Lawmaker quits after mayor’s son cleared over draft dodging

By Kim Rahn

Medical doctors confirmed Wednesday that medical records submitted by Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon’s son to the Military Manpower Administration (MMA) were authentic and not fabricated as an independent lawmaker had claimed.

Rep. Kang Yong-seok who made the allegation quit immediately, taking responsibility for his “false” claim.

The 27-year-old son, Ju-sin, who was exempted from military service due to a herniated disc, had another magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan at Yonsei Severance Hospital in central Seoul at 2:15 p.m. in a re-checkup to counter the lawmaker’s assertion. The doctors confirmed his condition.

The MRI re-scanning comes after Kang had alleged that Park’s son submitted someone else’s MRI film to the MMA to dodge military duty. Kang earlier disclosed medical records that he claimed junior Park had presented to the MMA, saying that they belonged to an overweight man in his 30s or 40s.

“Examining the seriousness and direction of the disc herniation and subcutaneous fat in the two films, we concluded that the person in the previous medical scan and the one we did today are the same person,” doctor Yoon Do-heum said in a briefing at the hospital.

He said they compared several other conditions of the spine shown in the scans and confirmed they were identical.

On Kang’s claim that a patient with a herniated disc such as Park could not run up stairs as some video clips showed him doing, the doctor said even though the spine condition is bad, a patient’s pain may not be that serious, adding it differs from patient to patient.

Ju-sin joined the Air Force last August but was sent back home four days later due to pain in his thigh. In December, he had a second checkup with the MMA and presented the MRI film. The MMA transferred him to complete his military service at a public organization.

Kang claimed the son fabricated the medical records, disclosed the MRI film and demanded Ju-sin publicly get scanned again.

As suspicion grew, junior Park asked the MMA to give him a copy of the MRI it was keeping, saying he would make it public. But he changed his mind and got another MRI scan to confirm the truth.

“As I promised, I’m resigning. I apologize to Park and the people for this personal attack and defamation I made while raising the suspicion,” Kang said during a briefing at the National Assembly.

He didn’t say whether he would run in the upcoming general election. He also didn’t identify a whistleblower at the MMA who handed him a copy of the scan.

The mayor said Kang’s claim had proven to be false and a political offense, adding the family will file civil and criminal suits against him for defamation.

“As promised, he should resign and leave politics forever. He must disclose how he obtained an individual’s private medical records,” city spokesman Liu Gyoung-gee said on behalf of the mayor.

“Park will file defamation suits. A public figure’s personal information should not be disclosed only because he or she is a public figure. Those who irresponsibly aligned with the allegation should all apologize to the people and take moral responsibility,” Liu said.

Park’s associates said junior Park suffered from mental distress as his privacy has been invaded because of Kang.

To back his claim, Kang offered a reward of up to 5 million won for video clips showing Park’s “normal movement” that a herniated disc patient wouldn’t be able to make. Some sent clips of him bending over or running up the stairs. The lawmaker also mentioned the name of Park’s girlfriend on his Twitter account, urging her to persuade him to have another medical checkup.