Kim Ki-choon under fire for flip-flop
By Yi Whan-woo
Kim Ki-choon
President Park Geun-hye’s former top aide, Kim Ki-choon, is taking flak after reversing his claims during a parliamentary hearing Wednesday that he did not know who Choi Soon-sil was until recently.
Kim had insisted that he had never heard of or met Choi in answering repeated questions from lawmakers until he was shown a copy of a presidential document and a video recording.
The document, drawn up in 2014 while he was serving as presidential chief of staff, was about an influence-peddling scandal involving Choi’s ex-husband Chung Yoon-hoi, and Choi’s name was mentioned on its first page.
The video, recorded in 2007, shows Kim listening to a participant talking about Choi during a hearing at the Grand National Party, the predecessor of the ruling Saenuri Party.
After the proof was presented, Kim, 77, apologized for his “bad memory,” saying “I was mistaken. I’m getting too old.” Still, he denied the allegation that he had a relationship with Choi.
Opposition lawmakers claimed he is lying about Choi to avoid responsibility for the corruption scandal involving Park and Choi and is hiding something from the public, saying Kim should be arrested immediately because he is a central figure in the scandal.
“Kim’s arrest is crucial to reveal the truth behind the scandal,” said minor opposition People’s Party floor leader Park Jie-won during a party meeting.
Park Jie-won said Kim ― also a former prosecutor general and justice minister ― is shrewdly using his legal knowledge to avoid responsibility.
The People’s Party floor leader cited that Kim repeatedly said “no,” “I don’t know,” and “I don’t remember,” regarding the questions concerning Choi while giving details about incidents he could possibly take advantage of.
“He must have supernatural powers to forget the facts that can put him into trouble while remembering the facts that work in favor of him,” Park Jie-won said. “I don’t think he is tormented by a guilty conscience even a bit.”
Rep. Park Wan-joo, a vice floor leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, criticized Kim for “playing dumb.”
“He certainly presented himself as incompetent by pretending that he knew nothing about the scandal,” he said during a party meeting. “We must continue the hearing to make sure we get closer to the truth.”