Both Parties Worry About Damage on Park

By Jun Ji-hye

Members of both the ruling Saenuri Party and main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) expressed concern Wednesday about the impact the continuing "memogate" scandal will have on the presidency of Park Geun-hye.

These concerns reached their peak Monday, as her younger brother, Park Ji-man, presented himself before the prosecution for questioning over the scandal that centers on leaked memoranda from Cheong Wa Dae.

"The brother's appearance before the prosecution seems to deal a heavy blow to the President in her management of state affairs," said a lawmaker of the government camp, asking not to be named.

An NPAD lawmaker agreed, saying, "President Park is now passing only the second year of her five-year term It is not good that her family member showed up at the prosecution at this early stage.

"

In the nation's history, political scandals involving presidents' family members have taken place later in their terms, or after they left office.

President Park took office on Feb.

25, 2013.

The leaked memo suggests there was a power struggle involving Park Ji-man and Jeong Yun-hoe, a former confidant of President Park.

The brother also allegedly received more than 100 classified documents from reporters from the Segye Ilbo vernacular daily, which mostly contained information about him and his wife, lawyer Seo Hyang-hee.

Contrary to expectations, the President kept her silence on the day her brother was questioned.

It had been expected that she would say something about the scandal at a meeting with her senior secretaries, given that she previously did so in a bid to defend her administration.

For his part, the brother said nothing when faced with a flurry of questions from reporters in front of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in southern Seoul.

A number of lawmakers have blamed the mounting...