President pressured to apologize over aides

President Park Geun-hye appears to be agonizing over her press conference slated for Monday amid growing calls from political parties to offer a public apology over a recent document leak.

Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Min Kyung-wook said Thursday that the president cleared her official schedule for two days to outline her speech to be delivered at the press conference.

Park is expected to announce her new state agenda and her vision on unification at the meeting with the press.

It will be her second press conference since taking office in early 2013. Last year, she announced a three-year plan to reinvigorate the economy by driving out irregularities in both the private and public sectors. She also vowed to kick-start preparations for reunification, calling it an “economic bonanza” for Korea and neighboring countries.

But this year, the president seems to be thinking carefully about bringing up thorny domestic issues such as the Blue House document leak at the conference to be televised nationwide. Expectations are also high for how Park plans to deal with North Korea amid escalating tension between Washington and Pyongyang, and also the communist regime’s insistent nuclear threat.

NPAD floor leader Rep. Woo Yoon-keun urged Park on Thursday to offer a public apology for causing concern over the recent document leak incident.

“President Park Geun-hye should replace all of her senior aides at Cheong Wa Dae to take responsibility for causing public concerns over mismanagement,” he said in a party meeting at the parliament.

Saenuri Party Rep. Cho Hae-jin also called for a massive shake-up at Cheong Wa Dae, saying the nation’s top office could repeat the same mistakes if it does not fix its management system now.

“Cheong Wa Dae, the nation’s top office, producing documents written based on rumors and that file circulating (outside of the office) obviously shows that discipline is completely out of order,” the lawmaker said. “Those who let that happen should take responsibility.”

Local reports said Park may consider offering a public apology at her New Year’s press conference Monday for causing public concern over a recent document leak.

Munhwa Ilbo quoted a senior party official as saying that messages were sent from the Saenuri Party to Park “through multiple channels” urging her “to show herself taking responsibility for causing the incident” and “to promise to conduct a reshuffle” at the press conference.

Park has remained silent about the prosecution’s investigation into a leak of documents involving her former aides.

The prosecution concluded on Monday that a police superintendent who worked as an intelligence officer at Cheong Wa Dae fabricated the so-called “Chung Yoon-hoi documents” and delivered them to the president’s brother under the instruction of his “direct superior” Cho Eung-cheon.

The scandal, although evaluated by the prosecution as groundless, has dealt a heavy blow to President Park. Her approval ratings hit a nadir shortly after the scandal broke out late last year.

By Cho Chung-un ()