[Summary] Controversy Over Park Hyung-jun's Daughter's Admission Fraud... Ha Tae-kyung Calls It "Nonsense," Democratic Party Says "Educational Corruption Must Be Exposed"

Ha Tae-kyung, a member of the People Power Party, is holding a press conference on Seoul's real estate policy at the National Assembly Communication Office on the 8th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim So-young] On the 23rd, Ha Tae-kyung, a member of the People Power Party, pointed out regarding the allegations of admission corruption involving Park Hyung-joon, the People Power Party candidate for Busan mayor, saying, "Former Hongik University professor Kim Seung-yeon is leading a smear campaign against candidate Park by spreading 'hearsay communications'." The Democratic Party of Korea immediately issued a statement defining the allegations as 'educational corruption' and urged a reinvestigation of the case, which had previously ended with no charges.

On the same day, Ha posted on his Facebook, criticizing former professor Kim’s claims as lacking evidence. Ha said, "(Former professor Kim) himself was a whistleblower in the Hongik University admission corruption case, which was concluded with no charges in 2009. He absurdly claims that the reason was pressure from the administration and that candidate Park Hyung-joon was behind it. The Democratic Party is also siding with him, focusing solely on smear campaigns without verifying facts," he criticized.

Photo by Ha Tae-kyung, captured from the Facebook page of a member of the People Power Party

Ha particularly pointed out, "Does the Democratic Party, which is trying to pin the Hongik University admission corruption allegations on candidate Park Hyung-joon, know that the prosecutor who handled the case with no charges was Lee Seong-yoon, the current head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office?" He emphasized that the allegations ended with no charges. He added, "The Democratic Party is blaming candidate Park without any evidence, even though Prosecutor Lee Seong-yoon, whom they so strongly defend, concluded the case with no charges," repeatedly condemning them.

He continued, "If you are dissatisfied with the investigation results at the time, take it up with Prosecutor Lee. If Prosecutor Lee had received pressure calls from candidate Park and covered up the investigation, would he remain silent now?" He further criticized, "On top of that, they are cunningly twisting facts by attaching children from candidate Park’s pre-remarriage family, which has nothing to do with the investigation, as if candidate Park was involved in wrongdoing."

He added, "No matter how unfavorable the election becomes, it is pitiful that the ruling party does not verify even basic facts and just spouts nonsense for smear campaigns. Our Busan citizens will not be deceived by fake news and smear campaigns," he emphasized.

Former Hongik University College of Fine Arts professor Kim Seung-yeon held a press conference on March 17 in front of the office of Park Hyung-jun, the People Power Party candidate for mayor of Busanjin-gu, Busan, claiming that there was an unfair request involving Park's daughter in the Hongik University entrance exam. Photo by Yonhap News

◆ Former Professor Kim: "There was improper solicitation in Hongik University admissions"

Earlier, former Hongik University Fine Arts professor Kim Seung-yeon appeared on tbs's 'Kim Eo-jun's News Factory' on the 22nd, claiming, "There was improper solicitation in Hongik University admissions," and "I was pressured to give scores above 80, so I gave 85 points to a 30-point work."

Professor Kim said, "I have been acquainted with candidate Park’s wife (Jo Hyun) since 1996. At that time, she ran the largest Jo Hyun Gallery in Busan, and thanks to her, we held a wonderful exhibition." He added, "I met her several times and later found out her husband was the Blue House Senior Secretary for Political Affairs (candidate Park)." He continued, "Around 2000, after the Hongik University Fine Arts practical exam ended, Professor Lee (deceased) called me over, and there were Jo Hyun and her daughter. Her daughter was studying in Europe and came to take the exam through special admission, asking me to grade it." He claimed, "Jo Hyun cried and said in Busan dialect, 'Teacher, please make sure my daughter passes.'"

Professor Kim is known as a whistleblower who exposed the Hongik University Fine Arts admission corruption in 2008. Regarding the situation at the time, he said, "I was investigated three times by the Western District Prosecutors' Office," and "When I testified about five years’ worth of admission corruption, I testified that the admission fraud operation had several code numbers. The prosecutor said my testimony was all correct after investigating."

Professor Kim said, "At the beginning of the investigation, the prosecutors seemed very enthusiastic," but claimed, "For some reason, the prosecution’s investigation fizzled out, ended with no charges, and I heard from prosecution officials that political pressure was involved." A member of the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office investigation team told Hankook Ilbo in a phone interview, "We conducted a thorough investigation based on law and principles, including extensive financial tracking," and "There was no external pressure during the investigation."

The Democratic Party of Korea demanded a reinvestigation into the allegations of candidate Park’s daughter’s admission interference. On the 22nd, Choi Ji-eun, spokesperson for the Democratic Party’s Central Election Countermeasures Committee, issued a statement saying, "Candidate Park should confirm with the school whether his daughter applied to Hongik University and disclose it," and urged, "The prosecution should reinvestigate the 2008 Hongik University Fine Arts admission corruption case to uncover any educational corruption."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.