The growing allegations of suspicious ties between a right-wing civic group and the nation’s largest business lobby is raising the specter of a major political scandal as they have already spread to President Park Geun-hye’s Blue House.
At the heart of the case are allegations that the Federation of Korean Industries provided funds to the Korea Parent Federation -- a group of ultraconservative senior citizens -- and that the FKI and the Blue House used the KPF to orchestrate pro-government, pro-business demonstrations.
Given the gravity of the allegations, all concerned parties should speak out and relevant authorities must look into the case.
First, the FKI must clarify why it gave money to the KPF. The Sisa Journal newsweekly which broke the story said that the FKI sent 120 million won ($105,000) to the KPF between September and December 2014. It said part of the money was used to pay North Korean defectors who participated in the KPF-organized demonstrations.
What’s more suspicious is that the FKI money was transferred through a bank account kept by a Christian missionary group. The group has been inactive for about two years, which raises the possibility that it served as a sort of “paper company” for the financial transactions of the KPF.
The FKI represents the nation’s big businesses like Samsung, Hyundai Motor and LG, and it is entitled to engage in activities to advance the interests of the conglomerates, including supporting various nongovernmental organizations. But the secretive way it provided financial support to the KPF smacks of misconduct.
Another key -- perhaps more serious -- allegation is that a Blue House official tried to influence the activities of the KPF. In one case, according to the Sisa report, a low-ranking Blue House official asked the secretary-general of the KPF to hold a demonstration in support of President Park Geun-hye’s agreement with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the World War II sex slavery issue late last year.
Both the KPF and the Blue House denied the report, and the official sought a court injunction to ban sale of the newsweekly. But the KPF secretary-general admitted later that he exchanged text messages and phone calls with the Blue House official regarding the demonstration about sex slavery.
This raises the possibility that the Blue House official -- whose job includes “promoting communication” between the president and the public -- might have tried to induce or pressure the KPF to hold a demonstration in support of the Park-Abe agreement, which had invited protests even from some of the victims of sex slavery. A clarification about this allegation should come from a senior Blue House official like the chief of staff.
By and large, allegations that have been raised so far warrant an investigation by the state prosecution and tax authorities, as they point to the possibility of the FKI and KPF at least violating the law on the use of real names in financial transactions and evading taxes.
Operation of nongovernmental organizations like the KPF should be based on voluntarism and independence in terms of membership, finances and activities. We need to know whether any of the entities involved ignored the basics.
