Chapter 102: Alliance
The National Unity Party headquarters.
Chief of Staff Baek Moo-jin sat alone on the reception room sofa, his expression heavy.
Behind the door, the National Unity Party leadership was holding a closed-door meeting of its senior committee.
He could already guess the outcome of the meeting.
[…Shouldn’t the Chief of Staff take responsibility and resign over this matter?]
[The slush fund issue should end with Chief Baek taking the fall. If this continues, the entire party could be at risk.]
The party leader’s words, spoken just before he left the room, still echoed in his ears.
‘So I’m the scapegoat.’
The slush fund scandal that erupted at the end of the previous administration was more serious than he’d thought.
The prosecution had even put key National Unity Party members and Blue House officials under investigation.
It had been dominating the news headlines for days.
Baek Moo-jin, once the party’s most trusted political strategist, had somehow become the main culprit in the scandal.
Not only the party leader and the presidential chief of staff, but every senior National Unity Party member had turned their backs on him.
‘Sacrificing me was the easiest move.’
Baek Moo-jin already knew.
He wasn’t just a scapegoat to resolve the case.
The real reason he was being sacrificed was the economic democratization bill he’d spearheaded some time ago.
If passed, the bill would completely block illegal internal transactions and inheritance loopholes at conglomerates like the Ahsunng Group.
When Baek Moo-jin persuaded some National Unity Party members to strongly push the economic democratization bill, Ahsunng immediately took action.
Cheon Ho-tae, chairman of the Ahsunng Group, which wielded enormous political influence, personally met with senior National Unity Party officials and asked them to block Baek Moo-jin’s economic democratization bill.
The party’s mainstream forces, including party leader Kwon Seok-tae, who had close ties with Chairman Cheon Ho-tae, naturally sided with him.
But when Baek Moo-jin refused to back down,
Ahsunng Group took the drastic step of completely cutting off political funding to the National Unity Party.
In the end, the party leadership decided to pin all the blame on Baek Moo-jin and remove him.
As Baek Moo-jin let out a bitter smile and rose from his seat,
Creak—
The reception room door opened.
National Unity Party leader Kwon Seok-tae walked in.
“Is the meeting over?”
Kwon Seok-tae’s expression was cold as he looked at Baek Moo-jin.
It was a stark contrast to just hours earlier, when he’d been encouraging him and urging him to join forces.
“Chief Baek, the situation isn’t looking good.”
Kwon Seok-tae spoke without meeting his eyes.
“It’s been decided that this matter should end with you, Chief Baek. The consensus is that you should take responsibility and step down to minimize damage to the party.”
Though he’d expected this outcome,
hearing it made his anger boil.
“Leader, are you sacrificing me because of demands to abandon the economic democratization bill? Or is it because of the political funding Ahsunng Group cut off?”
Kwon Seok-tae’s eyebrows twitched slightly.
“Chief Baek, this incident and the bill are completely unrelated. Don’t overplay your hand!”
Baek Moo-jin replied with a disillusioned expression.
“Are they really? Leader, your attitude completely changed after you met with Ahsunng Group’s Chairman Cheon Ho-tae.”
“Baek Moo-jin!”
Kwon Seok-tae’s voice rose.
“Take responsibility for the party while I’m asking nicely. You’re out of options.”
He coldly spat out the words and immediately left the room.
Baek Moo-jin, watching his chilly retreat, slumped powerless onto the sofa.
‘So this is how it ends…’
At this moment, his political career was as good as over.
As disillusionment and depression rose within him,
His phone rang.
It was an unknown number.
After hesitating for a long moment, he answered the call.
A voice he’d never heard before came through the line.
-Hello, Chief Baek. This is Kang Tae-joon from Dojin Tech.
Kang Tae-joon.
Baek Moo-jin recognized the name—it had been mentioned quite a bit recently.
A capable businessman who’d built a trillion-won revenue company in just five years since its founding.
The fact that he’d recently acquired Cheongun Electric for a whopping 1.7 trillion won was a well-known story even in political circles.
Why was Kang Tae-joon suddenly calling him?
“What can I do for you, Representative Kang?”
-I’m calling because I think I can help with the situation you’re in. If you have time, I’d like to meet and talk.
Baek Moo-jin’s mind grew complicated.
On top of the unexpected call from Representative Kang,
He claimed to know about his situation and offered to help.
After a long pause, he quietly replied.
“Is there a reason you want to help me? Frankly, I’m not in a position to receive anyone’s help right now.”
-The reason I want to help you, Chief Baek, is that I was impressed by the economic democratization bill you championed.
Baek Moo-jin’s eyes flickered.
The economic democratization bill was known to only a few within the National Unity Party.
Though Baek Moo-jin had pushed it strongly,
It had been completely blocked by the party leadership before it could even gain public traction.
“That bill was buried without ever being properly publicized. How do you know about it?”
-As I said, I have information related to your situation that I can share. I think it’s best if we meet and discuss it in person.
“……”
As Baek Moo-jin hesitated in silence, I spoke again.
-You have nothing to lose right now, Chief Baek. Your options are limited.
Baek Moo-jin let out a short sigh.
He was right.
He didn’t just have limited options—he had none at all.
No matter how he thought about it, if he stayed with the National Unity Party, his political career was over.
“……All right. Where should I go?”
-Let’s meet tonight at Cheongunjae, near Gwanghwamun.
Even after hanging up, Baek Moo-jin stood there for a long time.
‘Kang Tae-joon… What kind of information could he possibly have? What makes him think he can help me?’
A mix of curiosity and anxiety weighed on him.
Baek Moo-jin left the party headquarters with heavy steps.
Cheongunjae, a traditional Korean restaurant between Gwanghwamun and Yeouido.
As Baek Moo-jin entered the private room,
I, who’d arrived first, rose from my seat and bowed politely.
“It’s good to meet you, Chief Baek. I’m Kang Tae-joon from Dojin Tech.”
Baek Moo-jin, looking slightly nervous, shook my hand.
“Baek Moo-jin.”
He stared at me intently, then,
As soon as he sat down, questions poured out.
“Representative, how do you know about the economic democratization bill I was pushing?”
In response to Baek Moo-jin’s question, I smiled and placed a thick envelope of documents on the table.
“Because of this information.”
Baek Moo-jin looked puzzled as he took the envelope.
“What is this?”
“Records of political funds exchanged between the National Unity Party and the Ahsunng Group.”
Baek Moo-jin’s eyes widened.
The envelope in his hands felt heavy.
“……How did you get these documents, Representative? Unless you’re a top executive at Ahsunng Group…”
Not just a top executive—I’d been one of Ahsunng’s most powerful figures, the head of strategic planning, for over 20 years.
There was no way I wouldn’t know about such important information.
Of course, I couldn’t remember every detail,
But I recalled the major transactions and the regular slush fund payments to senior party members quite clearly.
“I can’t reveal the source, but the information in this envelope is 100% accurate.”
The documents detailed the list of senior National Unity Party officials, the amounts provided by Ahsunng, dates, and account records.
‘Thanks to Delbridge Holdings still existing as a paper company at this point, I was able to obtain the detailed account records relatively easily.’
Otherwise, even I wouldn’t have been able to remember the specific account details, though I would have known which National Unity Party members received slush funds and the amounts.
Anyway,
Baek Moo-jin’s hands trembled as he opened the envelope and pulled out the documents. With each page he turned, he gasped at the unbelievable names and figures.
“With information like this… we could bring down the entire National Unity Party.”
“You’re right. But if we hand this over to the prosecution now, you’d be implicated too, Chief Baek. First, we should restore your standing, then figure out how to use this information later.”
Baek Moo-jin looked at me intently.
“Can my standing really be restored? I’ve been completely ostracized by the National Unity Party…”
“It would be impossible within the National Unity Party, but elsewhere, it should be more than possible.”
Baek Moo-jin’s eyes lit up as he immediately understood what I meant.
“Elsewhere… Are you talking about the National Future Alliance?”
I nodded.
“Leave the National Unity Party and join the National Future Alliance. Then, use this information to pressure the National Unity Party, and make the economic democratization bill you championed the core pledge of the National Future Alliance. Push it through with you at the center until the bill passes.”
Baek Moo-jin took a deep breath.
His future had seemed utterly hopeless,
But the information this man had brought held the power to change his destiny.
“But will the National Future Alliance accept me…”
“I’ve already spoken with Representative Seo Gi-tae of the National Future Alliance. Accepting Chief Baek Moo-jin would be a huge help for the upcoming presidential election.”
Baek Moo-jin expressed his surprise once more.
“I could help with the next presidential election?”
“I’ll assist you with that too, so don’t worry.”
Baek Moo-jin was stunned by the shock and surprise.
Just moments ago, he’d been completely despairing,
But in just a few minutes, hope had returned.
“Why are you helping me, Representative?”
“I already told you—I liked the economic democratization bill. And I, too, have a grudge to settle with Ahsunng. It would be difficult alone, but if you and I join forces, we can bring Ahsunng down, don’t you think?”
Baek Moo-jin felt certainty in the calm voice of the man before him.
And soon made his decision.
“All right. I’ll take your hand, Representative Kang… no, Dojin’s hand.”
I smiled and extended my hand.
“You won’t regret it.”
Even I, gripping Baek Moo-jin’s hand tightly,
Couldn’t have predicted how this alliance would change South Korea.