Chapter 100

EP 17 - The Minister is Too Strong (3)

I quickly called for Pi Chae-won and ran over to the suited men setting up the pizza and chicken on the table.

I gently pushed aside the petite figure of Chae-gyun-soon, who was laying out the pizza.

"Oh, let me do it. Why is the guest setting up the table?"

"Hey, why are you being so nice today...?"

"Well, civil servants are always nice."

"Is it not because of the 18.6 billion won?"

"Goodness, you brought so much. Wasn't it hard to carry all this up?"

"It's fine. The bodyguards carried it up, and I just received it at the door..."

"......What?"

"Have you been well?"

"Ah, yes, I've been well."

"Me too!"

"Ah, yes."

It seemed like something was a bit off, but anyway, I managed to exchange pleasantries with her, and we sat on the sofa to start eating.

"By the way, didn't you say you received the 'Free Use of Government Power'...?"

"How did you know?"

"I heard it from you."

"From me? Ah, right."

The late group chairman and Yang Pan-seok were friends, and thinking about it, this guy was also introduced to me by Yang Pan-seok.

I thought it might be a bit risky to ask exactly what kind of relationship he had with Yang Pan-seok, so I just laughed it off to ease the tension.

"Anyway, it's great to see our angel's face after so long!"

"What are you going to do with 18.6 billion won as a political insider..."

"......Haha, isn't it more terrifying to use reason rather than coercion?"

"Usually, that's called a debt relationship."

"...I call it conscience."

* * *

"What is this...? Research and Development Policy Office, Basic Research Policy Division, Magic Research Promotion Section?"

"How is it? Is it okay?"

"Okay? It's so complicated, it's hard to understand! Having many departments is different from having many employees!"

"We're going systematically. Systematically!"

"No way! You should think about maximizing profits with minimal staff. Haven't you seen businesses fail because they focused too much on details?"

"That's the civil servant style. Does it work faster? It has to be done properly."

"Don't divide the departments so much. Just lump them together, and they'll compete on their own. That's how you manage subordinates. How much hand-holding do you need...?"

"Companies have salary negotiations and layoffs, so they compete. We have a seniority system, so if you lump tasks together, no one will do the work and they'll just push it around. So, you have to divide the departments and assign tasks."

"That's called desk-bound administration. That's how practical work fails. Set strategic goals and first! Give subordinates autonomy, and then hold them responsible for their actions-"

"......Civil servants can't be fired, you know!"

"Anyway, there will be promotion competition! I'm paying hundreds of billions in taxes every year to feed these incompetent people!"

"If you're so upset, why don't you emigrate?"

"......What, try it?"

"......Leave the company behind!"

Pi Chae-won entered the office, smelling the fragrant pizza and chicken, and witnessed two grown adults bickering.

And when she read their minds, she realized they were really fighting, not just pretending.

She quickly assessed the situation and understood what was going on. Now, this was as easy as eating cold rice.

Chae-gyun-soon naturally asked Han Seung-moon what he was doing, and it turned out that the argument had started when he was giving advice on government organization.

Indeed, giving advice is the root of all evil.

"......Hello."

"Ah, you're here?"

"Chae-won, have some of this."

She sat down on the sofa and took a bite of the warm pizza. The hot cheese stretched out.

It was worth running over for the pizza.

Eventually, as Pi Chae-won, Yang Il-ho, and Lee Ho-jeong finished off a whole chicken and a pizza, the heated debate between Han Seung-moon and Chae-gyun-soon calmed down.

Han Seung-moon, who had been sweating, poured cola into a paper cup.

"You know, there's a certain style in the civil service......"

Chae-gyun-soon, sitting across from him, rolled up her shirt sleeves and answered boldly.

"Divide it into four parts: research, development, defense, and economy, and give it to the field workers."

"Will civil servants do the work? Or will they push it around?"

"You're a civil servant too!"

"I'm in the political service!"

Pi Chae-won, who had been watching, understood both sides' arguments and spoke up.

"Um..."

"Ah, Chae-won is here?"

"Anyway, isn't the deputy minister in charge of practical administration...?"

"......That's right."

"Then, can't you just tell the deputy minister to organize the departments?"

That was the right answer.

*

The five suited men gathered around the pizza and chicken and organized what Han Seung-moon needed to do.

"First, hire two deputy ministers, one spokesperson, one secretary, three policy advisors, and one inspector."

"Ah, and nine legislative aides."

"Okay."

These seven civil servants were the only direct subordinates of the minister. The rest would be left to the two deputy ministers.

The minister's role was to sign documents, not to create them.

"Second, prepare to establish the Extraordinary Support Agency."

"Rather, how about the Hunter Management Agency? The Hunter Bureau?"

"People would love it if a government agency used the term 'managing the public.' And it includes a foreign word."

Extraordinary Support Agency.

This agency would exchange the magic stones brought by hunters for money, transport the magic stones to banks, support guilds (PMCs) to operate smoothly, and deal with troublemakers.

Since this field required strong public authority, they decided to establish a force organization similar to the police.

"......And third, negotiate with the Hunter Association-"

"Ah, right!"

Chae-gyun-soon jumped up from her seat excitedly.

"What's the sudden rush?"

"I came here for this!"

"What?"

"To divide the responsibilities!"

"Really?"

Chae-gyun-soon brought out a briefcase from somewhere and started pulling out contracts and documents.

"Anyway, I'm the representative of the Awakening Association's standing board of directors, right?"

"Is that so?"

"Even though I bought the position with money, still."

The association president, Hong Seon-a, was from the GS guild, and GS stood for Guem Soon or Golden Shield.

In fact, Chae-gyun-soon's name, Geun-soon, meant 'gold shield' in both cases, so it referred to her either way.

"Anyway, I'm President Chae-gyun-soon. I knew you were designing the Extraordinary Management Department, so..."

"Yes!"

"I came here as the representative of the Hunter Association to negotiate with you. That's what I'm saying, right?"

"Exactly."

She smiled and handed over the documents.

"First, we're thinking of a position similar to the Korean Bar Association."

The Korean Bar Association.

"Yang Il-ho, what does the Korean Bar Association do?"

"Um, well......"

Yang Il-ho tilted his head for a moment and then recited the answer.

"First, lawyers must register with the Korean Bar Association to practice. In other words, if the association refuses registration, they can't practice as lawyers."

"Hunter qualification management. And?"

"Disciplinary actions for misconduct are also handled by the Korean Bar Association. But this is a half-power shared with the Ministry of Justice."

"Half-power for hunter disciplinary actions. And?"

"Evaluating law schools and providing training for lawyers are also handled by the Korean Bar Association."

"Hunter training. Evaluating training institutions. And?"

"Sometimes they hold events to manage networks, manage the reputation of the legal profession, and run ads. Just. Yes. What. If the government tries to reduce the power of lawyers, they hold signs in front of Gwanghwamun..."

"Image management......"

After reciting the powers of the Korean Bar Association with a displeased expression, I looked at Chae-gyun-soon. She smiled and began her explanation.

"First, we want to have some authority over hunter qualification reviews and disciplinary actions."

"Hmm......"

It was a very dangerous power.

If the association didn't recognize someone as a hunter, they couldn't act as a hunter, use their abilities, or exchange magic stones obtained from defeating monsters.

Moreover, having disciplinary power was like the excommunication power wielded by medieval popes.

"Are you aware that this is a dangerous power?"

"Of course, the government would be concerned about giving this power to the association. However, many hunters are also worried about giving this power to the government, as the government could potentially suppress hunters if it wanted to."

"Hmm..."

"How about setting up a Qualification Review Committee and a Disciplinary Committee within the Hunter Association, and dividing the committee members equally?"

"Six from the government, four from the association."

"Deal."

Chae-gyun-soon signed her part of the contract and handed it over. Now, I just needed to review it carefully and sign it.

She continued in a friendly tone.

"Actually, I don't want to have a conflict with the government. In this day and age, who wants to get shot? Ideally, we should work together, right?"

"Patriotic mindset."

"Thank you. Anyway, the reason we want to have the authority to review hunters is......"

This was a strange idea.

"We want to assign grades to hunters."

*

"......A-grade hunters, B-grade hunters, what kind of talk is this?"

"How about it? Isn't it interesting?"

"Um. It's an interesting idea, but..."

"Are you worried about its effectiveness?"

"Yes."

Chae-gyun-soon clapped her hands and clasped them together.

"Hunters are a source of money."

"Money, you mean..."

"And in modern society, the way to create free added value is through image branding."

She was saying they wanted to give hunters a name value.

"Actually, both the Extraordinary Management Department and the association are in a position to manage many small and medium-sized PMCs. You're the CEO, and we're the middle managers."

"Right."

"It's better to make them strive for a better grade from us rather than control them through disciplinary actions."

She smiled brightly and presented her vision.

"Think about it. The lifeline of all PMCs is their stock price, their corporate value."

"If you lower the grade of a disobedient PMC, their stock price will plummet, right?"

"Right!"

She continued to pour out her business plan with a smile.

"Many PMCs are already involved in logistics and VIP security. Just the fact that we can assign grades to them is a form of power. If their grade goes down, they won't get hired."

"......"

"Also, in these tough times, this could be a form of entertainment, right? Branding each hunter like an idol and selling them. Heroes in movies make astronomical amounts of money as Superman or Marvel characters. Are real-life heroes really less valuable than that?"

I summarized her proposal.

Grading hunters.

Image branding.

A-grade hunters, B-grade hunters.

Extraordinary Review Committee.

In other words.

"......Are you trying to control hunters by attaching meaningless labels and sell them?"

"That's business!"

"I'd call it fraud."

"Are you saying you won't do it?"

"......"

The decision was quick.

"......Well, politics and business are only a piece of paper apart, right?"

*

"Then, I'll be on my way..."

"Ah, wait a moment, President Chae."

"Um?"

I stopped her at the door as she was about to leave.

"Whose idea was this?"

"Mine."

......I needed a strategist like her.

"......The minister's policy advisors are three people."

"Ah!"

Chae-gyun-soon, who understood my subtle request to pass on ideas from time to time, smiled.

"Can I send one?"

"A person who can serve as a useful connection, quick-witted, capable, and trustworthy."

"I have a few people like that. I'll send them over soon."

"See you next time."

"I'll come to your inauguration!"

The door closed, and Chae-gyun-soon left. I asked the guys.

"What do you think?"

"Isn't it like stamping meat? Grade 1 beef?"

"That's what I mean."

"Isn't it okay?"

I plopped down on the sofa.

"She's a bit off, but her business mind is devilishly good......"

I shook the contract at Pi Chae-won, who frowned for a moment and then nodded with an ambiguous expression.

He said to me.

"......Since President Chae runs a PMC, having control over the association would be very advantageous for her business, right...?"

"Of course, that was her intention."

"But it didn't seem like she was trying to use the government, did it?"

He said, "didn't seem like it," but it meant she wasn't trying to use the government.

"Hmm..."

I sighed and stroked my chin, and Lee Ho-jeong came over to me.

"Are you going to take one of the minister's policy advisors from her?"

"Well, isn't it common to hire corporate executives from the high-level public service for lobbying? Besides, the advisor position is a special post, so it's fine."

"Since you've cut off the free use of government power."

Lee Ho-jeong added.

"Then, one secretary-"

"I want Pi Chae-won to be the minister's secretary."

Pi Chae-won, who was chewing on a pizza, jumped in surprise.

"Me, me...?!"

"Yep. Congratulations, 20-year-old high-level public servant."

By the way, in terms of civil servant ranks, she would be a 3rd-grade chief section officer.

"But, I'm 19, a quick year older...?"

"......Congratulations, underage high-level public servant."

A high-level public servant in high school was a first. It was a precarious position in a special post, but it was still a high-level public servant.

As Pi Chae-won fidgeted, Lee Ho-jeong continued.

"Then, two deputy ministers, one spokesperson, two policy advisors, and one inspector, right?"

"Plus nine legislative aides."

"Let's start with the legislative aides. I and Yang Il-ho, too. It's a headache to work only among ourselves."

Aides, indeed. We needed to hire trustworthy people, but if we held a public recruitment, it would be like inviting spies from other factions.

"......"

I stared at the high-level public servant in high school. She trembled, realizing what I was thinking.

"Hey, Chae-won."

"Yes, yes...!"

"Are you interested in being an interviewer?"

*

< Announcement >

[Han Seung-moon's Office]

Recruitment Announcement for National Assembly Aides

We are recruiting a support team with animal-like political instincts, cold judgment, and smooth interpersonal skills to manage national affairs.

1. Recruitment Positions

- 2 Aides (4th-grade equivalent)

- 2 Secretaries (5th-grade equivalent)

- 4 Clerks (6th, 7th, 8th, 9th-grade equivalent)

- 1 Intern

2. Qualifications and Benefits

- Individuals not disqualified under Article 33 of the National Public Service Act

- Practical skills and smooth interpersonal skills in national politics and administration

- Agreement with the National Party's platform and policies or party members

- Experts in cabinet administration or national policy

- Possessors of relevant extraordinary abilities

- Individuals willing to serve voluntarily in times of national crisis

- Various qualifications such as Excel, Photoshop, information processing, and legal professions

3. Key Responsibilities

- Policy development for the Extraordinary Management Department and National Assembly

- Legislation, budget, and administration

- Messaging duties

- Driving (7th-grade secretary)

- Other legislative and national support activities

4. Selection Process

- 1st Round: Document Review

- 2nd Round: Interview (Individual notification for those who pass the 1st round)

- Final notification for successful candidates

5. Required Documents

- Resume and cover letter (focus on job capabilities)

- Submission of job capability verification materials possible

- For possessors of extraordinary abilities, submit a registration certificate and materials issued by the Hunter Association's Extraordinary Registration Temporary Committee

6. Working Conditions

- Payment of remuneration according to the National Assembly Secretariat regulations

7. Other Matters

- Nighttime work during the day

- Weekends as weekdays

- Normalization of instant noodles

- Normalization of Korea