“ARE we living in the Republic of Choi?” asks the Korea Times, a local newspaper. It is the question that has consumed South Korea for the past fortnight, and filled columns of conjecture. Park Geun-hye, the conservative president, has admitted that she turned to an old friend, Choi Soon-sil, for advice on matters of state, even though she had no official position in government. But press reports and opposition politicians suggest that Ms Choi’s influence went much further: that she was in effect a puppeteer controlling Ms Park’s administration, deciding everything from cabinet appointments to policy on North Korea and, prosecutors claim, using her clout to obtain money and favours.
In an effort to contain the explosion of popular anger at the revelations, Ms Park has in the past week fired ten of her aides, including her chief of staff; reshuffled the cabinet; and appointed a new prime minister, Kim Byong-joon. Mr Kim was an aide to Roh Moo-hyun, a liberal former president, and so is notionally a political opponent of Ms Park. His appointment is therefore supposed to be an overture to the opposition. On November 3rd Mr Kim...Continue reading
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