I agree with this article that for the younger generation of Koreans the influence peddling scandal is to be expected, but the cheating to get Choi Soon-sil’s daughter into Ewha Women’s University is what really infuriates them:
A rigorously meritocratic education system lies at the heart of South Korea’s stellar rise from the ashes of the 1950-53 Korean War to Asia’s fourth-largest economy.
The system is highly competitive and can take a distressing toll on young students who devote their teenage years to studying for the national college entrance exam.
Admission to one of a handful of elite universities — such as Ewha — is seen as vital to a student’s future prosperity, social standing and even marriage prospects.
But however cut-throat it might be, there is steadfast public faith and trust in the exam’s fairness, with every applicant sitting the same paper on the same day, and a formalised marking system.
That faith is summed up in a term popular for decades, “a dragon from a ditch” — a person of modest means who rose to success through education and hard work. (………..)
“But Chung and Choi shattered this faith and hope spectacularly,” it said.
Park’s presidency has coincided with growing disquiet over a widening disparity in incomes and opportunities — an inequality now embodied in the public mind by Choi and her daughter.
In a now-infamous Facebook posting in 2014, Chung flaunted her privilege, saying: “Money is part of your talent. If you don’t have talent, blame your parents.”
The depth of anger over Chung’s admission to Ewha has been illustrated by the large number of high-school students who have taken part in weekly mass demonstrations that have seen millions march through the streets of Seoul and other cities.
“I was so angry about Chung and couldn’t even sleep when I first heard about her scandal,” said Jenny Park, a 16-year-old high school student.
“What’s the point of studying night and day when the rich and powerful can rig the whole system so easily?” she said, waving a banner reading “We didn’t study hard for this.” [AFP]
You can read more at the link, but like I said before I seriously doubt Choi Soon-sil is the only rich and connected person to get their kids into major universities in Korea through improper means.
Not a single protester jailed or officer harmed in weeks of mass rally. Lawmaker @bdmin1958 says Koreans deserve Nobel peace prize candidacy pic.twitter.com/oAyOQ4LBFm
Reporters gather in front of the house of former presidential chief of staff Kim Ki-choon in Seoul on Nov. 28, 2016, as a passenger car comes out of it. The lawyer of Cha Eun-taek, an arrested associate of President Park Geun-hye’s indicted confidante Choi Soon-sil in an influence-peddling scandal, said the previous day Cha had met with Kim at his office in 2014 through an arrangement by Choi. The testimony by Kim Jong-min, Cha’s attorney, fueled suspicion about Kim’s involvement in the scandal. (Yonhap)
It sounds like this opposition party lawmaker is trying to stop the THAAD deployment to South Korea by linking it to the Choi Soon-sil scandal:
An Min-suk
Rep. An Min-suk of the main opposition party said Thursday that Choi Soon-sil’s influence even extended to Seoul’s controversial decision to deploy the U.S.-led Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) system.
He went on to allege that the president’s close friend, who is at the center of an influence-peddling scandal known as Choi-gate, would have pocketed a large commission from the deal with Lockheed Martin, the American arms producer.
“To my knowledge, Choi met with the Lockheed Martin chairperson in June,” said An, a four-term lawmaker of the Minjoo Party of Korea and co-chair of his party’s special committee to investigate alleged manipulation of the Park Geun-hye administration’s affairs, on a radio interview with TBS.
According to An, Choi was linked to Lockheed by a foreign affairs and security field big shot in the Park administration. Seoul and Washington in July announced they will deploy Thaad in South Korea to counter Pyongyang’s missile threats.
When asked if this individual was currently in office or not, An replied, “I cannot reveal that here.” But this person was supported by Lockheed for two years during his time in the United States some six years ago, claimed An, who added, “The link between Choi Soon-sil and Lockheed Martin is being revealed.” [Joong Ang Ilbo]
You can read more at the link, but Lockheed Martin has nothing to do with the deployment of the THAAD battery to the ROK. The US military has already purchased the THAAD battery from Lockheed Martin, thus they have already made their profit from the sale. Why would they give Choi a commission for deploying THAAD to Korea? It makes no sense. If Lockheed Martin had sold a THAAD battery to the ROK and were meeting with Choi beforehand then his complaint would make more sense.
Lockheed Martin does have plenty of other systems that it has sold and is planning to sell to the ROK:
South Korean President Park Geun-hye meets Lockheed Martin CEO and President Marillyn Hewson during the president’s visit to Washington, DC. Photo Courtesy U.S. Chamber
Over the past 40 years, the U.S. Navy and Lockheed Martin have made Aegis the most capable combat system in the world. More than 100 ships and six international navies, including the Republic of Korea, rely on Aegis. In addition to Aegis, Lockheed Martin was awarded three new contracts in 2012 to support the supply chain needs for the Korean Air Force and Navy. The Korean Air Force also is evaluating the F-35 to advance its force to the fifth-generation of fighter jets. Other programs include the T-50 trainer jet, F-16, C-130, P-3 Orion and FPS-117 radar.
At Lockheed Martin, we do more than deliver programs and capabilities. We’re also invested where we live and work, adding fuel to the engine of South Korea’s economy. For example, Lockheed Martin and Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) have co-produced the F-16 for more than 20 years. We also partnered with Samsung Data Systems to modernize Korea’s air traffic management system with the Korean Area Control Center (KACC) system and, through a partnership with Korea Telecom, successfully produced several communications satellites. Lockheed Martin is particularly proud of its partnership with Korean Aerospace Industries in the development of the T-50 Golden Eagle and is determined to make it the premier trainer in the world.
Lockheed Martin highly values its long-standing relationship with the Republic of Korea and its Korean industry partners. The company is committed to helping Korea meet its desire to grow its industrial base and looks forward to extending the relationship with the F-35 as the centerpiece of the next 40 years of industrial cooperation. [Lockheed Martin]
If the story of Choi meeting the Lockheed Chairman is even true then discussing Korea’s purchase of the F-35 would make more sense. Anyway Representative An’s claims have been expanded on by the Chinese media who are linking Choi to a noted arms dealer named Linda Kim:
Lockheed Martin financially supported the child of a “core figure” in charge of South Korea’s security policy when the child was studying abroad several years ago, said Ahn, who didn’t elaborate on whether the child was staying in the United States.
The opposition lawmaker raised a possibility for the core figure to introduce Choi to the Lockheed Martin side, saying he will try to find a truth when the National Assembly launches its own investigation into the scandal next month.
Ahn has claimed a collusive link between Choi and the U.S. arms company to peddle undue influence on the South Korean government’s weapons procurement contracts.
In an emergency parliamentary session on Nov. 11, Ahn inquired Defense Minister Han Min-koo about whether the defense chief was informed of the contacts of Jeong Yoon-hoe, Choi’s ex-husband, with arms lobbyist Linda Kim and the Lockheed Martin side.
Lockheed Martin is a manufacturer of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), a U.S. military defense system which South Korea agreed in July with the U.S. to deploy in its soil by the end of next year. [Xinhua]
So who is this lobbyist Linda Kim? She is a former Korean actress who made her debut in 1970 under the name Kim Ah Ra. She went on to film cosmetic commercials and become an unsuccessful singer. She immigrated to the United States in 1979 and eventually ended up become a lobbyist linked to a sex scandal nearly 20 years ago to influence weapons procurement in the ROK:
The world’s biggest military business faces an embarrassing legal row following claims that an agent called Linda Kim, a former dancer and singer, bribed top soldiers and offered sexual favours to the country’s defence minister.
California’s Supreme Court ruled that the company can be sued under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act over the claims, which are denied by Lockheed and Ms Kim. The Korea Supply Company (KSC) alleges that it lost a $30m (£19m) commission after a Canadian business it represented was denied the contract due to “wrongful conduct”.
In 1996 a Lockheed subsidiary won a $225m deal to supply an aircraft radar system, one of several deals it struck with the South Korean government.
Ms Kim, 52, who has retired from military broking and lives in Los Angeles, said through a lawyer that she “strongly denied every allegation” in the complaint. She previously served a short prison sentence after being convicted of using similar techniques of persuasion to win deals for other clients.
South Korea’s former defence minister, Lee Yang Ho, admitted to having “an inappropriate relationship” with Ms Kim after love letters she sent to him appeared in a newspaper. He denied that this relationship had influenced his decisions about awarding contracts. [The Telegraph]
If things could not get any weirder, Linda Kim has also been linked to a bizarre Hollywood double murder involving Playboy playmates, a Wall Street ponzi scheme and stolen jewels that were replicas of the ones Julia Roberts wore in the movie Pretty Woman.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2pzkenbhIA
Linda Kim is still very active in arm dealing as the Joong Ang Ilbo previously reported her role in lobbying for South Korea to purchase Lockheed Martin’s Joint Strike Fighter which she was successful at winning. Interestingly enough the Chinese media is reporting that Linda Kim is currently in jail for drug charges:
Choi had reportedly maintained an acquaintance with the arms lobbyist at least since 2000. The lobbyist has been detained in October for drug-administering charges.
Asking to see Linda Kim at the detention center has recently been banned, said the Minjoo Party lawmaker who described the arms lobbyist as one of “key men” that can tell the truth about the collusive link. [Xinhua]
She is apparently mired in gambling debt as well according to the Donga Ilbo. The more I read about Linda Kim the more I think her and Choi Soon-sil probably deserve a jail cell together.
Considering Kim Yu-na’s much higher profile of being a well known Olympic champion I think it was much easier for her to say no to the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism compared to lower profile athletes like Son Yeon-jae who netizens are now angered with:
Rhythmic gymnast Son Yeon-jae acknowledges spectators on the podium after winning the gold medal in the hoop event at the 7th Asian Gymnastics Championships at a university gym in Jecheon, North Chungcheong Province, central South Korea, on June 12, 2015. (Yonhap)
Suspicion is rising that the government disadvantaged Olympic champion figure skater Kim Yu-na because she would not cooperate with the scandal-ridden manipulative ties of President Park Geun-hye.
KBS TV reported Saturday that Kim had been on Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism blacklist for turning down a ministry invitation to attend a public trial of “Neulpum calisthenics” in 2014.
The exercise routine was developed by Cha Eun-taek, a commercial director and close acquaintance of the president’s confidant Choi Soon-sil. (……)
Meanwhile, Son Yeon-jae’s agency Galaxia SM website has crashed under high traffic volumes on Sunday evening, as the suspicion spilled over to Son, whom netizens suspect to have benefited from the minsitry for complying with the invitation. [Korea Times]
What I am wondering is how many other well connected Korean kids received special treatment to attend Ewha Women’s University as well? I seriously doubt Choi’s daughter is the only one to receive special treatment during the admissions process:
Chung Yoo-ra, the horseback rider daughter of Choi Soon-sil, President Park Geun-hye’s longtime friend (Yonhap)
Chung Yoo-ra, the daughter of President Park Geun-hye’s embattled confidante Choi Soon-sil, was illegally admitted to a prestigious university in Seoul and was also given special treatment in academic records after enrollment, the Education Ministry confirmed Friday.
In a briefing to release the result of the audit of Ewha University and its faculty members, the ministry said that the school manipulated its admission process to accept Chung and she was given overly generous marks despite not attending classes, taking exams and turning in assignments.
Chung is a 19-year-old horseback rider and the daughter of Choi, the civilian accused of peddling influence and meddling in state affairs through her ties to Park. [Korea Herald]
North Korea, getting money's worth over South Korean political scandal, reprints pics of guillotine erected in central Seoul this weekend. pic.twitter.com/N3O5vhCKdD
Is there anything Choi Soon-sil is not linked to at this point?:
Did scandal-mired Choi Soon-sil play a role in sinking Hanjin Shipping?
Rumors are rife that the shadowy confidant of President Park Geun-hye was an “invisible hand” blocking creditors’ financial aid to the troubled shipping company.
Pressed by snowballing debts, the nation’s No.1 shipper filed for court receivership in August, triggering chaos in the global maritime cargo transportation network. The company has since been forced to sell its core assets, including vessels that operate on its lucrative Asia-U.S. route, in a desperate effort to stay afloat.
There are allegations that decision-makers in the government and Hanjin’s key creditor, the state-backed Korea Development Bank, were positive about extending a lifeline to Hanjin with a cash injection or other measures until March. But an “invisible hand” cut in and abruptly stopped the process, according to the Joongang Ilbo daily.
The newspaper said Choi, 60, broke the deal because of Hanjin’s “lukewarm support” of two nonprofit foundations she controls. The organizations — Mir and K-Sports — were allegedly set up with tens of billions of won “donated” by Korea’s big companies and Choi siphoned funds from the organizations, like personal ATMs.
According to news reports, Hanjin wired a billion won ($877,500) to the organizations, which was less than the amount from other companies with smaller sales than Hanjin. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but it seems like anything remotely negative that has happened in Korea critics are looking for some way to link Choi to it.
It was only a matter of time before the North Koreans began to pile on to the bizarre Choi Soon-sil political scandal rocking South Korean politics:
North Korea is joyfully jumping into a bizarre political scandal rocking Seoul, calling it the inevitable result of a corrupt regime and saying the administration of South Korean President Park Geun-hye is “the most deformed, abnormal and stupid in contemporary society.”
Pyongyang, while allowing none of its media the freedom to point criticism at its own leadership, has wasted no opportunity to lambaste Park in the harshest ways it can.
The North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency on Monday called the scandal a “hideous power-backed corruption case unprecedented in South Korean history.”
Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the North’s ruling party, added the “deformed, abnormal and stupid” characterization and, just for good measure, called Park a “colonial stooge.” [Washington Post]
