By Kang Hyun-kyung
Rep. Park Geun-hye flatly denied Sunday opposition allegations concerning her involvement in the controversial Jeongsu Scholarship Foundation, of which she was once chairwoman.
The presidential candidate of the ruling Saenuri Party urged the foundation’s board members, including Chairman Phillip Choi, to take proper measures to regain public trust and prevent it from being a subject of political maneuvering.
But she stopped short of asking Choi or other board members to resign.
“The foundation is a non-profit, non-partisan group dedicated to helping underprivileged students pursue their studies. Over the past half century, it has done a decent job in fulfilling this goal,” Park said during a news conference held at the party’s headquarters in Seoul.
“The opposition parties claim that the foundation sponsored my presidential campaign or helped me win the candidacy election. This is baseless and politically-motivated, and is made by those who have no knowledge of the foundation.”
The daughter of the late President Park Chung-hee showed her strong support for the foundation, saying previous governments had investigated it but found nothing to support any allegations.
Despite this, she said, the ongoing controversy over the foundation fanned by opposition parties has had a negative effect on scholarship winners and donors.
“I believe the foundation shouldn’t be an object of political attacks as those involved in the scholarship projects are hurt. I think the leadership should unveil measures to get their esteem back.”
Park said a name change of the foundation could be one of the measures to take to restore its tainted image.
However, she distanced herself from the foundation, saying she was not in a position to intervene in its operations as she resigned as leader in 2005.
The foundation was created in the 1960s after the then government forcibly took it over from Kim Jie-tae, a Busan-based businessman.
Park served as chairwoman of the scholarship foundation for 10 years from 1995.
The main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) has claimed the foundation backed Park through its activities.
Choi, a former ambassador to Libya, was a presidential aide to the late President Park and two board members out of five were appointed by Rep. Park when she served as chairwoman.
Choi donated a total of 30 million won to Park since 2008. The foundation also financed a project to build a monument commemorating the late President Park.
The DUP politicized the foundation issue to hurt Rep. Park, claiming that these actions are sufficient reason to link her to the foundation.
It alleged that Park had a link with the foundation’s move to sell its stakes in MBC and the daily Busan Ilbo, stating money raised would be used in her campaign.
The DUP was referring to the plan to sell the shares and donate the earnings to college students struggling with soaring tuition and working-class citizens living in South Gyeongsang Province.
The opposition party urged the ruling party to join hands to launch a parliamentary investigation into the allegations involving the foundation.
On Sunday, 23 opposition party lawmakers filed a complaint to the National Election Commission to investigate if the foundation’s providing of scholarships to students constitutes a violation of the Election Law.