Koreans may have gotten a glimpse of the goings-on inside the Blue House Friday when Senior Presidential Secretary for Civil Affairs Kim Young-han refused to appear before a parliamentary hearing, in insubordination to his superior, Presidential Chief of Staff Kim Ki-choon.
The day will go down in public memory as ignoble for the Blue House when its apparent state of disorder was laid bare for all to see during the live broadcast of the National Assembly Steering Committee hearing.
It was only a few hours after Kim Ki-choon officially apologized for the first time for the recent Blue House document leak scandal and vowed to strengthen discipline that his subordinate refused his order to appear before the parliamentary hearing. Judging by the incident, little seems to have changed since the document leak scandal rocked the nation, a scandal which the prosecutors concluded was a case of two overzealous Blue House officials trying to curry favor with President Park Geun-hye’s younger brother. The prosecutors also concluded that the leaked document itself was indeed nothing more than a collection of rumors, just as Park had declared even as the prosecutors were investigating the case.
In refusing to appear before the parliamentary committee, Kim Young-han raised the point that a civil affairs secretary has never before testified at a parliamentary hearing and that he did not want to set a bad precedent by doing so. Park accepted Kim Young-han’s resignation the following day.
Under normal circumstances, presidential secretaries should be shielded from political ploys. However, the Blue House document leak scandal was an unprecedented case, and as such unprecedented measures may be sanctioned.
While Kim Young-han may protest that he was appointed to the post last June, several months after the incident, the fact remains that the document was drawn up by staff working at his office and that he must have had knowledge of the incident. Furthermore, it has been alleged that Kim’s office pressured a police official implicated in the leak to influence his testimony. As the chief of the office that oversees affairs of high-ranking officials and president’s relatives, Kim Young-han should have appeared before the parliamentary steering committee rather than dodging the opportunity to testify.
Friday’s very public insubordination confirmed the state of disarray at the Blue House. Kim Ki-choon on the day said that he is ready to step down from his post when his mission has been completed. Whatever his mission may be, it now seems that he would not be able to complete it given his inability to impose discipline and order at the Blue House.
In light of the recent developments, Park should consider installing a new team of Blue House secretaries and aides. As the president enters the third year of her five-year term in office, she should focus on the projects that will define her presidency. She should not let personnel problems drag the entire presidency down with them. Surely Park does not want her presidency to be remembered as one that wasted precious time mired in personnel problems.
It is high time that Park cut away from the weight of the past that threatens to sink her administration and start anew. She should be in clear command of the remaining three years of her presidency.
