The whereabouts of President Park Geun-hye on the day of the sinking of the Sewol ferry on April 16, 2014, are gaining renewed attention after the latest rumors that Park was getting plastic surgery from a clinic frequented by her scandal-ridden friend Choi Soon-sil.
Cheong Wa Dae denied the rumors as “totally groundless,” underlining that Park undertook her duty regularly and received 15 briefings on the tragedy throughout the day. But the explanation was not enough to quell people’s doubts about exactly what Park was doing during the nation’s worst maritime disaster that took more than 300 lives.
The presidential office has yet to give a clear explanation about why she only received briefings by phone and documents, and not in person. It is still unclear whether she properly received the reports because by the time she appeared at an emergency center to deal with the sinking after 5 p.m., she did not seem to have the latest update on the situation and asked irrelevant questions. This has fueled suspicions that Park was out of office during the crucial hours for an effective disaster response.
Her alleged seven-hour absence has led to widespread criticism for the lack of a control tower in a time of national crisis, which resulted in the failure to rescue the passengers as the ferry capsized in waters off Jindo, South Jeolla Province. Cheong Wa Dae has refused to reveal the President’s whereabouts even in the face of “malicious rumors,” citing security reasons. But this is an irrational excuse since this took place more than two years ago, and it is not a breach of security to let the public know where the President was during a disaster of such magnitude.
Park has been consistently dogged by rumors that she was missing for seven hours on the day of the sinking of the ferry, which was packed with young students on a field trip. Some say she was seeing her former aide romantically or that she was engaging in a religious ritual. Hideous rumors regarding the President’s absence will continue to surface unless Cheong Wa Dae provides convincing testimony that leaves no doubt about the whereabouts of the president on the day of the ferry sinking.