South Korean Politics and Elections

Roh’s Approval Rate Falls to 19.5%

Korea Times, September 16, 2007

By Kim Yon-se
Staff Reporter

The approval rate of President Roh Moo-hyun has dipped to the 10-percent level amid the recent scandal involving alleged inappropriate relations between a senior presidential secretary and a female university professor with fake diplomas.

Roh's approval rate stood at 19.5 percent as of Sept. 12, down 5.6 percentage points from a week ago, according to a poll taken by CBS and RealMeter, a political issue surveyor, on 527 Koreans nationwide.

RealMeter said his rate had approached the 40 percent mark in 2005 and early 2006.

The poll also showed that 69.7 percent of respondents said Roh is not successful in conducting state affairs, while only 19.5 percent rated him positively in this regard.

Among the respondents who support the pro-government United New Democratic Party (UNDP), 51.3 percent rated the president negatively in terms of statesmanship.

By age, the ratio of negative assessment on the president was the highest among those over 50 years old, with the percentage posting 75.2 percent, followed by those in their 20s with 73 percent.

The prosecution is investigating the scandal in which Roh's senior secretary for policy planning _ Byeon Yang-kyoon _ allegedly abused authority in protecting and sponsoring his long-time romantic partner _ Shin Jeong-ah _ who is accused of fabricating her academic credentials.

Roh turned 61 on Sunday, but birthday celebrations were cancelled as the mood at the presidential office is far from festive.

The president instructed the cancellation of all dinner and luncheon events scheduled with his senior secretaries and Cabinet ministers, as corruption scandals surrounding his former top aides continue to escalate.

``This birthday is the last one President Roh celebrates at Cheong Wa Dae,'' a Roh aide said. ``But the president has finally decided to cancel all the events to avoid any controversy, particularly amid unfavorable public opinion over his former aides' corruption scandals.''

Roh's five-year term will end in February.

kys@koreatimes.co.kr

Roh Regrets Scandals Involving Aides

Korea Times, September 11, 2007

By Kim Yon-se
Staff Reporter

President Roh Moo-hyun Tuesday expressed regret over alleged influence-peddling scandals involving his top aides.

``I'm quite embarrassed. I'm speechless to see two of former presidential secretaries being involved in scandalous cases," he told reporters at Cheong Wa Dae.

The main opposition Grand National Party (GNP) urged Roh to apologize for the scandal.

Roh dismissed his chief national policy secretary Byeon Yang-kyoon Monday for having maintained improper relations with Shin Jeong-ah, former art professor at Dongguk University in Seoul who is now on the wanted list for fabricating her academic degrees. Byeon, 58, has been accused of protecting Shin.

Roh's protocol secretary, Jung Yun-jae, resigned last month after the prosecution confirmed that Jung had arranged a controversial meeting over dinner between the head of the Busan Regional Tax Office and a corrupt builder operating in the southern port city.

Roh said it is an issue requiring the President's apology. But he said, ``The important thing is that nothing has been confirmed yet.''

He hinted that the presidential office would not make an apology until the prosecution announces its investigation results. ``The case is irrelevant with leakage or abuse of power.''

But Roh said although he was confident about his judgments thus far, ``because of Byeon's case, I've lost confidence in my judgment. I'm going through a difficult time.''

The presidential office said Monday that Byeon maintained romantic relations with Shin for several years since they first met and Shin presented herself as a fellow graduate of Yale University.

The 35-year-old Shin rocked the country after revelations that she had become an art professor at Dongguk University in 2005 with a fabricated Yale doctorate.

GNP spokeswoman Na Kyung-won did not rule out the possibility that presidential contender Lee Hae-chan of the pro-government United New Democratic Party (UNDP) might have been implicated in the degree fake scandal.

Na urged the prosecution to investigation the case thoroughly.

The GNP spokeswoman, arguing that Roh tried to cover up the scandal, called on Roh to apologize for the case.

Political observers speculate that with the presidential election just three months away, the scandal could deal a fatal blow to the Roh government, depending on the results of further investigation.

Roh's five-year single presidential term expires next February. He cannot seek reelection under the Constitution.

Byeon's suspected relationship with Shin first surfaced when a senior Buddhist monk disclosed last month that Byeon had pressured him to help the disgraced art professor cling to her professorship and her co-director job at the Gwangju Biennale.

Byeon was also found to have made an international call in early July to discuss Shin's situation with the Buddhist monk while accompanying Roh on a trip to Guatemala.

kys@koreatimes.co.kr

Roh's Key Aide Sacked

Prosecution to Summon Disgraced Ex-Secretary

Korea Times, September 10, 2007

By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter

The prosecution plans to summon a top policy planner for President Roh Moo-hyun, who resigned Monday for apparently lying about his relationship with a 35-year degree falsifier and a former professor of Dongguk University in Seoul.

Upon arrival from Sydney where he attended the annual APEC forum Monday morning, Roh accepted the resignation of Byeon Yang-kyoon, 58, the senior presidential secretary for policy planning.

Byeon was confirmed to have peddled his influence to protect Shin Jeong-ah, who had worked as an art curator.

The two met frequently as alumni of Yale University although Shin is not a graduate of the prestigious American university.

Roh asked Jeon Hae-cheol, senior presidential secretary for civil affairs, to accept the resignation so that prosecutors could investigate Byeon.

The President gave the instruction after he received a report that Byeon protected Shin who has been at the center of a recent fake degree scandal.

Justice Minister Chung Soung-jin told Moon Jae-in, chief of staff for Roh, Sunday, that the disgraced secretary might face questions from the prosecution.

The presidential office did not clarify what it meant by the close ties between Byeon and Shin. It was reported that the two exchanged ``love letters'' for about 100 times. But the prosecution refused to confirm the allegation.

The disgraced secretary also lied about his role in the scandal, the presidential office confirmed. Upon receiving the report, President Roh was reported angry, a source said.

Jeon said the prosecution seized compelling evidence of the Byeon-Shin connection after examining Shin's e-mails, phone records and bank accounts.

``The two were keeping in touch while the investigation into the scandal was underway,'' Jeon said.

Byeon also contacted Buddhist monk Jang Yoon, who had called attention to the fake degrees, while accompanying President Roh on a trip to Guatemala in early July, in an apparent attempt to protect Shin. Byeon had repeatedly denied this allegation.

Jang was the first whistle blower on Shin's fake Yale degree when he was a board member of the university founded by Buddhists. The university filed a lawsuit against Shin.

Shin was picked as a director for the 2008 Gwangju Biennale in early July, and the biennale foundation has also filed a suit against her.

She fled to the United States in mid-July, while Byeon allegedly pressed the monk to keep mum.

As the forgery suspicion grew, prosecutors last week raided the house and office of Shin.

Dongkook University President Oh Young-gyo also had lied about Byeon's role in a recent press conference. He said that Byeon had nothing to do with the bogus diploma scandal.

The main opposition Grand National Party has now kicked off its own investigation to get a fuller picture of the scandal.


gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr