By Nam Hyun-woo
The chief of the national parks has resigned after singing an obscene song at a dinner gathering with government officials and reporters, according to the Korea National Park Service (KNPS) Tuesday.
KNPS Chairman Chung Kwang-soo submitted his resignation at the end of last month, and President Park Geun-hye accepted it on July 2, said an official at the service.
His resignation came after he sang an obscene folk song during a dinner session attended by officials from the Ministry of Environment, KNPS and a number of reporters on April 30.
The lyrics of the song had some lewd and vulgar parts describing female genitalia, according to the participants. There were six female reporters at the session.
His singing drew criticism among the participants and some said they felt humiliated by his song. Chung sent apologizing text messages to those who attended the session a day after.
However, he denied that he quit the job because of the incident.
He reportedly told his close aides that: “I apologized to the female reporters. But I think the singing was not such an issue big enough to drive me to quit. I have been considering quitting my job in line with the new (Park Geun-hye) government’s reallocation of top civil servants of public organizations. I submitted the resignation letter belatedly in order to avoid being seen as admitting to the sexual harassment allegation.”
Critics say President Park’s quick acceptance of his resignation shows Park’s pledge to strictly respond to any sexual scandals involving civil servants, after her former spokesman Yoon Chang-jung became embroiled in a sexual assault case.