My faith in democracy has crumbled to pieces once and for all after the latest South Korean political scandal erupted last week. The Korean cable news channel JTBC first reported about the so-called Choi Sun-sil scandal, which involved Choi Sun-sil, an elusive Shamanist and a close friend of the Korean President, who has been a controlling figure for numerous years behind the South Korean president, Park Geun-hye. You might just dismiss this as another politician being their usual, corrupt self, but the reason why this needs more attention than it's currently recieving is because Choi is not a politician, but a civilian-- a very rich and pseudo-religious one, in fact. Despite her being a private citizen, she was given unlimited access to top-secret national security issues, drafts of presidential speeches and even control over the President's own wardrobe. The devastating event exposed the uncomfortable reality of the current Korean government, in which a shadowy figure holds the utmost power of the nation.
The Daughter of "The Korean Rasputin"
So who is Choi Sun-sil and why was she granted so much power over Korean politics, despite her civilian standing? Choi Sun-sil is the daughter of a pseudo-religious cult leader, Choi Tae-min. When Park Geun-hye, then the daughter of the former Korean president Park Jung-hee, was emotionally suffering from her mother's assassination, Choi Tae-min befriended Park by convincing her that Park's mother was "inside" him, and he served as a "private messenger" between Park and her mother. After Choi Tae-min's death, his daughter Choi Sun-sil apparently inherited the role as a communicator. The rather clichéd event led to a forty-year-old relationship between Choi's family and Park. This allowed Choi to use her strong ties with the President to influence every aspect of the Korean government and to accumulate astronomical amounts of wealth.
Democracy At Stake in Korea
So just how much was this woman involved in meddling with Korean politics? JTBC took hold of a tablet computer that was tossed away outside Choi's private house. Evidence included forty-four drafts of presidential speeches and other statements that were marked in red-- signs of editing directly on the tablet computer. Furthermore, numerous national security files, cabinet meeting schedules and contact information of presidential aides were also uncovered. Choi repeatedly denied the tablet was hers but failed to explain the various selfies and User ID, which contain's her daughter's name.
Choi has also been pressuring big Korean businesses such as Samsung, Hyundai, and Lotte to each make a $70 million donation towards her two non-corporate foundations, K-Sports and Mi-R. However, it turns out that Choi has been funneling the money for her personal use, especially for buying designer brands and bribing college admissions for her daughter, Chung Yu-ra. Jung wanted to become an Olympic equestrian, but her academic grades and her competition results were just not good enough to be selected for one of Korea's most prestigious universities, Ewha Woman's University. Choi bribed the president of Ewha to set new admission standards to give more credits to applicants with an equestrian background. Chung was the only student who applied as an equestrian so she received the privilege of earning a fabricated acceptance letter from a school she didn't even earn.
Choi is held in custody as of right now, but even the Korean prosecutors are afraid to carry out a proper investigation because of her power and strength. Despite abundant evidence, Choi is strongly denying her actions, dismissing them as "rumors of hate."
Apologies, apologies...meaningless apologies
In response to the presidential scandal, President Park made her first apology speech. The speech only lasted a minute and a half long, and it acknowledged her close relationship with Choi but denied Choi's involvement in politics. "For some period of time after my inauguration, I had asked for her opinion over some materials, but after the secretarial staff at
The Uncertain Future
So far, South Koreans,have responded to the outrageous event by protesting out on the streets in front of Seoul Central Park, demanding Park's resignation or impeachment. However, with only one year left until the next presidential election,there's a high likelihood that Park won't step down from her presidency, serving the remaining term with a lame duck administration.
The presidential scandal not only exposed the selfish desires of a corrupt individual to use the President for her benefits, but also shed light upon the irresponsibility of a national leader, the fraudulent promises of democracy, and the possibility of scandalous corruption yet to be uncovered.
All this time, I had believed that South Korea was a nation built on democracy. However, I soon realized that democracy was only a superficial ideology President Park used to establish her and Choi's dictatorship. The dynamic duo tainted my trust in my own nation, and perpetuated a prolonged fear for an unstable future. l am afraid that this scandal will be easily forgotten due to Choi's arrest, and that the powerful will keep on abusing their power to control the weak and to cover up their misdeeds.
Therefore, we need to actively promote the restoration of democracy back into the crippled nation, from protesting on the streets to sharing your thoughts on social media on this issue. Ignorant people elect ignorant leaders. Let's not let that happen again.
