Blue House, "No Involvement in 'Favoritism Toward Tak Hyun-min's Close Associates' Allegations... Strong Regret"

Tak Hyun-min, Protocol Secretary to the Blue House (right), is entering the Blue House Guesthouse with President Moon Jae-in on the 14th, where the 'Korean New Deal National Report Conference' is being held. 2020.7.14 [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Son Sun-hee] On the 14th, the Blue House dismissed the 'Hankyoreh' report alleging that a newly established planning company founded by close associates of Protocol Secretary Tak Hyun-min was monopolized with Blue House and government event contracts, stating, "The Protocol Secretary's Office did not intervene in the contract methods, conditions, or amounts during the process of the company securing government department events." They also expressed "strong regret over Hankyoreh Newspaper's irresponsible allegations."

Blue House spokesperson Kang Min-seok expressed dissatisfaction in a written briefing that afternoon, saying, "The report ignores the nature of presidential events and exaggerates facts to raise suspicions of preferential treatment."

Earlier, Hankyoreh reported that Lee (25) and Jang (34), known to be very close to Secretary Tak, secured a total of 22 Blue House and government event contracts through direct contracts from the first year of their appointment until recently, raising suspicions of preferential 'work monopolization.' Despite being a newly established planning company, it reportedly generated about 3 billion KRW in sales over the past 2 years and 10 months through Blue House and government contracts.

In response, spokesperson Kang argued, "Blue House events and government department events must be clearly distinguished," adding, "The company in question secured only 3 direct contract events from the Blue House." According to Kang, the total amount received from these three contracts was 89 million KRW.

He further explained, "Presidential schedules and attendance events are top-level security matters. Usually, once the presidential schedule is set 2 to 3 weeks in advance, the Protocol Secretary's Office must quickly proceed with event planning, composition, and production while maintaining confidentiality. For urgent events requiring external security, it is impossible to follow the 'public contest' format, which takes considerable time. Therefore, direct contracts for presidential events are natural."

He added, "The Protocol Secretary's Office has never forced a specific company, so among all events attended by the president, there are many other planning companies that secured more events than the company pointed out by Hankyoreh."

Hankyoreh pointed out that among the events handled by the company in question, five were directly contracted before corporate registration was completed. In effect, the two representatives of the company, who have a personal relationship with Secretary Tak, secured presidential event contracts as 'individual business owners.'

Regarding this, spokesperson Kang questioned, "Generally, corporate companies tend to be larger than individual companies, but does that mean only large corporations or major planning companies should secure government events?"

Kang stated, "Not only individual business owners but also individuals can take on important roles as long as their capabilities are verified. In past government events attended by the president, several individual business owners, besides the company in question, have managed events. Protocol Secretary Tak, an event planning expert, was also an individual business owner."

He also defended, "To carry out events within tight schedules, a planning company or planner who understands the Protocol Secretary's planning intentions well and can maximize production suitable for the event's nature is necessary. The chief producers of the company had experience directing hundreds of concerts and producing and assistant producing government and private company events."

Spokesperson Kang concluded, "All planning companies contracted for Blue House and government events undergo comprehensive evaluations on post-budget execution, planning appropriateness, and contract fulfillment results. The company in question has never had any issues in post-audits or evaluations."