By Yi Whan-woo
A scholarship foundation established by late president and father of ruling Saenuri Party’s presidential candidate Park Geun-hye has been embroiled in a dispute over its reported plan to sell shares of a broadcaster and a newspaper.
The main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) has criticized the Jeongsu Scholarship Foundation since it was reported Friday that it had “secretly” pushed to sell its 100 percent-stake in the Busan Ilbo newspaper and its 30 percent stake in the Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC).
The money raised through the sale will be used for scholarships and welfare programs in Busan and South Gyeongsang Province. The DUP claimed the plan is “politically-oriented” to draw out support from voters ahead of the Dec. 19 presidential election.
The foundation has faced mounting criticism over the reported plan after the court acknowledged in February that the late dictator Park Chung-hee forcibly took over the media firms from businessman Kim Ji-tae in 1962 after his 1961 military coup. Kim died in 1982.
Park Geun-hye, 60, was the chairwoman of the board at the Jeongsu Scholarship Foundation from 1995 and 2005 before incumbent head Phillip Choi took office.
However, opposition politicians allege that she has been peddling influence on the organization even after stepping down.
A report by the Hankyoreh, a liberal newspaper, Friday, claimed that Choi and his aides have already reached an agreement with entrepreneurs in Busan and South Gyeongsang Province on selling the shares of the Busan Ilbo.
“I can’t agree with the protests of the labor union at the Busan Ilbo anymore, and I will make an announcement on Oct. 19 regarding the agreement,” Choi was quoted as saying by the Hankyoreh.
The report added that Choi also met MBC President Kim Jae-chul, head of one of the nation’s three major broadcasters, to discuss the sale of the shares.
Busan and South Gyeongsang Province have been a stronghold of conservative Saenuri Party. But they are now considered swing-vote regions as Moon Jae-in, the DUP’s presidential hopeful, is from the city and is viewed as capable of making inroads there.
The DUP claims that the scholarship foundation’s move is a “politically-oriented scheme.”
“We can say that Choi is a mere puppet of Park,” said Rep. Choi Jae-chun of the DUP at a press conference. “It’s so obvious that the foundation has come up with a desperate plan to help Park woo support from voters in the region ahead of the presidential election.”
Rep. Jin Sung-joon, spokesman for Moon, gave a similar view. “I’m just surprised the foundation secretly planned to sell the stake without any notice,” he said.
The foundation only admitted part of the allegations, adding someone leaked the information after using a wiretap.
“Some of the comments reported by the Hankyoreh were not even mentioned, and I suspect somebody has spread groundless rumors after overhearing our dialogue,” foundation chief Choi said.
The Saenuri Party refused to make any comment on the case, saying Park has “nothing to with the foundation since she stepped down as chairwoman.”
Ahn Dae-hee, the chief of the party’s political reforms committee, however, suggested that Choi and the board members of the organization should step down.
“I think the rumors on Park regarding the foundation has occurred because of her relationship with Choi, and I personally think he should consider resigning,” he said at a press conference in Seoul, Sunday.