Former President Park Geun-hye spoke publicly for the first time Monday since being jailed in March on corruption charges that resulted in her early removal from office.
The remarks came after the Seoul Central District Court decided last week to extend her detention for another six months, citing the possibility of destroying evidence and refusing to appear in court.
Park claimed that she was a victim of political revenge and that she had lost all faith in the country’s justice system. The former president also said that she could not accept the court’s decision to continue to keep her in custody. To protest the court’s decision, her lawyers resigned the same day.
From her remarks, it was evident that the former president is still in total denial about her mistakes as the nation’s leader.
The most outrageous part of her remarks is when she described herself as a victim, saying “I hope I will be the last victim of political revenge in the name of rule of law.”
Park is in serious need of reflecting on herself and coming to the realization that her current situation was not brought on by any political revenge or by anyone other than herself. She was impeached, removed prematurely from office and put behind bars because of her own doings while in office. To blame her situation on some political vendetta is completely irresponsible and not at all befitting of a former president.
Her boycott of future hearings is also unacceptable. She has already angered the public with her uncooperative behavior during past hearings. A boycott will not help her at all and only delay the entire process because a team of state lawyers who are not familiar with the case will have to be appointed to replace her outgoing legal team, unless she appoints a new team before the next hearing.
“I may go through even more difficulties, but I won’t give up,” Park said. “There are people who still trust and support me, and I believe the truth will come out in the end.” She still seems to retain the illusion that she can somehow revive her political stature as long as there are people who support her. Regardless of the final verdict, she will be recorded in history as one of the most incompetent presidents who relied on the legacy of her father Park Chung-hee to establish a political career, which only ended in a massive corruption scandal.
As a disgraced former president, Park should refrain from making remarks that will only aggravate division among the people and mistrust in the justice system. If she really has done nothing wrong, she should prove her innocence by fully cooperating in future hearings. Cheong Wa Dae and politicians should also refrain from influencing the remaining hearings.