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at the Blue House on May 12. (Blue House photo pool)　

By Seok Jin-hwan, Blue House correspondent

A Blue House official said on May 12 that recently sacked spokesman Yoon Chang-jung had needed to be “kept separated” from President Park Geun-hye’s entourage.

“You can’t have someone like that standing next to the President,” the official said of the alleged sexual harassment and flight from justice that took place while Yoon was accompanying Park on a visit to the US.

The comments were an admission that Yoon’s return to South Korea was an official “separation” measure by the Blue House. But with such decisions falling outside the authority of senior secretaries to make, questions are swirling over possible involvement by the Blue House leadership, including Chief of Staff Huh Tae-yeol.

During a meeting with reporters on May 12, Senior Secretary to the President for Civil Affairs Kwak Sang-do said, “I think anyone with common sense could figure out whether it’s a good idea to have Yoon Chang-jung there next to the President during her visit.”

Kwak also said the order for Yoon to return “didn’t conflict with any South Korean or US laws.”

According to Kwak’s account, Yoon’s return from the US was a policy decision by the Blue House, and because he was only under indictment, it was not criminal flight from justice for him to return to South Korea.

Another senior Blue House official explained that Yoon “had to be kept separated from the main group” during the US visit.

“We couldn’t take him to Los Angeles with the President, and we couldn’t tell him to just stay in Washington by himself,” the official said.

The Blue House reportedly received a report in Washington at around 9am, just after Yoon was indicted by police, with Huh and other senior advisers gathering to discuss their response. The order for Yoon to return appears to have stemmed from concerns that Park’s visit might be negatively affected if he remained in Washington for questioning.

Huh delivered an apology during a May 12 press conference.

“I sincerely apologize to the public, and I offer profound apologies to the victim, her family and her friends in the overseas Korean community,” he said, adding that the Blue House would “not conceal, cover up, or delay any necessary measures.”

Huh also said Senior Secretary for Public Relations Lee Nam-ki, Yoon’s superior, had “told me he intended to resign over the unsavory actions by one of his employees.” He added that the President would make the decision on whether to accept the resignation.

“If anyone, including myself, needs to take responsibility for this matter, we will not attempt to evade it,” Huh said.

Blue House spokesperson Kim Haeng also said the Blue House had requested that US authorities proceed with their investigation quickly and would give them its “full cooperation.”

Kwak Sang-do said the Blue House would readily cooperate with any procedures, including arrest, if US authorities request Yoon’s extradition.

“My understanding is that it may take up to a week for an extradition request to be made,” he added.

The remarks suggest that the Blue House is preparing for the very real possibility of such a request, despite earlier predictions that one would not likely be made, as Yoon’s alleged crime is considered a misdemeanor.

A Blue House source also said that Yoon said during questioning by the senior secretary for civil affairs’ office after his return that he had “patted” the buttocks of the intern who accused him “a couple of times.” At a press conference the day before, he said he had not grabbed the woman’s buttocks as alleged, but “patted her once on her lower back.”

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