Lobbyist Linda Kim on Polaris CEO's Alleged Lobbying Request to Clara: "It's Uncomfortable and Offensive"

In light of recent news regarding Polaris CEO Lee Kyu Tae’s alleged proposal to Clara to be a lobbyist, to which the entertainer did not give an explicit response, SBS’ “Night of TV Entertainment” spoke to lobbyist Linda Kim, who gave her two cents on the situation between Lee Kyu Tae and Clara.

“Thinking about CEO Lee Kyu Tae and Clara, to me, it’s uncomfortable and offensive,” starts Linda Kim. “I don’t like how Lee Kyu Tae thinks. Because you’re pretty and can speak English, be a lobbyist? I don’t understand.”

She continues, “These days, if you’re really pretty and a top talent, then it’s a basic skill to know English. If you think like [Lee Kyu Tae], then the prettiest person should have the highest success rate. But you can’t negotiate with just a pretty face.”

Linda Kim goes on, comparing lobbying in the United States to lobbying in Korea: “The work that lobbyists do isn’t illegal [in the U.S.]. It is quite legal. There isn’t a single deal in the arms market – which is global – that could be made without lobbyists. Just because you know a lobbyist, just because you have a connection, it doesn’t mean you can just jump in and do it.”

She says that lobbyists in the United States are in good positions, considered to have upper class occupations. “But whenever I come to Korea, it’s treated like drug dealing,” says Linda Kim. “It’s like you have to secretly meet in a hotel or a Japanese restaurant. It’s not like that abroad.”

Meanwhile, Linda Kim is an arms lobbyist, who actually made a Korean entertainment industry debut as an actress in 1970 under the name Kim Ah Ra. She went on to film cosmetic CFs and to make a debut as a singer, although she didn’t find much success. When she immigrated to the United States in 1979, her entertainment career came to an end.

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See also:

Polaris Entertainment CEO Being Investigated for Lobbying and Fraud