Public anger is growing over influence peddling and corruption scandals involving two aides to President Roh Moo-hyun. People are disappointed at the Roh administration which has boasted of high moral standards and reform-oriented policies. There is no doubt that the latest cases prove President Roh has only paid lip service to the nation. The President and his inner circle are coming under severe criticism for their hypocrisy.
The presidential office had defended its two secretaries against their alleged involvement in the scandals until the prosecution obtained evidence implicating them. It is regrettable that Roh and his staff have gone all-out to attack the media for reporting ``groundless'' allegations about the presidential officials' corruption and wrongdoings. The office even threatened to take legal action against news outlets for spreading the allegations that were later found to be true.
It goes without saying that Roh himself dared to tell lies about his aides to help cover up their misdeeds. He might have not noticed their alleged wrongful behavior because the self-proclaimed ``Mr. Clean'' has strong confidence in his staff's moral integrity. However, his active defense of his aides has dealt a devastating blow to his own clean and reformative image as well as that of his ``Participatory Government.''
One of the humiliating cases is a bogus diploma scandal surrounding a former assistant art professor of a Seoul-based university. The case forced Byeon Yang-kyoon, 58, the senior presidential secretary for policy planning, to resign Monday for lying about his relationship with the professor. Byeon had repeatedly denied allegations that he played a role in helping Shin Jeong-ah, 35, become a faculty member at Dongguk University in 2005 with fake degrees.
Many newspapers and broadcasters have reported allegations that ranking officials or big-name politicians are behind the Shin scandal. The media have raised a question: How come the university hired her without even verifying her fake credentials _ undergraduate and masters degrees from Kansas University and a doctorate from Yale University? She was also selected as the art director of the 2008 Gwangju Biennale, the nation's largest art festival, through her fake credentials. Dongguk University sacked her last month and the biennale committee also nullified the selection. But, the scandal has no sign of calming down due to Byeon's alleged involvement.
From the beginning, Byeon denied all the allegations, claiming that he was not acquainted with Shin. But, his claim turned out to be a lie Monday as investigators found that the two exchanged about 100 e-mail ``love letters.'' They apparently developed a romantic relationship well before the university hired her. Byeon also denied allegations that he asked Buddhist monk Jang Yoon, who first raised suspicions about Shin's credentials, to stop making a fuss about the issue. But no one can rule out the possibility that he exercised influence to help Shin get the professor's position and the art directorship for the biennale.
Another high profile scandal is related to presidential protocol secretary Chung Yoon-jae, who resigned last month. He has been blamed for arranging a meeting between a regional tax office chief and the head of a Busan-based construction firm. The case surfaced as the tax official was arrested for taking 100 million won in bribes from the businessman in return for overlooking tax evasion. Critics alleged that the presidential office was trying to protect Chung because the prosecution did not investigate him despite his suspicious role in the case.
Amid a public outcry, the prosecution is conducting a reinvestigation to confirm his involvement. He was found to have a close connection with the company that offered money to him in the form of political funds. The prosecution must conduct thorough investigations into the two scandals to sternly crack down on corrupt officials. The presidential office also has to make the utmost effort to improve the moral integrity of its officials and regain public trust in the scandal-tainted Roh administration.