hankyoreh

President Park Geun-hye exits after a press conference where she made a public apology for the Choi Sun-sil scandal

In an apology to the public on Oct. 25, South Korean President Park Geun-hye admitted the truth of allegations that her speeches and other documents had been leaked in advance to Choi Sun-sil, a confidante of Park’s who is thought to have inordinate influence on the current administration. But with testimony and evidence continuing to surface that contradicts the explanation Park provided on Oct. 25, even this explanation is likely to be scrutinized for falsehoods.

On the afternoon of Oct. 25, President Park made a public statement at the press hall at the Blue House.

“Choi is someone who helped me when I had a hard time in the past. When I was running for president, her role was to provide her personal opinions and impressions about how my election campaign was reaching the public, generally in the areas of speeches and public relations. I also received her help on the phrasing of some of my speeches and promotional materials,” Park said.

“My intentions were pure, since I was just trying to review these materials more carefully, but regardless of the reasons, I am sorry for having shocked, offended and hurt the nation. I apologize deeply to the Korean people,” Park said, bowing her head.

But Park‘s statement on Oct. 25 is at odds with testimony that Lee Sung-han, former secretary-general of the Mir Foundation, made to the Hankyoreh, which is likely to stoke suspicions that Park’s explanation contains omissions and distortions. Regarding the period that Choi was helping her, Park said she had “heard [Choi’s] opinion about some documents for a certain period even after my inauguration, but I stopped after the Blue House finished preparing its system of aides.” But Lee said that Park and Choi held behind-the-scenes meetings from last fall until this spring at which they read Blue House documents. Furthermore, while Park said that Choi had only helped her with “some documents,” more reports appeared even after Park’s apology on Oct. 25 claiming that Choi had also been involved in government policies and appointments.

During [her message to the nation] on Oct. 25, Park did not make a single mention of the allegations about Choi‘s connections with the Mir Foundation and the K-Sports Foundation, about an investigation into those charges or about what measures she would take.

“She’s still not being honest,” said Minjoo Party of Korea leader Moon Jae-in when asked about Park’s apology. “At this rate, we really could reach a point of no return.”

Ahn Cheol-soo, former head of the People’s Party, urged Park to assign a special prosecutor, have her entire cabinet resign and to replace all her Blue House secretaries.

The Saenuri Party is also in turmoil after Park’s apology. Rep. Yoo Seong-min called for a special prosecutor or a parliamentary probe, stating that “the president’s apology did not address several allegations connected with Choi Sun-sil or the question of illegality,” while Rep. Kim Yong-tae called on Park to leave the party.

By Choi Hye-jung, staff reporter

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