The presidential office on Tuesday again rejected speculations surrounding chief of staff Im Jong-seok’s recent trip to the Middle East, denying media reports.

After more than a week of simply denying the related reports, Moon’s Senior Secretary for Political Affairs Han Byung-do on Tuesday told reporters that Im’s visit to the UAE was to deliver a handwritten letter from Moon aimed at enhancing bilateral ties, and that Moon and the president of the United Arab Emirates had talked about improving ties in June. 

“Im was supposed to visit the Dongmyeong unit (in the UAE) to encourage South Korean troops; we informed (the UAE) of his visit and we then asked them what they thought about him delivering a handwritten letter, and they said they would welcome it,” Han said.

Later in the day, another senior presidential aide also denied related media reports, saying such reports were “baffling” UAE officials, He added that the nuclear power plant construction was going according to plan, and that Cheong Wa Dae’s claims could easily be verified by related government ministries and Korea Electric Power Corp.

Regarding reports claiming that South Korea and the UAE are seeking closer cooperation in high-tech weapons systems, the official said Cheong Wa Dae is not in a position to verify the reports.

From Dec. 9 to 12, Im visited the United Arab Emirates and Lebanon as President Moon Jae-in’s special envoy. Cheong Wa Dae revealed the information on Dec. 10, which was quickly followed by a number of media reports making a range of claims citing unnamed government sources.

While varying in detail, the media reports claimed Im’s trip concerned the nuclear power plant construction and maintenance contract that a South Korean consortium had won in 2009.

Some claimed Im was sent to delve into past administrations’ wrongdoings related to the contract, while others claimed Im was tasked with appeasing UAE leaders’ discontent at Moon’s policy of reducing reliance on nuclear power.

The Liberty Korea Party, for its part, is calling for a parliamentary investigation, accusing the administration of hiding the truth.

“The Moon Jae-in administration and the Democratic Party of Korea must immediately agree to a parliamentary investigation into the ‘UAE nuclear power plant-gate,’” Liberty Korea Party Floor Leader Rep. Kim Sung-tae said at a rally outside the Blue House on Tuesday.

The party has also threatened to dispatch a group of lawmakers to the UAE to look into the matter

(cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)