DP demands hearings on Yoon

By Jun Ji-hye

The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) is calling for parliamentary hearings into the allegations against dismissed presidential spokesman Yoon Chang-jung of sexually assaulting an intern during President Park Geun-hye’s visit to the United States last week.

President Park Geun-hye said Wednesday that the presidential office has removed Yoon from the government payroll as a disciplinary measure that deprives him of civil servant status. She also expressed hopes that the U.S. police will expedite its investigation of the case.

However, suspicions still remain because accounts of events between Yoon and Cheong Wa Dae officials have differed on issues such as who ordered Yoon to flee to Korea just an hour after a complaint against him was reported to the police in Washington.

The DP has already said that parliament needs to intervene in the investigation.

“The ruling and opposition parties should make mutual efforts to prevent the recurrence of such incident which damages national prestige. In my opinion, the Assembly should hold the hearing to make Cheong Wa Dae function properly,” said Rep. Kim Han-gil, the DP chairman, Wednesday.

Kim stated that the presidential office’s unsatisfactory handling of the matter gave cause reason for the hearing.

“It will be more effective if the parliament handles the issue because the biggest problem was the absence of a proper crisis management system at Cheong Wa Dae,” the chairman said.

Kim claimed, at the Yoon hearing, that President Park Geun-hye’s way of appointing her aides needs to be scrutinized as well.

Newly-elected floor leader Jun Byung-hun echoed: “If the presidential office keeps suppressing details of this unprecedented incident, we will have no choice, but to call for severe measures to be taken in the parliament.”

Wait and see

The ruling Saenuri Party, on the other hand, has reservations about the call.

“It is improper to carry out an Assembly hearing before the police have completed their investigation. It will only turn the issue into political strife,” said Rep. Chung Woo-taik, the ruling party’s supreme council member, Thursday.

Chung argued that the opposition’s call for a resignation en masse of all senior presidential secretaries is too much.

“The public affairs line and operations of its office need to be changed though,” he said.

Rep. Choi Kyung-hwan, the new floor leader of the ruling party who was elected Wednesday, adopted a similar stance.

“President Park is aware of the severity of the case and made an apology expressing her regrets. The U.S. police are investigating the incident. Therefore, what we need to do now is wait and see,” he said.

Choi said everything can be judged after a thorough investigation because the current situation is unclear and the suspicions surrounding the case are being amplified due to conflicting arguments between Yoon and Lee Nam-ki, senior presidential secretary for public relations.