Chapter 29 Dacheng wins big - "4.2" by-election

After the election of President Kim Dae-jung, the regime changed, and the Grand National Party became an opposition party for the first time, which was a big blow to the Grand National Party.Just when the Grand National Party did not know what to do next, it ushered in the by-election of members of Congress on April 2, 1998. This was an important election that would affect the fate of the party. With the transition of power, if the by-elections in the three cities of Busan, Daegu, and Mungyeong are defeated, the Grand National Party will inevitably face the crisis of collapse.Coupled with the fact that President Kim Dae-jung received more than 90% support after taking office, it is difficult for the Grand National Party to win the election no matter where it goes.

At this point in time, the citizens of Wenqing and Liquan suggested that I go to their place to run for election. It was the place where my father was a teacher when he was young, and I have some ties to it.The local citizens said: "As long as you are determined to run for election, don't worry about the election, we will support you to the end." Hearing these words, I am very grateful.After much deliberation, I decided to give it a try.I think that since we have stepped in, we should keep the promise we made to the people during the last campaign. But plans changed a bit.Because polls show that Daegu Dalseong, the vote base of the Grand National Party, will lose to the candidate of the ruling party no matter who is in the party. Therefore, the party is aware of an unprecedented sense of crisis and is worried about the failure of the presidential election. Finally, if even Daegu loses the parliamentary election, the Grand National Party may really collapse.

At this time, I received a call from the Daegu City branch chief of the Grand National Party. After explaining the situation to me, he invited me to run for election in Dalseong County.But unlike Wenqing and Liquan, I was not prepared to run for Dacheng.Friends around me who knew the news said to me: "If you don't take a good road, why do you have to take such a dangerous road?" They opposed my going to Dacheng to run for election.Although the matter was difficult to decide, I did not think long about it.Thinking of the reason why I entered politics, I want to help the Grand National Party even if I lose, so I decided to win the most difficult opponent from the most difficult place. This is the most helpful way for the party.

The ruling party candidate was born in Dacheng. He has a very solid management of the local grassroots. Not only is he rich in funds and organizational skills, but he has also won the support of the government's ruling party for a long time.In every way, I was at a disadvantage.However, there was no time to procrastinate any longer.I found a residence in Huayuanyicheng Mountain in Dacheng, moved my household registration, prepared for the upcoming election in a month, and officially started the campaign.However, at the beginning, there were obstacles everywhere, and even my staff officers were not familiar with the neighborhoods in Dacheng.To add insult to injury under such circumstances, the former Grand National Party member of Congress, who has left office, also stated that he could not provide any assistance due to personal reasons.Not only did the membership roster of the Grand National Party not be handed over, but the Dalseong branch office that originally belonged to the Grand National Party was suddenly taken over by the opponent and became the opponent's election office.We have heard from news reports that the man who was going to hand over the party list to us even disappeared with a computer, without even an office, which is beyond words.We hurried to solve the problem of the office first. After finding the office, we found a computer and a printer to put in the office, and the three of us started to conduct election activities.There is no one on our side to help, and there are too few people. There are even rumors that anyone who wears a tie is definitely someone from the opponent's side.

"The opponent sent calendars and cards to each neighborhood, and ordered a whole row of tour buses to allow people to visit Panmunjom for free. All the restaurants in the neighborhood are noisy. If this continues, we will be in trouble. You should think of a way. , should we do something here?" When I heard these words from the Election Strategy Headquarters, I was really depressed.In addition to having no funds, if I had to do that kind of improper election, I would not have jumped into the political circle in the first place. "If people who come out to run for national affairs use money to buy votes, it is tantamount to an insult to the voters. If I want to join forces in the muddy political circle, I would not have come out to politics. I will not use Money is used to engage in politics. On the contrary, I will work harder with sincerity and find more voters to ask for votes. Please don’t draw conclusions too early based on the situation in front of you.”

One day, a congressman who had helped me came to me, and after a long chat, he asked me, "How much is the election funding?" My answer was simple: "There is no funding." He said in surprise: "What? At least the basic expenses are required. You must let the assistants eat, right?" "All my property is only the house I live in and tens of millions of won. If I need to use cash, I will go to raise funds and raise the legal limit amount of money." Although I can get the most basic support from the Grand National Party, what he is asking now is how much money the candidate is going to spend for the campaign, but I really have no other property.If it is said that money must be used to buy votes to win the election, then I will definitely lose if I vote a hundred times.

Later, we advertised in newspapers and raised support funds, but the total amount raised was only over 30 million won. After deducting advertising costs, we were left with 15 million won. "After the change of regime, everyone is afraid that helping us will cause trouble." The campaigners sighed. Due to lack of funds, we can't eat every meal in the restaurant, we have to cook ourselves, which is how we live every day since the election started.Later, the news spread, and gradually people from all over the country began to come to us. "Is this the office of candidate Park Geun-hye?"

Several aunts brought the cakes they made themselves to the office.After that, different groups of people came to visit every day.Some came to us with baked sweet potatoes they made themselves, and some sold pigs for cash to help.Suddenly, our electoral office was flooded with people.At first, the local residents cared about the candidate of the ruling party and dared not approach him rashly if they wanted to help, but later they all came here one after another, and the office was bustling all day long.The congressmen and party members in Daegu and Gyeongbuk also started to mobilize, so that every neighborhood has people in charge, as if they were running for election seriously.

I went to every neighborhood to ask for votes, and I didn't want to miss any corner.One day, when I was calling for votes, a campaign assistant who was driving said happily, "Please look over there!" Many people were waiting at the entrance of the village, cheering for me, and I got out of the car and walked towards them.An aunt said that they cooked a big pot of pumpkin porridge, filled a bowl full, and served it to me.She said: "You work hard every day to collect tickets. You must not have eaten all three meals, right? Have some pumpkin porridge. We heard that you are coming to cook this."

I suddenly had a sore nose.Walking for up to 20 hours a day, it is true that three meals are settled casually, completely supported by willpower.I took the pumpkin porridge served by my aunt and quickly thanked her. Her hands were as warm as the pumpkin porridge. When we go to the market to ask for tickets, there are always market ladies who want to support us with thousands of yuan bills.Once, a middle-aged uncle was holding a black package, and when he saw me, he ran over and handed it to me.When I opened it, it turned out to be a cow's foot.He said that eating this food is good for the body, and he hoped that I could work harder so that I could have more strength to win the election.

Ever since the news reported that the Park Geun-hye camp had no money but persisted in fighting hard, whenever I went to the market to ask for votes, many people always gathered and stuffed me with plastic bags containing 1,000 or 2,000 won.When I walked to the pharmacy, the boss gave me Visby and other refreshment drinks; when I walked to the snack bar, the boss didn't charge us for our meals.And they all said to me, "Please make sure you win this election and be a good politician." In order to keep my promises to them, I have an obligation to win this campaign well.So I spent more time to ask for votes, and walked all over the streets, and some people even said that we are a terrible ticket-worship group.I wore a pedometer around my waist when I went out in the morning until evening.Usually, I walk about 100,000 steps a day, walking again and again, visiting large and small places in the constituency.During the election period, I did not know how many pairs of leather shoes I walked on, and I always fell asleep with red and swollen legs every night, but I still did not know the pain. Those who once thought that a weak woman with no election funds could possibly win the election gradually released goodwill as time passed.However, the slander against me has also increased day by day.I tell my campaigners not to respond in the same way, no matter what others say, I just walk straight and sit upright. Although the response to my vote-calling in the streets and alleys made me feel very hopeful to win the election, the results of the media polls still lead the opponent, and the party department is very worried.However, the congressmen who went to vote together with me said optimistically: "I didn't expect the public's reaction to be so enthusiastic. It seems that I have a good chance of winning." All the staff members are also determined to fight to the end, as long as there are voters, even in remote villages in the mountains, they will sincerely rush to ask for votes.Although I couldn't do anything for these voters at that time, I will definitely make everyone not regret the original choice through clean and honest politics in the future. I must prove it to everyone.Even though I was poorer than any of the candidates, I had the dream of being a clean politician. On the evening of the election day, everyone sitting in the office watching the counting process fell silent.The party members all expected that it would be a victory or defeat that was treading on thin ice, and their expressions were inevitably a little nervous.But after the votes were issued, the original expectation was quickly overturned. From the beginning of the votes, I have been ahead of the opponent by almost twice the number of votes.At 8:30, 20% of the votes were counted, and I was ahead of the opponent's 2,300 votes by 5,000 votes. At this time, some of the staff finally applauded. When it was confirmed that he was elected, the campaign headquarters burst into cheers instantly.I was too excited to speak, and the difficult scenes of these days flashed through my mind like a revolving lantern.At the age of twenty-two, my mother was shot and lost my mother, and at the age of twenty-seven, even my father was lost. The painful times I experienced after that, and the faces of my parents all came to my mind, which made me sad for a long time . On April 8, 1998, I stood on the floor of Congress for the first time. "I solemnly swear in front of the people that I will abide by the Constitution, work hard for the freedom of the people, the promotion of welfare, and the peaceful reunification of the motherland. I will give priority to national interests and perform my duties as a member of Congress with conscience and sincerity." The right hand I raised when I swore made me feel heavy.I have mixed feelings when I think that from now on, I am a member of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea. "Re-entering the political arena at the most difficult time for the country makes me feel even more heavy on my shoulders. In the future, I will also work hard on clean politics, share the joys and sorrows with the people, and do my best to do my best." Today, I still often think back to the first day when I stood on the podium in Congress. As long as I think of "how much I fulfilled the oath that day", I will not allow myself to neglect a step.Seeing the motherland that is still hovering outside the threshold of developed countries, and the citizens who are still living hard, the idea of ​​wanting to rest naturally disappears.Perhaps those oaths are the driving force for me to keep moving forward in the difficult political process.

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