S. Korean spokesman denies abuse allegations

SEOUL, South Korea - A spokesman for South Korean President Park Geun-hye who was fired while he was visiting the United States with her on her state visit denied Saturday that he had sexually abused a young woman in a Washington hotel.

The sudden firing of the spokesman, Yoon Changjung, 56, followed by the allegations that he sexually groped a woman, has fueled criticism of Park, whom the political opposition has often accused of filling key posts with figures with questionable standards.

South Korean media have cited a Washington police report in which the woman accused Yoon of grabbing her buttocks without permission. They said the woman was hired by the South Korean Embassy in Washington to be Yoon’s guide.

During a news conference Saturday in a Seoul restaurant, Yoon said he touchedthe back of the woman’s waist lightly only once as a gesture of encouragement.

The incident took place ashe, the woman and his driver were leaving a Washington hotel bar after spending 30 minutes there together, Yoonsaid. He said he invited her for drinks because he felt he had chastised the young woman too harshly for beinga problematic guide. He said he had angrily told her several times, “Who is the guide, you or me?”

“Now I am deeply repentant for not properly understanding the American culture, and I offer my sincere word of consolation to the guide,” Yoon said, facing a bank of television cameras.

He also apologized to the people and Park for causing “trouble” and a “stain in the successful summit.”

Upon Park’s return home Friday after the five-day visit, her chief press secretary, Lee Nam-ki, who was Yoon’s supervisor, issued an apology addressed both to the president and to the people, blaming Yoon for “an indecent behavior.”

Lee said Yoon’s act “damaged the national prestige,” but he did not elaborate.

Yoon disputed a widely circulated account in domestic media in which he was accused of calling the young woman into his hotel room while wearing only underwear. On Saturday, he said he was in his underwear when he rushed to a knock at the door the morning after the bar incident, expecting an urgent message. He said that when he found the guide at the door, he turned her away.

Yoon said that when the allegation of sexual abuse emerged, Lee told him to return home without even giving him time to pack his belongings, even though he had insisted on clearing his name while still in the United States.

The South Korean government had billed Park’s Washington trip as a success, but the incident involving Yoon has cast a cloud. During the trip, Park met with President Barack Obama on Tuesday and spoke before Congress on Wednesday.

The political opposition called on Park to apologize for Yoon’s behavior, which it said humiliated the nation.

Yoon had been Park’s main spokesman since she was the president-elect. Park won the presidency in December.

Front Section, Pages 9 on 05/12/2013

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