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South Korea’s Yoon rejects claims a ‘prophet’ advised him to move out of Blue House
- The president’s office has filed defamation complaints against 7 people for claiming a soothsayer was involved in Yoon’s decision to pick a new presidential home
- Self-proclaimed ‘prophet’ Cheongong alleges he has acted like a personal adviser to the president, including providing Yoon counsel on entering politics
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Park Chan-kyongin Seoul
Rival South Korean political parties clashed in parliament over an allegation that a soothsayer was involved in President Yoon Suk-yeol’s decision to move out of his official residence last year.
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The presidential office denied the claims, wasting no time in filing defamation complaints against seven people including a former defence ministry spokesman for spreading “malicious” rumours.
At the centre of the controversy is self-proclaimed “prophet” Cheongong, who alleges he has acted like an undeclared personal adviser to Yoon, including providing counsel on his move to resign as the country’s top prosecutor to enter politics in 2021.
Yoon had made a campaign promise not to use the sprawling but walled-in presidential Blue House that traditionally accommodates both the presidential office and the president’s official residence to better communicate with the public.
The issue of shamans being associated with politicians has become a loaded one since former president Park Geun-hye was impeached and ousted from office in 2017 after it was revealed that she was consulting her close friend Choi Soon-sil, dubbed as a female Rasputin in South Korea, for policy directions.
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