Woo Byeong-woo would never pass a public hearing

After lying twice about the scandalous properties transaction involving his family, Woo Byeong-woo, the senior presidential secretary for civil affairs, called a meeting with journalists on Wednesday and made an excuse that “he made himself present at the deal in order to comfort his mother-in-law.” During the four hours when Woo was out of office to sign the real estate deal, on the morning of March 18, 2011, the prosecution launched a massive seize and search operation on five savings banks under the command of the central investigation department. In addition to his inability to distinguish work from family affairs, Woo’s involvement in the transaction could be perceived as influence-peddling.

The fact that Woo’s wife and three sisters-in-law bought a 1232.25m²-wide farming land near Dongtan-myeon in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, for 740 million won (650,000 dollars) in November 2014, can constitute a real estate speculation. It is hard to believe their argument in which Woo’s wife and her siblings, the well-known upper class family, bought a land that is one-hour drive away from their home in order to do family farming. There was even a testimony claiming that the employees of Giheung Country Club, which is owned by Woo’s father-in-law, did the farming for Woo’s family, raising mountain herbs and bellflowers. Even if this is true, it would be in violation of the Agricultural Land Act.

The five members of Woo’s family are co-owners of real estate investor Jeong Gang Inc. where Woo’s wife is the CEO. The company was established in 1993, and it has been doing virtually zero operating activities. Given that the family has assets worth 15 billion won (13.17 million dollars) under the name of this company, it naturally arouses suspicion if it is a paper company designed to conceal assets and dodge taxes.

In 2002, the youngest sister of Woo’s wife was sentenced to an 8-month prison term and 2-year probation period on the charge of sending her daughter to an international school in Seoul by forging a Honduran passport for 42,000 dollars. The same person changed her daughter’s nationality to that of the Caribbean islands of St Kitts and Nevis and transferred her to another international school.

Senior presidential secretary for civil affairs is one of the highest public posts who conduct public hearings on high-ranking officials in conjunction with the prosecution, police, the National Intelligence Service, the Board of Audit and Inspection, and the National Tax Service. If Woo were the subject of public hearings, it would be nearly impossible for him to pass them, considering the suspicions alone raised so far such as his mishandling of senior prosecutor Jin Gyeong-joon’s character verification. During the National Security Council meeting on Wednesday, President Park Geun-hye said that she hoped “(Woo) will keep his faith on the strength of hardships,” as if she were rooting for him. Unfortunately, what she said seems very far from soothing public sentiment.

정성희기자 shchung@donga.com