My Peninsula 2007

Chapter 442 Two Presidents
Lee Fu-jin's current discussion about the online broadcasting of the China-Korea Song Festival may indicate that she is genuinely considering securing the online broadcasting rights, or it could be a subtle way of urging An Ru-song to quickly develop and launch the CieloTV software.

Regardless of Li Fuzhen's true intentions, An Rusong would not respond to her, because Han Meiyan was in charge of all matters concerning CieloTV, as she was the chairman of CieloTV.

During the conversation, the group quickly arrived at the 23rd floor of the hotel. Led by Li Fuzhen's two assistants, they arrived at the hotel's executive lounge, which An Rusong had visited before.

Two waiters stood outside the executive lounge room. When they saw Li Fuzhen and her group arrive, they bowed to their boss. Then, one of them turned around and knocked on the door of the private room. After someone responded, they gently pushed the door open.

Among the group of people outside the door, An Rusong was positioned relatively close to the front. When the waiter opened the door to the private room, he was the first to see what was inside.

An Rusong had previously dined at the executive lounge of the Shilla Hotel, so he was quite familiar with the place.

At that moment, he looked through the open door and saw a short, stout, bearded middle-aged man standing at the end of the short corridor, less than three meters long. The man was smiling and facing the door, seemingly having walked quickly towards it after hearing the knock.

The middle-aged man first saw the waiter by the door, then saw An Rusong outside the door, and his smile became even wider.

An Rusong recognized this middle-aged man. By "recognized," I don't mean they were acquainted, but rather that he could recognize the man's face and identify him from it.

The middle-aged man was Ma Ki-gwan, the head of the copyright cooperation department at KBS Television. Despite his unassuming appearance, he wielded considerable power within KBS Television.

As mentioned earlier, KBS is actually divided into two main parts: KBS1, which focuses on news reporting, and KBS2, which focuses on entertainment and variety shows. Since Lee Byung-soon took office as president of the broadcaster, KBS1 has suffered a major blow, while KBS2 has not been significantly affected.

In the past, the main power in KBS2 was held by Vice President Lee Won-gun, who could be considered the local emperor of KBS2. In the past, all decision-making power over KBS2's dramas, variety shows, and other programs was in Lee Won-gun's hands.

At that time, Ma Jijian was a henchman who followed Li Yuanjun. He was the direct executor of matters such as purchasing, investing in, and licensing the copyrights of films and television dramas.

However, not long ago, Vice President Lee Won-jun unfortunately "fell from grace." He is currently under investigation by the Supreme Prosecutor's Office, and it is said that there is a high possibility that he will be convicted. Even if he is ultimately acquitted, he will not be able to return to his position as Vice President of KBS, as he has already been dismissed by the KBS board of directors.

The person who succeeded Lee Won-jun was the new vice president, Lee Nam-ki. He is a follower of Ms. Park, and it is estimated that his appointment as vice president of KBS was the result of a compromise between Lee Min-bok and Ms. Park.

Unfortunately, South Korea is too small; it's a tiny island nation, and its government structure is limited in size. In China, it's hard to imagine the country's top leader directly interfering in the selection of the national television station director, expending so much effort along the way. But in South Korea, this is perfectly normal.

With the downfall of Lee Won-jun, Ma Ji-gian's existence became rather awkward. To be honest, it was already beyond An Ru-song's expectations that he wasn't directly ousted. And now, not only has he not left KBS, but his position hasn't even changed. This shows that he must have reached some kind of deal with Lee Nam-ki and Lee Byung-soon.

"President An!" Ma Jijian greeted him from the corridor, extending his hand from afar. As he walked briskly toward An Rusong, he said with a beaming smile, "It is truly an honor to have you grace us with your presence."

As he said this, he had already reached An Rusong and tightly grasped An Rusong's right hand, which he had just raised.

This guy was almost fifty years old, more than twenty years older than An Rusong, yet he used honorifics when speaking to An Rusong. Not only that, but he also bowed when he shook An Rusong's hand. That posture reminded An Rusong of that picture that made fun of Abe on the internet in his previous life.

"Minister Ma, you're too kind," An Rusong said, feeling a little awkward at the other party's humble attitude. He glanced at Li Fuzhen beside him and said politely, "You are a senior, and it is my honor to receive your invitation."

“Both of you are my guests,” Li Fuzhen interjected at this moment, and said with a smile, “I have already said before, Minister Ma, and the two Presidents Li, I must be the host tonight.”

After she finished speaking, two more people emerged from the end of the corridor: a slightly overweight middle-aged man with a receding hairline, and a tall, upright young man who appeared to be only around thirty-five or thirty-six years old. While Li Fuzhen had been speaking, Ma Jijian had been watching her with a beaming smile, his expression quite focused. But as soon as the two men appeared at the end of the corridor, he seemed to have eyes in the back of his head, immediately turning to the side and laughing, "President Li wants to snatch the hosting role tonight? Talking to me won't do you any good; it takes our President Li's approval."

After finishing speaking, he looked at An Rusong and said, "President An, let me introduce you."

This guy had a very good grasp of the rhythm of his speech. Just as he finished speaking, the two people inside the door were walking towards the doorway.

“This is Lee Byung-soon, President of our KBS television station,” he said, turning to the two men at the door. He first introduced the balding middle-aged man, then the young man, “and this is Lee Nam-ki, Vice President.”

After he finished speaking, he introduced An Rusong to the two presidents, "Presidents, this is An Rusong, the chairman of NGN Company."

“Hehe, I’ve known Chairman An for a long time,” Li Bingchun stepped forward, smiled and shook An Rusong’s hand. He also reached out his other hand and gently patted An Rusong’s left forearm, saying, “Director Bai has mentioned Chairman An to me more than once.”

The "Director Bai" he mentioned was naturally Bai Jinjun. An Rusong smiled and continued in his tone, "Brother Jinjun has mentioned many times that he wants to introduce me to President Li, but he has never been able to find the time. Fortunately, with the dinner organized by Minister Ma this time, I can finally fulfill my wish."

After saying this, he extended his hand to Lee Nam-ki on the other side and said with a smile, "I have long heard of President Nam-ki's name. He is a key general under Secretary Park. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Secretary-General Park" refers to Ms. Park, who previously served as Secretary-General and Party Representative of the Grand National Party. According to proper protocol, An Rusong should actually address Ms. Park as "Party Leader Park," since she did indeed serve as party leader, taking over the position during the Grand National Party's most difficult period, when it was on the verge of collapse.

However, as Park Geun-hye's main political rival within the Grand National Party, Lee Min-bo's camp has consistently downplayed Park Geun-hye's role in leading the Grand National Party out of its predicament. Therefore, as a member of Lee Min-bo's camp, Ahn Yeo-song naturally would not refer to Park Geun-hye as "Party Leader Park."

“Chairman Ahn is too modest,” Lee Nam-ki said with a flicker of his eyes as he looked at Ahn Ju-song. “I’m just an ordinary campaign advisor to Party Leader Park. Chairman Ahn, on the other hand, is a well-known fact that he is a key figure under President Lee. In the past period, Chairman Ahn has contributed a lot to the development of NGN.”

These words sound like praise, but they are also vague and seem to be a veiled criticism, making people feel uncomfortable.

However, An Rusong didn't mind. He turned to look at Li Bingchun and saw that the other man's expression was also somewhat awkward, so he understood what was going on.

It's obvious that although these two presidents share the same surname, Lee, and both work at KBS, they are clearly not on the same side. This makes sense; Lee Byung-soon became president with the support of Lee Min-bok, while Lee Nam-ki belongs to Park Geun-hye's camp.

Although Lee Min-bo and Ms. Park are now cooperating and their antagonism has ended, their rivalry is inevitable. Therefore, it is impossible for the two presidents of the Lee family to have a harmonious relationship—at least not on the surface.

Since the two presidents of KBS had no friendly relations, it is not surprising that Director Ma was able to escape unscathed: Lee Byung-soon's appointment as president of KBS was arranged by Lee Min-bok. His main task in this position was to deal with the disobedient news reporters and PDs of KBS1, so his main focus would be on KBS1.

As Lee Nam-ki's successor to Lee Won-gun, his main responsibilities should be with KBS2. Therefore, as a new vice president who is new to the company and doesn't get along with the president, Lee Nam-ki must seize control of KBS2 as quickly as possible. Thus, bringing someone like Ma Ki-gwan to his side is undoubtedly a wise choice.

Having figured this out, An Rusong couldn't help but feel a bit of a headache.

Without a doubt, if Han Mi-yeon wants to secure the online rights to KBS TV's film and variety shows, Lee Byung-soon's support alone is not enough; she also needs to get past Lee Nam-ki, since this vice president is the real direct supervisor.

(End of this chapter)