Your Excellency!”

“President Jo, did you hear it from this police chief or not?”

It was literally a three-way meeting.

President Jo couldn’t resist the President’s firm determination to uncover the truth.

“The chief said it slightly in a drunken state, and I took note of it.”

The police chief jumped at President Jo’s betrayal.

“Me? Hey, President Jo! You begged me to tell you!”

The President asked the police chief.

“We are not supposed to reveal the identity of public interest whistleblowers, but seeing President Jo begging you, it seems the police chief already knew who the public interest whistleblower was?”

“…….”

“You are absolutely not allowed to tell, so how did you know?”

He was caught by the President’s sharp question.

“T, that….”

“So it’s true that you told him?”

“Your Excellency, I’m sorry. I did tell him, but….”

“It doesn’t seem like the two of you have only met once or twice. You wouldn’t have given information for free, would you?”

“…….”

“We will strictly investigate the route of the leak from the provincial police.”

The police chief in uniform knelt before the President.

“Your Excellency, I found out from a colleague in the National Police Agency. Please forgive me, Your Excellency!”

The President rebuked.

“How closely were you attached to President Jo that you would risk your own neck to report an internal whistleblower? Isn’t this a betrayal of the rule of law by the public authority that enforces the law?”

“I deserve to die, Your Excellency!”

“If you deserve to die, then you should die!”

“…….”

“Now, the relevant ministers here have all heard the truth of the incident, right?”

“Yes, Your Excellency!”

“You all know who the victim and perpetrator of this hostage incident are. Now, handle it according to the law.”

The Minister of Justice cautiously said.

“Your Excellency, if we are not careful, the criminal could become a hero, and the authority of public power could fall to the ground, Your Excellency.”

“What do you mean?”

“Right now, the eyes of the entire nation are focused on this rooftop. If we get the hostage-taker to surrender and announce that Your Excellency has amicably mediated, we can resolve the incident beautifully and maintain trust in public authority, which would be a win-win for everyone.”

In the end, the idea was to make the President a national hero in exchange for covering up the corrupt police.

This temptation, where a powerful person becomes a hero by exploiting the weaknesses of their subordinates and receiving their loyalty as tribute, was the most alluring deal for a powerful person.

The President tilted his head and asked.

“Hey, Minister. Is that all you can come up with with that good brain of yours?”

“Pardon?”

“Who is the real big organized criminal in this incident?”

“…….”

“Why are you defending public authority criminals, Minister? Are you part of the same gang?”

“…….”

“The public authority will be renewed only when we take this incident as an opportunity for a painful self-reflection, not by covering it up. Is that the way to serve the public authority?”

“I’m, I’m sorry, Your Excellency!”

“Since the heads are so rotten, the subordinates also think of public authority as a vested interest, cover up organizational corruption, and treat public interest whistleblowers as snitches, right?”

“I was wrong, Your Excellency! I offered my suggestion out of loyalty.”

“Cut it out! Serving the constitution and the interests of the people is loyalty, not taking the side of the appointer. Is that the loyalty of a public official?”

“…….”

“The President appointed you on behalf of the people, not created you like a god! Don’t you know that the powerful are merely agents of the people?”

“I was very lacking, Your Excellency!”

“I really can’t hold my head up because of this incident.”

“I’m sorry, Your Excellency!”

“No need for long speeches. Investigate the truth of the incident and reveal every detail of the corruption of public authority in collusion with vested interests to the people without omitting a single word!”

“Yes, Your Excellency!”

The accompanying party was on pins and needles.