Chosun News

31st of October 2016 (article published on the 19th of October)

By Choi Eungyeong

President Bak’s wardrobe choices are now coming under further scrutiny.

The so-called “super wizard” Choi Sunshil, who has been embroiled in a political controversy, is now suspected of having created companies in Germany and Korea, including the K-Sports Foundation [in Germany]. Reportedly one Go Taeyeong served as director for the domestic company which made President Bak’s bags. Go [also] served as the Director for the German- and Korean-registered company “Double K”, founded by Choi. Go competed in the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok as a fencer, winning a gold medal in the team sabre event and a silver medal in the individual exhibition. In 2008, he established the bag company Bill Miller. Subsequently, after her election victory in 2012, President Bak’s use of a white bag manufactured by the Bill Miller brand became an issue, after it was spotted by the Gyeonghyang newspaper. Subsequently the keyword “Bak Geunhye’s bag” became the top-ranking search term on internet portals [as people tried to find out where they could buy a similar bag]. A spokesman for Bak revealed that the bag was not made by a large domestic brand, but instead by a small local company, without disclosing the bag’s brand. In 2014, she was spotted using a clutch bag at the Davos Forum in Switzerland which also ignited discussion, and while the President’s office again refused to identify its brand, saying only that it was domestically produced, the Chosun Ilbo newspaper identified it as belonging to the Bill Miller brand. A manager at the factory refused to confirm rumours that it had made the item.

Analysis: more details continue to emerge of the bizarre and outlandish grip which Choi Sunshil holds over the President, Bak Geun-hye (although this article was published before the previous one I only came across it today). Bak’s position now is surely untenable. The details which are continuing to emerge have deeply shocked Koreans but have also provided twisted answers to persistent questions which have dogged Bak’s tenure: why does she dress so shabbily? Why are her press contacts so stiff and formally staged? Why does she often speak in oddly-phrased sentences when she does read her pre-prepared statements? The revelations here must surely count as one of the strangest and most absurd episodes in South Korean political history. Bak’s credibility is completely ruined, but with elections due next year, the opposition may prefer to not press for impeachment and hope to capitalise on anti-Bak feeling when voters go to the polls.

25 October 2015

Huffington Post Korea

President Bak makes a statement regarding her relationship with Choi Sunshil.

President Bak Geunhye said that the resourceful Choi Sunshil, dubbed “super wizard” by the press, had revealed national security secrets and gotten hold of diplomatic documents relating to political stability, as reported by JTBC cable news. Choi had information regarding President Bak’s meeting with her predecessor, Ee Myeongbak, when the two held a “behind closed doors meeting” just after Bak’s election on the 28^th of December, 2012.

According to JBTC, an official passed on that Choi “had been in secret contact with the President regarding the North Korean National Defence Commision” on three occasions. They had discussed possible scenarios regarding North Korea which might play out during Bak’s approaching presidency. “The President now has to clean up the mess caused by this situation,” the source continued. JBTC reported that files which were passed on to Choi were created by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Documents relating to the Transition Committee’s argument around whether [government] personnel should intervene in the President’s office were found on Choi’s computer. Information around the strengths and weaknesses of the President’s personal security detail and of different [political?] candidates were also recovered, alongside specifics of the Transition Committee’s public relations and social media operations planning and guidelines around correspondence with the media.

Choi Eunshil shown during the JBTC broadcast. The text says “diplomatic documents in Choi Sunshil’s hands”.

President Bak’s inaugural address to the nation was singled out [as having been edited by Choi]. Choi is said to have consistently received the President’s speeches and addresses up to 40 days before they were released. She also scrutinised “every little detail” of various policy documents and items such as the President’s private holiday photos [which were to be released]. JTBC said there were more documents to come as it seeks to verify around 2,000 more files.

Analysis: major scandal here for Bak Geunhye which might yet mean the end of her presidency. With her approval ratings having hit rock-bottom, this was the last thing she needed: revelations that a slightly murky woman without any official portfolio or job title has been informally editing and commenting on Bak’s speeches and policies. Previous to this exposé, Choi has already been harshly criticised in the media for leveraging her links to Bak to obtain donations to charitable organisations she was involved with. There may be a change in presidency before too long.

1^st October 2016

Yeonhap News via Huffington Post Korea

Bak Geunhye addresses the press in Chungnam, 1st of October

Today South Korean President Bak Geunhye said “the North Korean leadership is testing our will, meanwhile its society is collapsing due to internal struggle. Now their interior division and chaos is aggravating our fears around North Korean nukes.*” Speaking at the 68^th anniversary celebrations of the founding of the Korean army in Chungnam, the President said “while our country remains united and our military remains as one, we will tear down the false delusions of the North Korean leadership and our national society will unite as one with strength.”

“Whatever attacks are made, it’s certain that South Korea and us, its people, will survive together, and whatever this government [ie North Korea] tries the North Korean threat will not be yielded to. The will of the South Korean people will certainly need to be strong. Whatever differences there are between our ideologies and factions, I entreat all [South] Koreans to remain united along the same path,” she underlined.

The President commented that North Korean leader Gim Jeongeun “is showing off his nuclear missile capability, thereby heightening military tensions, in an attempt to stabilise his country’s internal conditions, but this [tactic] is a delusion and a misjudgement.” Bak went on to warn that “If North Korea will not give up the so-called ‘nukes for economic advancement’ route, its international isolation and economic problems and will become more serious as time goes by, leading to the failure of its system and more internal unrest.”

The President emphasised that “those who come late to deal with the crisis will be punished in the assessment of historians. Even at this stage, North Korea could turn away from its nuclear weapons and face the reality of its situation, and return to being a normal state.” Addressing the North Korean military and citizens, Bak said “we know only too well the terrible reality you are facing. As a nation we understand the human rights abuses which the North Korean leadership commits.” She pointed out that “it’s your right to enjoy universal values like democracy and freedom, human rights and welfare.”

This marks the first time that President Bak has openly implored the North Korean people to move towards South Korean values.

Analysis: As the article notes, this is particularly strong rhetoric from President Bak, who has never made such clear denunciations of North Korea in the past. Her remarks are intended primarily for domestic consumption; ordinary South Koreans have grown tired of the constant stream of violent invective from Pyeongyang and want to hear their President fight back. The number of ordinary North Koreans who will hear Bak’s exhortations will be effectively nil, although Gim Jeongeun’s government will certainly be listening, and will almost certainly respond with continued threats. One has to hope that the North Korean administration remains rational, whatever they threaten.

*Bak used the word 핵 (“haek”) to describe the North’s nuclear weapons – literally “nuke”, a notably informal word for this context.