The Inspector Is Getting Promoted! [EN]: Chapter 286

Empty House (1)

“It’s really only Prosecutor Choi. I’ll remember you for a long, long time!”

Prime Minister Park Hyung-tae repeated his thanks until the very end before leaving the Chief Prosecutor’s office.

He must think he’s landed a big one.

Feeling that his most cherished Go Seong-tak… no, Go Joong-hyuk, succeeded in persuading me and struck a proper deal.

Of course, this is just laying the groundwork.

Frankly speaking, this alone doesn’t guarantee the Prime Minister’s help in the Empty House operation.

Today’s events are just a verbal promise, after all.

Securing the Prime Minister’s help in the Empty House operation will happen when I meet him on July 13th, as indicated in the future text.

That will be the key.

I mustn’t act hastily yet.

More than anything, when that time comes, Go Seong-tak, who has won the Prime Minister’s heart, will push it properly, so I’m confident it will be entirely possible.

Empty House.

Its realization is not far off now.

***

June 30, 2028, the day before the start of the regular National Assembly session.

Kim Kang-jin, the leader of the Great Korea Party, urgently came to find me.

“Sorry for the late hour.”

“It’s alright. I was just preparing to leave work myself.”

I received the call well past 8:30 PM, after finishing my overtime and getting ready to go home.

Eventually, I was secretly meeting with him at an undisclosed location in Hannam-dong late into the night, nearing 10 PM.

“The thing is, the regular National Assembly session starts tomorrow, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“I have a favor to ask regarding that.”

The regular National Assembly session lasts for 100 days.

The fact that he came to me so urgently the day before means it’s an agenda item that needs to be dealt with quickly within the next few days.

“As Prosecutor Choi, you’ve surely heard about the 4-year consecutive term system we’re pushing for these days, right?”

Of course, I have.

How could I not know?

The presidential 4-year consecutive term system.

Currently, the President of South Korea serves a single 5-year term and can only hold office once.

However, the 4-year consecutive term system that the Great Korea Party is pushing for is like the system in the United States, where a single presidential term is 4 years, but the president can run for office once more in the election immediately following the first term.

Of course, once they lose an election, they can never run again, and to prevent dictatorship, they can only hold the presidential office twice.

At the beginning of this year, the Great Korea Party initiated and pushed for this bill through a special session of the National Assembly, and naturally, the People’s Korea Party began to voice their opposition.

At first, it was merely opposition for the sake of opposition, but as the media’s attention focused on it, a fierce confrontation naturally unfolded.

In the end, a situation arose where the party’s survival depended on whether this bill passed or not.

If the 4-year consecutive term system is adopted, it will be seen as a victory for the Great Korea Party, and if it fails, it will be concluded that the People’s Korea Party has won.

Sung Tae-hyun has the right to reject a bill passed by the National Assembly, but considering the nature of the bill, he won’t use his veto power on this one.

The public also knows that it’s strange for the president to choose the president’s term.

In other words, everything depends on the National Assembly’s choice regarding this 4-year consecutive term system.

“Yes, of course, I know. Are you perhaps in need of my lawmakers’ votes?”

“That’s right. Is it possible, perhaps?”

“It is possible, but…”

I cautiously asked.

“Will the People’s Korea Party stay still?”

Kim Kang-jin’s eyes gleamed.

“That’s why we’re planning to proceed on the second day of the regular National Assembly session.”

Hearing those words, I immediately understood why Kim Kang-jin had come to find me.

A smirk spread across my face.

“You’re planning an Empty House operation.”

A tactic like mine, an Empty House operation.

In National Assembly jargon, it’s called ‘passing a bill by sneak attack’.

“That’s right.”

On the first day of the regular National Assembly session, most lawmakers attend because many reporters flock there.

Even just being absent can lead to public criticism for being negligent.

In contrast, the reality is that many people are absent on the second day, when media attention wanes.

They’re trying to pass it quickly in preparation for that.

However, this wasn’t a panacea [a solution for all difficulties].

“But the People’s Korea Party will absolutely not stand still.”

Although there are still cases of bills being passed by sneak attack these days, it’s often impossible to process major agenda items in this way due to the ‘National Assembly Advancement Act’.

National Assembly Advancement Act.

If more than 1/3 of the total number of lawmakers, that is, more than 100 lawmakers, agree, they can invalidate the sneak attack passage, even if it’s more than a majority, and engage in unlimited debate through a filibuster.

And for agenda items to which the National Assembly Advancement Act applies, the bill must be approved by 2/3 or more of the votes.

The People’s Korea Party will try to block it with everything on the line by using this.

“No matter how much it’s the second day, even if you combine my casting vote with the Great Korea Party, it will be difficult if the People’s Korea Party joins hands with another side.”

Kim Kang-jin raised his eyebrows and replied.

“Knowing that, our side has already finished talking with the All People Party and independent lawmakers, excluding the People’s Korea Party.”

I could see that this man had prepared a great deal.

Combining the Great Korea Party, the All People Party, and the independent lawmakers with the casting vote I hold, it totals 179 people.

That’s more than a majority, and if only 1/5 of Sung Tae-hyun’s 121 lawmakers are absent, they can’t open a filibuster.

In other words, a sneak attack passage becomes possible.

“If this matter goes well, in the next bill, I will mobilize Great Korea Party lawmakers as much as possible to help pass bills that are favorable to your side.”

He continued with a serious look in his eyes.

“Furthermore, I will consider myself greatly indebted. Not as a party to party, but as Kim Kang-jin and Choi Seo-joon personally.”

If he says this much, it’s worth joining hands.

More than anything, Kim Kang-jin is a figure who can be counted as the top in terms of ‘loyalty’ among politicians.

Moreover, the 23rd general election will be held at the end of October this year.

We don’t know what will happen in the next election.

In other words, this year is the last time I’ll be holding the casting vote.

The optimal opportunity to use the casting vote is right now.

I have to use it properly when I can.

“I understand.”

I shook hands with him, twisting the corners of my lips.

“I will instruct as you said.”

“Thank you.”

Kim Kang-jin put strength into the arm holding my hand.

I cautiously asked.

“But just in case, what are you going to do if it doesn’t pass?”

“It’s not too late to think about that then. Even if we fail, we’ll be running for 100 days with a filibuster, so there’s plenty of time.”

“I see. I understand.”

“Please take care of it.”

“Just trust me.”

***

July 2nd, the day Kim Kang-jin was going to pass the bill by sneak attack, was approaching.

However, it definitely wouldn’t be easy.

No matter how lax it is at the beginning of the regular National Assembly session, the People’s Korea Party was unlikely to easily give way on an agenda item they were so interested in.

Of course, I didn’t convey these thoughts to Kim Kang-jin or the Great Korea Party.

Interest in the 4-year consecutive term system was because the survival of the Great Korea Party and the People’s Korea Party was at stake, but it wasn’t of great importance to me and the people in my line.

I was waiting for this when.

Knock, knock.

With a knock, Yoon Seol-ha carefully entered the office.

“Chief Prosecutor, would you like a cup of coffee?”

In her hand was a takeout cup from a coffee shop.

“What’s with the coffee?”

“Chief Gong Sang-wook went out on a business trip for a while and bought it.”

“Tell him I’ll enjoy it.”

“Yes, I understand.”

As I promised, Prosecutor Gong Sang-wook was appointed as the head of the Inspection Department through the New Year’s appointment at the beginning of this year.

As if proving his work ability, he became known as the ‘Tiger Inspection Department Head’ by cracking down on corrupt prosecutors all over Seoul within 6 months of joining the Inspection Department.

I took a sip of the cool coffee and asked.

“By the way, haven’t you heard from the National Assembly yet?”

“No. I just called a reporter on the scene a little while ago, and they said that no lawmakers have come out of the National Assembly yet. Instead, they said they saw People’s Korea Party lawmakers arriving busily at the National Assembly building. They said there were quite a few.”

Seeing that Sung Tae-hyun’s lawmakers arrived quickly, it seemed that things weren’t going to work out well.

From my point of view, it would be nice if it worked out, but it was a bit of a shame if it didn’t.

“I’ll let you know as soon as I hear from them too.”

“Yes, Chief Prosecutor.”

She bowed her head and left the office.

About two hours passed since then.

Finally, I received a call from Lee Doo-hyung.

-Chief Prosecutor.

Hearing his voice, I felt like I knew the result without even listening.

-It’s a shame.

“Did it fail?”

-Yes. We tried to process it quickly, but as soon as it was proposed, the People’s Korea Party called all the lawmakers in the vicinity of Seoul, so in the end, 102 of Sung Tae-hyun’s lawmakers arrived at the vote.

The result was 179 vs 102.

They started a filibuster using the National Assembly Advancement Act.

Since the differences of opinion won’t be narrowed, the filibuster won’t end for a long time.

“Good job.”

-No. I’m sorry it didn’t work out.

“There’s nothing to be sorry about. It’s not your fault, Doo-hyung. I thought it would be like this. It’s over anyway, so don’t worry about it and try to propose the bill well. The next general election depends on the results of this regular National Assembly session.”

-I understand. I’ll visit you soon.

“Okay. Good work.”

-Yes, Chief Prosecutor. Goodbye.

***

About an hour after finishing the call with Lee Doo-hyung.

I received a call from Kim Kang-jin.

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

-It’s alright.

He let out a short sigh and continued.

-I wasn’t even sure myself….

“I’ll help if there’s anything I can do next time.”

He seemed to hesitate for a moment.

-Then, can I ask for one more favor?

“What are you talking about?”

-You have more connections with the People’s Korea Party lawmakers than the Great Korea Party lawmakers or me, right?

“That’s true, but….”

-If our side approaches, it’ll be obvious and they’ll reject it right away. But if you talk to them, it’ll be different, right? In terms of credibility and the proposals you can make.

Kim Kang-jin cautiously asked.

-So, I was wondering, could you perhaps get the last vote?

The votes we secured, including the All People Party and independents, totaled 179 seats.

The reason why it’s caught in the National Assembly Advancement Act is because we didn’t fill 2/3 of the total seats, which is 180 votes.

In other words, if we bring just one of Sung Tae-hyun’s lawmakers to our side, it will inevitably be forced through by the National Assembly Advancement Act.

I didn’t expect him to propose it like this.

-If it’s processed, I’ll help with anything. I’m saying this in the name of Kim Kang-jin.

The moment I heard those words, my ears perked up.

Kim Kang-jin, the leader of the Great Korea Party.

He’s helping in his name.

He’s a symbol of loyalty, so he wouldn’t say anything carelessly.

At the same time, a very bright picture of me being elected president in the 25th presidential election four years later was drawn in my head.

With his help, it’s entirely possible.

I calmly calmed my mind and opened my mouth.

“Then, can I use the authority of the party leader to some extent?”

-Of course. Of course, only within reasonable limits.”

At that moment, the corners of my lips twisted roughly.