Representative Suh Learns How to Lie

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Representative Suh Learns How to Lie

“Today at about 10 a.m. representaive Suh Young-hoon (Millenium Democratic Party) visited Kim Jong-pil’s (JP, honorary president of United Liberal Democrats) Shindang-dong home where he had a 15 minute conference.” [Kim’s assistant, Lee Duk-ju]

“Those people (United Liberal Democrats) are lying to you. I never met him (JP),” retorted representative Suh, in response to the question from the press on the evening of June 7, on whether he had actually met with JP.

“I would never tell a lie about such a thing. I did not meet him,” stated representative Suh on June 8.

“On June 7, representative Suh visited Kim Jong-pil’s Shindang-dong home with chief secretary Jung Dong-chae where he voiced his appreciation for the ULD’s help in the Speaker of the House election,” explained ULD spokesperson Kim Hak-won.

As the rumor surrounding Suh and his alleged visit to JP‘s home began to attract attention from the press, the two parties’ explanations quickly diverged. As the hours passed, more and more circumstantial evidence appeared supporting the runor that the to partie shad actually met at JP’s home.

In the MDP meeting on June 8, Suh continued to deny the rumor. When reporters stated, “We received confirmation from JP’s people,” he continued his denial, saying “Did JP confirm it for you himself? If you ask JP, the answer should be different.”

When the meeting was later confirmed, chief secretary Jung Dong-chae apologized by saying, “Suh probably continued to deny the fact because the two promised not to reveal the meeting to anyone.” While Suh accused the ULD of failing to honor its promise not to reveal the meeting, Lee Soo-young, the chief secretary for Kim Jong-pil, explained that “We never promised to not reveal this metting to others.”

This is not the only time that there have been problems because of secret meetings between politicians. In July of last year, because of the top-secret meeting between DJ and JP, JP had to deal with a swirl of accusations and rumors.

Another representative from the MDP stated that, “This incident happened because of the culture behind Korean politics. Secret dealings have become second-hand, and the people are no longer surprised by news of such incidents. Representative Suh was quite respected for his honesty prior to this incident. I am afraid that he will lose the trust from the people.”<>





by Kim Jung-hwa

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