Since October last year, when initial reports broke out on the alleged influence-peddling of Choi Soon-sil, President Park Geun-hye has hardly attempted to reach across the aisle and explain herself to opponents and investigators.

Instead, she chose to cling strongly to her loyalists -- a strategy which not only sent her approval rating to a record-low but also intensified the chronic divide among political clusters here.

For such reasons, her defense often leaned toward an emotional approach, describing herself as a victim of Choi’s fraudulent practices and accusing opponents of having “underlying political intentions” against the embattled state leader.

On Thursday, a day ahead of the Constitutional Court’s final judgment on Park’s impeachment, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae prolonged its silence, refraining from commenting on the possible ouster of the suspended president.
 

“(The president) is keeping watch on the upcoming result in a cool and composed manner,” said an official of the Blue House, adding that there would be no official message from Park.

While a majority of the nation is hoping for the scandal-ridden president’s expulsion from power, the presidential office continued to allude at hope for the dismissal of the impeachment case, so that Park may resume state affairs.

“Never during her term in office has the president violated the Constitution or any laws, which makes the impeachment trail groundless,” the official said.

“We expect the Constitutional Court to make a reasonable judgment.”

In contrast to what Park may think, however, a survey conducted by local pollster Realmeter showed that 76.9 percent of the respondents approved of Park’s impeachment as of Wednesday, with 20.3 percent opposing it.

Park’s response on what could possibly be her second last day in presidency was a reflection of her defensive moves over the past months -- sidestepping disadvantageous issues and holding out against accusations for as long as possible.

The starting point was her first response on Oct. 25 last year, the day after broadcaster JTBC suggested suspicions that Park’s longtime friend Choi had meddled in presidential speeches and other key state affairs.

Denial was Park’s immediate choice of action.

“Choi is a personal acquaintance who helped me out in my difficult times in the past, and I have sometimes asked for her help in some of the promotional materials and speeches,” she said in a surprise apology.

Claiming that Choi’s language was useful in “angling toward the public,” Park asserted that such “personal help” only lasted during the first few months of her presidency, until her secretariat was fully established.

Her arguments were soon refuted by a set of evidence showing that Choi continued to have influence on state affairs for her own benefits even after those initial months, which immediately sent her approval rating to a record-low of 4 percent by early December, just before the National Assembly passed her impeachment bill.

Despite the tangible blow on her reputation, Park once again relied on making emotional appeals, instead of facing the controversy head on.

“Ever since I entered Cheong Wa Dae, I have cut off ties with my own family members, in fear of unsavory scandals, leaving myself in solitude,” she said in her second address to the nation on Nov. 4 last year.

“It is true that I have let down my guard (toward Choi) as she stood beside me throughout my hardest times.”

Her comments alluding to her past -- filled with tragic experiences such as the assassination of both her parents and estrangement with her younger siblings -- seemed to work on Park loyalists, while further appalling her opponents.

“To think that this is what I became president for, I feel ashamed and distressed,” was parodied all around, in satire of the president’s self-pitying tone.

Speaking for those feeling compassion for the president was Seo Seok-gu, a senior member of Park’s legal representative team, who frequently made news headlines with his controversial remarks.

“Socrates was handed down a death sentence in jury trial and Jesus had to bear the cross. … Democracy, the rule of majority could come at risk when the majority is incited by the media,” he said during a hearing session in January.

Park’s legal team also raised questions against independent counsel Park Young-soo’s team, which had led the investigation since December until closing down last week.

“The special prosecutor’s team lacked political neutrality and equity from the very start,” said Yoo Yeong-ha.

He had no reply to the irony that it was President Park who had appointed the independent counsel Park to his post in December, amid disputes that state prosecutors lack procedural equity.

The lawyers’ words incurred ridicule for the most part, but did have the intended effect of adding fuel to the fury of Park loyalists.

Since Park’s outspoken lawyers started to make their defenses at the court, the frequency as well as the intensity of the so-called “patriot” rallies have increased. The claim of the participants, mostly aged 60 and above, was that they could no longer bear the “socialist conspiracy to throw out the government.”

These fervent pro-Park members were even described by outside observers such as the New York Times as being captivated by a “personality cult.”

The president’s own political home has been ill at ease with such blind loyalty toward the president. The consequence was the divide of the former ruling Saenuri Party into the relatively reformative splinter Bareun Party and the conventional Saenuri, which later changed its name to the current Liberty Korea Party.

Before the split, the non-Park members of the conservative camp, along with some of the pro-Park group, had suggested that the president step down voluntarily and avoid the disgrace of being impeached. Their reason was that Park had already lost her dignity while struggling to avoid the investigators’ questioning and refuting the allegations raised against her.

The speculation of “disciplinary resignation” once again gained some ground last week while the court was gearing up for its final ruling.

The Blue House and Park’s lawyers, however, ruled out the possibility and pledged to face the court’s judgment. This, in turn, triggered rumors that the president was confident of the court’s dismissal of her impeachment case, despite all the odds.


By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)