I am an editorial writer at The Korea Times, focusing on foreign policy, North Korea and domestic politics. My key areas of interest include North Korea, foreign interference in elections, election integrity, cyberattacks and human rights. Prior to joining the Editorial Board, I served as both Politics Desk editor and Culture Desk editor. During my career, I have reported on the Presidential Office under the Lee Myung-bak administration, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Assembly.
New spin on blackmail claim
By Kang Hyun-kyung
The main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) was preparing Friday to politicize the blackmail allegation made by a lawyer close to Ahn Cheol-soo, in an apparent bid to attack Rep. Park Geun-hye of the ruling Saenuri Party.
It plans to launch a fact-finding team to investigate how Jeong Jun-gil, a public relations officer with the Park camp, obtained information on alleged irregularities including an extramarital affair, claims the Seoul National University professor has denied.
A DUP insider said on condition of anonymity that the Park camp could have obtained the supposed information from Cheong Wa Dae as a presidential secretary for civil affairs was earlier under fire for ordering the illegal surveillance of politicians, business leaders and other high-profile people.
The DUP also mulled a National Assembly probe of the blackmail allegation.
During a meeting with senior DUP members, floor leader Park Jie-won alleged that the Saenuri Party presidential candidate tried to sever the ties with her aide because Jeong’s remarks could hurt her bid.
Rep. Kang Gi-jung said that blackmailing people was a crime.
Rep. Woo Sang-ho, meanwhile, criticized Park.
“The allegation reminded me of the kidnapping of the late former President Kim Dae-jung in the 1970s when Park’s late father was in office. At that time, her father, President Park Chung-hee, said his henchman did it. Now presidential candidate Park is saying she is not part of the tactic as her aide did it,” he said.
The DUP’s strategy to politicize the allegation could help discredit Park. It may also help the DUP leadership, which is under pressure over trouble with mobile phone voting in its primaries.
Turnouts for the primaries have been low and DUP leaders have found it difficult to deliver speeches at them due to jeering by angry delegates.
Underdog candidates, including Sohn Hak-kyu, have alleged that Reps. Lee Hae-chan and Park Jie-won, the party chairman and floor leader, respectively, are supporting the DUP’s frontrunner Moon Jae-in and set the primary rules in his favor.
The main opposition party may be able to deflect public attention to Park’s aide’s controversial remarks that the ruling party would disclose Ahn’s dirty secrets if he runs for president.
Jeong was quoted as saying this during a phone conversation with Keum Tae-sup Tuesday. Jeong and Keum have known each other for 25 years after they both entered the Seoul National University School of Law in 1986.
A supportive position on Ahn could also help the main opposition party woo the entrepreneur to join a contest to select a standard bearer from the opposition camp.
But the DUP was also wary of negative fallout as the presidential race could be viewed as a two-way race between Park and Ahn, if the latter decides to run. If a Park-Ahn competition steals the show, the DUP would suffer.
The Park camp, meanwhile, tried to downplay the blackmail allegation, saying it was a phone conversation between two old friends and Jeong was quoted out of context.
Campaign strategists for Park also tried to distance Jeong from the leading presidential candidate. Jeong tendered his resignation Thursday.
Park told reporters that the prosecutor-turned-campaigner was not in a position to deliver any messages to others on behalf of her camp.