After research, Hong Kong Island and Pengcheng Hospital concluded that SARS is transmissible from person to person. Residents of major cities in the mainland wear masks when they go out. Medical experts also call on everyone to reduce gatherings during the Spring Festival, go out less, wash hands frequently, ventilate frequently, wear masks when going out, and pay attention to protection. If you have symptoms of a cold or fever, please seek medical attention in time.
Although Song Mingzhe and his wife were in Seoul, they had been paying close attention to the fight against SARS in the mainland. Zhou Shulan was a little worried, "Children have such weak immunity, and there are also cases in Beijing now. How can they go to school?"
Liao Yu said: "Principal Wen called me and said that the school will start later this year than usual. The school is currently encouraging parents to help their children with their homework at home. According to my estimation, the Municipal Education Commission may suspend classes. Now that the Ministry of Health's medical expert group has gone to Guangzhou to provide guidance, and the SARS virus tracing work is about to produce results, we should be able to defeat SARS soon."
Zhou Shulan said: "The old ladies who often dance with me called me and said that isatis root and vinegar can prevent SARS. Now there is a crazy rush for them in Yanjing. They kindly called me and asked me to stock up more."
"Anyone who spreads such rumors at this time is trying to profit from the national crisis and they deserve to be killed. So far, no specific medicine for the SARS virus has been developed. It is nonsense that isatis root and drinking vinegar can prevent SARS. We can still have time to go back after Yanjing has controlled the spread of the disease. Don't you still have to attend Ju Guangmo and Zhou Zhiyi's wedding?" Liao Yu comforted Zhou Shulan and told her not to rush back to Beijing.
"I'm not in a hurry, but I feel suffocated living here with Xiaoyi. Every neighbor lives in a wealthy family, and the walls seem higher than those of the Forbidden City. Apart from Mengxian's family, there is no other neighbor I can visit and chat with. It's true that the richer people are, the less human they are." Zhou Shulan complained.
Song Mingzhe heard Zhou Shulan's complaints at this moment, "You think this is back home, upstairs and downstairs, and the neighbors next door all know each other. A stranger comes to the community, and everyone in the corridor knows about it in less than half a day."
"Last year, Xiaoyi brought Taixi back to Yeji to celebrate the New Year. The whole dormitory for teachers' families knew that he had found a Korean wife. All the aunts and uncles wanted to come and watch the fun. If Xiaoyi got married in Yeji, it would probably be even more lively." Song Mingzhe said.
"Xiaoyi and Taixi will at most return to Yanjing to entertain their friends. How could they possibly go back to Yeji to hold a wedding banquet? Our family is clearly marrying a daughter-in-law, but it's like she's marrying into the family." Zhou Shulan knew that Jin Taixi was a very nice person and she liked this second daughter-in-law very much, but she still couldn't help but complain.
Liao Yu secretly laughed in her heart, "You only lost a son, but Tae Hee's family lost two daughters. Kim Hee Won followed Song Yi without any status, Tae Hee's mother saw something, but Tae Hee's father and Tae Hee's brother Hengzhu were more careless and didn't notice it yet."
Song Mingzhe and his wife, Song Yi, and Kim Tae-hee will all attend the wedding of Gu Guangmo and Zhou Zhiyi. However, before their wedding, Song Yi will attend the inauguration ceremony of the new South Korean president on February 25 as a representative of Korean entrepreneurs.
On the morning of the 25th, South Korea's new President Song Woo-seok held an inauguration ceremony in the square in front of the National Assembly in Seoul and officially took office as the 16th President of South Korea.
At the inauguration ceremony, Zhong Xiaotong's "National Government" was officially launched on the stage, and Song Yuxi announced that the "National Participation Government" had officially begun.
Former South Korean presidents Chung Hyo-tong, Chung Man-you, Song San-gong, Jeon Jeon-beob and Choi Yeon-chu, foreign ambassadors, South Korean lawmakers, representatives of South Korean entrepreneurs and 40,000 ordinary citizens attended today's inauguration ceremony.
Choi Yeon-chu is a representative figure of the Korean reform system. After the founding of Korea, he served as the minister of many departments. In 1989, Zheng Puxi was assassinated, and Choi Yeon-chu was appointed as the 10th president. Later, Jeon Jun-beom launched a military coup in 1980, and Choi Yeon-chu was forced to step down.
I don't know whether it was intentional or not, but Song Shangong, Quan Zhanfa and Cui Yanqiu sat together. Cui Yanqiu and Quan Zhanfa had no communication at all during the whole sitting, and Quan Zhanfa's face didn't look very good either.
As a representative of entrepreneurs, Song Yi sat behind Zhong Xiaotong. Sitting in the same row with Song Yi were Samsung Chairman Chen Kun-hee, LG Chairman Gu Kwang-sung, SK Chairman Choi An-won, Hyundai Motor Chairman Zhou Mong-koo, Asan Group Chairman Zheng Enxuan, Pacific Amorepacific Group Chairman Xu Guoxun, and others.
There are many acquaintances of Song Yi among ordinary citizens, such as Park Min-jeong and his wife from Xinyi Pet Shop, Liu Huiying and her daughter Xu Zhuxian, and Xin Minjing from SMJ Gallery.
Le Seok-ik did not sit with Shin Min-kyung. Instead, he sat next to Chief Prosecutor Lee Sang-dae of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office as a representative of the prosecutorial system officials. It is rumored that Le Seok-ik is very likely to succeed Lee Sang-dae's position.
Song Yi did not sit with Kim Tae-hee. As a representative of the entertainment industry, Kim Tae-hee sat with other ShinAsia artists. Sitting on her right were Song Hye-kyo, Jun Ji-hyun and Son Ye-jin. On her left was Kim Hee-won and Son Ye-jin's agent Kim Min-sook. Next to Kim Min-sook was another ShinAsia female artist, Gao Hyun-jung.
In the same row across the aisle from Gao Xianzhen are her ex-husband Zhou Rongzhen and his current girlfriend Han Zhixi. After Zhou Rongzhen married Gao Xianzhen, his mother Chen Mingxi immediately arranged a marriage for him, and he finally married the famous Korean violinist Han Zhixi.
Sitting not far from Zhou Rongzhen and his wife were Chen Jaechan and his wife from Shinhan Media. Choi Sun-hee saw Han Ji-hee looking at Gao Hyun-jeong with curious eyes, and she couldn't help but whisper to her husband Chen Jaechan.
"Who do you think arranged these seats today? Are the entertainment industry and chaebols sitting so close to each other so that they can keep in touch with each other after the ceremony? If it was really for the chaebols to hold a beauty pageant, they shouldn't let them bring their wives to this public occasion. Yongjin's ex and current boyfriend almost sat together. I feel bad for Hyun-jung when I think about it." Choi Sun-hee has a good relationship with Ko Hyun-jung and spoke up for her.
Chen Zaican also noticed it, and he whispered to Cui Shanji, "Why should Gao Xianzhen be upset? The one who should be the most upset should be Yongzhen. When Gao Xianzhen and Song Yi had a scandal, Gao Xianzhen and Yongzhen had not officially divorced yet. Yongzhen appeared in this occasion with his beautiful new wife, so he is not afraid that Han Zhixi will be remembered by Song Yi."
When Cui Shanji heard what Chen Zaican said, she smiled secretly. She really didn't like the arrogant Chen Mingxi and her son, and she was eager to see them suffer a loss.
"He is your cousin after all. Isn't it not nice for you to say that about him?" Cui Shanji said.
"Hmph, I treat him as my cousin, but does he treat me as his cousin? In a chaebol family like ours, there is no such thing as family affection. Boo Jin did such a good job in Everland, but was still kicked out by her uncle?" Chen Jae-chan had long seen through the true faces of the other members of the Samsung family.
Choi Sun-hee looked forward and found that Song Yi happened to be sitting next to Chen Jianxi and Choi An-won. Song Yi was actually chatting happily with Chen Jianxi and Choi An-won. She admired Song Yi's shamelessness. He slept with Chen Jianxi's eldest daughter and Choi An-won's wife. How could he be so calm? It was the first time that Song Yi sat with Chen Jianxi. Chen Jianxi said to Song Yi: "Chairman Song, Jae-yong and Fu Zhen are all of the same age. Is it not too arrogant for me to call you by your name directly?"
After all, Chen Jianxi is Song Yi's cheap father-in-law, and Koreans pay attention to etiquette. "Chairman Chen, I am a junior in front of you after all, so it's okay for you to call me by my name."
"Last year, Xinyu wanted to find an internship in a company. I actually didn't want to agree to let her go to New Asia. Who knew that she actually made some achievements in New Asia. This year, I wanted to arrange for her to study abroad in New York, but she refused to agree. I heard that only two employees left New Asia Network in 2002, and the company's human resource turnover rate is almost zero. I'm a little curious, how did you do it?" Chen Jianxi chatted with Song Yi.
The two were chatting in the audience, not paying any attention to Song Woo-seok who was giving a speech on the stage. For Chen Jianxi, no matter who becomes president, he has to rely on Samsung.
Chen Jianxi's father Chen Bingzhe founded the Korea Employers Federation, abbreviated as KEI, in 1961.
Since its establishment, the Federation of Korean Industries has had only three presidents, namely Chen Byung-chul, the founder of Samsung, and Zhou Zhengyong, the founder of Hyundai. In the mid-1990s, Chen Jianxi took over as the president of the Federation of Korean Industries from Zhou Zhengyong.
South Korea's large conglomerates are basically members of the Federation of Korean Industries, including Samsung Electronics, Samsung SDI, Samsung Life, Samsung Securities, SK Holdings, SK Telecom, SK Networks, Hyundai Motor, Hyundai Mobis, LG Holdings, LG Electronics, etc.
What is more interesting is that Lotte, one of the five largest financial groups, did not join the Federation of Korean Industries. The relationship between Jin Kyuk-ho and his son and Chen Bingzhe and Zhou Zhengyong is average, and they can only maintain superficial harmony. Shin Kyuk-ho was also unwilling to join the Federation of Korean Industries to see the faces of Chen Bingzhe and Zhou Zhengyong.
Chen Bingzhe and Zhou Zhengyong both believed that Samsung and Hyundai were local Korean conglomerates, and they looked down on the Lotte family, which had made its fortune by currying favor with the Japanese. However, the Lotte family had used money to pave the way in recent years and supported a number of pro-Japanese politicians in South Korea to cheer for the Lotte Group, so Chen Jianxi was unwilling to confront Lotte.
After the Lee Eun-joo case was exposed, both Shin Kyuk-ho and his son were involved in the case. But in the end, the matter was resolved by paying fines and giving suspended sentences.
Every time a new president of South Korea takes office, he will pick a financial group to target in order to scare the monkeys and establish the president's authority. Since 1992, the five major financial groups have extended their tentacles into the government, influencing public opinion, manipulating elections, and monopolizing the market.
Zheng Puxi and Quan Zhanfa were both powerful presidents who kept all the major financial groups in check while in office. Song Shangong participated in the presidential election after taking off his military uniform. No matter how powerful the financial tycoons were, they had no power to fight back when they encountered the military government.
After the backdoor listing of New Asia Media Real Estate Group, New Asia Media Real Estate and Eshan Group joined the Federation of Korean Industries. If Eshan Group and New Asia Group are included, the Hyundai family and Samsung family can barely compete with each other.
In response to Chen Jianxi's question, Song Yi thought for a moment and said, "Xinya Network itself is a high-growth enterprise. In order to attract more Internet talents, we are of course inclined to provide generous benefits to new employees."
Chen Jianxi did not comment on Song Yi's approach. Among the five major conglomerates, Samsung employees had the highest average salary, and their attitude towards the union was the toughest. They had repeatedly rejected Samsung's union's requests for salary increases.
"People are greedy, and employees are no exception. If the company makes a profit of 100 yuan, even if you give 90 yuan to all employees, they will still not be satisfied, and wonder why you should take 10 yuan for yourself. As a capitalist, don't empathize with ordinary people, because they can't understand the risks of running a business at a high level."
"Xinya Network is developing well now, so you can do this. If there is another Nasdaq bubble and Internet companies experience another cold winter, you will have to decide to lay off employees or cut salaries to save the company. The people who support you the most now will want to trample you to the ground in the future and prevent you from getting up." Chen Jianxi rarely gave Song Yi some advice.
Song Yi was a little surprised. Although the relationship between Xinya and Samsung has eased somewhat, for example, Samsung Everland invested in Xinya Media Real Estate, that was also for Chen Fuzhen's sake. Song Yi and Chen Zairong's current relationship is still hostile. Why would Chen Jianxi kindly remind Song Yi to pay attention to the future business risks of Xinya Network? "Thank you, President Chen. I'm grateful for your advice." Song Yi bowed his head and thanked him.
Chen Jianxi was very satisfied with Song Yi's attitude. He turned his gaze to Song Yuxi who was speaking on the stage and had no intention of continuing the conversation.
Song Yuxi delivered his inaugural speech, in which he personally proposed four major policy goals:
1. Democracy that coexists with the people; 2. A new society of coexistence and balanced development; 3. An era of peace and prosperity in Northeast Asia;
4. A new government with universal participation.
In order to achieve these four goals, Song Yuxi proposed four principles: maintaining trust, fairness and transparency, dialogue and compromise, and decentralization and self-discipline.
In addition to these four principles, Song Woo-seok also expressed in his speech that he would replace President Chung Hyo-tong's "Sunshine Policy" with a "Peace and Prosperity Policy" for North Korea's foreign policy. In order to implement the "Peace and Prosperity Policy," North and South Korea need to resolve through dialogue, mutual trust and mutual assistance, international cooperation centered on North and South Korea, public participation, and cross-party cooperation.
Song Yi knew why Song Yuxi wanted to change his name, because some South Korean politicians and North Koreans opposed the use of the name "Sunshine".
The name of the "Sunshine Policy" comes from the story of "The North Wind and the Sun" in Aesop's fables. The "warm sunshine" of South Korea, located in the south of the Korean Peninsula, can allow Pyeongjing to take off its cold coat.
The Sunshine Policy was seen by North Korean officials as a handout, an attempt to embarrass North Korea. The opposition party also ridiculed Zhong Xiaotong for not warming up the poor South Korean people first, but for political fame, he unilaterally provided a large amount of economic assistance to North Korea without any return.
Song Yi actually felt that the name Zhong Xiaotong was not well chosen. In the eyes of the North Koreans, there is only one sun on the peninsula, and they are the orthodox ones. Only the north can send sunshine to the south, how can the south send sunshine to the north?
Quan Zhanfa always felt like a thorn in the back when he sat with Song Shangong. He knew that he had offended too many people when he was in power, so many ordinary people in South Korea hated him to the core.
In his heart, he cursed Song Yuxi for liking to do this kind of gimmick, what about the participation of all people in the government. As the president of South Korea, he should be the one who makes decisions. If these ordinary people question the government's policies at every turn, you will waste your time trying to persuade the people who disagree. Will you still be able to do your job then?
Quan Zhanfa felt that the inauguration ceremony of the South Korean president was a very solemn occasion, and there were so many members of Congress and foreign envoys at the scene, so there was no need to invite these ordinary people to attend the inauguration ceremony. If the new president continued to maintain this people-friendly style, Song Yuxi would not be able to achieve anything during his term, Quan Zhanfa asserted.
Park Min-jeong, who was sitting in the Ai-Song Club representative seat, had no intention of listening to Song Woo-seok's speech. Her eyes were fixed on Jeon Jang-fa who was sitting in the first row. If looks could kill, Jeon Jang-fa would have died a hundred times.
She was simple and didn't understand why Chun Zhanfa was pardoned by Zhong Wanyou after being sentenced to life imprisonment. The court asked him to pay a fine of 220.5 billion won to compensate the victims of the Bulin incident, but he cried poor to the government, saying that he had no money, played rogue, and even damaged the reputation of the victims of the Gwangju incident.
Park Min-jeong has always wanted to take revenge on Jeon Jang-fa and have him face the punishment that the law should impose on him. In her words, all of us have lost our children, but the culprit is still living in a luxurious house, enjoying a life of extravagance.
All of Jeon's children and grandchildren have successfully entered the upper class of Korean society by either entering politics or business through his influence. But compared to Park Min-jeong and others who lost their children, how unfair is this?
Regardless of what the people in the ceremony were thinking, after Song Yuxi finished his speech, there was a long applause in front of the conference hall. Song Yuxi, who had just taken office as president, met with the Japanese Prime Minister as the first foreign leader, followed by the US Secretary of State. South Korea, Japan and the United States will discuss the North Korean nuclear issue. Under the harmonious inauguration ceremony, there are undercurrents. Song Yi said goodbye to the people around him and prepared to leave the square in front of the conference hall. Zheng Enxuan walked through the crowd and found Song Yi, "Song Yi, take my car back to the company later, I want to talk to you about something serious."
When Kim Tae-hee saw Jung Eun-xuan find Song Yi, she knew he was busy with something, so she pointed at Kim Hee-won and motioned for her to go home with her sister first.
Song Yi hadn't been to 63 Building for a long time. When Song Yi arrived at Zheng Enxuan's office, he found that her office layout had also been adjusted, and part of Song Yi's office area was allocated to her. Zheng Enxuan's second daughter Zhou Zhuyi served as Zheng Enxuan's secretary.
"Zhu Yi, make a cup of tea for Xiaoyi. There is some top-quality Maofeng tea in the bookcase. Make it a few more times. He is a bit picky." Zheng Enxuan instructed her daughter.
"I'll go right away." Zhou Zhuyi took out tea from the closet, then left the office and closed the door.
"Next month, the Zhou Zhengyong Sports Center in Pyeonggyeong will be officially put into operation. The North Korean side invited us to attend the opening ceremony they held. Meng Xian will also go there. Do you want to go with him? The North Korean side said that Chairman Kim Dongshin of the Asia-Pacific Peace Committee wants to meet with you. It may be related to the cooperation with the Mount Kumgang International Tourism Zone."
"It seems that North Korea may want to take back the operating rights of the Mount Kumgang International Tourist Zone. After all, the number of foreign tourists visiting Mount Kumgang in the past two years is much less than North Korea expected. Although Mount Kumgang has rich tourism resources, the development of the scenic area and the supporting facilities have not been done well. Except for the staff of the scenic area, they cannot come into contact with ordinary North Korean people. After all, in the eyes of foreign tourists, North Korea is a mysterious country." Song Yi made a judgment.
"If North Korea plans to take back the operating rights of the Mount Kumgang International Tourism Zone ahead of schedule, the loss to the Asan Group will be too great. Kim Dong-shin certainly wants to keep the Kaesong Industrial Park and the Mount Kumgang International Tourism Zone. If both projects are closed, it is uncertain whether his Asia-Pacific Peace Committee will still be necessary."
"Although you want to keep a low profile as much as possible, the North Korean side already has your detailed personal information, including your family relationships. Judging from your family background, the North Korean side believes that you and Zhou Zhengyong are of the same type and are naturally close to North Korea. They certainly also hope that you can invest in North Korea and help it develop modern industries, especially the electronic information industry," said Zheng Enxuan.
"I'm not a fool. How could I risk being sanctioned by the United States to help North Korea develop its electronic information industry? My great uncle and Uncle Mengxian went to North Korea to discuss economic cooperation, but in the end they only developed manufacturing and tourism. Why do North Korea think I will help them develop the electronic information industry? Is it because I'm young and look easier to fool?" Song Yi said.
"What nonsense are you talking about? Just know the truth in your heart and don't say it out loud. The industrial foundation of the New Asia Group is in South Korea and the mainland. There are tens of thousands of people who depend on you for their livelihood. We must be very careful in making any decision."
"How about this, if you have nothing to do, you should go first and attend the opening ceremony of Zhou Zhengyong Gymnasium and meet with Jin Dongshen first. No matter what, we should first keep the operating rights of the Mount Kumgang International Tourism Zone project. If the North Korean side takes back the operating rights, they will most likely not compensate the economic losses of the Eshan Group." Zheng Enxuan looked worried.
"Okay, I got it. I will go there with Uncle Mengxian then. You and Zhiyi don't have to go. According to my estimation, the North Korea-ROK economic cooperation will still have a few years of tug-of-war and back-and-forth period. Before things are concluded, Esan and Xinya don't have to invest real money in it. No matter who is leading the North Korea-ROK economic cooperation, our two families must work together and take the initiative in the project." Song Yi said.
On March 6, a large delegation of more than 1,000 Korean people from all walks of life departed from Gimpo Airport in Seoul and flew to Pyeonggyeong. The delegation members will attend the opening ceremony of the Zhou Zhengyong Gymnasium, which was jointly built by Asan Group and the DPRK, in Pyeonggyeong.
The entire delegation was led by Minister Kim of the Ministry of Unification of South Korea, and Zhou Mengxian attended the opening ceremony as Zhou Zhengyong's family member. Zhou Mengxian's probation had not actually ended yet, and in order to allow him to catch up with the opening ceremony, Song Yuxi pardoned Zhou Mengxian and shortened his probation period.
Song Yi and Minister Jin were chatting and laughing on the plane, but Zhou Mengxian felt that he could no longer interrupt and felt that Song Yi had become a little strange, so Zhou Mengxian was particularly silent throughout the flight. 　Thanks to everyone's monthly tickets, this volume of Seeing the Dragon in the Field will be finished before the National Day, and then the last volume of Flying Dragon in the Sky will be released.
(End of this chapter)