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| Kim Jang-soo, right, former National Security Office chief, speaks during a hearing at the National Assembly, Wednesday. He said he initially didn't know where President Park Geun-hye was during the critical first seven hours after the Sewol ferry began sinking on April 16, 2014. / Yonhap |
Park's Sewol absence remains mystry still
By Kim Se-jeong
Expectation was high that the National Assembly hearing Wednesday would discover what President Park Geun-hye was doing during her "seven missing hours" on the day of Sewol ferry disaster.
However, no clear answers were given, with skepticism rising over whether the Assembly hearing, an independent counsel's investigation or a Constitutional Court review will ever be able to find out the truth.
The main question was whether the President received cosmetic treatment during those hours. Lawmakers grilled 13 witnesses, but no testimony gave a clue, and all denied they performed any treatment or saw that happening.
"I visited Cheong Wa Dae several times to see the President about skin problems, but didn't on April 16, 2014," said plastic surgeon Kim Young-jae, who had been long suspected of performing a cosmetic procedure on Park that day.
As all the involved figures said they did not know anything about what Park was doing on the day, new allegations are emerging that there could be another doctor who has not yet been mentioned.
Shin Bo-ra, a former army nurse who worked for the President, said she had visited Park's residence at Cheong Wa Dae that day to bring mouthwash to the President. Rep. Sohn Hye-won of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea raised suspicions about cosmetic treatment again, saying mouthwash is often recommended for after-surgery patients.
Kim Jang-soo, who was the National Security Office chief at the time of the disaster and the first person to report the incident to the President, started out by saying "I didn't know where Park was on that day."
Kim said he sent a written report at 10 a.m. both to her office and residence because he did not know where she was between the two places. He said he received calls from Park at 10:15 a.m. and 10:22 a.m.
The next time Kim spoke with Park was 2:50 p.m. "I called the President and said the number of rescued passengers was miscounted. She then called me back at 2:57 p.m. and asked how come the report had the wrong information."
In response, he recommended she visit an emergency response team near the Cheong Wa Dae complex. "This was my last phone conversation with her that day."
Park showed up at the team's office two hours and 15 minutes later, while it takes only 10 minutes to walk from Cheong Wa Dae to the office.
A recent allegation states that she spent 90 minutes having her hair done before joining the team. Cheong Wa Dae said it was only 20 minutes.
Kim defended the President. "I don't think the allegation is true. I don't believe, and I don't want to believe that she spent the time having her hair done. Usually, it takes time to prepare to receive the President. The response team might have needed time to update reports and take care of other protocol details."
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