My Peninsula 2007

Chapter 457: Building on the Past and Ushering in the Future?

Following behind Song Shiyong, An Rusong shuffled into the living room in slippers. The first thing he saw was an old man sitting in the center of the room, facing the door. The old man was severely balding, but he didn't look funny. Instead, he exuded an air of authority, clearly someone who had been in a position of power for a long time.

An Rusong had met this old man before, not only on television but also in real life. He was Chun Doo-hwan, the former president of the Republic of Korea who was responsible for the Gwangju Massacre and was attacked by progressives for more than ten years.

Beside Chun Doo-hwan, on a single sofa, sat a burly old man with a full head of white hair. When An Rusong entered, this man was still pontificating on his "profound theories," acting as if he were the one currently in charge of the Blue House, not Lee Min-bak.

This old man was one of the founding members of the Five Communist Party and one of Chun Doo-hwan's confidants, Minister Jang Se-dong.

Directly opposite Zhang Shidong, with his back to the door, sat another person. Because his back was to the door, An Rusong couldn't see his face, but if nothing unexpected happened, this guy should be Park Hee-tae.

When An Rusong and Song Shiyong entered the living room one after the other, Quan Douhuan and Zhang Shidong, who were facing the door, saw them. The latter stopped his incessant chatter, while the former smiled at An Rusong.

When facing powerful elders, An Rusong was always humble and courteous. He stopped as soon as he entered the living room, and when Quan Douhuan looked at him, he bowed respectfully. The bow was not only a perfect 90 degrees, but he also paused for three seconds after bowing before straightening up.

"It's Chairman An!" Just as An Rusong straightened up, Quan Douhuan, supporting himself on the sofa with both hands, stood up with what seemed like some difficulty and greeted him with a smile, "Come and sit down, hehe. I'm sorry for being so impolite today. I invited you here so abruptly. I hope Chairman An won't mind."

“It is my honor to receive your invitation, sir. I have long admired you, and if I hadn’t been worried about being too presumptuous, I would have come to visit you long ago,” An Rusong said modestly as he walked toward the sofa.

"Haha, don't let Chairman Ahn's youth fool you, he's very eloquent," Jeon Doo-hwan laughed.

“These are the heartfelt words of a junior,” An Rusong said, stopping in front of the sofa next to Park Hee-tae. “Also, please don’t call me Chairman An anymore, just call me by my name.”

“Then I’ll call you Ru Song. That’s what Li Qingxi calls you too, right?” Quan Douhuan nodded and smiled.

An Rusong found it difficult to respond to this, because it involved Li Minbo.

“Come here, Ru Song, let me introduce you,” Chun Doo-hwan casually mentioned Lee Min-bok, and then said, “This is Jang Se-dong, who is like a hermit.”

After his defeat in the 2002 presidential election, Zhang Shidong practically retired from politics. Considering he had already amassed enough wealth in the first half of his life to live a life of luxury for several lifetimes, he now does no work and, as Chun Doo-hwan described him, is a true hermit. However, judging from what he just said, although he doesn't do anything, he still cares about quite a few things—yes, he's the kind of person who's mentally exhausted.

“Mr. Shi Dong,” An Rusong bowed to Zhang Shi Dong, his manner very proper.

Zhang Shidong nodded at him with a smile, his attitude quite friendly.

“This is Park Hee-tae, CEO Park. You should know her, right?” Chun Doo-hwan then introduced Park Hee-tae.

“I only caught a glimpse of Representative Park’s charisma on the news at noon today, and I never expected to have the honor of seeing her in person now,” An Rusong turned around and looked at Park Hee-tae and said, “I also want to congratulate Representative Park. In the Grand National Party today, Representative Park can be said to be a senior figure of unparalleled stature.”

“Haha, you wouldn’t dare say that, Chairman An,” Park Hee-tae was even more friendly than Jang Se-dong. He stood up from his sofa, extending his hand to An Ru-song as he laughed, “I’m hardly a senior figure in the party. To use Li Qingxi’s words, I’m just a skeleton in the coffin of the pro-Park faction… Hahaha…”

The so-called "pro-Park faction" is naturally the faction that is pro-Park Hee-tae. Park Hee-tae had just sided with Park Hee-tae and won the election as party representative, and Lee Min-bok labeled him as a pro-Park faction member. It seems that the two of them have had a very ugly falling out.

Of course, what An Rusong just said was indeed an excessive compliment to Park Hee-tae. Although he won the Grand National Party's leadership election and won over a large number of former centrists within the party, seemingly becoming the party's leader, realistically speaking, he still falls short of challenging Lee Min-bok's position within the party. This is not only because Lee Min-bok holds the presidency, but also because his supporters within the party still constitute the majority. Even Hong Joon-soo, who holds the position of party whip, explicitly supports Lee Min-bok.

As long as Lee Min-bo has Hong Joon-soo's support, he can stabilize the situation in the National Assembly. As for the Grand National Party... he probably can't care about that now.

"Sit down, everyone, sit down and let's talk," Jeon Doo-hwan said after introducing the three of them, gesturing for them to sit down again. He then gestured to Song Se-yong, who nodded and turned to leave.

"Ru Song, the reason I invited you here today is not only because this old man wants to get to know you properly, but also because I was entrusted by Representative Park," Chun Doo-hwan said directly after everyone was seated again. "Our Representative Park thinks highly of you, Ru Song, haha. Of course, it's not just Representative Park; useless old guys like me and Se Dong also think highly of you, Ru Song."

"You flatter me, seniors. As a junior..." An Rusong stood up and said modestly.

"Hey, sit down and talk, sit down and talk," Jeon Doo-hwan waved his hand before he could finish speaking, gesturing for him to sit back down. "I've already said, there are no outsiders here today, no need to be so polite."

“Of course, I also know that Ru Song and Qing Xi have a close relationship,” the old man continued after An Ru Song sat down again. “We have been paying attention to you for some time now. Even from Qing Xi’s perspective, he should admit that you and your company have been helpful to him.”

As he finished speaking, Song Shiyong came over with a servant and served tea to the four of them.

“Although Representative Park is here today, Ru Song doesn’t need to worry that we’re trying to sow discord between you and Cheong Hee,” Chun Doo-hwan continued after Song Shi Yong left with his servants. “Hehe, as you know, I’ve always supported Cheong Hee. I made that clear when he ran for party leadership, and my stance hasn’t changed even now. It’s not just my stance; the entire Grand National Party’s stance is the same.”

“Sir, you are right,” Park Hee-tae interjected. “Actually, I have always disagreed with the so-called ‘pro-Lee’ and ‘pro-Park’ factions within the party. The Grand National Party is a united party with only one core: President Cheonggye. As long as President Cheonggye remains the head of the Blue House and the President of the Republic of Korea, the entire Grand National Party must revolve around him. Anyone within the party, whoever chooses to challenge President Cheonggye’s position at this time, is attempting to split the party and must be condemned.”

What he said is quite credible. After all, in South Korea's political system, the ruling party is centered around the incumbent president. If Lee Min-bak chooses to leave the Grand National Party at this time, he himself will certainly not be happy, and the Grand National Party will inevitably fall into a split. Both the party and the individual will face a lose-lose situation.

"Representative Park's vision and magnanimity are truly admirable," An Rusong said insincerely.

Park Hee-tae smiled, reached for the cup of tea on the coffee table in front of him, took a small sip, and handed the conversation over to Jeon Doo-hwan beside him.

“So, Ru Song, you don’t need to worry that we have ill intentions. In the big picture, we have always supported Qingxi,” Quan Douhuan said with a smile.

However, after saying that, he changed the subject and continued, "However, as a political party, the Grand National Party still needs to pay attention to succession, especially in the presidential election campaign. After the current president wins the election, the party must start to focus on the next presidential election."

An Rusong nodded in understanding. This was also true; after all, according to the South Korean constitution, the presidential term is five years, and each president can only serve one term and cannot be re-elected. Therefore, for any ruling party, after winning the current election, it must begin preparing for the next election five years later.

However, it must be made clear here that preparing for the next election does not mean immediately determining the presidential candidate five years from now, but rather doing the relevant preparatory work. After all, no one knows which figure in the party will be the new presidential candidate five years from now.

But what are Park Hee-tae and his group doing now? It's obvious that they intend to finalize Park Hee-tae's status as a presidential candidate right now, which is actually disadvantageous for Lee Min-bak.

“Furthermore, although we support Qingxi, some of the policies he has proposed and the positions he has held recently have contradicted the overall line of the Grand National Party,” Zhang Shidong interjected at this moment. This was the first time he had spoken since An Rusong took his seat.

(End of this chapter)