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| This 2004 shot shows President Park Geun-hye when she was leader of the Grand National Party. / Korea Times file |
By Lee Jin-a
Facial wrinkles are a visible sign of aging. But President Park Geun-hye seems to be defying the rule of nature — she looks younger year after year.
Photos of her "time-reversing" visage taken between 2004 and 2016 have created a frenzy on the internet. At the same time, the photos have fueled already simmering allegations that the 64-year-old, using an alias, received pricy anti-aging treatments at a hospital unauthorized to deal with her health. Her treatment at Chaum was believed to have been arranged by Park's longtime friend Choi Soon-sil, and the hospital's holding company is suspected of having received business favors from the government.
The Korea Times analyzed the sensationalized photos and the 2004-2016 photos of her on the daily's database and reached the conclusion that Park's face is now brighter and looks younger than in 2004, when she was leader of the Grand National Party, which was renamed the Saenuri Party.
According to the Dream Medical Group, a plastic surgery clinic, the aging of facial features usually becomes noticeable from the mid-30s, with wrinkles appearing around the forehead, nose and eyes. But the rule doesn't seem to apply to Park, at least according to the photos, the clinic said.
Comparing two photos of Park aged 52 and 64, Park's face now has more elastic skin and fewer wrinkles than in the older photograph.
These photos support allegations that Park has received medical treatment illegally from an anti-aging clinic since the beginning of her administration.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare recently found that Park received prescriptions from Chaum under proxy names from 2011 to 2014.
The medical records show that vitamin shots and placenta injections were prescribed for Park under the name of Choi Soon-sil, her scandal-ridden confidant, and Choi's older sister, Soon-deuk, during the period.
The prosecution said Tuesday it will investigate why Park ordered Choi to receive her prescriptions under false names although she could have been prescribed the medications by her doctor at Cheong Wa Dae.
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| Park smiles at the National Assembly in Seoul on Nov. 1, 2007. / Korea Times file |
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| Park has a conversation with National Assembly Speaker Chung Se-kyun in Seoul on Nov. 4, 2016. / Korea Times file |
