Kim Rahn is the managing editor of The Korea Times. Since joining the company in 2003, she has covered various beats including the presidential office, Seoul city government, the Bank of Korea and the tourism industry. In 2014, she won the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) award for her coverage of the ordeals of migrant women in Korea.
Skin care clinic raided over Na’s membership
By Kim Rahn
Police raided Thursday a luxury skin care clinic in southern Seoul as part of an investigation into an accusation that ruling Grand National Party’s Seoul mayoral election candidate Na Kyung-won was a frequent client there and whether or not this constitutes defamation.
Officers at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said Thursday that investigators seized medical treatment records from the clinic in affluent Cheongdam-dong Wednesday and questioned the head of the clinic.
Before the election on Oct. 26, it was alleged that Na was a member of the clinic and paid annual fees of 100 million won ($88,700) for treatment.
The allegation spread quickly especially after reporter Choo Chin-woo of SisaIN mentioned it in a popular podcast show “Naneun Ggomsuda,” or “I’m a petty trickster,” which is dedicated to ridiculing President Lee Myung-bak and the ruling party.
After losing the election, Na filed a complaint with the police against seven people including Choo for spreading a false rumor. Na admitted to using the clinic but denied she had a membership there.
Police plan to investigate five individuals _ Choo, two other SisaIN reporters who were the first to report the allegation, the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) lawmaker Lee Yong-sup who quoted the report in a briefing, and former DP member Woo Sang-ho.
“The probe is ongoing and we are still examining the seized records, so we can’t reveal details, including whether any suspicion has been confirmed or whether we’ll summon some of the people involved,” an officer said.