Today, the National Economic Party finally launched its election fund.
Named the National Economic Recovery Fund, it came in two forms: one as an investment in the party itself and the other as a direct sponsorship for individual candidates.
"How is the public responding to the election fund?"
"Over 50,000 people invested within the first ten minutes of the launch."
"That's still not enough. Increase promotional efforts through social media. Highlight how our tailored campaign pledges can actually improve people's lives—make that connection crystal clear."
Age group, occupation, region...
Social media users could be classified into several groups.
And the more the campaign promises were tailored and exposed to match each group, the greater the promotional impact.
This had already been proven through previous advertising campaigns.
Sales had more than doubled when customer-targeted advertising was implemented via algorithms compared to when it wasn't.
That advertising algorithm was adapted and modified into a tailored campaign pledge algorithm.
Naturally, it was Min-jeong Chun's team that developed the new algorithm. It allowed campaign pledges from the National Economic Party to be tailored and displayed to each user based on their personal interests, age group, and profession whenever they accessed social media.
"I'll strengthen the personalized pledge algorithm further and make sure it runs smoothly."
"Also, for working professionals, emphasize that the election fund isn't just a political tool—it's also a smart financial investment."
In 2006, interest rates for regular bank time deposits hovered around 4 to 5 percent.
But the election fund offered rates as high as 6 to 7 percent, which meant better returns than
standard deposits or savings accounts.
"I've already heard that employees at Taewoo Securities are showing significant interest in the election fund. With higher interest than savings accounts and the ability to withdraw funds in just six months, they're saying it's ideal for short-term investments."
"Since you can invest in the election fund with as little as 10,000 won, even students can
participate. That's why the amount of capital flowing into the fund will vary greatly depending on how well we promote it."
The election fund wasn't just for supporters.
Even those with zero interest in the National Economic Party could invest purely for financial
gain.
That's exactly why it was confidently predicted that Assemblyman Choi Jaeseok would be able to amass substantial funding.
"We'll proceed with promotion on all fronts."
"If you run into any difficulties, don't hesitate to reach out to Team Leader Min-jeong Chun.
She'll resolve it in no time."
There was no one more capable than Minjeong Chun when it came to algorithms.
And since she had agreed to monitor and update the system in real time throughout the election campaign, there was little concern about the National Economic Party's ability to raise funds through the election fund.
A week had passed since the launch of the election fund.
At the request of Assemblyman Choi Jaeseok, they met in a quiet location during lunchtime.
"Congratulations. I heard the first fundraising target has been met."
"I honestly didn't expect we'd reach the initial goal in just one week. We raised a whopping 20 billion won in only seven days!"
From a party's perspective, 20 billion won wasn't an enormous sum.
It was the kind of amount that could be raised with the backing of a single conglomerate.
However, since the National Economic Party refused financial support from big corporations, this was indeed a significant achievement.
"This is just the beginning. I understand that many local candidates still haven't met their funding goals."
"Most of them have recently joined the National Economic Party. We believe the main reason is that these local representatives are relatively unknown to the public."
"That's why we've already modified the algorithm for the second round of election funding to allow direct investments in local candidates."
"You've already made the changes—I'm impressed. Thanks to you, we'll be able to proceed with this election without worrying about funds."
A broad smile spread across Assemblyman Choi's face.
But the situation wasn't yet good enough to relax and smile.
"If we run the campaign strictly within the legal spending limits, we'll inevitably have a much weaker presence compared to the major parties."
"That's unavoidable, isn't it? We're preparing to run the campaign with the help of as many
volunteers as possible, keeping costs to a minimum."
"To run a campaign with such minimal expenses, we'll need a completely different approach from anything used before."
Election campaigns were largely shaped by how much money was available.
Major parties could hire large numbers of campaigners and station them at traffic lights.
They could deploy dozens of vehicles to travel through neighborhoods and advertise their
message.
They could even spend hundreds of millions of won sending out mass text messages.
But all of that ultimately required money—money that the National Economic Party couldn't afford to spend.
"Is there really a way to campaign without spending money? In local elections, isn't the only real method to meet voters one by one and shake their hands?"
"You don't necessarily have to meet local voters at markets or on the streets. It can be done
through social media. SNS platforms can identify not just the region a user lives in, but even which apartment complex they reside in. That means we can target and promote directly to constituents within a candidate's district."
"So you're saying it's possible to communicate with local residents via social media?"
That was exactly why so many celebrities and politicians joined social media.
The common denominator between entertainers and politicians was that their status largely depended on name recognition.
This was especially true for local candidates—getting elected often came down to how well known they were within their communities.
Before the regression, it had become rare to find a politician who didn't use social media.
And even now, many politicians were already leveraging it as a promotional tool.
But with Taewoo Group stepping in, it became possible to run more aggressive and personalized campaigns through social media.
"There's also the option of building recognition through video platforms. Uploading to YouTube is free, so it's a way to save significantly on campaign costs."
"YouTube? Isn't that mostly for sports and gaming content?"
At that point, political content hadn't yet gained much traction on YouTube.
However, with the upcoming election, a new wave of political creators was bound to emerge. And if they moved quickly, they could secure a promotional channel that even the major parties didn't yet possess.
"The number of middle-aged users on video platforms is growing rapidly. And many young
people are also starting to take an interest in politics. So if we use WeTube to discuss political issues that can't be addressed on mainstream television, it could be very effective."
"Talking about political issues is one thing, but who's going to watch that kind of content?"
"Of course, if the videos are made in a dry, serious tone, no one will watch them. But if we
include elements of entertainment and make them fun, they could be highly effective."
Assemblyman Choi Jaeseok remained skeptical about the potential of dominating the political category on YouTube.
But preparations were already complete. All that remained was for him and other National
Economic Party politicians to appear on camera.
"Making it fun is fine, but I worry about being made to look like a joke. The moment a politician becomes a laughingstock, their career is essentially over."
"That's exactly why we need professionals. We've already recruited experts to write scripts and edit videos to ensure you come across as a witty, engaging politician—not just someone trying to be funny."
"If you put it that way, I'll trust you and appear."
"I promise, I'll make you the next Governor of Gyeonggi Province. And I'll help ensure many National Economic Party politicians can enter local government."
As the National Economic Party grew stronger, Taewoo Group would gain a formidable shield.
And to build that shield capable of fending off all political attacks, this level of investment was more than worthwhile.
A month remained until the local elections.
During that time, Taewoo Group and the National Economic Party had employed a variety of campaign strategies, and as election day approached, the results began to show.
"The National Economic Party's YouTube channel has surpassed 700,000 subscribers. It's now the largest political channel. Even compared to other Korean channels, that growth rate is incredibly fast."
"Bringing in professionals really makes a difference."
"It's all thanks to you, Vice President, for bringing in a political satire program director and writers from the U.S."
Even David had stepped in to help the National Economic Party.
He recruited a star PD from a top-rated American Saturday night satire show.
Not only that, but he also mobilized renowned Korean editors, subtitle creators, and writers to
help grow the party's YouTube channel.
"How's the response on social media?"
"The customized campaign promises are making a huge impact. Since we're delivering pledges specifically from the National Economic Party candidates running in each region, their approval ratings are rising significantly."
As expected, social media was proving to be a powerful tool.
In local elections, most people didn't know much about the candidates—just increasing name recognition could win votes.
"At the very least, we should be able to recover campaign expenses."
"It looks like over 80% of our candidates will qualify for campaign cost reimbursements. On top of that, we've raised nearly 40 billion won through the election fund. While it doesn't quite match the major parties, it's enough to conduct a comparable campaign."
"So there won't be any candidates who can't run just because they don't have money."
The biggest obstacle preventing young politicians from running was money.
But with the National Economic Party's nomination, they could raise campaign funds through the election fund—effectively eliminating financial barriers.
"City council and district council candidates are reportedly very satisfied."
"Now, the only remaining issue is Assemblyman Choi Jaeseok winning the gubernatorial race in Gyeonggi Province. What's the current gap in approval ratings?"
"The ruling party is still in disarray, and public sentiment is shifting toward the opposition. Right now, it's a three-way race. Assemblyman Choi is in second place, 7% behind the leading opposition candidate, and 5% ahead of the ruling party candidate in third."
The advantage of a major party was its loyal voter base.
No matter what the candidate did wrong, there were always unwavering supporters—like
reinforced concrete.
The National Economic Party was slowly building a similar base, but it was still small compared to the major parties.
"If the concrete base doesn't crack, this election will be tough."
"Especially if the opposition's concrete support holds firm, it'll be hard to close a 7% gap."
Shaking those steadfast supporters was no easy task.
It would take a massive scandal—like an illegal slush fund case—to have any effect.
"Looks like the opposition is riding high this election."
"People are even saying that just being nominated by the opposition guarantees a win—even if the candidate is a dog. That's how far the ruling party's approval ratings have fallen. Some
experts believe that the rising support for the National Economic Party is at least enough to stop the opposition from sweeping the race."
It wasn't that there were no options left.
He still remembered several mistakes the opposition had made—incidents that hadn't been made public yet or hadn't even occurred at this point in time.
If he released all those incidents now in one big move, it could definitely break the momentum of the opposition.
But such a tactic would inevitably come with serious backlash.
Maybe it would've been worth it if Choi Jaeseok were running for president—but for a
gubernatorial election, that kind of move was too extreme.
That meant they needed another approach—something different.
A major issue that could ignite enthusiasm across all of Gyeonggi Province.
"We need to trigger a large-scale issue that works in Assemblyman Choi's favor. And not just one —if we can simultaneously create several impactful stories, we should be able to close that 7% gap."