My Peninsula 2007

Chapter 459 Soil
In fact, for An Rusong, there are many benefits to frequently interacting with people like Baek Jin-jun and Park Hee-tae. At the very least, understanding their views and opinions on certain issues, as well as their corresponding coping strategies, can effectively broaden their horizons. And this kind of perspective is not something that ordinary people can possess.

However, frequent contact with such people also has a side effect: one's temperament becomes increasingly indifferent, and one gradually loses compassion and empathy for ordinary people. In fact, if one views the joys and sorrows of all beings from the perspective of Park Hee-tae, or even Miss Park and Lee Min-bok, it would have a severe myopia effect; they would be unable to see those things.

Once a person can no longer see the joys and sorrows of ordinary people, then in his eyes, all living beings are nothing more than numbers. If at that point, this person also lacks some conscience and is selfish, then the so-called elite selfishness is well-deserved.

Unfortunately, in the upper echelons of the Republic of Korea, whether in the economic, political, or even military spheres, those in high positions are basically people like this.

The banquet lasted for nearly three hours, and it ended close to ten o'clock when Zhang Shidong took his leave.

“Ru Song, if you don’t mind this useless old man, you might as well come over for a visit often in the future,” Quan Douhuan said with a smile to An Ru Song while seeing the three of them off to the villa and waiting for the driver to bring the car over. “I can’t help you much in terms of doing business, but I have been eating rice for a few more years than you, so I might be able to give you some advice on life experience and interpersonal relationships.”

"Don't worry, sir. As long as you don't get tired of me, I'll definitely come and bother you often," An Rusong said with a smile.

"Haha, I won't get tired of it, I won't get tired of it," Quan Douhuan laughed. "I'm so bored these days, I'm happy to have someone come and talk to me."

These are just polite words; take them with a grain of salt, no one will take them seriously. However, with today's banquet as a precedent, An Rusong will definitely come to pay a visit during holidays and festivals in the future. After all, although Old Man Quan has outwardly retired from politics, his influence in political circles, especially in the military, is still astonishing. Building a closer relationship with such an old fellow isn't a bad thing.

“Chairman Ahn, we should keep in touch more often in the future,” Park Hee-tae said, joining in at this moment.

“Definitely, definitely,” An Rusong said repeatedly.

However, unlike his attitude towards Chun Doo-hwan, An Ru-song still kept his distance from this new Grand National Party representative. The reason was simple: this guy's political path was not clean, and if he got too close to him, he might get into trouble in the future.

Not only should he treat Park Hee-tae this way, but even when dealing with Miss Park, An Ru-song was determined to keep a certain distance.

In his previous life, both Lee Min-bo and Park Geun-hye faced repercussions after their presidential terms ended. However, their situations differed somewhat: the former fell victim to political infighting, while the latter was truly brought down by scandal. Consequently, even among the South Korean public, attitudes towards the two differed.

"By the way, I heard that Chairman Lee had a very unpleasant falling out with LG's CEO Yoon Jun-young recently?" As a Mercedes-Benz pulled up, Park Hee-tae seemed to remember something, and he turned to look at An Ru-song again, asking.

"Hehe, there was indeed a little unpleasantness, but it's all in the past now," An Rusong said casually.

In fact, since hitting Yin Huan last time, An Rusong had really put the matter out of his mind. Just as he guessed, Yin Huan, as the second son-in-law of LG Group, seemed to have a powerful background and was arrogant and domineering, but in reality, his position within LG Group was very awkward, because even his wife, the real second princess of the Gu family, had very limited say in LG Group.

That's why, even though An Rusong did hit Yin Huan, the Gu family, after considering the potential cost of retaliation, never reacted to the matter. The current head of the Gu family even acted as if he knew nothing about it, clearly letting Yin Huan swallow this bitter pill.

“Hehe, I ran into Minister Koo Kwang-mo once before, and he mentioned this matter,” Park Hee-tae continued. “Minister Koo’s point was that although Yoon Jun is his brother-in-law, he also knows about the conflict between Chairman Ahn and Yoon Jun. The responsibility mainly lies with Yoon Jun’s arrogance. Minister Koo feels very bad about this, and he hopes that if there is an opportunity, he can express his apologies to Chairman Ahn in person.”

"Hehe, Minister Gu is too kind. Just like I said, the matter is over." An Rusong knew that the "Minister Gu" the other party was referring to was Gu Guangmou, the true next-generation successor of the LG Gu family, and the successor personally appointed by the current head of the Gu family.

"Oh, I heard that Minister Ju was in the United States. Has he returned to China?" After a brief and polite remark, An Rusong changed the subject and asked.

“He’s back,” Park Hee-tae nodded. “He’s getting married in seven months, so he returned to Korea last month to prepare for the wedding early next year.” “I see,” An Ru-song nodded and smiled. “Then, please convey my best wishes to Minister Koo. Of course, I would be even more honored to receive an invitation from Minister Koo.”

“Haha, that’s definitely not a problem,” Park Hee-tae said. “Chairman Ahn probably doesn’t know, but Minister Koo is a fan of yours. He’s a loyal NGN user. When he was in New Jersey, he asked all the staff at H&A Business Headquarters to apply for NGN accounts, and outside of work hours, all the staff used NGN to contact each other.”

“If I have the chance, I really should thank Minister Gu in person,” An Rusong said with a smile.

After chatting for a few more minutes, the group got into their cars and left Quan Douhuan's private residence.

The Chevrolet slowly drove out of the courtyard, and a dozen meters ahead, there was a Mercedes-Benz with its headlights on, which was Park Hee-tae's car.

Interestingly, this newly elected leader of the Grand National Party frequently calls on everyone in public to use domestically made goods as much as possible and not to be obsessed with foreign brands, especially luxury goods. In his words, only when Koreans use a large number of domestically made goods can the Korean economy achieve its greatest development and the Korean economy break free from its economic dependence on foreign countries.

Yet this same guy who calls on South Koreans to be loyal to Korean-made goods drives a fully imported Mercedes-Benz, while his supporters seem to turn a blind eye to this.

After staring at the taillights of the car in front of him for a while, An Rusong let out a soft sigh. He leaned back in his seat, gently closed his eyes, and pretended to doze off while pondering Park Hee-tae's problem.

Just before leaving the mansion, Park Hee-tae mentioned that he had recently run into Goo Kwang-moo and they coincidentally discussed the conflict between him, An Ru-song, and Yoon Jae.

Such a claim is so unbelievable that even someone with a brain wouldn't believe it, let alone An Rusong. The most likely explanation is that Gu Guangmou knew Park Hee-tae was coming to meet An Rusong, so he specifically asked Gu to put in a good word for him, essentially acting as a go-between for the two.

From this, An Rusong could see two things: First, Park Hee-tae clearly had an unusual relationship with the Koo family of LG, and from the tone he used when he mentioned Yoon Jun earlier, it was clear that he completely favored Koo Kwang-moo as the next successor of LG.

Secondly, the succession struggle within the LG Koo family has likely become semi-public. Koo Kwang-moo hastily ended his studies and training in the United States and returned to South Korea this year, ostensibly to prepare for his wedding. However, in An Ru-song's view, it is more likely directly related to the recent deterioration in Chairman Koo's health.

Think about it, An Rusong had just had a conflict with Yin Huan not long ago, and the two even came to blows. But now, Gu Guangmou, who is An Rusong's brother-in-law, comes to ask to be friends with An Rusong. Doesn't this abnormal behavior explain the problem?
It's quite interesting to think about. It seems that the top ten chaebols in South Korea, in the conventional sense, are all going through a generational transition in the next few years. However, this has nothing to do with Ahn Ju-song. After all, no matter how they complete the power transfer or who is chosen as the successor, it's irrelevant to him, since he has no inheritance to leave behind.

"Sir, where are we going?" Luo Minzhi, the driver, asked softly as the car approached an intersection.

An Rusong gently opened his eyes, thought for a moment, and then said, "Let's go back to the Qingyuan Rich Man's Residence."

Nodding, Luo Minzhi turned on his right turn signal and merged the car into the right turn lane.

For the Blue House, the factional reorganization within the Grand National Party seems to have had little impact. President Lee Min-bok made no comment on the alliance between Park Geun-hye and Park Hee-tae, seemingly acquiescing to the situation.

Of course, the reason for this is probably because Li Minbo has too many things to worry about right now, and he can no longer concern himself with the mess within the Grand National Party.

In fact, so-called democratic countries like South Korea are like this: their political arena simply lacks the environment to cultivate politicians. Only politicians without any moral character can thrive in this quagmire.

(End of this chapter)