The Inspector Is Getting Promoted! [EN]: Chapter 96

Clam and Plover (2)

“I wanted to go to the military.”

Kyung Dong-soo continued, his expression serious.

“I didn’t go to the military? No, I couldn’t go. Not just me, but all my brothers wanted to serve, but the country wouldn’t let us.”

At this, the reporter tilted his head, puzzled.

“The country stopped you?”

“My uncle defected to North Korea when I was very young. It must have been in the early to mid-1960s. I don’t even remember what he looked like.”

He deliberately used the word ‘uncle’ instead of ‘father’s younger brother’.

Because using ‘uncle’ would be much more effective in evoking a sense of his childhood.

“Of course, my family has nothing to do with North Korea in terms of political ideology. We have always loved and strived to protect the Republic of Korea, a free democracy, and I want to state clearly that I have never done anything related to North Korea while serving as the Mayor of Seoul, or in any of my other positions.”

Kyung Dong-soo preemptively shut down any potentially absurd accusations and began to explain the real reason.

“When I was nineteen, I applied to the Korea Military Academy [ROK Military Academy, a four-year institution that trains officers for the South Korean Army]. I passed the first exam with the highest score, and the second physical fitness test as the runner-up. And then I had the final interview. But…”

He let out a hollow laugh, as if the situation was truly unbelievable.

Knowing that Kyung Dong-soo’s gestures, expressions, and voice were all an act made it even more astonishing.

He was so convincing he could easily pass as an actor.

“I still vividly remember what the interviewer said. He said, and I quote, ‘You have a communist in your family. What if you leak all the information to North Korea? Why should we accept you?'”

It was such a realistic reenactment that I felt a surge of anger, even though I already knew the facts.

“I was at the top in the first exam and the runner-up in the second, but I was completely rejected in the third interview. A complete failure.”

The reporter also offered comfort, looking at him with pity.

“You must have been very heartbroken.”

“It couldn’t be helped. That’s how society was back then.”

Kyung Dong-soo swallowed a bitter smile and continued.

“So, I couldn’t go to the military even though I wanted to, and I received an exemption. To prevent the fact that I had a family member who defected to North Korea from being revealed to the public, the reason for the exemption was stated as ‘unfit for active duty due to health issues’.”

“So, none of your brothers went to the military?”

“Yes, that’s right. Because of such an unreasonable thing, I gave up my dream of becoming an army officer and retook the college entrance exam to go to Korea University [one of the most prestigious universities in South Korea], and that’s how I got to where I am now.”

Retook the exam.

He subtly used the phrase ‘retook the exam’ to give me an assist.

Now, the words ‘unreasonable’ and ‘retook the exam’ would be etched in the minds of the citizens watching this interview.

If these two words became the starting point for the next news cycle, the citizens would receive it with even greater impact.

Then, Kyung Dong-soo might be in a much more advantageous position compared to Nam Moon-seok.

He’s definitely not just smart.

I only talked to him on the phone, but he considered even these details in advance and spoke about them on the broadcast.

Kyung Dong-soo naturally led the interview at his own pace.

“I don’t want a society where people can’t pursue their dreams for unreasonable reasons, even though they have the ability. I can’t bear to see such a thing happening in the free democratic Republic of Korea.”

He looked directly at the camera and earnestly appealed.

“I will do my best to ensure that this never happens again. I will run with all my might, and I will serve the Republic of Korea until my body is shattered. Of course, even though I couldn’t serve, I will also improve the treatment of soldiers. ‘A military that you want to join’ may be impossible, but I will change the perception to ‘a military without corruption’ and ‘a military worth serving in’.”

Kyung Dong-soo used this opportunity to defend himself and promote his platform.

“Citizens, the time has come to bloom the true flower of free democracy. I will do my best to eliminate all unreasonable things in the Republic of Korea, and I will listen to the voices of the people and run the government.”

He stood up and bowed deeply at a 90-degree angle.

“This is Kyung Dong-soo from the Republic Party.”

I could hear it.

The sound of Kyung Dong-soo’s approval rating rising; I could hear it very clearly.

This interview would not only succeed in defending him but would also serve as an opportunity to expand his base of support.

A smile naturally appeared on my face at the fact that the beginning of all this came through my hands.

***

In just one day, public opinion was reversed.

Those who had been tearing Kyung Dong-soo apart now pitied him, seeing him as a man whose dreams had been crushed, and a wave of sympathy began to build.

Around the time when the outline of a perfect defense against this military issue was taking shape, I contacted reporter Lim Yu-na.

“Release it.”

Now was the right time to expose Nam Moon-seok’s son’s military issue.

The card I had prepared shook Kyung Dong-soo greatly, but in the end, the blunted tip of the sword failed to pierce him.

It was a natural outcome since I had told Kyung Dong-soo in advance and given him time to prepare.

However, from the perspective of the Korea Party, it was nothing short of a failure.

Therefore, to hide the fact that the card I had prepared was blocked, I had to divert the attention of Prime Minister Choi Kyu-hyun before this incident was completely over.

That way, Prime Minister Choi Kyu-hyun would only remember that ‘Choi Seo-joon blew something big,’ but he wouldn’t remember that it was blocked.

Because of the presidential election, several incidents and accidents, past remarks, and various other problems were erupting every day, so it was clear that he wouldn’t even bother with a topic that had already been swept through once.

Therefore, if I won the presidential election, I would be remembered in Choi Kyu-hyun’s mind as the number one contributor to the Korea Party, and even if I failed, I would be remembered as someone who tried hard.

Reporter Lim Yu-na’s existence was playing a very big role in deceiving Prime Minister Choi Kyu-hyun.

Not to mention Kyung Dong-soo, who already had me in his sights for acting as his relief pitcher.

Currently, the approval ratings were 27% for the Korea Party (No. 1), 39% for the Republic Party (No. 2), and 13% for the Manse Party (No. 3), with candidate Kyung Dong-soo leading by a large margin.

That was also a bit lower due to the military exemption issue, so if it recovered this time and the approval rating rose further, he would achieve an overwhelming number.

Since there was no way that the Korea Party and the Manse Party, whose political ideologies and orientations were completely opposite, would merge, the picture of Kyung Dong-soo being elected was clearly drawn in my mind.

Reporter Lim Yu-na must have been waiting for my call, because she contacted me less than 10 minutes after I called to say that she had posted the prepared article.

“The Korea Party was cutting down Kyung Dong-soo over the military issue. Turns out, Korea Party leader Nam Moon-seok is the real military corruption?”

“We have received a report that Nam Moon-seok’s son, the candidate of the Korea Party who was tearing apart Republic Party candidate Kyung Dong-soo, received illegal military service benefits related to his military service. Nam Moon-seok’s eldest son completed his military service as a full-time reserve soldier [a type of military service where individuals commute from home instead of living at the base] and has now finished his reserve duty and moved on to civil defense, but we must address the issue, so we are writing this article. However, Nam Moon-seok’s eldest son should not have been selected as a full-time reserve soldier in the first place. ……(Omitted)…… I wonder if candidate Nam Moon-seok has the right to tear apart candidate Kyung Dong-soo. It is a situation of ‘double standards’ in the truest sense of the word. I am curious to see what excuses candidate Nam Moon-seok will come up with.”

-Reporter Lim Yu-na, Politics No. 1

Everything was going smoothly.

If this continued, I would gain not only Prosecutor Seo Ki-woong but also two huge wings called the President.

The preparations to fly were complete.

***

Nam Moon-seok of the Korea Party did not fall easily either.

Prime Minister Choi Kyu-hyun supported him from behind and continued to provide assistance, and he skillfully avoided issues such as his son’s military corruption by diverting attention and changing the subject.

Thanks to that, I straddled both sides and gradually expanded my influence as an increasingly important figure.

Candidate Kyung Dong-soo also knew that I was attached to Prime Minister Choi Kyu-hyun, so there was nothing to be concerned about in this situation itself.

However, the problem was not my position but the actions of the two.

Because they were so fiercely fighting each other, instead of exchanging approval ratings, they were eroding each other’s approval ratings to the point of causing them to defect.

As a result, a fisherman’s profit situation occurred, where the fisherman caught both the clam and the plover in their fight [an idiom referring to a third party benefiting from the conflict of two others].

Nam Moon-seok of the Korea Party’s approval rating fell from 27% to 21%.

Kyung Dong-soo of the Republic Party’s approval rating fell from 39% to 30%.

Kim No-min of the Manse Party’s approval rating jumped from 13% to 26%.

Suddenly, Kim No-min jumped up as a leading presidential candidate.

Because the media had been tearing each other down and exposing their flaws, some citizens turned their backs, saying that both the Korea Party and the Republic Party were dirty, so they would rather support the Manse Party.

Above all, the fact that the Korea Party and the Republic Party severely attacked each other in the debate held two weeks before the presidential election had the biggest impact on the approval ratings, leaving only scars on each other.

“This has become quite complicated, hasn’t it?”

Yoon Seol-ha sighed with a serious expression.

“Tell me about it.”

I succeeded in becoming an important figure in the Korea Party and the Republic Party, but if the president is elected from the Manse Party, it’s really over.

That’s like having your head cut off as soon as the presidential candidate changes, not just for the next five years.

It was an inevitable situation because a prosecutor is a truly political public official.

It wasn’t just a regular prosecutor, but the head prosecutor of the special investigation department.

“In this case, the only option would be for the Korea Party and the Republic Party to join hands and make a truce, right?”

Otherwise, both of them would lose the presidency.

In the first place, Prime Minister Choi Kyu-hyun’s goal was to defend the minimum approval rating, even if he couldn’t produce a president.

“But will they make an agreement?”

“They definitely won’t.”

I slowly devised a plan while washing my face with my hands.

A way for the Korea Party and the Republic Party to win-win each other.

Something that would make the Manse Party fall back to third place in the approval ratings.

At that time, an interesting thought flashed through my mind.

“It’s true that they won’t make a truce, but that’s only on the surface, right?”

“Yes?”

“They both want to make a truce in their heads. But they can’t bring it up first because of their pride.”

“Chief Prosecutor, are you perhaps…….”

Yoon Seol-ha swallowed her words, looking incredulous.

“I have to build a bridge in the middle.”

I continued, my expression serious.

“Two bridges with different ends.”

Yoon Seol-ha shook her head urgently.

“If you get caught by either side, you will be kicked out regardless of the election results. The risk is too great.”

“No.”

I shook my head firmly.

“If Kim No-min is elected, I won’t be able to go up anyway. If I can’t get promoted even with the youngest title, it will only reveal my incompetence.”

“…….”

“If this continues, the only thing left is for the Manse Party to rise. If the Manse Party is elected by any chance, I’m screwed anyway. It’s better to move at the end than to end up like that.”

Yoon Seol-ha couldn’t stop me anymore because she knew that my words were absolutely correct.

“It’s really like walking a tightrope. You have to be careful.”

“Yeah. Let’s test my capacity to see if I fall off the tightrope or arrive on the other side.”