Jason Lim is a Washington, D.C.-based expert on innovation, leadership and organizational culture.
Just a Gangnam ajumma?
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By Jason Lim
Kim Chong-in, the well-known economist who led the Democratic Party’s win in the last April’s parliamentary election as the interim president, recently said that Choi Soon-sil was nothing but a “Gangnam ajumma” who happened to subvert the whole governance process as a trusted confidant of President Park Geun-hye.
I found his statement interesting because it was so contradictory.
By branding Choi a “Gangnam ajumma,” Kim is basically saying that Choi is a spoiled, entitled, wealthy Seoul socialite who is more vain than substantive and not capable or even worthy of doing anything important, not the least of which is governing a modern, wealthy, democratic nation from behind the throne as a shadow president, undiscovered for years.
Funny, because that is exactly what she did for the entire length of Park’s tenure, according to press reports. She was not merely Park’s personal valet, making sure that Park was dressed appropriately and carried the right handbags.
She was Park’s chief strategist, giving specific guidance on how the Blue House should manage public engagements, strategic messaging, National Assembly relationships, national security, unification policies and national strategic vision.
She was Park’s employee vetting operator, with critical input on all personnel decisions for the most important and senior posts in the Park government so as to ensure that the background and history of the political appointees were aligned with the Park government’s priorities and leadership intent.
She was Park’s events and protocol coordinator, involved in all the details of her inauguration and other critical events throughout Park’s administration.
She was Park’s beauty and health manager, ensuring that the President had all the care and attention from traditional to modern to latest fad medicines to keep looking young and feeling healthy.
She was Park’s personal wealth manager, investing her money judiciously in various areas and managing risks accordingly so as to maximize returns on investment.
She was Park’s planner, scheming to milk conglomerates to set up foundations with enough flexible capital to ensure that Park remained relevant and influential even after her term was over.
She was the driving force behind Park’s political rise from a well-known but largely forgotten daughter of an assassinated dictator to local national assembly woman to the presidency over the course of 20-plus years.
She was all this and more for Park. If we take at face value all the various tasks that Choi fulfilled on behalf of Park, it is pretty apparent that Park as we know her would not have existed without Choi.
In light of this, is Choi still just a “Gangnam ajumma?” Really?
How many men can we say ― in all fairness ― could have done all that Choi is alleged to have done, so successfully and over such a long time? While Kim Chong-in is a well-respected political strategist, his career does not even come close to what Choi has accomplished. I cannot think of anyone in today’s public domain who can match Choi on the sheer scale of her accomplishments, even just on the political side.
So, how is it possible for Kim to dismiss Choi as a “Gangnam ajumma” and no one challenges him about it?
Do you think you can pluck any wealthy socialite in front of Galleria Department Store and expect her to do everything that Choi has done equally well? Do you think it is a sheer accident and dumb luck that Choi managed to wrap all those super-educated and highly-accomplished Cabinet officials and Blue House senior secretaries ― men who have been the elites in South Korean society for all their lives ― around her “Gangnam ajumma” fingers and have them do her bidding?
I am seizing on Kim’s comments because I wanted to make a point about how unspoken misogyny is driving press coverage and public perception of the Park/Choi scandal.
While I am not defending the apparent illegality, indefensible conflict of interests, and ethical missteps that have been unearthed in this influence-peddling scandal, I do want to emphasize the incredibly brazen and brilliant nature of Choi’s manipulations across the years. She is a criminal mastermind with an incredible capacity to strategize, plan, execute, and lead. She certainly is not just another “ajumma.”
This leaves me wondering what Kim would have said if Choi were a man. He probably would not have dismissed Choi as just another “drunk ajjeossi.”
Jason Lim is a Washington, D.C.-based expert on innovation, leadership and organizational culture. He has been writing for The Korea Times since 2006. Reach him at jasonlim@msn.com, facebook.com/jasonlimkoreatimes or @jasonlim2012.