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Ex-lawmaker accurately predicts time, venue of N.K-U.S. summit  

Ex-lawmaker accurately predicts time, venue of N.K-U.S. summit  

Posted May. 12, 2018 07:41,   

Updated May. 12, 2018 07:41

한국어

Choi Jae-sung, former lawmaker for Seoul’s Songpa B district who is running for the upcoming by-election, accurately picked the venue and timing of the North Korea-U.S. summit before official announcement was made. Attention is thus focusing on the reason behind his accurate predictions.

“Singapore is appropriate and the most likely venue for the North Korea-U.S. summit. I think the meeting will take place around June 12 or 13,” Choi told National Assembly correspondents at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday. Asked about the reason behind his picking of specific dates, Choi said, “I am not saying this just by relying on my imagination.” At 11:37 p.m. on the day, hours after Choi’s statement, U.S. President Donald Trump announced in his Twitter post that the summit will take place in Singapore on June 12.

According to the South Korean presidential office on Friday, National Security Office chief Chung Ui-yong was informed on last Friday by White House National Security Advisor John Bolton that the summit would happen in Singapore on June 12 or 13. For this reason, some watchers say that Choi, a key member of the pro-Moon Jae-in faction, could have received tips from the presidential office. Senior spokesman Chang Je-won of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party blasted Choi, saying, “Choi privately utilized public information of the nation that requires strict confidentiality to gain benefit in the election, which is his own private interest.’

In his phone interview with The Dong-A Ilbo, however, Choi denied the allegation, saying, “I made my own judgment by excluding probabilities for which Pyongyang and Washington cannot reach agreement.” He went on to claim, “I reached judgment by myself after having calls with officials in the United States. I am so good at predicting future, people even advise me to become a fortuneteller.”


Kwan-Seok Jang jks@donga.com · Woo-Yeol Choi dnsp@donga.com