South Korea's culture minister resigns under public pressure

President Kim's government has suffered periodic corruption scandals since he took office in early 1998

September 20, 2000
Web posted at: 10:50 AM HKT (0250 GMT)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- A close aide to President Kim Dae-jung who has been a key player in reconciliation talks with North Korea resigned Wednesday amid allegations of involvement in an influence-pedaling scandal.

The downfall of Culture and Tourism Minister Park Jie-won was a big setback for Kim, whose government has been shaken periodically by corruption scandals since he took office in early 1998.

But Park's resignation was unlikely to significantly disrupt the rapprochement now under way between South Korea and communist North Korea, which have been enemies since the 1950-53 Korean War.

Red Cross officials from both Koreas met Wednesday at the scenic North Korean resort of Diamond Mountain to discuss plans for reunions of separated family members.

Talks between the defense ministers of both Koreas, as well as separate talks between high-level officials from Seoul and Pyongyang, were scheduled next week on the South Korean resort island of Cheju.

Park, who was instrumental setting up a historic summit in June between his president and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, has been under pressure to resign following news reports that he may have forced a local bank to illegally lend big loans to a businessman.

At a news conference announcing his resignation, Park denied the allegation and said he will subject himself to an investigation by prosecutors.

"I am sorry that I have caused worries for the president and the people," Park said.

A longtime spokesman of the president, Park became the culture and tourism minister in a Cabinet reshuffle in May last year.

Park has been one of Kim's point men in his policy of engaging North Korea after decades of enmity on the divided Korean peninsula. In secret talks in Beijing in April, Park struck the summit deal with North Korean negotiators.

The summit, the first ever between the two Koreas, is seen as President Kim's biggest achievement since he took power.

Park accompanied the president during his summit in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital.

In August, Park led a delegation of South Korean news media executives to North Korea, an isolated country that had been closed to most of the news media of the outside world.

Park's resignation followed that of the government's education minister earlier this month. Song Ja, a former university president, had been accused of making millions of dollars in profits through unethical means.

Copyright 2000 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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