Did I Become President

for this?: Park Geun-Hyes

2016 Public Apologies
Elizabeth Maxey

Choi Soon-shil Gate

Scandal

Choi Soon-shil,
backstage advisor and
influence

Large scale corruption

and influence-peddling

$65.5 million in
donations

Business deals,
academic success,
personal luxury

9.20 Hankyoreh reports on Choi and her

foundations

10.24 JTBC reporters find Chois tablet PC

10.25 President Park admits relationship with

Choi

10.29 First of many large scale protests

11.04 President Park offers a second public

apology

11.29 Third public address, Park will step

down if impeached

Public
Reaction

You call this a country?

Resign, Park Geun-Hye

Driving Questions

Deaf to the citizens voices

The purpose and meaning of these speeches

Why talk but no action?

No one can fathom what Park thinks she may gain

by clinging grimly on the Guardian opinion

Methods

Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA)

Establishing connections between social life

and language and/or semiosis

Social analysis through analysis of complex

processes occurring in texts and interactions

Apply CDA approach to Parks apologies

Supplement analysis with Korean corpus

For me, this was done with a pure-hearted intention to take

care of things more meticulously

I worked hard up till now with the resolve to never cause pain
for the hearts of citizens, but because things have resulted this
way

What I Hope to Find

Analyze how Park presents herself

Understanding the beliefs underlying her selfpresentation

How she perceives herself and why that

matters

Her self-perceived morality?

Thank you!