Park Administration on the Defensive About Claims Made In Former President’s Book
It looks like the Park administration is upset with some of the details included in former President Lee Myung-bak’s book about his time in office:
The Blue House expressed its annoyance with the memoir released by former President Lee Myung-bak Friday, saying it would not help national interest.
A senior Blue House official speaking on the condition of anonymity said Lee’s revelations of behind-the-scenes talks with North Korean officials in particular would not improve current inter-Korean relations.
The official also said that Lee’s claim in the book about President Park Geun-hye’s real motives for opposing Lee’s plan to scrap the relocation of the central government to Sejong City was based on a “misunderstanding.”
The Blue House’s response, although unofficial, was clear annoyance as the release of the former president’s memoir was brought forward to Friday, three days ahead of its original schedule.
The memoir comes out at a time when President Park’s approval ratings have hit 29 percent, the lowest level since she took office two years ago.
Media reports on leaked manuscripts of the book said that Lee thought Park objected to his revisions to the Sejong City plan because she was worried that former Prime Minister Chung Un-chan, who led the campaign on behalf of the Lee government, could emerge as a threat to her presidential ambitions.
In a press briefing held by Kim Du-woo, former presidential secretary for public relations at the Lee Blue House who participated in writing the memoir, the former president tried to exclude experiences that could trigger political controversy. Kim said the current Blue House occupants would understand Lee’s true intentions once they read the entire book. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
It really wouldn’t be surprising if a politician was concerned about another politician gaining advantage over them, so nothing shocking there. I do not understand why the Park administration would be upset with this assessment that only the most partisan wacko leftist will not admit to being true:
In the memoir entitled “The President’s Time,” Lee touches on inter-Korean relations with a highly critical view of the engagement policy carried out by the two liberal governments that preceded him. Lee said North Korea misused the good intentions of the Seoul government and pursued nuclear weapons development with the financial assistance and economic cooperation provided under Seoul’s “Sunshine Policy.”
You can read more at the link, but Lee’s book has reportedly also made the claim that the North Koreans wanted $10 billion to hold a summit between the two nations. The book will also be translated into English which means I will have to add this to my reading list.
