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| Imprisoned Choi Seo-won, better known as Choi Soon-sil, will release her memoir "Who Am I" on Monday. / Korea Times file |
Imprisoned Choi Soon-sil's memoir "Who Am I" to be published on Monday
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Imprisoned Choi Seo-won, who was born Choi Soon-sil, claims that she has been wrongfully charged.
She is currently serving an 18-year jail term on multiple counts, including abuse of power and obstruction of justice.
In her memoir "Who Am I," to be published on Monday, Choi, 64, claimed that she became the target of political retaliation, denying the allegations against her.
"I'm a victim of political retaliation and have been facing consequences that are tougher than that of the purging of any socialist states. The truth will be revealed sooner or later," she wrote in the preface of the book.
It was reported in 2018 that Choi was working on a memoir in which she planned to disclose her side of truth about the Choi Soon-sil scandal that rocked the nation and triggered the candle-lit rallies calling for then-President Park Geun-hye to step down.
Recently, Yonhap News Agency disclosed some of the content of Choi's memoir days before its publication.
The Choi Soon-sil scandal caused her old friend Park to lose the presidency.
Park was impeached in 2016 and then sent to jail on multiple charges, including abuse of power.
In February, Choi was sentenced to 18 years in prison in the Seoul High Court's ruling on the case that was sent back to it by Supreme Court for a review in 2019.
"The nation was divided during the impeachment and those in favor of the impeachment and those against have clashed ever since. What she did to the nation was grave. Accordingly, Choi has to take responsibility for what she did," the court said.
In the book, Choi denied the media reports about her role during the rule of the Park government. She said she was trying to help Park, dismissing the media for the description of her as the "powerful personal secretary off the chain of command."
"I don't know who created the term. It's nonsensical and I am sick and tired of being called that," her book reads.
She claimed she's not guilty, criticizing the Moon Jae-in government for using "a double standard" on her case and former Justice Minister Cho Kuk.
"I heard that Justice Minister-nominee Cho lied about the allegations he was facing," she wrote. This part seems to have been written before President Moon went ahead with appointing him justice minister despite a myriad of allegations.
Cho's tenure was brief. He stepped down in October and was indicted on multiple counts, including bribery and abuse of power.
"Cho lied again and again. His daughter is also facing allegations," Choi's memoir reads. "But they consistently denied and said 'they don't know' or the allegations they are facing are not based on fact. How could they do this? What kind of people are they?"
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| Choi Seo-won / Korea Times file |
Choi said she regretted her "poor handling" of the allegations surrounding her, her daughter and her long-time friend President Park.
"I had to hang in there but I couldn't. I blame myself for this. My daughter was humiliated by being handcuffed in public. I feel regret because I didn't say a word to the Korean diplomat based in Denmark who blackmailed me. I agonize myself and my heart is wrenching whenever I think of what happened to me at that time," she wrote.
In her memoir, Choi said she helped Park when she was running in the 1998 National Assembly by-election in Daegu's Dalseong district on the ticket of the then-opposition party. She said she encouraged her husband Jung Yoon-hoe to join her to help Park, saying it was what Park wanted them to do.
Choi said she traveled Seoul and Daegu back and forth to help the Park campaign but she tried to keep a low profile because people knew she is the daughter of the controversial pastor Choi Tae-min.
"President Park used to wake up 5 a.m. every morning and was preparing her campaign of the day while listening to AFKN radio (now known as American Forces Network (AFN) radio). She ate cereal with milk for breakfast," Choi wrote. "I watched her win the election on TV with my mom at home. We were so happy and clapped but couldn't show up in her office because we knew our presence wouldn't help her."
She raised a conspiracy theory about the rare coincidence of the spread of coronavirus pandemic and the prosecution's investigations into the Moon government's interruption into the Ulsan by-election and Cho Kuk scandal.
"Because the lingering pandemic stole the show, the two cases didn't get attention from the public. They possibly want to cover up the two cases forever," she wrote.
On the cover of the book, Choi wrote she has experienced tribulations that she wouldn't have faced at all if she hadn't been close to Park and tried to right the wrong through her memoir.
Her book was published by High Vision publishing house and will be on sale at local bookstores from Monday.
