Member of the National Assembly Hyun Young-hee made the front page of Korean newspapers with the image of her fainting in front of the Busan District Prosecutors’ Office. Hyun, who had just undergone 15 straight hours of questioning from prosecutors in connection with a bribery scandal, was quickly loaded into a car by aides and driven to a hospital.
The investigation that led to Hyun’s public collapse began on August 2nd, when the National Election Commission requested that police look into suspicion Hyun bought her nomination for proportional representative of the Saenuri Party. [Note: South Korean members of the National assembly can be elected directly by their constituents or automatically take office if their party receives sufficient votes, a full explanation of the system can be found here]
Hyun is accused of paying 300 million KRW (265,000 USD) to Hyun Ki-hwan, a member of the nominating committee in the Saenuri Party. She is also under investigation for giving 20 million KRW to then-chairman of the Saenuri Party Hong Joon-pyo, donating political funds under another person’s name, and paying her election volunteers (an act which is illegal in South Korea). Reportedly, Hyun’s alleged crimes were first brought to light when one of her aides who had been passed over for a promotion tipped off the National Election Commission. The aide had been personally involved in handing over the bribe (cash stuffed in a Louis Vuitton bag) to another official.
Hyun firmly denied reports about her bribery, saying she would fully cooperate with the police investigation and even waive her privilege as a sitting member of the National Assembly to be immune to legal prosecution.
The investigation against Hyun could affect the upcoming presidential election in South Korea, as the lawmaker’s misconduct is used to imply unethical behavior from her entire party. Critics are calling on presidential front-runner from the Saenuri Party Park Geun-hye to take responsibility and resign from her position as member of the National Assembly, since she was the one who oversaw the nomination process as the former head of the emergency committee of her party. There are also accusations that Hyun’s bribery was part of systematic selling of the proportional representation nominations.
From YouTube:
From the Chosun Ilbo:
National Assembly member Hyun Young-hee Collapses
Hyun Young-hee (no party affiliation) fainted after undergoing fifteen hours of questioning in the Busan District Prosecutors’ Office in connection with suspicion of paying bribes.
After emerging from the building at around 1:00 a.m. on the morning of August 20th, Hyun gasped “ahhh~” and collapsed. One of Hyun’s aides immediately put her on his back and loaded her into a car, which soon left the scene.
Hyun underwent what was the third of a series of intense questioning sessions at 10:00 in the morning on the 19th. On August 6th and 17th, Hyun also underwent questioning for a period of 14-15 hours, in both cases ending after midnight.
Comments from Daum:
hardwon:
I wonder why she fainted in front of the reporters…
You’re too obvious, corrupt old bag
천상도원:
I don’t know, maybe the next interrogation can be conducted while she is in a wheelchair or lying in a bed…
Gard:
So I guess we’re putting on a show now? That’s all it takes to make you faint? If that’s true then by now all of the lower classes would have died already…
STEELNAIL:
Interesting, isn’t it?
Of all places to faint, she goes right in front of the camera flashes.
Cute. An enemy of the people with her hands up
딤플:
Nice moves~~~
Almost as good as a movie star haha
오목새김:
What a show, show, show
좋은하루:
So natural for a National Assembly member, you’ve got to recognize her acting skills… Just bury them in the ground
유리조각:
Why? Why? Why? Every. Single. Time! Is our country, and our country only, like this? One after the other they commit their crimes and then collapse after investigation from the prosecutors–? It’s happening as if it’s scripted…
byins:
We ought to make a national hospital just for people who are being handcuffed.
맑은소리:
The people laugh at the show put on by the New Corruption Specialist Party (In Korean: pun on Saenuri Party)
생각과상식
Hey lady they’ll catch you either way, what kind of show is this!! In any case, she’s just carrying out the orders of the Dog Brain Party [pun on Saenuri Party in Korean] to make a show.. They must have given her a treat and promised that if they get the presidency everything will be resolved
불광불급
What kind of bs is it to call her unaffiliated with a party, you bastards. Call her “former” member of the Saenuri Party. How can it be possible to be unaffiliated with a party and still be nominated as a party’s proportional representative? It seems like the director for this show was the party
Comments from The Chosun Ilbo:
이원희:
A prosecutor who thinks that he has to carry out an interrogation throughout the night in order to do a full investigation is the problem here. Are you only capable of carrying out an investigation when the plaintiff is old and must be forced to stand for questioning late into the night? Interrogating someone late into the night is torture.
박학린:
I can’t tell if these bastards are trying to question someone or trying to kill someone. Late night interrogation after late night interrogation, even if the person had been strong as an ox they would begin to say anything regardless of true guilt if you interrogate them for that long.
박영성:
Taking 4 a.m. classes when I was a student was tiresome, would someone have any strength after 15 hours of interrogation?
이정숙:
The guilty party should receive punishment. But doesn’t there seem to be too much of a difference with the treatment that Ji-won got? [Note: Park Ji-won is a legislator from the opposing Democratic United Party who also underwent interrogation recently] 15 hours of interrogation is torture. To Ji-won they asked nicely for him to come in for questioning and made every effort to have him be comfortable, but to a weak person they do this kind of excessive interrogation?
김재현:
I hereby submit National Assembly Member Hyun Young-hee for consideration for first prize in the annual contest for acting in a broadcast medium.
안지현:
I guess if you are going to become a National Assembly Member you have to have those kind of acting skills…
이성우:
What’s the world come to? You thought money would solve everything? You couldn’t even manage a single political aide, what kind of political creep are you!
정주연:
Lee Myung-bak, Lee Sang-deuk, and Hyun Young-hee [Note: all members of the ruling party which are accused of corruption] actors and the rest of the creeps in the Saenuri Party, just go visit Dokdo and you will be acquitted
