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| /Korea Time file |
By Lee Jin-a, Park Si-soo
Why did the presidential office need pills for erectile dysfunction?
This is the latest in a series of questions raised against the presidential office and scandalized President Park Geun-hye.
The Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) confirmed that Cheong Wa Dae purchased a total of 364 pills for erectile dysfunction -- 60 pills of Viagra (made by U.S. company Pfizer) and 304 pills of PalPal Tab 50mg (the generic version of the drug by Korea's Hanmi Pharmaceutical) in December 2015. The agency checked the medical purchase history of the presidential office at the request of Rep. Kim Sang-hee of the main opposition Democratic Party.
It came amid allegations that Park, using the name of her longtime friend Choi Soon-sil, had been secretly treated with anti-aging medicine and vitamin shots prescribed at a hospital unauthorized to deal with the head of state.
The HIRA's finding has created a frenzy on the Internet because of the type of medicine. It has also raised questions about why the presidential office brought erectile dysfunction pills that are normally prescribed to men.
This has spurred other speculation that Cheong Wa Dae's possession of the pills could have something to do with President Park's "seven missing hours" on April 16, 2014, when the ferry Sewol sank, killing more than 300 people, mostly high school students.
Park's whereabouts during the time are still shrouded in mystery. There are rumors she was having beauty surgery, attending a closed-door religious ritual or enjoying a romantic relationship at the time.
Cheong Wa Dae bought the pills nearly 18 months after the Sewol disaster, but rumors that the two cases are related are sprouting continuously.
Cheong Wa Dae strongly denied all allegations related to the pills. Park's spokesman Jung Youn-kuk said Wednesday the presidential office bought them just in case Park, along with ministers, secretaries and security guards, suffered altitude sickness during a visit to Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya in May -- three African countries whose capitals are 1 to 2 kilometers above sea level.
But the spokesman said the pills were never used. He said erectile dysfunction pills are known to be effective in relieving altitude sickness pain.
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