President Park Geun-hye is briefed about the sinking of ferry Sewol at a disaster response center at 5:15 p.m. on April 16, 2014. Park arrived at the center when nearly all of the ferry was submerged. Allegations have it that Park spent about 90 minutes having her hair styled at the presidential office before going to the center. / Korea Times file



By Kim Bo-eun, Chung Hyun-chae



President Park Geun-hye spent 90 minutes getting her hair styled by a popular hairdresser at her residence at Cheong Wa Dae while the Sewol ferry was sinking on April 16, 2014, the local daily Hankyoreh reported Tuesday.



The 90 minutes were part of the "missing seven hours" while the ferry was sinking, during which nobody saw the President who only received written or phone reports about the incident without holding an emergency meeting with government officials.



With Cheong Wa Dae being denounced for an inept response to the sinking, Park's hair styling during the critical hours may deal another blow to her if it is proven true.



According to the newspaper, a hairdresser who runs a beauty salon in Gangnam, southern Seoul, did President Park's hair up for about 90 minutes between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. at Cheong Wa Dae after being called by the presidential office.



Park has enjoyed her signature up-style hair, reminiscent of her mother former first lady Yuk Young-soo who was assassinated by a Japanese-born North Korean in 1972.



But Cheong Wa Dae described the report as "ridiculous," saying, "We have used two hairdressers for the President since 2013 and they come almost every day. On the day of the ferry sinking, they gave her a trim for 20 minutes after 3 p.m."



It said the President had her hair done after deciding to visit the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters.



There have been suspicions that the President received cosmetic treatment during the missing seven hours. The suspicions grew after it was confirmed that Cheong Wa Dae had purchased large doses of various fatigue relieving and cosmetic shots.



On Monday, the chief of Cheong Wa Dae's medical office conceded that he prescribed such shots for the President, during a National Assembly investigation into Cheong Wa Dae on the influence-peddling scandal surrounding Park's confidant Choi Soon-sil.



It was contrary to the presidential office's earlier claim that it bought such shots for staffers' health.



In the early hours of questioning, Lee had denied prescribing cosmetic shots for the President. But nearly at the end of the session, he admitted doing so, after being pressed continually by lawmakers to tell the truth.



To the question of whether the President had received any fatigue-relieving and cosmetic shots, he said, "They were prescribed as needed."



The official said Cheong Wa Dae officials had also received shots, but that placenta injections were only given to the President. Lee said the shots were not provided for cosmetic purposes, claiming "it is an antioxidant and is prescribed to boost the immune system and improve health."



But he said the President did not receive any treatments on the day of the Sewol tragedy.



About the cosmetics treatment suspicions on the day of the ferry sinking, Rep. Park Young-sun of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) showed two photos of the President taken on April 15 and April 16 of 2014, saying that experts say she appears to have received Botox injections, based on the differences between the photos.



Meanwhile, Cheong Wa Dae was found to have covered up the fact that army nurses were working at the presidential office at the time. The nurses said they did not treat the President on the day of the disaster.



Rep. An Min-suk of the DPK said one of the two nurses, surnamed Cho, who is currently receiving training at an army hospital in Texas, is being protected by the U.S. military.



He said this could be upon the Korean government's request, as the nurse is believed to know the President's whereabouts on the day of the Sewol disaster. An said this is what he heard from the U.S. military when he attempted to meet Cho there. An visited Texas from Nov. 29 to Dec. 2 to speak to her but failed to do so.