hankyoreh

President Park Geun-hye bows her head as she makes her second public apology for the Choi Sun-sil scandal

On Nov. 17, South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se said that “President Park Geun-hye ought to attend” the trilateral summit among South Korea, China and Japan that is meant to be held in Japan before the end of the year. While Park has been keeping her distance from foreign affairs since the scandal broke out about Choi Sun-sil’s interference in government, this suggests that she is about to return to the forefront of foreign and domestic policy. On Nov. 16, Park instructed prosecutors to carry out an thorough investigation of the LCT urban development scandal in Busan, signalling her return to the helm of government.

During a full session of the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee on the morning of Nov. 17, Yun argued that Park needs to attend the summit. “Japan, which will be hosting the meeting, is suggesting dates to us and to China and is soliciting our opinions,” he said.

“If President Park is unable to attend for domestic reasons in a situation where Japan is suggesting a timeline, we stand to lose a lot,” Yun said.

“We are currently coordinating the schedule and discussing specific dates [to hold the trilateral summit]. Senior officials will be meeting at the end of this month or the beginning of next to set the agenda for the summit,” said South Korean Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Cho Joon-hyuk during the regular press briefing on Nov. 17.

When a reporter mentioned that some people think it’s inappropriate for Park to attend the summit when she is under pressure to resign, Cho said, “This summit represents an important opportunity to maintain the trilateral system of cooperation that we took the lead in restoring last year. I understand that Park will attend once the schedule is confirmed.”

In related news, the Office of the Prime Minister announced on Nov. 18 that South Korean Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn would be leaving the country to attend the 24th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Lima, Peru on Park’s behalf. But since no bilateral summits are scheduled -- not even with the US, China, Japan or Russia – and Hwang will only be attending the official meetings, criticism is being raised about a vacuum in summit diplomacy. This is the first time since the APEC summits began in 1993 that the South Korean prime minister has attended a summit in place of the president.

By Jung In-hwan and Kim Ji-eun, staff reporters

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]