Until April 27, Koreans will see their president on an overseas trip while the official in the position to work on her behalf at home during the period is fighting off growing suspicion that he received illicit funds.
Prime Minister Lee Wan-koo is at the center of a snowballing scandal surrounding allegations by Sung Woan-jong, a former construction company owner who died in an apparent suicide last week, that he gave large sums of money to Lee and other key figures close to President Park Geun-hye. Lawmakers of the ruling Saenuri Party are calling on the prosecution to investigate Lee with the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy threatening to impeach the prime minister unless he steps down from the No. 2 post in the administration.
Lee has been rejecting calls for his resignation, saying he would give up his life if any concrete evidence surfaced to prove the suspicion against him. But it is becoming increasingly difficult for him to carry out his job as usual in the face of widespread negative sentiment. If he undergoes the prosecution’s questioning while staying in his post, the objectivity of the investigation will be called into question.
During her meeting with ruling party leader Kim Moo-sung shortly before departing for South America on Thursday, Park suggested she would make a decision on whether to dismiss Lee after returning home from the 12-day trip, which will take her to Colombia, Peru, Chile and Brazil. Understandably, the president might have found it hard to leave the post of prime minister vacant while she was abroad. But the public will continue to remain anxious about the confusing situation.
In these volatile circumstances, Kim and other ruling party members need to assume more active roles in managing state affairs. They should continue to work with opposition lawmakers to hammer out major reform measures and pass bills designed to reinvigorate the sluggish economy.
The main parties need to cooperate in containing the scandal, which is likely to go beyond the list of figures pinpointed by Sung, and from hampering or paralyzing parliamentary work. It may be understood that Park will dismiss Lee as soon as returning home, unless suspicion against him is cleared over the coming days to the extent of saving him from serious questioning by the prosecution.
