Is Park a collector of lavish bags, outfits?
By Park Si-soo
Is President Park Geun-hye a lavish spender of taxpayers’ money on bags and outfits?
Ko Young-tae, a key witness in a corruption scandal involving Park and her long-time friend Choi Soon-sil, told lawmakers on Wednesday he sold “nearly 100 dresses and 30-40 bags” to the President via Choi at “wholesale prices.”
Each bag was priced between 1.2-2.8 million won ($1,020-2,400), Ko said during a parliamentary hearing on the scandal. The price range of the dresses was unknown.
The exact period during which he sold the products to the President is uncertain, but when taking Ko’s testimony and information from related stories into account, his business relationship with the presidential office is believed to span from December 2012 to autumn 2014.
Ko, 40, a retired fencing athlete, said he first met Choi, 60, in December 2012, shortly after Park was elected as President, when he was running a bag making business, Villomillo.
“An acquaintance of mine asked me to come (to somewhere) in December 2012 with bags,” Ko said. “I went there and met Choi Soon-sil. I was given orders to produce bags shortly after the election in 2012 and about six month later (Choi) ordered dresses Park would wear during her overseas trip.”
The products were delivered with their brand tags removed, he said.
Ko once worked as an executive of Choi’s company, named The Blue K. There was speculation that Ko and Choi were once in a romantic relationship. But Ko denied it during the hearing.
“Choi became offensive to me and other subordinates two years ago,” Ko said, explaining his departure from The Blue K.