Usually, lies and cover-up attempts amplify problems in a mega scandal like that of Choi Soon-sil. Just recall how what had appeared to be a break-in at the Watergate building evolved and resulted in the resignation of Richard Nixon.
President Park Geun-hye lied when she said the first allegations raised against her longtime friend -- regarding the Mir and K-Sports foundations -- were nothing but “groundless accusations.” Later, she acknowledged some misdeeds, though only for which the media came up with evidence.
In fact, we have not heard from Park about more than these points: She knew Choi for a long time, she received personal help from her and she sought her opinions in preparing speeches and public relations materials.
But state prosecutors and the media are digging up one piece of evidence after another showing Park’s relationship with Choi and what they did together go beyond what was previously imagined.
Editing Park’s speeches and picking her clothes and handbags -- which was vividly captured on video -- were not the only things Park let Choi do for her.
Doctors whose credentials are suspicious were allowed to take care of the president simply because Choi knew them well. Park is suspected of having appointed and fired senior officials at the request of a woman who did not have an official title.
Exploiting the president’s unchecked confidence in her, Choi and her clique sought indiscriminate personal gains. Samsung was duped into, pressured into or collaborated in -- maybe in anticipation of return favors -- financing the dressage training of Choi’s daughter in Germany.
Under Choi’s patronage, Cha Eun-taek, a commercial film director, had become the “crown prince” of the culture industry, wielding such strong influence as to install his graduate school professor as the culture minister and his maternal uncle as the senior presidential secretary for education and culture.
So it comes as no big surprise to hear that Cha allegedly conspired with Park’s senior economic aide even to forcibly take over an advertising agency that had been spun off from steel giant Posco.
There are so many allegations like these -- many of them verified by evidence and testimony -- that many people tend to tie Choi to whatever they believe went wrong during the Park presidency. The sad thing is that one cannot rule out the possibility that more of these rumors and speculations could turn out to be true.
What is essential for getting to the bottom of all the allegations and suspicions is that Park offer frank accounts of what actually happened -- how much she knew about and how much she was involved in each of the cases of influence-peddling and abuse of power committed by Choi and her associates.
The state prosecution, which has already brought five people into custody, including Choi and Park’s former economic aide An Chong-bum, plans to question Park soon.
Park should bear in mind that prosecutors may well have secured some evidence about her personal involvement in some of the cases. For instance, An was quoted as saying that the president introduced Cha to him, and a former close aide -- Jeong Ho-seong -- told prosecutors he sent drafts of presidential speeches and other Cheong Wa Dae documents to Choi via email under orders from the president.
In other words, people like An and Jeong -- realizing the president can no longer protect them -- began telling the truth. This is one of the reasons more lies cannot stand and attempts to obfuscate the truth cannot succeed.
Telling the truth -- based on sincere soul-searching -- is the first step for Park to defuse the crisis and allay pubic fury, which is seen exploding as in the weekend’s massive street protests.
Then she must see what the people tell her to do -- take the backseat and have the prime minister run the government, resign or face impeachment. Not much time remains for her to avert a catastrophe for her presidency and the nation as a whole.
