CH433 | Heir

The long-awaited presidential election day had arrived.

Huge crowds poured into polling stations, and from the morning hours, long lines of people waiting to vote could be seen everywhere.

“This election seems to be drawing far more attention than expected.”

“There was a strong expectation that ruling party supporters, burdened by the disgrace of their president’s unprecedented resignation, would largely abstain. But judging by the turnout, that doesn’t seem to be the case.”

The Chief of Planning had been monitoring the election process since early morning.

Fully aware of just how important this election was, he worked with even greater zeal than in previous campaigns.

“There’s no chance the results could be overturned, right?”

“According to the latest polls, Congressman Choi Jaeseok is leading by more than 15 percent. With a gap like that, his election should be secure.”

“Even if an unforeseen variable outside the margin of error arises, it won’t pose a serious threat to his victory.”

Throughout the campaign, they had worked hard to eliminate every possible variable.

There had been concerns that the ruling and opposition parties might unite behind a single candidate, so they stirred public opinion in the middle to prevent it.

They even discreetly lent support to weaker candidates through social media, ensuring none of them would be forced to drop out for lack of campaign reimbursement.

A five-way race was the scenario most advantageous to Congressman Choi Jaeseok.

That was why they carefully balanced things, checking or assisting the other four candidates as needed, which ultimately allowed the election to proceed as a five-way contest.

“There was nearly a coalition under the so-called ‘third zone big tent’ before the election, but fortunately, unification never happened.”

“The debate over the THAAD missile defense deployment was also quite a major factor.”

“Still, since the decision had already been finalized, it was too difficult an issue to overturn.”

One of the key issues in this election was the THAAD deployment.

The previous administration had already concluded negotiations with the United States, so a change of government could not overturn the decision.

Even so, the opposition party campaigned on the promise of reviewing THAAD from the ground up.

Public anxiety surged over the potential collapse of the Chinese market, but the ruling party countered with national security concerns, which eventually quieted the debate.

“Once the THAAD deployment begins in earnest, Congressman Choi Jaeseok will have a tough road ahead.”

“Relations with China are likely to become the central challenge for the next administration.”

“You can’t scoop spilled water back into the pot. Rolling back THAAD would make an enemy of the United States, so the agreement must stand.”

There was no way to change the THAAD issue anymore.

Diplomatic conflict with China was part of the historical current, and all they could do was prepare for it.

“I’ll continue monitoring the election process.”

“As long as nothing major happens, you don’t need to report separately.”

The election was important, but staring at it constantly wouldn’t change the results.

So I turned my attention to the mountain of tasks related to the Taewoo Group.

When the time came for the exit polls to be released, the Vice Chairman and the Chief of Planning naturally gathered at my side.

“The exit polls are about to start.”

“Phew, it’s been a while since I felt this nervous.”

I wiped the sweat gathering in my palms with a handkerchief.

Just then, the countdown began, and three major broadcasters announced their exit poll results simultaneously.

[Choi Jaeseok: 40% | Opposition Candidate: 19% | Ruling Party Candidate: 18% | New Opposition Party: 14% | New Ruling Party: 5%]

“Wow! It’s done! Candidate Choi Jaeseok has won with an overwhelming margin!”

“The numbers are even higher than the last opinion poll! That’s a lead of over 20%!”

“Calm down. These are just exit polls. The actual count may still shift.”

That’s what I said, but inside I was shouting with joy.

Unlike general elections, presidential exit polls had never been wrong.

The margin might shrink somewhat, but Congressman Choi Jaeseok’s victory was certain.

“Still, the ruling party secured more votes than expected. Based on the polls, it looked like they might not even meet the threshold for campaign reimbursement.”

“That shows just how solid their concrete support base really is.”

The ruling party’s votes had been eaten away by the People’s Economic Party, which explained the results.

Without the People’s Economic Party, the ruling party would have gained at least 10 percent more, while the opposition would have taken an even heavier blow.

Had the People’s Economic Party not existed, all the centrist votes would have flowed to the opposition.

But since the People’s Economic Party absorbed the entire centrist base, not only the opposition but also the two new parties ended up with low percentages.

“If a third-zone big tent had actually formed, things might have been razor close. Adding up the votes of the opposition and the two new parties nearly reaches 40 percent.”

“On paper, yes. But elections aren’t simple math. One plus one doesn’t equal two. It usually stops at one and a half, sometimes even less.”

Elections were not arithmetic.

They required a far more complicated kind of math.

Even if a big tent had been created, no party’s support would have transferred in full.

That didn’t mean there was no danger.

If a third bloc had been established and candidate unification had succeeded, Congressman Choi Jaeseok would have had to endure a grueling election.

“Chairman, we’ve received a call from Candidate Choi Jaeseok.”

“Already? I just saw him being interviewed on TV.”

I had just been listening to Congressman Choi’s interview on television.

For him to call me the moment it ended was proof of how deeply grateful he felt toward me.

[Thank you. Chairman Kim, I was able to win because of you.]

“No, not at all. It was your hard work, along with the efforts of the People’s Economic Party, that made this victory possible.”

[First, let me apologize. Even if I enter the Blue House, I will not run state affairs to suit your preferences.]

It was the kind of statement that could almost sound like a declaration of war.

But I knew exactly what Congressman Choi meant by it, so I wasn’t offended in the slightest.

“Of course, that’s how it should be. If you ever feel that any proposal I make does not serve the national interest, you are free to reject it at any time.”

[I intend to work only for the growth and economic development of the Republic of Korea. I ask for much support from Taewoo Group.]

“So, what you mean is the government won’t help Taewoo Group, but Taewoo Group should help the government. That feels a little unfair, but very well, I’ll do it.”

Nothing about this was any different from before.

Congressman Choi Jaeseok and the People’s Economic Party had worked on many policies alongside Taewoo Group.

But never once had they acted solely for Taewoo Group’s benefit.

The national interest of Korea—
that was what Congressman Choi always placed first.

Taewoo Group’s direction aligned with that national interest, which was why they worked together.

And for me, that was enough. I hadn’t made him president expecting government support or favors.

[Well, if I ever retire from politics, I’ll live out the rest of my life grateful to you and to Taewoo Group.]

“You still have a long way to go before retirement. If you win a second term, that’s at least eight years. As long as you govern the country well during that time, that will be more than enough for me.”

The call ended on a very warm note.

With interview requests flooding in, it wasn’t possible to keep talking any longer anyway.

***

The next day.

After finally getting a good night’s sleep, I went in to the office.

By then, the presidential election count was already complete.

The Chief of Planning, his eyes bloodshot as if he had stayed up all night watching the returns, came to report.

“Congressman Choi Jaeseok has been elected president, almost exactly as the exit polls predicted! His final share of the vote is 40.6 percent.”

“I glanced at the results on my way in. Aside from the new party’s numbers, nothing really changed from the exit polls.”

In the exit polls, the new party had secured 14 percent.

But the official count showed they only managed 10 percent.

That meant Congressman Choi had absorbed much of the new party’s strong support in the Honam region.

“With this outcome, the two new parties will likely be absorbed back into the established parties.”

“That doesn’t really matter. With 40 percent of the vote, Choi Jaeseok could win reelection even in a three-way race.”

“As long as his administration doesn’t suddenly lose public support, reelection is possible.”

Of course, the Choi Jaeseok government hadn’t even launched yet.

With so many challenges waiting for him, it was far too early to be certain about reelection.

“Congressman Choi will handle things well enough. Let’s stop worrying about reelection. Any other news?”

“Chairman, the schedule with Seaspan’s Chairman Jerry Wang has been set. He’s arriving in Korea on the 7th of next month.”

“He’s coming all the way to Korea in person. Well, it makes sense. If we merge Hyunjin Shipping and Hyundai Shipping, the scale would be impossible to ignore.”

The merged company could even aim for a spot among the top five global shipping firms.

That was why Seaspan’s Chairman Jerry Wang was coming directly to Korea to negotiate charter fees.

“For Hyunjin Shipping’s charter fees, negotiations can be centered on Seaspan. But for Hyundai Shipping, we’ll have to deal with over twenty-two different foreign shipowners.”

“If Seaspan announces a charter discount, the others will likely follow suit with something similar.”

“Will those foreign shipowners accept? They already rejected a 25 percent proposal.”

We had already signed a 50 percent discount contract with Seaspan.

In the next round, we even planned to push for a deeper cut through additional negotiations.

But Seaspan was a special case; the arrangement was possible because Chairman Jerry Wang and I had something to exchange.

With the other foreign shipowners, finding common ground might prove far more difficult.

In that case, we would have to promise them certain benefits in return for discounts. And Taewoo Group possessed the ultimate bargaining chip: overwhelming financial power.

“I’ll resolve this step by step. First, let’s start by persuading Chairman Jerry Wang.”

“Our planning office will study various scenarios and report back. Also, Centurion mentioned they had something they wanted to discuss with you. They said they’d come up to headquarters when you had time.”

Centurion was about to become Taewoo Group’s biggest cash cow.

That meant it was only right for me to go there myself and solve whatever problem they were facing.

“Tell them I’ll head to Centurion right away. Once I see the issue with my own eyes, I’ll know how to judge it.”

“I’ll let them know.”

I rose from my seat immediately and moved straight to Centurion.

When I arrived, CEO Seo Jungjun and Dr. Kim Jangwoo were already waiting in the lobby.

“Why are you out here instead of waiting inside?”

“We wanted to see you as quickly as possible, Chairman. There’s something urgent we need to discuss.”

“Let’s go inside and talk then.”

Dr. Kim looked rather anxious. Meanwhile, CEO Seo had a sour expression, clearly displeased about something.

We walked quickly into the conference room, and as soon as the door closed, Dr. Kim spoke up.

“There’s a key technology we absolutely need for our mRNA and DNA research.”

“If it’s a matter of paying licensing fees, we can handle that, no matter the cost. But what technology has you this worked up, Doctor?”

“CRISPR gene-editing technology. We’ve found a way to use it as a breakthrough for many incurable diseases!”

Gene-editing technology.

I had heard of it before.

I remembered that just before my regression, it had even won a Nobel Prize.

“But isn’t that unrelated to coronavirus treatment research?”

“We can combine it. This technology can help us develop not only a COVID treatment but also a wide range of new drugs.”

“The problem is the licensing fees are very high. On top of that, there’s already a patent dispute, which makes things extremely messy.”

So that was why CEO Seo’s face was clouded. The patent war surrounding the technology made him hesitant.

But a technology with the potential to create countless new drugs wasn’t something I could just pass by.

Rather than simply paying to use it, I felt the urge to buy the technology outright.