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| Chung Yoo-ra, center, sobs, after arriving at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in Jongno District, May 5, to sue four high-profile personalities for defamation. Attorney Kang Yong-seok, left, and Kim Sae-ui, a rightwing YouTuber, are with Chung to assist her while speaking to journalists. Newsis |
Former justice minister Cho Kuk, two high-profile liberal journalists among the accused
By Ko Dong-hwan
Chung Yoo-ra, the daughter of former President Park Geun-hye's confidante who is in jail for her involvement in the 2016 corruption scandal that led to Park's impeachment, filed a complaint on Wednesday against high-profile politicians and journalists for defamation.
Years ago, Chung had received favorable treatment at schools thanks to her mother's influence, being accepted into the prestigious Ewha Womans University, and received good grades despite not attending classes or taking exams. According to a court decision in 2018, Samsung Group was found to have offered 3.6 billion won ($2.84 million) in bribes to Chung's mother, Choi Soon-sil, at the request of the former president, to purchase three horses and pay for Chung's equestrian training in Germany.?Chung won a gold medal in the team dressage event at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games.
Those revelations sparked public outrage and Chung ended up becoming the despised symbol of social inequality and corruption among the privileged class.
Former Justice Minister Cho Kuk, ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) lawmaker Rep. Ahn Min-suk and liberal journalists Kim Eo-jun and Joo Jin-woo are among the high-profile liberals who have been accused this time.
Kang Yong-seok and Kim Sae-ui, two front-men of the right-wing YouTube channel Hoverlab, accompanied Chung to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency to file the complaint. Kang, who is also a lawyer, and Kim have been making numerous claims against celebrities and politicians on their YouTube channel over the years.
The former justice minister has been accused of quoting Chung out of context. He revealed to the public what Chung, out of malice, said to her friend in 2014, which drew widespread public criticism and turned her into "the worst witch in the country." The comments, which Chung made after arguing with her friend, were loaded with Chung's scornful derisions that included the flaunting of money and the power that her mother had.
Chung's comments, revealed by the former justice minister, included, "Being rich is also a talent" and "Blame your poor parents for your shortcomings instead of complaining to my wealthy parents."
"Chung was just a second-year high school student back then, and what she had said were impulsive words after having an argument," Kang said. "The words were also never meant for members of the public to know. But Cho had picked only a tiny piece from a lengthy piece of content and revealed it on Facebook in 2017, which contributed to rousing the ire of the nation against former President Park and Choi that led to Park's impeachment and Choi's imprisonment," Kang said.
The lawyer added that Chung has accused Rep. Ahn, Kim and Joo of making false claims without checking the facts.
"Rep. Ahn spread a baseless rumor that Choi's family hid 300 trillion won ($236 billion) somewhere outside the country. Now he says that he never said such a thing," Kang said. "Kim and Joo (who each hosts a news radio show on TBS and KBS, respectively) have also been making false claims against Choi's family. Joo, in particular, often hinted that Chung is a daughter of (former President) Park" who never married.
A teary-eyed Chung told reporters that her life has been "ruined because of the lawmakers' irresponsible claims (against me and my family) without proof and the journalists who merely wrote down what they heard instead of investing time for fact-checking."
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