A hypocritical Blue House

The staff of the Blue House have caused a series of controversies with their misdeeds. The presidential office announced it returned the entire team of special investigators assigned to the anticorruption secretariat office under the senior secretary of civil affairs back to their original workplaces at the prosecution and police.

According to ruling party sources, an investigator under the team was implicated in a bribery case involving one of his acquaintances. While exploring the case, the police also discovered that members of the special investigation team were entertained with a golf round during office hours on a weekday.

Confounded to learn that a team in charge of monitoring the wrongdoing of public officials has come under suspicion for corruption, the Blue House hurriedly replaced them.

The Moon Jae-in administration, which vowed to be ethically clean, has spent the last 18 months digging up past wrongdoings to root out what it calls “social evils.” It is ironic that there are corrupt members in such an administration.

The Blue House staff has recently made scandalous news. An official of the presidential security office was detained by police after he beat a civilian in a bar and acted violently toward police officers. The Blue House’s protocol secretary, Kim Jong-chun, was also dismissed after he was caught driving with a blood alcohol level enough to have license revoked. Senior secretary Song In-bae is also under criminal investigation over allegations that he illicitly pocketed campaign funds worth 280 million won ($249,554). The Blue House may have been too blinded with its own self-righteousness to keep itself in order.

The Blue House has been disappointing in taking action against the scandals involving its staff. It declined to confirm the cases, saying they are under investigation by the prosecution. Cho Kuk, the senior presidential secretary for civil affairs, urged the prosecution and police to clear up the case as soon as possible.

The replacement was made by the chief of staff while the president was away on an overseas trip. The presidential office said it has referred the case to the prosecution and police because there was a limit to its internal investigation. It’s impossible to enforce order with such a slack response.

Cho, who spearheaded the anticorruption team, must answer to the scandal. He himself has been faced with a series of controversies for his poor appointments and inappropriate posts on social media. If he does not solve this matter, he will face more calls from the opposition to resign.

JoongAng Sunday, Dec. 1-2, Page 34