Chairwoman Park: “Please Forget That I Am Park Chung-hee’s Daughter”

“Please forget whose daughter I am.”

The opposition Grand National Party Chairwoman Park Geun-hye said at the Permanent Steering Committee Meeting on Monday over the disclosure of records on the Korea-Japan normalization accord, which was reached under former President Park Chung-hee, and related documents on Moon Se-kwang, who killed the first lady while attempting to kill President Park. Her message was that GNP leaders do not need to feel awkward with regard to the incidents that occurred during the Park Chung-hee government.

“I will respond to the disclosure of documents as the representative of a political party, so don’t feel awkward and don’t mind me regarding this issue,” the chairwoman said at a closed meeting.

“I am speaking as the GNP representative, not as an individual,” she emphasized. “Please forget who I am. Do not feel uncomfortable. Just resolutely address the issue.”

The chairwoman seemed to make it clear that she will tackle the issue head-on in case the disclosure of documents spreads to a probe into the Park Chung-hee government. She intends to deal with negative political attacks from both inside and outside her party by separating herself from her father.

“The GNP should self-reflect on the past mistakes that had a negative influence on the modern history,” GNP lawmaker Lee Jae-oh who is a non-mainstreamer said in his report.

A close associate of Chairwoman Park said, “When a special act on the probe of Korean collaborators with imperial Japan became a problem last year, the chairwoman asked to expand the investigation. She will stand firm and carry her opinions.” Chairwoman Park kept her composure while leading several official meetings on Monday when the documents on Moon Se-kwang were made public. In response to journalists asking for her thoughts on the documents on Moon, she calmly said that she did not have much to talk about.

A person close to Park Geun-hye said, “I know that when the first lady passed away, Park said to her father that she would not marry and took the place of her mother.”

Meanwhile the Uri Party responded to the disclosure that it was the right decision since the public has the right to know. Most lawmakers refrained from making a political interpretation of this issue in order not to cause any misunderstanding. Some lawmakers, however, said that the past government took a firm stance against Japan in order to strengthen its own political power.

Yeon-Wook Jung jyw11@donga.com