Yoon's sex scandal turns into truth game
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Ex-presidential spokesman Yoon Chang-jung
Few give former presidential spokesman benefit of doubt
By Kim Tae-gyu
Who is telling the truth?
Former presidential spokesman Yoon Chang-jung held a news conference Saturday, to deny allegations he sexually harassed an intern during President Park Geun-hye’s U.S. visit, while rebutting Lee Nam-ki, senior presidential secretary for public relations, on his account of what happened.
Cheong Wa Dae confirmed it had no time for Yoon during a news briefing Sunday, making a public apology for his actions that “couldn’t be defended, if one had 10 mouths.”
A presidential office source said Sunday that Yoon confessed during an in-house probe that he had “grabbed the buttocks” of the intern on the evening of May 7 (local time), and “was naked” when he called her to his room the next morning.
The source rebuffed Yoon’s allegation for his “innocence,” noting that he delivered a signed statement to the Cheong Wa Dae investigative team.
By the tone of postings on the Internet and offline public discourse, Yoon also doesn’t have many willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
Still it is worth comparing the accounts of the three parties involved in this case because the truth game is expected to continue for the time being and the rule of the assumption of innocence until guilty should be respected.
First, Yoon claimed he never tried to sexually abuse the intern hired by the Korean Embassy in Washington.
Yoon was said to have “grabbed her buttocks without her permission” that night, as shown on the Washington police blotter. The 21-year-old called the police and filed a complaint.
He was also accused of calling her to his room early in the morning while being “almost naked.”
“After having a good time in an amicable mood for half an hour in a hotel bar, I sat on the opposite side of her in a long table with my driver sitting next to me. How could I have sexually molested her?” he told Saturday’s press conference.
He only admitted that he had patted her on the waist with his hand and apologized for misunderstanding caused by “cultural differences” ― meaning the intern took his action as an unwanted sexual advance.
About his receiving her almost naked, he claimed that he had just taken a shower before he opened hotel room door.
There is a great deal of discrepancy between what Yoon and his boss Lee are saying about the circumstances under which he left U.S. alone.
Lee didn’t remember urging Yoon to fly back home alone by alerting him about the sexual harassment claim by the intern. Yoon quoted Lee as saying that it was no use to make an excuse for such a case.
On May 9, Lee said that Park fired Yoon because he was involved in “unsavory conduct, which undermines the national prestige.”
“I didn’t do anything wrong so I asked Lee to let me remain and face investigations,” Yoon said, adding that his boss advised him to leave on a flight at 1:30 p.m. Lee reportedly denied having such a conversation.
About the Korean Air flight he took home, Lee and Yoon also differed.
Yoon said Lee made the reservation, which the latter said was groundless.
Yoon paid 4 million won for a business class seat with his credit card to return home.
If it is proved that Lee indeed urged Yoon to fly back home for fear of embarrassing the President any further, it could be seen as a cover-up attempt, which will likely become a second scandal.