Former UN official Kang Kyung-wha, who is tapped to head South Korea’s Foreign Ministry, on Monday apologized for allegations that she used a false address to get her daughter admitted into her alma mater.

“My eldest daughter had trouble getting used to the environment in the US and I wanted her to feel more comfortable in Korea by going to my alma mater, Ewha Girls’ High School,” she said at a short press briefing in Seoul.


Her three children went to the United States in 1999, following her husband who went there for a sabbatical year. They came back a year later.

“Just then (in 2000), my close mentor gave me a random address (near the school) to register as my daughter’s residency.”

She said she did not know who lived and owned the house located at the address.

Local media reported that it was the high school’s former principal’s house, not her relative’s as Cheong Wa Dae had explained when announcing her nomination.

Kang, however, said she did intend to lie. It was her husband without knowledge of the matter who gave the wrong information to the presidential office.

“My husband does not know anything about it, so when Cheong Wa Dae asked him, I think he just speculated that it was a relative’s house,” Kang said.

“I am sorry for evoking criticism due to my mistake,” she said, adding that she would further elaborate on the issue in her confirmation hearing. Its date has not yet been designated.

By Jo He-rim (herim@heraldcorp.com)