South Korea’s presidential office forced to explain mass purchase of Viagra

A spokesman for president Park Geun-Hye said the drug – which can treat erectile dysfucntion – was purchased to treat altitude sickness.

South Korean president Park Geun-hye delivers a speech at the national assembly in Seoul on February 16, 2016. Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo/Reuters

SEOUL // A scandal over the South Korean president’s shadowy confidante took an even more bizarre turn Wednesday when Park Geun-Hye’s office was forced to explain a mass purchase of Viagra.

The revelations about Ms Park’s decades-long ties with close friend Choi Soon-Sil and with Choi’s father – the late founder of a cultlike religious group – have sparked huge media interest in the president’s personal life.

On Tuesday an opposition party lawmaker revealed that Ms Park’s office last year bought hundreds of pills which can treat erectile dysfunction, including Viagra and the generic version of the drug.

As the revelation sparked a media frenzy, Ms Park’s spokesman said the drug was purchased to ease possible mountain sickness during the president’s visit in May to high-altitude African nations including Ethiopia.

“We bought it for the trip but did not use it,” said Jung Youn-Kuk, adding that the drug is known to be effective in treating altitude sickness.

Ms Park has never married and has no known partner.

In recent years her office also bought hundreds of injectable doses of human placenta extract and vitamin shots – commonly used for detoxification and as an anti-ageing treatment.

Mr Jung said the doses were bought for workers at the presidential office including Ms Park’s bodyguards.

Prosecutors are investigating whether Ms Park also had various injections prescribed for herself using Ms Choi’s name at private clinics, without the knowledge of the official presidential medical staff.

In a scandal that has engulfed the presidency, the two women are accused of colluding to coerce local firms to donate tens of millions of dollars to dubious non-profit foundations controlled by Ms Choi.

* Agence France-Presse