Tension mounted between Cheong Wa Dae and the ruling Saenuri Party on Thursday over a remark made by a presidential staff member alleging that party chief Kim Moo-sung secretly set off a recent political scandal involving rival groups of aides to President Park Geun-hye.

The presidential office said in the afternoon that it dismissed Eum Jong-hwan, a public relations officer, the day after he offered to resign to take responsibility for causing public concern. The move was seen as Cheong Wa Dae’s attempt to settle the dust first, as it came without conducting an internal inquiry into the case. 

The presidential office is also likely to speed up the reshuffle of secretaries to clear the air for Park’s reform drive, tighten discipline in the office and mend ties with the party.

Lee Jun-seok, a party member, claimed that he heard Eum accusing the Saenuri chief of being behind the scandal, at a dinner the two attended last month. Lee said he relayed the remark to the party chief last week.

The case, however, brewed a political storm after a photograph showed Rep. Kim’s written memo, which read “K and Y are behind the ‘document gate.’” “K” is said to stand for the ruling party leader and “Y” for Saenuri Rep. Yoo Seong-min.

The ruling party, for its part, also avoided commenting on the issue during a supreme council meeting in the morning, in contrast to their fierce arguments that surprised the public the day before. On Wednesday, Lee Jae-oh, a well-known Park opponent, clashed with Rep. Lee Jung-hyun, former senior press secretary, raising speculations that it was a reflection of the party’s overarching factional feud.

Pro-Park lawmakers including Lee Jung-hyun were absent from the meeting, claiming they had other important matters to attend to. The Saenuri chief also refused to respond to reporters’ questions, a contrast to his gruff reaction to the allegation, calling it “nonsense,” the day before.

Despite the efforts, the scandal is widely expected to further damage the strained ties between the party and Cheong Wa Dae, namely Kim and Park. According to sources, the party sees the case as an attempt by presidential staff to bring down the Saenuri chairman, who has had a love-hate relationship, with Park for years. Park and Kim reportedly have been at odds, although they tried to sweep their strained relations under the carpet.

Kim’s comment on constitutional revision late last year, in particular, roiled Park as it came only some days after she urged politicians not to discuss it, stressing that the issue would swallow urgent economic issues.

Some observers also raised concerns that the Cheong Wa Dae-Saenuri relationship would further deteriorate as Eum and Lee Jun-seok started to engage in a fierce battle, returning the public focus to the scandal.

The scandal began to surface last November after presidential papers that investigated Chung Yoon-hoi, Park’s former secretary, were leaked to a local daily. The papers alleged that Chung had meddled in government affairs and personnel decisions using his close ties to incumbent Cheong Wa Dae officials. Eum is one of the presidential officials embroiled in the scandal.

Eum claimed that Lee fabricated his remarks, and said he is carefully considering disclosing KakaoTalk messages that he exchanged with Lee.

Lee said in a radio interview that he relayed Eum’s remark to Kim Moo-sung in an effort to make things right. He said he was worried that Eum’s remark could slander the reputation of the party chief. However, questions remain on how Lee would stick to his claim as others who attended the dinner at that time said they never heard Eum accusing Rep. Kim of being behind the scandal.

By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)