Ex-vice minister allegedly meddled in appointing dance company director

By Yun Suh-young

Kim Chong

Former Vice Culture Minister Kim Chong is suspected of influence peddling in appointing the artistic director Kim Sang-deok of the National Dance Company of Korea. However, the National Theater of Korea under which the dance company operates was offended by such doubts being raised and immediately denied such suspicion saying it was “a false report” and that “it will actively make countermeasures to such baseless claims in the media by sending it to the Press Arbitration Commission.”

The Hankook Ilbo daily raised doubts in its report last week of the process in which the dance company director was appointed, saying it was suspicious that Kim was selected again after being denied during the initial screening process and that this could have had something to do with his network at Hanyang University, of which Kim is an alumnus.

The theater company however denied such claims saying that “the director has never met with the vice culture minister and does not know him” and “there was no influence peddling involved with the appointment of its director, because it went through proper procedures that met with internal regulations."

Meanwhile, Kim’s influence peddling was disclosed by Park Jong-so, former President of North Jeolla Province Equestrian Federation during an interview with local online news CBS last week.

Park was questioned by the prosecution Thursday during which he “disclosed all the information about how Kim Chong pressured officials within the equestrian federation who opposed Choi Soon-sil's network of associates” according to his testimony.

Choi Soon-sil, a close confidant of President Park Geun-hye, has been detained by the prosecution for questioning allegations of influence peddling in government affairs. Former Vice Culture Minister Kim Chong is one of her friends and is suspected of being appointed to the position in 2013 on Choi’s recommendations. Kim is also suspected of requesting special consideration for jobs for his close aides and for supporting projects Choi and her close friend Cha Eun-taek, a visual arts director, are involved in. Kim will be summoned for questioning by the prosecution shortly.

During the recent interview, Park Jong-so revealed that "there had been an extensive audit since late 2013 on presidents of national and local equestrian federations" and that "many of those presidents resigned."

He said, "A former equestrian federation executive director closely worked with Choi Soon-sil and helped her daughter enter Ewha Womans University with special admission and those who opposed Choi's influence peddling were penalized by the culture ministry."