'Memogate' boils down to fight between Jeong, Park

By Jun Ji-hye

The unfolding “memogate” scandal has turned into a high stakes game of truth or dare between Jeong Yun-hoe, a former aide to President Park Geun-hye before she became head of state and her younger brother, Park Ji-man.

During 16-hours of questioning at the Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office, Wednesday, Jeong allegedly asked for a confrontation with Park Ji-man. Jeong said he was the victim of a conspiracy, referring to speculation that he was a figure of influential power close to the President.

“I believe it will be found out who has been playing with fire and who has been dancing with that person,” Jeong told reporters before entering the prosecutors’ office.

The political scandal centers on leaked internal documents from Cheong Wa Dae. The memoranda states that Jeong meddled in state affairs by holding regular meetings with presidential secretaries, although he held no official job in the administration. It also suggested that Jeong was engaged in a power struggle with Park Ji-man.

Jeong’s remarks were construed as a means of pointing the finger at Park Ji-man, for pulling strings behind the scenes, and police Superintendant Park Gwan-cheon and Cho Eung-chon, former secretary to the President for civil service discipline, for acting as Park’s assistants. Superintendant Park made the internal memoranda while working at Cheong Wa Dae, after receiving instructions from Cho.

During questioning, Jeong testified that Cho ordered Superintendant Park to fabricate a report and leak it to press with the intention of maligning his reputation.

Jeong has had a bond with President Park since 1998 when he worked for her to help her win a parliamentary seat representing Daegu.

Unlike Jeong, who has been actively rebuffing the allegations and filing libel suits against the press, Park Ji-man is maintaining silence, while Cho has claimed during previous questioning that about 60 percent of the information in the report is true.

The vernacular daily Segye Ilbo first reported the allegations on Nov. 28, citing the leaked memoranda. Jeong then filed a lawsuit against the newspaper for libel.

However, the alleged power struggle between Jeong and Park has been apparent for quite a long time. In March, the weekly news magazine, Sisa Journal, reported that Jeong put a tail on Park. Jeong also sued reporters at the magazine for libel in July.

Prosecutors are looking to conclude the two libel suits together, given that the two cases are similar.

Toward that end, the prosecution is considering calling in and questioning Park to testify, though it remains to be seen whether he will comply with that request. He previously refused to cooperate with an examination of documents to determine whether a tail was in fact assigned to him.

Park is said to be ready to go all out for a showdown should Jeong lie.

Some watchers say that Park could open his mouth soon because Jeong has given a series of media interviews.

They cited that Park recently canceled a planned trip to South-East Asia with his wife who is a pregnant with their third child, a move which they say shows that he has begun to prepare for another battle with Jeong over the case. This increases the likelihood that the two central figures of this political debacle will eventually face tough questioning.

Follow Jun Ji-hye on Twitter @TheKopJihye