Pres. Park criticizes sunshine and appeasement policies

President Park Geun-hye criticized the opposition parties’ request on Thursday to hold dialogues with Pyongyang, saying, “The recent 4th and 5th nuclear tests were carried out not because of the lack of dialogues with the North, but because of the aid given to invite dialogues funded their nuclear development.”

“South Korea is in a difficult situation in terms of security and economy,” President Park said at a meeting with her senior secretaries on Thursday. “One of the worst case scenarios is becoming a reality, as the North could take any provocative actions anytime based on their advanced nuclear and missile technology.”

On opposition parties' request for dialogues with the North, President Park maintained her stance, saying, “Today’s threats have become a reality, as the South spent time trying to negotiate with the North, which was in fact unwilling to denuclearize but rather advanced their nuclear capacity behind the curtains.” President Park’s remarks can be interpreted as a criticism on the “sunshine policy” taken by the former Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun administrations.

“Slandering and revealing unconfirmed facts only stir up the society and aggravate social order in times of urgency,” she also said. “It will be all the more difficult for us to overcome the current complex crisis when the public fail to stand united as one and politicians are mired in bipartisanship.” The remarks are reportedly aimed to the opposition parties and several media, as a response to suspicions on the Mir Foundation and K-Sports Foundation. Under the banner of “a second Ilhae Foundation scandal” and “creative economy gate,” opposing parties are currently on an all-out attack against Cheong Wa Dae, bringing up issues on the fund-raising process of the two foundations, and the possible intervention on personnel matters of the K-Sports Foundation by Choi Sun-sil, a confidant to President Park. The president seems to have decided to confront her opponents, as she will be faced with higher possibilities of becoming a lame-duck once she loses ground.

“The state affairs are already mired, as suspicions over senior presidential secretary for civil affairs Woo Byung-woo continued to slow down the National Assembly for more than two months,” one senior staff member of Cheong Wa Dae said. “While the president is focused on responding to the North Korean nuclear provocations, she is concerned that another allegation will weaken the National Assembly, which should currently raise one voice.”

장택동 기자will71@donga.com