The case of the Korean president's wife receiving a designer bag has caused a stir again
2024-08-10
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Image caption: In May this year, Pastor Choi Jae-young (sound), who was suspected of bribing Kim Gun-hee with brand-name bags, arrived at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in South Korea to be investigated.
●Liu Xin, our special correspondent in South Korea
According to South Korean media reports, A, a senior official in charge of anti-corruption work at the National Human Rights Commission (hereinafter referred to as the "Human Rights Commission"), was found dead at home on the 8th. He had coordinated the investigation of the "Kim Jianxi incident" of the South Korean first lady accepting branded bags. In June this year, the "Human Rights Commission" said that Kim Jianxi "had no illegal behavior" and announced that the case was closed. The Hankyoreh revealed that A felt heavy pressure and self-blame when handling the case, and once told acquaintances that "I felt very painful for doing something against my conscience." The South Korean police found a short suicide note in the form of a note at the scene, which described A's physical and mental pain, but did not explain the specific reasons. With the death of A, more details about how the "Human Rights Commission" had internal disagreements on the decision to "close the case" have surfaced. South Korea's largest opposition party, the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized A for being "pressured by the government" and said that "it will take the lead in finding out the truth." South Korea's ruling party, the People's Power Party, believes that the opposition party is trying to use this incident as an opportunity to incite political conflict.
“I don’t agree, but I can’t object. It’s so tiring.”
According to Yonhap News Agency and other media reports, on the morning of the 8th, a subordinate staff member found that A had not arrived at work and could not contact him, so he went to his home to check on him and found that A was dead. The Hankyoreh said that A was an anti-corruption official in the "Rights and Interests Committee" responsible for monitoring clean policies, clean investigation and evaluation, corruption impact analysis, code of conduct, and comprehensive reporting of corruption and employment malpractice. He was responsible for investigating incidents such as "Kim Gun-hee accepting brand-name bags" and former Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung's use of emergency helicopters.
In June 2022, Kim Gun-hee received brand-name perfumes and cosmetics from Choi Jae-young, a pastor living in the United States, and in September of the same year, he received a brand-name bag worth 3 million won (about 16,000 yuan). In December last year, the civic group "Participation Solidarity" reported Yoon Seok-yeol, Kim Gun-hee and Choi Jae-young to the "Rights Committee". On June 10 this year, the committee announced the closure of the case.
A person who often contacts A told Hankyoreh that A had sent him a text message on the 6th of this month, saying, "We have disappointed everyone recently. I am really sorry and feel very sad." The friend consoled him, "Wait a little longer, there will be a day when you can play a role." He also revealed that on June 27, A called him to have a drink, saying, "The decision-makers of the Rights and Interests Committee forced the case of Kim Gun-hee accepting branded bags to be closed," and "I disagree, but I can't object. I'm so tired."
In another report published on the 9th, the Hankyoreh Daily revealed that the case of Kim Gun-hee's alleged acceptance of a brand-name bag had caused a fierce conflict of opinion at the plenary meeting of the Rights and Interests Committee. The case was led by Chairman Ryu Cheol-hwan and three vice chairmen who were close to Yoon Seok-yeol. Some members raised objections such as "If the case is closed like this, it will embarrass the world," "There is a possibility that it will be regarded as a bribe," and "It may be misunderstood that the Rights and Interests Committee is assisting the president." During the meeting, when a member called a brand-name bag a "bribe," a vice chairman stopped him from saying so.
According to reports, the final result of the show of hands was 9 votes in favor of closing the case, 3 votes in favor of transferring and sending the case. "Transfer" means handing over the case to the investigation agency when there is a suspicion of a crime; "sending" means handing over the case to the investigation agency when the suspicion of the case is unclear. Another Korean media reported that the result of the vote was 8 people agreed to close the case, and 7 people were in favor of handing the case over to the investigation agency. The Hankyoreh said that A, who died at home on the 8th, believed that the case should be handed over to the investigation agency. It is said that he had a conflict with a vice chairman before and after the plenary meeting. The website of South Korea's MBC TV station disclosed on the 9th that an insider said that after the "case was closed", A once wanted to withdraw from the "Rights and Interests Committee", but was stopped.
According to Yonhap News Agency on the 9th, regarding the death of A, the Daejeon District Prosecutor's Office in South Korea said on the 9th that considering that no signs of crime were found and the position of (respecting) the bereaved family, it was decided not to perform an autopsy on the body. The police station in charge of the case also plans to close the case with the conclusion of "no suspicion". It is reported that A's funeral is scheduled to be held on the morning of the 10th. A vice chairman of the "Rights and Interests Committee" went to the funeral hall on the 8th to pay his respects, but was protested by some of the bereaved family.
The "tragic reality" of South Korean politics
South Korea's largest opposition party, the Democratic Party of Korea, has fiercely criticized the current government for the death of A. According to South Korea's News1 news agency on the 9th, Democratic Party of Korea spokesperson Hwang Jung-ah told reporters on the same day that "victims continue to emerge in the face of power monopoly." At a meeting held on the 9th, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Chung Chung-rae said that Kim Gun-hee's acceptance of a brand-name bag "has made many people feel angry, frustrated, and insulted."
Other opposition parties have also expressed their views. According to South Korea's Kyunghyang Ilbo, the leader of the opposition Fatherland Reform Party, Cho Kuk, posted on social media on the 8th that "indescribable anger has surged in my heart." The party's chief spokesman, Kim Bo-hyeok (transliteration), said that the decision made by the "Rights and Interests Committee" on Kim Gun-hee's alleged acceptance of a brand-name bag has caused his authority to "plummet."
According to Yonhap News Agency, the ruling People Power Party expressed regret that the Democratic Party of Korea was trying to use this "unfortunate incident" as an opportunity to incite political conflict.
According to the Kyunghyang Ilbo on the 9th, Ahn Cheol-soo, a member of the National Power Party, said on the same day that the ruling and opposition parties should now reflect on whether they have "demonized" each other in their struggle and "desperately pushed the public officials caught in the middle to the edge of the cliff." Ahn Cheol-soo posted on social media that he took the death of A as an opportunity to review the "tragic reality" of Korean politics, "I can only guess how difficult it is for public officials who are responsible for handling recent politically sensitive cases." He said, "Politics must return to solving people's livelihood issues."
South Korean media criticizes "Kim Gun-hee Rights Committee"
In June this year, the "Rights and Interests Committee" decided to end the investigation into Kim Gun-hee's alleged acceptance of branded bags on the grounds that "there are no relevant sanctions against the president's spouse in the Anti-Petitioning Act", which caused an uproar in South Korean public opinion. South Korea's "JoongAng Ilbo" criticized the "Rights and Interests Committee" for "acting only according to the president's wishes". In the end, the truth of the incident and whether to hold someone accountable can only wait for the investigation of the prosecutors. But some people have raised the question, what if the prosecutors come to a similar conclusion as the "Rights and Interests Committee"?
"The end of the Kim Gun-hee case is against conscience." The editorial of the Kyunghyang Shinmun on the 9th said that it is conceivable how much psychological pain the deceased, who was in charge of anti-corruption affairs in the organization that became the "Kim Gun-hee Rights Committee," must have felt. Pastor Choi, who gave the brand-name bag to Kim Gun-hee, is under investigation by the prosecutors and the police for suspected violations of the "Anti-Petitioning Act" and the Public Office Election Act. Kim Gun-hee, however, only received a simple investigation.
The editorial believes that the nature of Kim Gun-hee's "acceptance of brand-name bags" has changed, and the unjust process of covering up his negligence has led to the death of a civil servant. A large-scale investigation of the "Rights Committee" is inevitable. In the process of closing the case of Kim Gun-hee, who put pressure on the deceased and whose instructions the pressurer received must be thoroughly investigated. ▲#Deep Good Articles Project#
