Ham-fisted early response causes Yoon case to snowball

An unidentified man runs to avoid questions from journalists after delivering a box and a suitcase with unknown content to the home of recently-fired presidential spokesman Yoon Chang-jung in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday. A total of five unidentified men delivered boxes to Yoon who was dismissed after being involved in a sexual abuse case in Washington last week. / Yonhap

By Kim Tae-gyu

A growing body of evidence indicates that the Yoon Chang-jung case caught Cheong Wa Dae off guard, with no one taking charge to handle the case.

This reminds any presidential observer of the candlelit demonstrations against the Lee Myung-bak government during its early days, with Lee and his aides failing to understand the gravity of the case initially.

One common thread that ties between the two cases is inexperience, typical of any government at its early stage, experts said Tuesday.

“Cheong Wa Dae officials failed to cope with the case smoothly and promptly, probably they are inexperienced,” Institute of Presidential Leadership head Choi Jin said in a telephone interview.

“First of all, they were not team players since superiors did not know at all what their subordinates did. They should have been informed of detailed schedules and the whereabouts of each other.”

President Park Geun-hye’s senior press secretary Lee Nam-ki was not aware of what Yoon did on the night of May 7 and the morning of May 8 when the sexual abuses allegedly happened.

On top of that, Yoon is suspected of having drunk almost all night long without reporting to Lee when President Park was busy preparing for an address to a joint meeting of Congress the next day.

Even though Lee is the immediate boss of Yoon, the latter was believed to be out of the former’s control from the beginning of the incumbent administration in late February ― Yoon did not respect Lee while Lee did not discipline Yoon.

Plus, Lee has come under fire because he did not speak out about allegations that he and other officials helped Yoon return to Korea on May 8 before an investigation in the U.S, started.

Kwak Sang-do, senior presidential secretary for civil affairs, said he will not investigate these allegations because such acts are not against Korean or American law.

However, some experts do not agree.

“Let’s say that U.S. President Barack Obama visits Korea and his spokesman sexually abuses a Korean lady. Then, what if the White House helps him flee back to the U.S.?” Prof. Shin Yul at Myungji University asked.

“How do you think Koreans would respond? The chances are that they would stage candlelit vigils across the country. This scandal is that serious and Cheong Wa Dae officials also have to wake up.”

Some domestic legal experts said that the U.S. intern might file a damages suit against the Korean government.

To break through the political deadlock caused by the case, Shin said that Park is required to carry out a major reshuffle, changing most of her senior secretaries.

In contrast, Choi said the replacement of senior press secretary Lee will be enough as anything else would cause another round of chaos and controversy.