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Controversy is growing after it was learned that a parody photo showing the face of former Grand National Party head Park Geun-hye attached to the half naked body of an actress was posted on the homepage of Cheong Wa Dae for 15 hours.
Cheong Wa Dae public information secretary Lee Byung-wan said Wednesday that, "As the man responsible for public information, I apologize to former chairwoman Park for the inappropriate parody that was posted [on the homepage]... I will take care to ensure that this never happens again." Lee called Park today and directly apologized.
Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Kim Jong-shik said, "Someone in the office mistakenly placed a post written by an Internet user onto the opening screen... Cheong Wa Dae Chief of Staff Kim Woo-sik strongly warned the relevant secretarial offices and staff."
The problematic picture was made by an Internet user and posted onto Cheong Wa Dae's Internet bulletin board. Afterward, a staff member at Cheong Wa Dae's public information office made the photo the first post of the front page of the bulletin board on Tuesday afternoon. After several newspapers reported this on Wednesday morning, the image was erased at 7 a.m.
The Grand National Party said, "The placing of such an image on the front page, where it catches the eye, was an intentional political move." It called for those who were involved to be censured and President Roh Moo-hyun to publicly apologize.
Park Geun-hye said, "Cheong Wa Dae's childishness and wretchedness are boundless... One cannot help but think this was intentional, and if we continue like this, the days ahead for our nation are dark."
During National Assembly interpellations Wednesday, Grand National Party lawmakers Park Soon-ja and Bae Il-do strongly pressed Prime Minister Lee Hai-chan on this matter.
In a statement, 15 female lawmakers of the Grand National Party said, "We are furious about how [Cheong Wa Dae] could waywardly defile someone's character while at the same time crying for the development of women's politics with words alone... Cheong Wa Dae and the president must get on their knees before the citizens and women and apologize."
During parliamentary interpellations, Prime Minister Lee Hai-chan said, "This is not a matter for which the president should apologize," and Justice Minister Kang Geum-sil said, "We are prepared to aggressively investigate the matter if its possible to start an investigation... But relevant legal articles should be examined to see if this is a matter for investigation.
(Shin Jeong-rok, jrshin@chosun.com )
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