Chapter 35 Tent party house, get rid of corruption

March 24, 2004 was my first working day as a representative of the Grand National Party. In front of me was the magnificent ten-story party building opposite the National Assembly in Yeouido, but I did not go inside.As soon as I was elected as a party representative, I conveyed to the Secretary General that I would not work in this party building.I think Korean people have been disappointed by the corruption of our party, and this party building should not be used at this moment.On this day, together with other party members, I took down the bronze plaque of the "Grand National Party" that had been hanging on the wall of the building.The young party officials of the party affairs department and several young party members all had solemn expressions, and carefully removed the bronze medals.I stepped forward and caught one side of the bronze medal with my hand. Other young party members also helped to carry the bronze medal, moving carefully.This is tantamount to declaring our determination to eradicate corruption, and at the same time, we have taken the first step of living in the open.

This is the first step towards an infinite apology to the people.We carried the bronze medal, followed by more than 50 party cadres and party members, and slowly walked towards the party house built with tents in the small and medium-sized enterprise exhibition site in Yeouido.Along the way, many people looked at our group, their eyes revealed stern eyes. We took one step after another, with cold sweat streaming down the back of every step we took.We walked for about 15 minutes on the nearly 1,000-meter road. Although it was only 15 minutes, it was like walking thousands of miles on a sharp and gravel road.

In this way, we built a tented party house on the empty land of Yeouido. Considering the anger and disappointment of the people at that time, the tented party house was considered a luxury.I assured the citizens at the opening ceremony of the tent party building: "We will show our determination to reform, not with words, but with deeds." I have already mentally prepared that the first day of the party representative's term will be a day of confession and repentance.So, after the opening ceremony of the tent party building, I went to Myeongdong Church in the afternoon to confess and beg God’s forgiveness for not being able to do my best for the unity and integration of the country.

Then, I went to the Hall of Bliss in Caoxi Temple.I bowed one hundred and eight times, and every head I kowtowed was sincere and sincere. I kowtowed for a long time until my whole body was sweating.The monk Yixiu, who prostrated one hundred and eight bows with me, knocked on the bamboo grate three times, which means the end of one hundred and eight bows. In the evening, I attend the Wednesday service of Yongle Church and pray for reflection.I have been to so many places all day long, just to apologize, if there are places where I can apologize, I wish I could go to all of them.I spent the whole day in this state of mind.

I, stationed in the tented party building, and the party cadres have a firm belief that if the people do not feel our sincere heart for reflection this time, the Grand National Party may only be destined to end.We feel worried and blamed, deeply afraid that the deep-rooted political distrust in the hearts of the people will continue. In the tented party building, the hard work of the party staff and reporters in the office is of course not to mention.Although it is the end of March, the temperature is still very low, and sitting in the tent can feel the cold air constantly hitting.The conference room made of containers sometimes leaks rain, and the sound of ticking rain becomes the background music of our meetings.

Party officials often have to work overtime, and staying up late to work is really hard.In addition, tents are built on open ground, and there is a lot of dust, so more and more people start to catch colds and allergies.Every evening after the sun goes down, there will be a chill in the party house, even if there is a heater, it will still feel cold.However, no one complained.Everyone is united with one heart, with a sense of crisis that "reform is impossible", strive to transform into a new GNP as soon as possible, and work together with the heart of climbing the steep mountain together.

The cold season is over, and the next is the test of heat.Even if the weather is only slightly warmer, the interior of tents and containers will heat up rapidly, even too hot to sit in.As long as you stay in it for a while, you will be sweating profusely, sweating like rain.Some people also get prickly heat due to sweating, and some people sneeze and runny nose all day long because of dust allergies, especially every time they see pregnant female staff, they feel deeply sorry.The environment in the tent party house is so bad that it makes people sick, and sometimes drunk people come to ask for the location of the toilet at night.

As a party representative, I feel very sad to see the party members working so hard, but it also spurs my determination to reform even more. "Most citizens are working silently in a worse environment than we are facing. We should heed the stern warnings of the citizens, stop being arrogant and corrupt, and we must earnestly correct our mistakes and never neglect them." I emphasized to the party members that even if they suffer deep-seated pain, they must bear the pain together to become a clean and honest party. Life in tents and party houses has taught us many lessons.Although he has endured physical toil and pain, he is mentally stronger and more effective than ever.We seem to be standing on a precipice to carry out reforms. Even if we have to endure the scorching wind and sweating heat, we still inspire each other and work together to ride the wind and waves.We tried to get back to the original purpose of politics, and we spent eighty-six days there.

On June 16 of that year, we ended the life of the tent party house, and we officially opened the party house in a one-story building in Yanchang-dong, Gangseo-gu.In order not to forget the lesson of the tent party house, the containers used during that period were moved to the open space in front of the party house in Yanchang-dong, and the "Tent Party House Memorial Hall" was established.I hope everyone will remember deeply, and don't forget the heart that kept apologizing to the people in the past, and also don't forget the heart that is happier even if you have nothing, and hopes to be closer to the people.

After moving to the party building in Yeomchang-dong, we still haven't stopped eradicating corruption.The first thing that was actively carried out was the return of the Central Research Institute of the Grand National Party in Cheonan City to the people. At that time, it was a building and land with a market value of more than 100 billion won.Although it seems to be just handing over what we hold, it is actually not that easy. Not only is there a problem with the company that manages the research institute, but also some people in the party oppose it. How to conduct elections.However, my will was very firm, and I told the party members: "You can vote without money, and you can take the road of politics without money. Isn't this what we realized during the tent party period?" After my persuasion Next, the party members were persuaded by me, and the voice of opposition quickly subsided. On August 29, 2005, the work of returning the research institute to the public, which lasted for more than a year, finally came to an end, and the Tianan Research Institute was finally successfully returned to the hands of the people.

In order to completely insulate from corruption, in addition to taking out the property we own and returning it to the public, what is more important is the change of people themselves.In my party inauguration speech, I said: "Corruption will never be tolerated! From now on, the Grand National Party will not and cannot protect those who have damaged the party's reputation due to corruption. Once the prosecutors sue, the party will be suspended immediately." right, and if the verdict is confirmed guilty, the party membership will be immediately and permanently removed.” In order to abide by this oath, on February 22, 2005, one member of the National Assembly, two heads of local self-government bodies, and two councilors of the metropolitan city were suspended from the party. Disposition of rights.The member of Congress who was punished with the suspension of party power happened to be my peer. He is a friend of mine in private because of his simple and straightforward personality, but I still insist on the same punishment, without exception.Although the heart was pierced, after the Party Personnel Committee made a resolution, it was finalized at the Supreme Committee meeting. On June 28, 2005, three party members, including the reserve candidate for proportional representation, were suspended from party power. On May 13, 2006, I also personally reported to the prosecutor about two staunch party members involved in the local election bribery case.I have to report my family members to the prosecutor, which is an indescribable pain.However, as long as I think that if I have not experienced these pains, the Grand National Party will not be able to get rid of the stigma of corruption and will never be able to govern, so I have to close my eyes with pain.That night, I couldn't sleep all night. Not long ago, the Grand National Party’s tent house celebrated its third anniversary, and I went to the tent house memorial hall.The interior of the tent party house is still the same as before, nothing has changed.My heart is the same as it was in the tent party house at that time, and it is always the same.What I saw in it was the willingness to believe and forgive our citizens and sincerity after a sincere apology. That is the greatest power of politics that I firmly believe.