Yoon Chang-jung’s return after ‘life in exile'

"My wife got married. That’s all… My life has been messed up." This is the first paragraph of the full-length novel "My Wife God Married" written by novelist Park Hyeon-wook. Now there is an article that starts with "My wife miserably collapsed.... just in five days." This causes thrill like a novel. It is the first line of a post former presidential press secretary Yoon Chang-jung uploaded in his blog "Yoon Chang-jung’s Column World" on Tuesday. Yoon has resumed his blog, which he stopped as he was named the press secretary for President Park Geun-hye in December 2012.

Yoon was embroiled in alleged sexual harassment involving a female intern in the U.S., the first destination of the incumbent president’s overseas tour in May 2013. Back then, he hurriedly returned home ahead of schedule, before being sacked soon after. He brought dishonor to Korea, as evidenced by the fact that The New York Times carried his stories three times at that time. While it was unclear what achievements President Park’s U.S. visit brought about, every detail of Yoon’s disgraceful behaviors was made public in Korea. Since then he was hiding at his home, and effectively took exile on a voluntary basis.

“The administration was heavily criticized for failure in personnel affairs at the early days of the new administration,” Rep. Park Min-shik of the ruling Saenuri Party said at that time. “The government was under criticism for hiring such people as Yoon Chang-jung.” In the meanwhile, Yoon says that he has painfully recognized that justice prevail in life, given that the U.S. prosecution has not indicted him for more than three years, or the statutory limitation for the case, because he is innocent. Of course, he did not mention about the background: He was not indicted due to Washington’s consideration of Korea-U.S. ties. If he was so truly innocent, we wonder why he did not come out to the world earlier.

Yoon Chang-jung kept transformed from reporter to many positions: presidential secretary for President Roh Tae-woo, assistant for press affairs to presidential candidate Lee Hoi-chang, editorial writer, broadcaster and presidential press secretary. He entitled his post, “Scar of my spirit, Yoon Chang-jung’s memoir-like essay” saying that the reason he exists is to write, and that he will leave fairly written records that would dispel his resentment. In his first installment, he is being described as a victim who was forced to a three-year exile under false accusations. We doubt whether his record suggesting “It was trial by the people and trial by public opinions, in which the Korean media and slandering forces behind the media collaborated with each other” was objective and fair at all.