Ex-lawmaker Chun Yu-ok ends her 4-year silence

Chun Yu-ok, former lawmaker of the Hannara Party, told the Chosun Ilbo through an interview and an article, “When I was the spokeswoman of the Hannara Party, then party leader Park Geun-hye’s speech was completely changed by someone else. It was strange as she announced messages that came from outside, not made by the party," adding, "Now it turned out that such messages were made by Choi Soon-sil. A senior lawmaker once told me that if Park was elected as the president, Presidential Secretary Jeong Yun-hoe, Presidential Secretary Choi Soon-sil would handle the National Affairs.” Chun said that she met Choi Soon-sil serving Park at home and hospital.

Chun called pro-park lawmakers only close to Cheong Wa Dae's powerful trio as "politicians at a convenience store," and described Choi Soon-sil grasped the power like a bat in the cave while the president and ministers failed to fulfil their duties. The former lawmaker said that the people should take the responsibility as they voted for the president because they felt sorry for Park and she was the daughter of a certain father. She also said she never betrayed the people. I don’t know why Chun Yu-ok broke the silence in almost four years. But she made a point.

The quotations in her autobiography “i Chun Yu-ok” (2012) are getting popular now. “To her (Park Geun-hye), the power is a daily necessity tailored to her,” “The presidency is the succession to family business,” nothing more than silly baby talk such as “What about Daejeon?" "Bad, bad president." Such quotations increase the click count in the social media and the Internet. Some insulting comments are also found at her book, such as “a gloomy woman without warmth,” “she says that she takes an economy seat when using domestic flights, but she blocks the seat next to her to avoid the physical touch.”

She depicted former President Roh Moo-hyun as a "kid at the riverside,” and denounced former President Kim Dae-jung by saying, “President Kim stood like an old man suffering from dementia, and agreed on the June 15th North-South Joint Declaration as North Korean leader Kim Jong Il hugged him.” She was the spokeswoman of the Hannara Party under the leadership of Park Geun-hye but left Park for Lee Myung-bak while the two politicians were running for election. No one knows whether Chun left Park for being hated due to her betrayal or for Chun's judgment that Park lacks of talents to be the president.