When President Park Geun-hye took the podium last week to apologize for her dubious relationship with Choi soon-sil, the 64-year-old president appeared to be as frail and dispirited as ever.

“She helped me when I was going through difficult times,” said Park in a nationally televised press conference, apparently referring to her tragic family history. Park, the daughter of military strongman Park Chung-hee, lost her mother in 1974 to a bullet meant for her father. Five years later, her father was assassinated by his intelligence chief.  

It was not the first time she has been on the hot seat for her relationship with the Choi family. 

Throughout her political career, she has constantly fought lurid rumors regarding her ties to Choi’s father -- Choi Tae-min, a pseudo-Christian cult leader, who, according to a 2007 US embassy cable revealed by WikiLeaks, was rumored to “have complete control over her body and soul.”

Whenever someone raised questions about the elder Choi, Park reacted angrily. During the primary presidential race in 2007, she famously said those who made up such rumors “should be punished by the divine law.”

Now that the Chois have become the cause of her biggest political crisis, many people can’t help but wonder: Why did the president maintain her relations with the Chois for all those years? What made the president so reluctant to cut her ties?

Various theories abound in political circles, among the public and even among psychologists.

One of them is that the Chois may have been like a family for Park, who spent most of her private life by herself. She has never married and has no family of her own, having been estranged from her younger siblings.

“Her brother and sister are not her family members -- the Chois are her real family,” said Jun Yeo-ok, a former lawmaker who served Park as a spokesperson until their relationship soured in 2007. “Average people would have abandoned such family, but she kept them in heart.”

The other theory is the president has been “mystified” by the elder Choi and her belief in him is religious, and therefore beyond logic.

“It has been like how sorcery works,” said Chung Doo-un, a former three-term lawmaker from the president’s own Saenuri Party. “For Park, the elder Choi has been someone like a demigod, and I assume it is the case until now. I don’t think there is another way to explain such a relationship but this.”

According to a media report earlier in the week, Park Ji-man had described the president as acting strangely, as if she was “hypnotized,” whenever talking about Choi Soon-sil. The conservation was reportedly with former Cheong Wa Dae official Park Gwan-chun, one of the first among Park’s aides to expose the alleged influence-peddling of Choi to the public.

Kim Tae-hyung, a psychologist who published his own analysis of President Park in 2015, said Park, who lost her parents when she was young, has a “commitment issue,” and the childhood trauma has prompted her to rely too much on the Chois.

“Psychologically speaking, I think the president was held hostage by the Chois,” said Kim. “I don’t think the president has the ability to address the crisis. Since they cannot help now, I’m afraid she may undergo a mental breakdown.”

In his previous book, the psychologist compared the president to ancient leaders who ascended to power despite their lack of interest in politics. He noted that unlike other political leaders and her predecessors, she appeared to be indifferent to expanding power by herself.

“Most politicians have wanted to assert themselves,” wrote Kim. “But President Park seems to act the other way around -- since she entered politics she has highlighted the fact she is done with her role. I think her being elected as president is not something she wants, but her supporters wanted.” 

By Yeo Jun-suk (jasonyeo@heraldcorp.com)