Free Web NovelAll the party leadership had gathered in the party leader’s office at the Centrist Party’s central headquarters.
Their faces were filled with displeasure.
“Secretary-General Lee Myungsoo.”
Party leader Han Jiho called out to Lee Myungsoo. His voice made his irritation unmistakably clear.
“Yes, Chairman.”
“The inter-Korean summit. Was that the purpose of your visit to the North? And not even in Pyongyang, but in Seoul. Are you saying you went there just to coordinate this?”
Lee Myungsoo knew exactly what emotions they were feeling.
Discomfort—and anxiety. For a group that called itself the Centrist Party’s leadership, not a single one of them had known about this.
Aside from the President and his closest aides, Lee Myungsoo was the only one who had known that the inter-Korean summit would be held in Seoul.
Under Han Jiho’s sharp gaze, Lee Myungsoo nodded.
“Yes. I personally met Vice Chairman Jang Songthaek and conducted the negotiations. And as a result of that meeting, the summit was decided.”
Among the party leadership gathered here were longtime Centrist Party members, but also many former Conservative Party figures who had joined through the merger. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
The party leader himself, Han Jiho, had once served as chairman of the Conservative Party.
On the surface, they appeared tightly united, but beneath that surface, internal strife ran deep.
Tensions were especially high over the nomination process for National Assembly candidates.
Aside from the TK region that had been promised beforehand, most of the nominations in the metropolitan area and the PK region had gone to Centrist Party members, deepening the emotional rift even further.
“Hah! And yet you didn’t say a single word to me. Am I really the party leader? Secretary-General, answer me. Am I the leader of this party, or am I not?”
“Why ask such an obvious question? You are the party leader. Who else would be?”
At Lee Myungsoo’s calm reply, Han Jiho’s eyes sharpened.
“Oh? Then why did you handle this matter entirely on your own without reporting it to me?”
Lee Myungsoo had expected this reaction. Still, it couldn’t be helped.
With North Korea, if information leaked in advance, even carefully laid plans could go awry.
Letting out a sigh, Lee Myungsoo replied,
“Chairman, this matter depended on absolute secrecy. Everyone here knows that anything involving North Korea requires strict security. Fewer than five people knew about this—including President Yoon Changho and myself. Even the special envoys from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Unification who went to Pyongyang with me didn’t know. They simply carried out the separated families reunion talks as assigned. I alone moved separately.”
“Even so, you should’ve told me. Do you know how ridiculous I looked? Reporters and party lawmakers kept calling me, asking what this was all about—and I didn’t know a damn thing to tell them!”
Han Jiho suddenly raised his voice, anger flaring. He’d been bombarded with phone calls from all sides since the press conference.
“I apologize for that. However, it wasn’t a matter where I could act on my own discretion. I was merely carrying out the President’s orders. I had no intention of disregarding you.”
Han Jiho slammed his hand down hard on the table.
The coffee cups on top rattled from the impact.
“Secretary Lee! I let you have your way, and now you’ve become completely arrogant! Just because you have the President’s trust, do you think the world revolves around you?”
The air in the office turned icy. Lee Myungsoo’s face stiffened as well.
“There’s a saying—flowers don’t bloom for ten days, and power doesn’t last ten years. I, too, once stood beside the President and shared in that power. And what happened to the Conservative Party in the end? It vanished into history and merged with the Centrist Party. Isn’t that right?”
Lee Myungsoo simply looked at Han Jiho without answering.
“At the very least, you should’ve told me. Then we could’ve steered this matter in a better direction.”
“What exactly is the problem? You know as well as I do that successfully holding this summit will have a positive impact on the general election a month from now.”
“A positive impact? Doing the same thing as the previous administration, and you call that good news for the election?”
At Han Jiho’s sneer, Lee Myungsoo felt his temper rise, his voice lifting naturally.
“Don’t you remember how dangerous things were just recently? The entire country was gripped by fear that war might break out. Panic buying was rampant, and public safety deteriorated rapidly. Dialogue with North Korea was unavoidable.”
Han Jiho curled one corner of his mouth into a smile.
“You think about politics far too simplistically. An inter-Korean summit held in Seoul. Do you really not understand what that means? Do you think voters who support the Progressive Party will suddenly turn their eyes to us because of that? Let’s exclude, for the sake of argument, those who’d vote Progressive even if they sold out the country. What about the conservative base, Secretary-General? How do you think conservatives who were leaning toward the Centrist Party will react to this? Where do you think their votes will go?”
“They will—”
“Listen, Secretary-General. Incumbent lawmakers who failed to secure nominations this time have left the party and are running as independents. If conservative votes flow to them, only the Progressive Party benefits. Did you not even consider that?”
Han Jiho’s lips twisted into a mocking grin.
In the end, he was laying full responsibility for the defectors running as independents squarely at Lee Myungsoo’s feet.
Biting down hard on his lip, Lee Myungsoo swallowed his anger and said through clenched teeth,
“Voters aren’t that stupid.”
“You foolish man. Do you think those independents are just nameless freshmen? They’re figures who still wield some influence in their districts. And on top of that, you’ve handed them excellent ammunition. What do you think they’ll do with it?”
“They’ll obviously try to exploit it.”
Han Jiho clicked his tongue in frustration.
“And you know that, yet you call this good news for us?”
“But it will certainly help the election. North Korea’s movements have always had a huge impact on elections—”
“It would be good news if this were a progressive-leaning party. The Progressive Party will highlight this point, claiming the Kim Hakgwon administration’s policies were never wrong and that this government is simply continuing them. But the Centrist Party can’t do that. Do you finally understand the situation now?”
Han Jiho spoke as if lecturing a child, and Lee Myungsoo clenched his fist tightly.
“I believe the greater fault lies with you, Chairman, for failing to stop it. There was no impropriety in the nomination process. As promised during the merger with the Conservative Party, all TK districts were given to their candidates. The remaining districts went through a transparent nomination process before candidates were selected. It was you who failed to prevent those people from leaving the party.”
The sharp exchange between the two continued in parallel lines.
The rest of the leadership also split into factions supporting either Han Jiho or Lee Myungsoo, confronting each other head-on.
They all knew it well—this fight was ultimately about building justification to gain the upper hand in the post-election struggle for party leadership.
“If we lose this election, the President’s governance will be stalled. Are you prepared to take responsibility for that?”
“Responsibility?”
Han Jiho nodded.
“Yes. Because of the variable you brought in, the election has become impossible to predict. Shouldn’t someone take responsibility for that?”
“If responsibility must be taken, then I’ll take it.”
At Lee Myungsoo’s resolute words, Han Jiho burst out laughing.
Though he read the mockery in that laughter, Lee Myungsoo merely steadied his breathing.
“You’d better keep that promise. So—how much are we giving them in exchange for holding the summit?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Let’s not play dumb. Those red bastards wouldn’t hold a summit without getting something in return. Is there anyone here who doesn’t know that Kim Hakgwon secretly sent money to Kim Jongil? Weren’t we planning to make that an election issue to win? And isn’t the reason we didn’t use such prime ammunition because of this?”
Lee Myungsoo replied in a stiff voice.
“No money of any kind was exchanged for this summit. The North Korean government wants U.S.-led economic sanctions lifted as soon as possible. They also want the Kaesong Industrial Complex established without delay. That’s why the summit happened.”
“Who’s going to believe that? Not a single person here does. If that’s true, then let’s use the Kim Hakgwon administration’s North Korea remittance issue in the election.”
Lee Myungsoo looked around.
Even people on his own side were giving him doubtful looks.
‘They’re coming at this from that angle?’
Burying the remittance issue had been Kim Muhyuk’s idea.
This was something they could never back down on.
“Believe it or not is your personal choice. But do not touch the Kim Hakgwon administration’s North Korea remittance issue. This is a warning. If anyone tries to make it public—”
“Secretary Lee.”
“I’m not speaking lightly. No one is ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ to raise it publicly. This is also President Yoon Changho’s will. Do you understand?”
Having made his point clear, Lee Myungsoo stood up.
“I have another appointment, so I’ll be leaving now. And once again—the party line is to support this summit. There must be no individual actions. On the eve of an election, discord between the Blue House and the party will only hurt us. I’ll handle our side. Chairman, please manage your own faction accordingly.”
Lee Myungsoo turned to leave.
At that moment, a man suddenly jumped to his feet and shouted,
“Hey, Lee Myungsoo! Is that any way to speak to the Chairman? You insolent bastard! How dare you talk like that in front of your seniors?!”
Lee Myungsoo stopped and turned around.
“Assemblyman Jeong Seokmin, what did you just say? Did you call me insolent?”
“That’s right, you little shit! Who here has less political seniority than you? Just because you trust the President and puff your chest out like that—one day it’s going to blow up in your face! Apologize properly to the Chairman!”
Lee Myungsoo frowned involuntarily.
Seeing a middle-aged man with a National Assembly badge on his chest pointing fingers and shouting had long since become nauseating.
The constant harassment from old men who seized every chance to belittle him made his irritation boil over.
“Assemblyman Jeong Seokmin.”
After glancing around, Lee Myungsoo spoke coldly.
“Do you want me to show you what real insolence looks like? Why does age matter in politics? Why do seniors matter?”
“What did you say, you bastard?! You’re done for! Do you want to die?!”
Jeong Seokmin spat out curses, clenching his fist as if he were about to charge at Lee Myungsoo.
“Hey! Jeong Seokmin!”
Floor leader Kim Jaehyung shouted as he called out to him.
“Have you lost your mind, raising your voice like that? Are you trying to start something right now?”
People split into two sides, and the party leader’s office descended into chaos in an instant.
* * *
“Hahaha. This is insane. So what happened?”
—This isn’t something to laugh about, damn it.
Myungsoo snapped back angrily. His voice was still sharp, as if he hadn’t calmed down yet.
“Alright, alright. So what happened?”
—What do you think? We fought for a while, then Chairman Han Jiho mediated and ended it.
“Hm... So Chairman Han Jiho brought up the North Korea remittance issue?”
—Yeah. He said maybe we gave them something too, and that’s why we’re burying it.
They say it only takes one loach to muddy the water. I could easily imagine the atmosphere inside the Centrist Party.
“I can see why someone might think that. Sounds like it’s about time to deal with him. He can’t read the board. He’s blinded by greed.”
—Hey. I’ll handle it, so don’t step in. It’ll just complicate things. You stepping in every time to clean things up doesn’t look good either. I’ll try to resolve this politically.
“Alright. I’ll just watch.”
—Good. I’ve got reporters to meet, so I’ll hang up now. I’ll contact you later—just stay put.
With that, Myungsoo hung up first.
How should I handle this...
I stared at the disconnected phone for a moment, then called Manager Ma to the study.
“Manager, put someone on Chairman Han Jiho. I want full surveillance—who he meets, where he goes, everything. And...”
I’d told Myungsoo I’d stay out of it, but I couldn’t just sit on my hands.
I wasn’t taking direct action, so he’d probably let this much slide.
“Send Myungsoo everything you have on Han Jiho and his faction—their weaknesses, all of it.”
