South Korea's president offered a surprise public apology today after acknowledging her close ties to a mysterious woman at the center of a corruption scandal.
President Park Geun-hye's apology came a day after a South Korean TV network, JTBC, reported that the woman, who has no government job, was informally involved in editing some of Park's key speeches. Other media have speculated that the woman, Choi Soon-sil, might have meddled in other state affairs.
Park's approval ratings have plummeted to a record low amid weeks of media reports that Choi might have used her connections to Park to push companies to make tens of millions of dollars in contributions to establish two nonprofit foundations.
In a nationally televised speech, Park said that Choi helped her on speeches and public relations issues during her 2012 presidential campaign and after her 2013 inauguration.
Park said she eventually stopped getting such help from Choi, but didn't say when that help stopped.
"To me, it was something that I did out of a pure intent to do things more thoroughly, but regardless of any reason, I am sorry that I caused concern to the people of our nation, caught them by surprise and hurt their feelings," Park said, bowing deeply.
Park didn't mention Choi's corruption allegations, but there was a frenzied social media reaction in South Korea over the president's acknowledgment.
The JTBC network said in its report yesterday that it obtained a personal computer abandoned by Choi that contained 44 files carrying drafts of some of Park's speeches, remarks at Cabinet meetings and other public comments.
Some speech drafts included highlighted parts, suggesting that Choi made some changes to original texts, the report said.
It's not clear who sent such drafts to Choi. But if the JTBC report is accurate, those involved in the transfer of texts would face legal punishment for breaking laws that govern behavior of civil servants.
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