Lee Seung-chul's ex-manager reveals singer's photo with President
Lee Seung-chul / Korea Times file
By Kim Jae-heun
Popular singer Lee Seung-chul’s former manager posted a picture Lee had taken with President Park Geun-hye, Friday, reigniting allegations of the singer’s connections to the Choi Soon-sil scandal.
Baek Kang-ki, a manager of Lee’s former rock band Boohwal, wrote on Facebook that “a burner phone is a device only used by gangs or gamblers. Gambling and drugs cannot be desisted until death. How do I know? Because I was a show business mananger.”
President Park is suspected of using a burner phone to contact her close confidant Choi. Lee has been arrested twice for smoking marijuana. The former manager made a connection between Park and Lee under the common ground of illegal acts.
Baek’s comment does not directly mention Lee’s involvement in the scandal, but his words in context with the picture of Lee and the President together implies the singer’s connection to the scandal.
Two weeks ago, opposition party lawmaker An Min-suk revealed Choi Soon-sil and her niece Jang Si-ho have been exercising their power in the entertainment industry, especially by giving privileges to some specific entertainers they were close with. An added that several attempts of the two women to commit irregularities have been spotted and Choi’s older sister Choi Soon-deuk’s coming and going in the entertainer’s football club, Hoeori FC, 10 years ago is one piece of evidence. Soon-deuk is reported to have bought meals for the sports team many times.
After the lawmaker’s disclosure, Lee and global K-pop star Psy have been singled out as privileged entertainers as they both allegedly played football in the club and showed up at a number of international events hosted by the country.
An said celebrities with close connections to Choi were often invited to international events despite lacking any expertise or relevance for the occasion. Lee was officially invited to both the closing ceremony at the Sochi Olympics and the U.N.’s NGO conference while Psy participated at President Park’s inauguration ceremony as well as the Davos Forum in 2014 along with President Park and CJ Vice Chairwoman Lee Mi-kyung.
However, YG Entertainment denied both allegations regarding Psy’s participation in Hoeori FC as well as his relation to the political scene. An said on a radio show that Psy is not the celebrity he was talking about but there are still some entertainers who lie about their connections to Choi, implying that Lee could be the privileged one.
Lee resisted the rumor strongly and An’s tweet, saying it has been 15 years since he quit the football team and he does not know the faces of either Choi Soon-sil or Choi Soon-deuk. The singer also quit the team and asked if the lawmaker is targeting him.
“I heard you have an old picture to reveal and why do you hesitate to disclose it? Share it publically. I am waiting for it and I will refute every single point you raise. You will also have to be ready for massive backlash,” wrote Lee on Twitter, Friday.
Meanwhile, many entertainers participated in a candlelit protest on Saturday night at Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul. TV personality Kim Je-dong took the emcee role at the rally event and singer Lee Seung-hwan performed for the crowd in front of nearly 1 million people gathered to call for President Park’s resignation. Other stars like actress Kim You-jung and singer Solbi encouraged their fans on SNS to participate in the protest.