The scandal involving President Park Geun-hye and two recently established nonprofit foundations follows the same pattern as similar past cases: Media critical of the president raise allegations, opposition members play up and reproduce them and the issue becomes a hot political dispute -- regardless of the veracity of the allegations.
In the initial stages, presidential officials come forward to deny the allegations, with the president maintaining her distance from the issue. If necessary, she makes an oblique reference to it.
That’s what exactly Park did last week: She said that the nation was in a sort of status of emergency, referring to the North Korean nuclear threat, the recent earthquakes and economic difficulties like the fiasco caused by Hanjin Shipping’s troubles.
“Slanders and unverified exposures in times of emergency will shake society and fuel the chaos,” Park said. She also said that, as president, she had never spent time for an individual, private matter. This is the exact same rhetoric Park usually employs when she refutes allegations made against her or people close to her.
Given the urgency to tackle, among other things, North Korea’s nuclear threat – which now spawns talk of a preemptive strike against the North which could lead to a war on the peninsula -- Park is right to see that this country is in a state of emergency.
She is wrong, however, to insist that the scandal would only hamper national unity needed to cope with the challenges facing the nation. On the contrary, failure to tell the truth about the allegations promptly will only damage her leadership and hurt her endeavors to pull the nation together.
The allegations surround two foundations established recently on funds donated by conglomerates like Samsung, Hyundai Motor, LG and SK. The core questions are how the Mir Foundation and the K-Sports Foundation could raise 48.6 billion won ($44 million) and 28.8 billion won, respectively, in less than one year.
The fact that both the foundations earned government approval just one day after they filed papers -- a rarity in view of Korea’s notorious red tape -- added to the suspicion that someone was pulling strings behind their establishment.
Also suggestive of ties to the Park administration is the fact that Mir, which was founded in October to promote culture, organized a cuisine event in Paris on the occasion of Park’s state visit to France in June this year. Likewise, K-Sports, which was established in January this year, organized a taekwondo demonstration event in Tehran during Park’s trip to Iran.
The allegations go on that all these would not have been possible without intervention of people close to Park. Those mentioned so far include Ahn Chong-bum, Park’s chief policy aide and Choi Sun-sil, the daughter of a late pastor who had been close to Park.
Ahn, who until May had the economy as his portfolio – which gave him considerable influence over big businesses – denied allegations that he twisted the arms of conglomerates to fund the two foundations. He admitted, however, that he had known about the fundraising campaign led by the Federation of Korean Industries, the lobby for conglomerates.
The central element of allegations involving Choi, who is also the wife of Park’s former aide, is that the chairmanship of the K-Sports Foundation has gone to her acquaintance. This added fuel to the speculation that Choi and her husband – Jeong Yun-hoe – exert influence on government affairs and appointments.
As things stand, one can smell a rat. But there is not yet any convincing evidence supporting the allegations. Which is why both Park and her opponents should provide proof that they are telling the truth.
The best way of doing so could be starting an investigation by either the Board of Audit and Inspection or the prosecution. If not, Park would only allow the opposition, which recently flexed its muscle by passing a motion to dismiss the agriculture minister, to have a field day with the scandal.
