As Sung Wan-jong, former chairman of Keangnam Enterprises, killed himself on April 9 with a suicide note implicating former Presidential secretaries for taking bribes from him, Chongwadae (Presidential Palace) tries to avoid making comments. In his note, Sung claimed he gave money to some of the closest persons to Ms. Park Geun-hye before and after the Presidential election in 2007.
Chongwadae responded on the 10th that it is in no position to say anything about the allegations as the very person is dead and both Presidential secretaries Kim Ki-choon and Huh Tae-yeol are now retired.
Min Kyung-wook, Presidential spokesperson, said in a morning briefing on the 10th, "We don't know anything about it and we didn't check with the two former secretaries." Former Presidential secretary Kim Ki-choon in a phone interview with Yonhap News said about the allegations that he took US$100,000 in 2006 from Keangnam's Sung, "I never did that. It was all a fabricated story." Other news reports quoted Mr. Huh as saying "It never happened with me." Political analysts said it is likely the "scandal" will haunt Chongwadae and the ruling party for months to come.
