CH423 | Heir

Unable to fight off the drowsiness, I dozed off for a while.

From time to time, I could hear Captain Kang and Vice Chairman Han cheering, which told me that the National Economy Party candidate had won in a contested district.

Still, a single seat here or there would not affect the overall outcome.

So I continued sleeping until the ballot counting was finished, only opening my eyes in the morning.

“Yaaawn… So, are the results out now?”

“Chairman! It’s absolute chaos!”

“What happened for you to be so worked up?”

Vice Chairman Han quickly moved aside, revealing the TV screen that had been blocked.

The election coverage showed a picture completely different from the exit polls.

[Ruling Party: 70 seats, Opposition: 69 seats, New Party: 4 seats, Independents: 6 seats, National Economy Party: 151 seats]

Was I still half-asleep and seeing things?

I rubbed my eyes hard, then switched channels to check the results from other networks.

But my vision was perfectly fine. The National Economy Party had secured a crushing majority.

“I always knew exit polls had their margin of error, but I didn’t think they could be this far off.”

“Every single one of the other parties—ruling, opposition, and the new party—lost seats.
And all of those lost seats were taken by the National Economy Party.”

“How is that even possible?”

“The impact of early voting was huge. Apparently, early votes were not reflected in the exit polls. And on top of that, we swept the overseas ballots as well.”

Exit polls only reflected the voters who cast their ballots on election day.

That alone was never perfectly accurate, but once early voting and overseas votes were added to the mix, the discrepancy grew enormous.

“The two major parties have grown much weaker in this election.”

“At least the opposition can make excuses, saying their seats were split with the new party. But the ruling party has no such defense. And the new party couldn’t even secure half of the seats they had expected. This election turned into a crushing defeat for every party except the National Economy Party.”

Even before my regression, this general election had been full of unexpected twists.

But in this life, the National Economy Party absorbed every single variable, ending up with as many seats as both the ruling and opposition parties combined.

“The political stage has completely shifted into the hands of the National Economy Party.”

“That’s right. Even if the ruling and opposition parties combine their forces, they still won’t have a majority. Even with all the independents added in, it still wouldn’t be enough.”

“On the other hand, the National Economy Party only needs support from one side—either the ruling or opposition party—to push through constitutional amendments.”

“Do you think the two major parties will cooperate with the National Economy Party?
They’ll be too busy trying to claw back public support, attacking us however they can.”

At first, yes.

But soon they would realize that negative campaigning, filled with slander and mudslinging, would not win back the people’s trust.

Especially if Representative Choi Jaeseok were to win the next presidential election.

At that point, the two major parties would have no choice but to cooperate with the National Economy Party.

Or to be precise, I intended to make sure that was the case.

“Chairman, Representative Choi Jaeseok is on the line!”

“So the busiest man of the day still found time to call.”

Vice Chairman Han handed me the phone.

As soon as I answered, Choi Jaeseok’s voice rang out, filled with excitement.

[We’ve won! We’ve secured a sweeping majority!
None of this would have been possible without your help, Chairman. I will continue to devote myself to the progress of our nation!]

“Using your voice like that already? You still have a full 24-hour interview schedule today—please take care of your throat. And don’t forget, this sweeping victory wasn’t thanks to me, but to you, Representative Choi Jaeseok, and the National Economy Party moving public opinion.”

Representative Choi Jaeseok could hardly contain his excitement.

No wonder—how could he not be thrilled that a young party like the National Economy Party had become the largest party in the nation?

[Starting today, we will aggressively pursue the three major policies. Today’s press conference will not be about celebrating victory, but about taking the first steps toward fulfilling our pledges.]

“You’ll probably run into the Blue House quite a bit.”

[For the sake of Korea’s progress, I’m ready to face not just the Blue House, but the White House if necessary!]

Unlike usual, Choi Jaeseok displayed a highly aggressive streak.

Mentioning even the U.S., where there’s nothing to fight over, suggested that he might make a slip if he went straight into interviews like this.

“Calm down. This is only the beginning. The general election is over, but the campaign is not.
Remember, this general election is just a step toward victory in the next presidential race.”

[Whew… I suppose I got carried away. As you said, Chairman, the election isn’t over yet.]

“From today, focus all your energy on the presidential campaign. I’ll arrange a separate meeting soon to discuss your pledges for the presidential race.”

[I’m embarrassed. While you’ve been planning the presidential campaign, I was the one firing off the celebratory shots.]

Finally, Choi Jaeseok calmed down.

Only after repeatedly expressing his gratitude in a polite tone did he end the call.

“I’m curious to see how the Blue House will respond.”

“Hasn’t the momentum already shifted to the National Economy Party? Would they really try to oppose the largest party with a majority of the seats?”

“They might refuse to acknowledge the trend and attempt to wrest the initiative back to the Blue House through a show of force.”

If that happened…

The flames of impeachment could ignite even sooner.

And I’d be the one pouring fuel onto them.

***

A few days after the general election,

Chairman Jang Myungjun of Hyundai Heavy Industries requested a meeting, and Captain Kang invited him to his restaurant.

“It feels strange to call you Chairman Jang Myungjun instead of Representative Jang Myungjun.”

“You can call me the President of the Football Association, Chairman of Hyundai Heavy Industries, or even former Representative—any of those are fine. Ha ha ha.”

This election had marked the point where Jang Myungjun stepped away from politics.

Now he had returned not as a politician, but as a business executive.

Of course, the management of Hyundai Heavy Industries was still handled by others, but as the head of the Hyundai Group, the title of chairman suited him well.

“Then I’ll call you Chairman Jang Myungjun.”

“I appreciate that. And thanks to you, Chairman Kim, the Gunsan shipyard is running very smoothly.”

“The Saemangeum project hasn’t started yet, so the remaining payment will have to be made later. It shouldn’t take too long. If the Saemangeum project faces further delays, I’ll ensure the balance is transferred this year regardless of whether the project receives approval.”

The Gunsan shipyard and the Saemangeum project were linked.

As such, the full payment for ship orders at Gunsan couldn’t be made until the Saemangeum issue was resolved.

But the shipyard had to operate this year.

So an advance payment of one trillion won had been made, enough to keep the Gunsan shipyard running without issues.

“I have no doubt, Chairman Kim, that you wouldn’t play games with the order payments.
But there’s a rumor going around that you plan to merge Hyundai Shipping and Hyunjin Shipping for an acquisition. Is that true?”

“We can’t just let the Korean shipping industry collapse like this, can we?”

Chairman Jang Myungjun spoke cautiously.

Rumors?

Everyone who needed to know already knew. It was a major shipping industry deal, and it was no secret that Taewoo Group was at the center of it.

“As for Hyunjin Shipping, there’s not much I can do, but I can offer a bit of help with Hyundai Shipping.”

“What kind of help do you mean?”

“It’s a little embarrassing to say, but I once tried to acquire Hyundai Shipping myself.”

Chairman Jang Myungjun seemed a bit sheepish.

And no wonder—Hyundai Shipping was a company owned by his sister-in-law.

It had been part of the internal conflict within the Hyundai family, a struggle that ended in Jang Myungjun’s defeat.

“I knew that Hyundai Heavy Industries had taken a keen interest in Hyundai Shipping,” I said.

“During that process, I held a considerable portion of Hyundai Shipping’s shares. Even now, I still retain some of them.”

Securing shares was essential if he ever wanted to forcibly take over the company.

Jang Myungjun had once amassed enough shares to wage a stake war against his sister-in-law.

“You still hold those shares?”

“Not a lot, but a little over ten percent.”

“That’s not an insignificant amount, but not enough to influence Hyundai Shipping’s operations.”

“It’s enough to negotiate with the creditors.
By surrendering my ten percent stake, I could secure partial debt relief in return.”

If he were to cancel ten percent of his shares,
the value of the shares held by the creditor group would rise by ten percent.

It was favorable for the creditors but a unilateral loss for Chairman Jang.

A politician and entrepreneur willingly taking a loss?

That would never happen.

He was clearly presenting this proposal to extract something else in return.

“It would give us a good reason to move the creditors, but Chairman Jang, the conditions are far too disadvantageous for you.”

“Hmm, hmm… why not receive compensation through a real estate PF for the loss?”

“I understand that Hyundai Heavy Industries doesn’t have a construction firm. Are you planning to start one?”

Hyundai Heavy Industries owned various subsidiaries.

It had affiliates related to construction machinery, but it did not own a construction company.

Even when the real estate PF was originally created, Hyundai Heavy Industries was not a party of interest.

Yet an unexpected player had bitten the bait first.

“Hyundai Heavy Industries may not own a construction company, but within the broader Hyundai Group, there are two construction firms. And the broader Hyundai Group also holds a significant stake in Hyundai Shipping.”

“So you’re saying that if I promise a portion of the real estate PF stake, you can persuade the broader Hyundai Group to transfer their stake in Hyundai Shipping to me.”

“On top of that, I’ll try to convince Hyundai Shipping’s management to move toward selling the company.”

Is this the political skill of a seasoned legislator?

Jang Myungjun, both a multi-term lawmaker and head of Hyundai Heavy Industries, was exercising political influence in a completely unexpected way.

“You mean you’ll move the broader Hyundai family to make Hyundai Shipping sell?”

“Hyundai Shipping has already slipped out of the family’s direct control. But letting it go bankrupt or turning it over to the government isn’t an option. Finding a proper owner like Chairman Kim is the right course of action, isn’t it?”

“I can handle real estate PF projects worth about five trillion won.”

“That’s more than enough. I’ll proceed with the Hyundai Shipping sale carefully so that no problems arise.”

If anyone else had said this, it would have sounded like a scam.

But coming from Jang Myungjun, a multi-term lawmaker and head of Hyundai Heavy Industries, it was believable.

Moreover, from the detailed information I gleaned from his expression, it was clear he had no hidden intentions.

“But how does Hyundai Heavy Industries benefit? Only your brothers who own construction firms profit, don’t they?”

“If the construction industry thrives, our Hyundai Construction Machinery will also profit. And in politics, sometimes you receive favors, sometimes attacks. If you fail to return a favor, you instantly lose goodwill and find yourself without allies.”

He intended to repay the favor received at the Gunsan shipyard through the sale of Hyundai Shipping.

Hyundai Heavy Industries would gain a small benefit in the process, but that was negligible and entirely acceptable.

“In that case, I’ll trust only you with Hyundai Shipping.”

“I’ll deliver good news soon.”