[theold]

Park, 29, is accused of making inconsistent remarks about her upbringing and experiences, as well as questionable descriptions of her country of birth.

"She has gone too far," Kim Byeong-uk, a North Korean defector and the founder and president of the small think tank North Korea Development Institute in Seoul told The Korea Times, referring to Korean media reports that quoted a recent article about her in the Washington Post.

"I think she exaggerated her past experiences and the way of the North, probably because she wanted to be at the center of attention."


Park gave a contradicting narrative about her father on a U.S. YouTube channel. She said she and her mother left her father behind in the North without telling him about their defection.

She is also accused of having exaggerated the life she lived in North Korea.

Her inconsistent narratives have called into question the credibility of her testimonies.

The Washington Post on Sunday published an investigative story about Park, questioning her inconsistencies. Other defectors living in South Korea learned of the news after a couple of Korean media outlets ran similar stories, quoting the U.S. media outlet.

An Chan-il, chairman of the World North Korea Research Center in Seoul, said other defectors could suffer the consequences of Park's actions.

"People may think North Korean defectors are liars," he said.


https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/...ce=taboola