Doorknob trio turns out to be servants of Choi Soon-sil

Evidence has surfaced pointing to involvements of Choi Soon-sil, the scandal-laden confidante of South Korean President Park Geun-hye, in cabinet meetings until late last year through phone calls with Jeong Ho-seong, a former personal secretary of President Park. It is reported that the prosecution recovered recordings from Jeong’s cell phone that Choi was briefed on the meetings and giving him instructions. The recordings contain some oral evidence indicating Jeong’s swearing absolute allegiance to the presidential confidante. In other words, Jeong, one of the “doorknob trio” who is alleged to have monopolized all communication channels to President Park, was not only a messenger but a pawn of Choi.

In addition to the recordings from Jeong’s phone, a number of cases have been detected where the president’s remarks at the cabinet meeting were followed by projects designed to line the pockets of the presidential confidante. Choi founded a private company named the Blue-K on Jan. 12, and President Park announced a week later that the government was operating a system designed to prevent budget waste and misconduct in the public sector that is worth some 298 billion dollars, including the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games. Rumors abound that the Blue-K raced to make a bid for facilities construction projects for the Olympic Games, with Nussli, a Swiss constructor specializing in sports facilities, and the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism backed the bid, citing that the Swiss company’s construction knowhow will help prevent budget wastes.

Lee Geun-myeon, former head of the Ministry of Personnel Management, recently said in an interview, "Ahn Bong-geun, another member of the doorknob trio, stopped cabinet members from contacting the president." Two years ago, Rep. Park Yeong-seon of the Minjoo Party of Korea asked former presidential aide Lee Jae-man if the rumor was true that the presidential aides pack their documents and leave the presidential office every night. A possible speculation would be that it was the trio who cut off face-to-face briefings, not the president avoiding the ministers, and that the three men had been providing confidential information to Choi and receiving orders from her. While it has been reported that the employment of the three men was recommended by Choi’s ex-husband, Jeong Yun-hoi, popular opinion holds that Choi used the three aides to cover the eyes and ears of President Park and manipulated major state affairs. If the act of arrogation committed by the trio was indeed to fulfil Choi’s instructions, it would be fair to say that the current administration of South Korea has been jointly ruled by Park and Choi.

For the Korean public, there is no telling if the policy remarks on state affairs made by the president were conceived by President Park or Choi Soon-sil. Some question if the trio was working for Choi from the very start. The revelation is both outrageous and abject that our president, who was elected through a democratic process, has been manipulated by a puppet master or a de facto “shadow president.” President Park must provide a clear explanation about the numerous scandals and take full responsibility, or, even if she retires from the front line of power, recovering public trust will not be possible.

한기흥기자 eligius@donga.com