Ex-Presidential Aide's Wife Has Lunch With First Lady Fresh Suspicions Surface in Shin-gate Scandal Roh Aide Resigns Over Machinations in Degree Scandal Presidential Aide Scandal 'Still Snowballing' Disgraced Curator Returns to Face the Music Lies, Lies, Lies Prosecutors in Shin-gate to Apply for Arrest Warrant Court Refuses Shin-gate Arrest Warrant Shin-gate Engulfs Heungdeok Temple Second Temple Implicated in Shin-gate Byeon 'Abused Influence in Shin-gate Temple Subsidy'

Her sudden return to Korea raises many questions. Shin had no qualms about lying about her relationship with former chief presidential secretary for national policy Byeon Yang-kyoon during telephone interviews with the press even until the day before her alleged affair with Byeon was revealed. She made absurd comments, saying she was not guilty of forging her Yale University degree and had no idea whether she graduated from the University of Kansas, which says she never did. She even said nobody could catch her unless she returned to Korea. Yet she has voluntarily returned to Korea to face investigators.

Prosecutors summoned Byeon for questioning on the same day. It was evident that they rushed to summon the former presidential aide without even conducting a search of his residence. The pace of the investigation has picked up remarkably. Prosecutors took 44 days to search Shin’s home after Dongguk University filed charges against her and 11 days after news reports surfaced about her alleged affair with Byeon. And is it mere coincidence that Shin’s arrival in Seoul and Byeon’s arrival in front of prosecutors happened on the same day? No wonder prosecutors are being viewed with suspicion for seeking to wrap up this investigation in a hurry, rather than expanding it.

Large question marks remain over the hiring of Shin by Dongguk University, her selection as co-director of the Gwangju Biennale, alleged favoritism in funding shown to art galleries and schools Shin was a part of, and the purchase of artworks by government agencies. Just which powerful figures other than Byeon were involved and which large businesses were pressured to serve as Shin’s patrons remain unanswered. In an interview, Shin said if someone of Byeon’s stature could be called her protector, there were countless others. Jangyoon, the former Dongguk University board member who blew the whistle on Shin’s forged degrees, said Byeon was just the tip of the iceberg.

Are prosecutors interested in answering all these suspicions or are they more interested in closing the case before it gets any bigger? Judging from their attitude so far, the latter seems more likely. If prosecutors summoned Shin and Byeon on the same day to end the case before the Chusok holidays and to minimize the fallout for the inter-Korean summit and the ruling party’s presidential primary, the public will not take it well. We will soon find out whether prosecutors can regain the trust of the public or trigger its wrath and necessitate the appointment of a special, independent prosecutor.