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| President Park Geun-hye bows her head while standing in the reception hall of Cheong Wa Dae, Friday. Her approval rating fell to record-low 29 percent in the latest Gallup survey released, Friday. / Yonhap |
By Yi Whan-woo
Cheong Wa Dae called foul, Friday, over revelations made in a memoir published by former President Lee Myung-bak.
The presidential office refuted Lee's claim that Park Geun-hye opposed Lee's revision of a 2009 plan to relocate government ministries and agencies for political reasons.
It also criticized Lee, Park's predecessor, for unveiling North Korea's secret demands on a conditional inter-Korean summit when he was in office. It said such a disclosure could undermine Park's efforts to thaw inter-Korean relations.
In an extract from his forthcoming memoir released to the media, Wednesday, Lee wrote that Park carefully calculated her opposition to the Sejong City revision plan.
The memoir, titled, "The President's Time," is an account of Lee's experiences in office from February 2008 to February 2013. It will be published on Feb. 2
Implemented by Lee's predecessor, the late President Roh Moo-hyun, the administrative town project initially sought to relocate two-thirds of government ministries to Sejong, a newly built city in South Chungcheong Province.
The Lee government then came up with a revised plan in 2009 to develop Sejong into a hub for business, science and education, which ultimately failed.
Back then, Park was seen as a potential presidential candidate for the 2012 then-Prime Minister Chung Un-chan would be her main rival from the conservative side.
According to Lee, Park spoke out against the plan to draw support from South Chungcheong provincial voters and gain an edge over Chung, a provincial native.
"It's regretful that Lee misunderstood Park's intentions," a Cheong Wa Dae official said on condition of anonymity.
"It was Lee who pledged to carry out the project in its original form when he won the presidency in December 2007.
"I'm concerned that Lee's misinterpretation over the case will not be beneficial in bringing together the people and political parties."
Cheong Wa Dae also said Lee's revelation of secret negotiations between the two Koreas was "worrisome."
Pyongyang sought to arrange a summit in return for large-scale economic aid, including supplies of rice, corn and fertilizer, according to Lee.
"Such a disclosure is not in the national interest," a presidential official said.
Kim Du-woo, Lee's former senior secretary of public relations, explained that Lee intended to share his experiences in diplomacy and national security.
"It seems the Park government does not have a better understanding over the subjects."
A pro-Lee faction lawmaker of the ruling Saenuri Party said Cheong Wa Dae was "overreacting."
"It's just a memoir," he said, asking to remain anonymous.
Another legislator from the pro-Lee faction said, "It will lead the Park administration nowhere if it continues to fire back at Lee over every issue he covers in his book."
Meanwhile, Rep. Moon Hee-sang of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy slammed Lee as well.
"It seems, looking back at his five-year presidency, the people can't think of a single accomplishment he made, while Lee can hardly think of a single wrongdoing," he said.
"In particular, it is irresponsible to make public negotiations his government had with the North public, especially in this critical moment between the two Koreas,."
