Park denies link to scandalous foundations

President Park Geun-hye attends a meeting with her senior secretaries at Cheong Wa Dae, Thursday. / Yonhap

President vows punishment for influence peddlers

By Kang Seung-woo

President Park Geun-hye said Thursday that she has nothing to do with the scandal-ridden Mir and K-Sports foundations and vowed stern punishment for anyone involved in irregularities.

“Anyone who did anything illegal regarding the foundations will face strict punishment,” Park said during a meeting with her senior secretaries at Cheong Wa Dae. “Organizations in charge of supervising the foundations should closely monitor their operations for transparency.”

This was the first time that Park publicly mentioned the scandal involving the two foundations since it was first reported last month. However, she failed to directly mention Choi Soon-sil, her long-time confidant, who is at the center of the scandal.

The foundations, reportedly controlled by Choi, raised money from conglomerates through the Federation of Korean Industries with help from Park’s aides.

The opposition claims that the government coerced the companies to chip in for the establishment of the foundations, while some of the money went to paper companies established by Choi.

The President’s strong stance is seen as her decision to prevent the controversy from further growing amid concerns that it may adversely affect her administration of state affairs for the remainder of her term in office. Her presidency ends in February 2018.

“While the nation is grappling with many difficulties, (including the sluggish economy and growing threats from North Korea), allegations related to the foundations do not help us overcome the challenges; rather, they are adding to the woes,” Park said, implicitly urging opposition parties and the media to stop raising doubts.

Park made it clear that she would not have anything to do with the foundations after she leaves office.

“Some even say that the foundations were set up to prepare for my retirement. There is no reason for that and it is not true either,” she said.

“My only interest, while in office, is to do my job for the country and the people, and then return to where I used to be.”

The Mir Foundation was established in October last year and the K-Sports Foundation in January this year. They raised about 80 billion won ($71.2 million) from the nation’s major firms.

“In order to promote the public interest through cultural, arts and sports programs, I asked the companies to invest in the sectors and they accepted my request, for which I am grateful,” Park said.

She also said the foundations’ activities have contributed to promoting the nation’s culture abroad.

Meanwhile, the opposition called on President Park to order the prosecution to undertake a thorough investigation into the allegations linked to Choi and her daughter.

“Amid mounting controversy surrounding them, the prosecution has yet to look into them and the President remains mum on it,” said floor leader Woo Sang-ho of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea.

“President Park should instruct prosecutors to launch an investigation.”

Floor leader Park Jie-won of the People’s Party said, “It is not right that the President remains silent on the issue. We urge her to act on the irregularities.”

Choi’s daughter, Chung Yoo-ra, is embroiled in speculation that she received special treatment in her admission to Ewha Womans University and academic credits. Due to the controversy over Chung, the university’s president, Choi Kyung-hee, stepped down Wednesday.