Dear Comrade Leader, Episode 289
“… … I’m sorry. But I want you to understand that as the head of an organization called the Workers’ Party of Korea, I have to keep an eye on the party members. In particular, public opinion within the party is not good because the district where the accident occurred is an area where many retired seniors’ families and honorary soldiers (disabled soldiers) reside. No matter how much the Republic has changed in 20 years, it is even lamented that the Order of the Labor Hero is no longer worth a million won.”
“I… … !!! I… … How long will we have to wait until we can get the next president of the National Oil Corporation?”
From Jung-hwan’s point of view, it must have been said that it was comforting, but to Lee Young-bak, the shock of the thwarted dream had to sound like a mockery of him.
When Lee Young-bak, who barely stood up after staggering in the frustration of a broken dream, clenched his teeth and asked, Jeong-hwan said in a soothing tone, but assertive.
“It will still take 10 years for the people to forget all of this. Maybe at that time someone other than me would rule this republic, but it will take time.”
From the moment he heard that, Lee Young-bak decided to betray Jung-hwan.
Because the position that can influence the supply and demand of the world’s most powerful resource, the president of the Korea National Oil Corporation, has been the dream position he has always cherished for half his life since he changed his country from south to north.
Even if it was a normal person, even if he waited for a long time, he would win Jung-hwan’s trust again, or else he would choose to live happily with the position of mayor in Pyongyang, but Lee Young-bak did not become such a person, and he had no intention of doing so.
It was because the essence of the human being, Young-bak Lee, was to push like a bulldozer to achieve whatever he wanted during his lifetime, whether it was position or money.
* * *
“Something happened. It’s understandable enough.”
“exactly. Comrade General Secretary Geo was also very kind to Secretary Lee. Anyway, congratulations on being with true patriots like us.”
“ha ha ha… … Thank you for your understanding.”
When Lee Young-bak’s recollection was over, the people sitting at the table shook their heads and clapped.
And Lee Young-bak also shook hands with the business heads and bureaucrats who sympathized with him one by one, stamping his eyes and getting used to his face.
As always, it was an act that stemmed from a lifelong credo that being friendly with people in important positions is a shortcut to life.
‘Once the general secretary is removed, they will become the power of the republic. And now you have to apply oil well to become the president of the Korea National Oil Corporation… … No, maybe I can go up to that.’
Eventually, after the mutual introduction, they began to discuss how to weaken the current general secretary system.
And it was Lee Young-bak, not a high-ranking party official or the chairman of a prominent conglomerate, who gave the most noteworthy opinion on the spot.
“First of all, the political side should not attack the general secretary. That’s because the power we can use is limited. If the general secretary, that is, the party, binds their hands and feet so that they can no longer intervene economically, the public sentiment of the people who know the taste of money will naturally lean toward us. Does anyone hate money?”
“It sounds like a lot of talking, but what do you mean specifically? Besides, to do such a thing, wasn’t it just the people here and the prestige of Secretary Lee’s party?”
“First of all, we have to take control of the media. And the portal site… … This is because public opinion these days is not a paper newspaper, but everything is made there. And when it comes to intra-party collaborators… … I have already met a few people and promised to cooperate.”
“It is not enough to have a few people. It’s not that I don’t believe in Lee, but keep in mind that we are now plotting something that could be read as a treason against the supreme dignity of the republic. I know that Secretary Lee is also close friends with high-ranking officials in the party’s central committee, but if we go to work with a few bureaucrats at the deputy head level, we will all sprout before money… … .”
“Don’t worry. It’s a name you all know, but once you know who it is, your anxiety will go away. Instead, promise to keep it a secret.”
Eventually, when a person’s name came out of Lee Young-bak’s mouth, a color of anger appeared on the faces of the crowd, who were still anxious until then.
And looking at that expression, Lee Young-bak smiled with a smile of conversion, thinking that his presence among them would have become more certain.
“Oh oh oh… … !!!!”
“Wow, if it’s definitely that comrade… … !!!”
“ha ha ha… … What did I say? Didn’t you say that you are certain? With the help of an unofficial second-in-command in the party, this is sure to go well.”
Is this the feeling of the gambler who showed his treasury hidden card in the all-in board?
Lee Young-bak had a relationship with this person almost a year ago and put a lot of effort into getting him into this job.
Since he is a prudent person, he made it a no-brainer to make him his side, but he finally succeeded after fully mobilizing his speech, lobbying skills, and friendliness he had accumulated for half his life.
And as soon as the name of the person was mentioned, in an atmosphere that suddenly became brighter, the discussion in the hall moved forward like a fast current, reaching a friendly atmosphere.
“haha… … This is an unsolved proverb that says, ‘When 100 business people gather, nothing is illegal in the world’, and it’s literally all over the place. The day will soon come when I will no longer have a stake in the party and will be free to engage in corporate activities without being territorial.”
“I wonder if there is, Comrade Chairman. During my time in the party, I also felt cramped because of the republic and the party system that went against the global neoliberal trend, but I feel like my insides are being cleared.”
“When everything is done, we have to start with privatizing the party-led public works, and when that happens, party cadres and comrades will be in desperate need of help. If you can help our Bukmyung group get a business license for a for-profit hospital in the future, it’s like taking over the position of an outside director of our group after you retire. haha.”
“Don’t forget to remove the separation regulations between investment and commercial banks. Peony is the only large investment bank in this country with the 15th largest GDP, so could the Republic win the global financial competition?”
“Come on, don’t be like this, the painful story is over, but let’s have a drink to pray for the success of the event.”
“Oh, that’s good! Come on, let’s all toast!”
“Cheers! For the prosperity of your business!”
“Cheers! For a republic where businesses are free! For a free market and free competition system!”
The glass clashed and the drink overflowed.
While greed, ambition, and selfishness were ripening under the guise of national concern, the skyscrapers of Pyongyang cast longer and taller shadows day by day.
* * *
“Yonghwan, you… … How many years have you been in a relationship with me? How many years has it been since you and I have eaten together?”
“Because I got a job at Das Heavy Industries and was right after Han Ji went to the army… … It must have been a little over 10 years this year, Mr. Lee.”
“I’m sorry, how many times do I have to tell you not to call this boss… … You said you were called mayor now, no, clerk Lee? Ttt, anyway, that’s why people have to go to college, whether in the north or the south.”
A few days after the secret meeting, Lee Young-bak clicked his tongue as he saw the young man bowing his head in front of his eyes.
At his last words, the young man called Yong-hwan shrugged his shoulders and blushed, but he did not dare say anything and only bowed his head more deeply.
And Lee Young-bak didn’t even care if he was familiar with this look, and looked up and down at Ri Yong-hwan, a young man who had been entrusted with dirty work under him for a long time.
He was dressed neatly in a suit, but the hem of his trousers was rolled up and the sleeves of his shirt were often rolled up so that folds could be seen. could be seen at a glance.
And it was true, Yonghwan was the boss of the ‘Pyongyang Yonggil gang’, the fists that Lee Young-bak used to intimidate or silence residents or evictioners who did not agree to a compensation plan since the days of Das Heavy Industries, in a word, a service thug.
It was a common violent organization that was mass-produced for a while, mainly in entertainment districts and construction boards in the transition period from a planned economy to a free market economy, but now it is disbanded due to crackdowns and annoyance by the Party and the Public Security Ministry, or some surviving organizations have changed only their signboards to legal enterprises. He was working as a subcontractor for a large construction company such as Dalgo Das Heavy Industries, and Ri Yong-hwan was one of those human figures.
Anyway, Lee Young-bak thought that it would not be good to break the morale of his subordinates even after kicking his tongue for a while, so he softened his voice again and asked again.
He didn’t have any education, had no background, and didn’t even go to college because he came from a poor family, but basically, everyone has their own use and position.
“Yonghwan, do you know how much I have longed for the position of president of the Korea Oil Corporation? And if this project is successful, I will transfer to the same position and take care of you as well.”
“Of course I do, Mr. Lee… … No, sir. Didn’t I always say that in the 21st century, you have to control your resources to make real money?”
“I’m sorry, but I couldn’t do that. I dedicated myself to working, but I was thrown away as if my dedication was wasted.”
“… … Yeah? But apparently last time… … .”
“I was naive. I shouldn’t have thought that I could get a good neck so easily in someone else’s garden… … But it doesn’t matter. In this case, the phone was overthrown, but I had a strong bond of friendship. Rather, we should go up and show everyone that this Lee Young-bak is a man who never gives up.”
Young-bak Lee still broke his heart when he thought that the position of the president of the Korea National Oil Corporation, which had been one of his wishes, was blown away in front of his eyes.
To the question of what is oil, various metaphors can be given to each person, such as black gold and the driving force that drives modern society to run, but since his early twenties, Lee Young-bak lived a life filled with asphalt and concrete while paving roads in the midst of sandstorms from the Middle East. It meant only one thing.
It was a source of gold, money and wealth.
It can never be obtained in South Korea or Korea.
The lamentation and skepticism or bitterness in Lee Young-bak’s heart, even now that he has reached his middle age, is like getting a small portion of the pocket money of Middle Eastern royals who have to work in the construction and manufacturing industries by burning torches all night long in the desert. remained deep.
In Korea, where there are no resources even if they try to eat and die, the Arabs who have had dozens of concubines and who have never put dust on their hands in their entire life have earned only a tenth of the money they sold for oil.
However, the information in a dream that North Korea is the source of that oil and that North Korea will soon reform and open its doors to businesses made Lee Young-bak make a decision that made him abandon South Korea, where he had spent half his life, and come to North Korea, an unfamiliar place. was the driving force behind it.
And although he missed that dream right in front of his eyes, Lee Young-bak still had no intention of giving up.
In that respect, there were similarities between Ri Yong-hwan and himself in a certain sense.
The point is that he fights like a bastard at the bottom and eventually wins his own bowl, and that he can do anything and fight anyone for that.
Perhaps it was because of such a sense of unity that he had been wrestling with this guy who had been a fistfight in the distance for so long.
“Yonghwan, listen carefully, this time I didn’t get to hold the line, but instead I took the line that was that much, no, maybe even stronger than that.”
“Is that so?”
“right. But if you want to ride that line to the top line of this republic, you have to dedicate yourself to helping me. And when that time comes, you will be able to eat well and live well, as my henchman, wherever you go, the people who came out of Kim Dae-jung as your driver. Do you believe me?”
“I wonder if there is, clerk. Lee Yong-hwan, born in the edge of Hamgyeong-do, had nothing to learn, and he almost ended up at the Public Security Ministry Correctional Center after running a counterfeit business on the market floor.
“right. So, from now on, you just have to believe in my words and follow me. If it goes well, you and I can live in this republic without envying the Baekdu bloodline. Is white blood pedigree different? yes?”
“That’s right. The general secretary or the deceased president, in the end, it was not enough to seize the opportunity and eat it with the highest dignity and everything. Is there any way the clerk can’t do that too?”
Seeing Lee Young-bak twisting himself like that, Lee Young-hwan repeatedly bowed his head and flattered him.
In fact, Lee Young-hwan sincerely thought so to be called a father-in-law.
Does it mean that the white blood lineage is separated and the descendants of the Crown Prince are separated?
Either way, this guy’s land of Joseon has no choice but to succeed either by studying well or by taking advantage of opportunities and people.
Especially those who have learned things like themselves, and who haven’t met their father as well as the general secretary or executives.
At one time, Lee Yong-hwan firmly vowed that he would not at least not be subjected to such a situation where he couldn’t even enter a typical McDonald’s and crawled in the doorway and bought sympathy for his auntie.
