Park going all out to save her secretary

Cheong Wa Dae hits investigator’s alleged info leakage

By Jun Ji-hye

President Park Geun-hye made it clear Friday that she will not succumb to mounting demands to let go of her scandal-ridden senior secretary.

Apparently irritated by independent presidential investigator Lee Seok-soo’s referral of Park’s civil affairs secretary, Woo Byung-woo, to the prosecution the previous day, Cheong Wa Dae criticized Lee for “illegally leaking details of the investigation” to a media outlet.

The presidential office’s comment came days after broadcaster MBC reported that Lee shared the progress of the investigation into Woo with an unidentified reporter through a messaging app.

Lee asked the prosecution to investigate Woo on Thursday after having wrapped up his own investigation.

Lee, who mainly deals with corruption cases involving the President’s relatives and aides, has denied the media report.

But the presidential office said leaking information of the investigation to a certain reporter is “a critical illegal act that cannot be overlooked.”

“It should be revealed what information has been leaked, and why and how this happened,” said senior presidential secretary for public affairs Kim Sung-woo.

According to the MBC report, Lee told a reporter that his investigation is pointing to Woo’s son and Jeonggang, a company run by Woo’s family, saying he would transfer the case to the prosecution.

Woo is suspected of having used his authority to help his son get special treatment in his mandatory military service, while his family members are alleged to have used the company’s public funds for living expenses.

Lee earlier said he never contacted the media or revealed details of the investigation, urging MBC to identify the reporter.

But Cheong Wa Dae believes Lee had his own motives for leaking the information.

“Under the law, the presidential investigator is forbidden from leaking information about investigations before they are closed,” Kim said. “A violation could bring a jail term of up to five years.”

While criticizing Lee, the presidential office did not comment on Woo, who has been facing mounting calls from both ruling and opposition parties to step down.

Lee requested a leave of absence and did not come to work, Friday.

Opposition reaction

Cheong Wa Dae’s apparent defense of Woo and attack on Lee has received severe criticism from opposition parties.

They say the presidential office is attempting to water down the controversies surrounding Woo by questioning the credibility of the investigator.

The main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea (MPK) said Cheong Wa Dae presented a de facto “guideline” for the prosecution to follow in its investigation.

“Cheong Wa Dae is attempting to render Lee’s investigation activities meaningless,” said MPK interim leader Rep. Kim Chong-in. “The prosecution would not be able to conduct a proper investigation into Woo as long as he is in the current position as the presidential civil affairs secretary controls the prosecution.”

Rep. Park Jie-won, the floor leader of the minor opposition People’s Party, said, “I express my respect to Lee who showed bravery when requesting the prosecution investigation into Woo.”

He then criticized Cheong Wa Dae for “doing funny tricks,” urging President Park to dismiss Woo at the earliest possible date.

The opposition parties said if the prosecution’s investigation is not entirely satisfactory, they will have the accusations involving Woo investigated by a special prosecutor.

For his part, Rep. Lee Jung-hyun, the chairman of the governing Saenuri Party who is a close confidant of President Park, said Woo’s corruption scandal and Lee’s information leak allegation should be cleared.

But he did not respond to a question about whether Woo should quit to be properly investigated by the prosecution.

On the other hand, ruling party floor leader Rep. Chung Jin-suk reaffirmed his earlier position that Woo should step down, indicating there are differing opinions about the issue within the governing party.

On Tuesday, President Park replaced three ministers and four vice minister-level officials, but kept the embattled Woo in place.