Park's ex-speechwriter unware of Choi's editing
Cho In-geun, a former senior presidential secretary in charge of speeches and records, replies to questions from reporters about the scandal over Choi Soon-sil in Seoul, Friday. / Korea Times photo by Oh Dae-geun
By Jun Ji-hye
President Park Geun-hye’s former speechwriter denied rumors Friday that he had been aware of Park’s confidant Choi Soon-sil’s editing of presidential speeches.
Cho In-geun, who served as the senior secretary for speeches and records from February 2013 to July of this year, told reporters that he knew nothing of Choi and that he never doubted that somebody edited the presidential speeches.
It was the first time for Cho, currently an auditor for the Korea Securities Finance Corp., to speak about the scandal since President Park admitted Choi had prior access to draft speeches on Tuesday.
“I learned of Choi only after the recent media reports,” he said.
When asked about why he did not check the reason for changes in the presidential speeches, he said, “It is the President who makes the final decision about speeches. I did not doubt that there were strange changes in the speeches.”
Cho added that he did not consult with Cheong Wa Dae before he met reporters.
On Tuesday, Park made a public apology, admitting that Choi edited the presidential speeches, which critics argue violates the law governing the security of confidential presidential records.
Some observers alleged that Cho might have been linked to the Choi scandal in some way, saying he might have suffered conflicts in the presidential office, citing that Cho, who had assisted in writing Park’s speeches for about a decade since she was a lawmaker, quit his post at Cheong Wa Dae three months ago.
On Wednesday, some media reported that Cho had complained of “some strange changes in Park’s speeches” at the unofficial occasion.
Cho said, “There was not a shameful thing related to my resignation. I just quit as I was mentally and physically tired from having worked on Park’s speeches for a long time.”
Observers say it is hard to suspect that Cho was responsible for unsecured presidential speeches, given that data secured from Choi’s tablet computer included not only text for the speeches but also materials from the Cabinet meetings. They say there is great possibility that the material was leaked from the office of the personal secretary to the President, which was controlled by Jeong Ho-sung, Park’s personal secretary.
Chung is among Park’s three closest aides whom Choi reportedly introduced to Park when she was a lawmaker.
Cho admitted that presidential speeches were handed to the office of the personal secretary, but refused to elaborate who in the office received them.
“I cannot talk about it due to security regulations,” he said.