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| Yoon Chang-jung |
By Kim Rahn
Conservative civic groups and members of President Park Geun-hye's fan club have claimed that the current influence-peddling scandal involving her confidant Choi Soon-sil is a "witch-hunt" against the President organized by North Korea.
About 30,000 people from pro-Park groups, including the group "Park Sa Mo" (literarily meaning people who love Park), held a rally in front of Dongdaemun Design Plaza in central Seoul, Saturday.
It was a separate gathering from the massive anti-Park candlelit protest in Gwanghwamun where 1.7 million people called for the President's resignation over the Choi scandal.
Mostly in their 60s and older, the participants said the candlelit protests were orchestrated by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
"Park did not take a single penny for personal interest and it was Choi who took the money," Jung Gwang-yong, head of Park Sa Mo, said during the rally. "But people say it was third-party bribery. It is a witch-hunt and kangaroo court."
"The independent counsel has not yet disclosed the truth, but people are calling for Park's resignation or impeachment based only on rumors from the media. This is insane," said Heo Pyeong-hwan, head of a conservative civic group for peace and reunification.
Heo said the President complied with almost all of his group's wishes, including pressuring the North by closing down the Gaeseong Industrial Complex, disbanding the Unified Progressive Party and publishing the state-authored history textbook. He also proposed a "taegeukgi protest" to deal with the candlelit protest.
One of the participants, former presidential spokesman Yoon Chang-jung, blamed the media for "spreading rumors" and "attempting to overthrow the government." Yoon, who was the first presidential spokesman for Park, was accused of making unwanted sexual advances toward a young intern working as his temporary secretary during Park's first visit to the U.S. in 2013. He was fired in the middle of the trip.
"The media and the politicians bombarded me with criticism because they thought they would be able to deal a blow to the President by dealing a blow to me, as I was the first official appointed by Park," he said.
"Overthrowing state authority through protest cannot happen in a constitutional democratic country."
Yoon also claimed his innocence about the sexual harassment allegations. "Because I was innocent, I did not commit suicide unlike Roh Moo-hyun," he said, referring to former President Roh who killed himself in 2009 while undergoing an investigation into his alleged bribery acceptance allegations.
After the rally at Dongdaemun Design Plaza, the participants marched to Jongno. Jung said he is considering holding a demonstration at Gwanghwamun Square next Saturday, raising concerns over possible clashes with anti-Park ralliers who also plan to continue their protest there.
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