The starlet of a TV soap became the most talked-about celebrity in South Korea on Wednesday when a TV channel revealed President Park Geun-hye once used her name as a pseudonym at a beauty and detox clinic, a distraction from the scandal engulfing her administration.
Gil Ra-im, the heroine of the smash hit drama "Secret Garden," became the object of parody following the report that Park used her name at the Chaum beauty and anti-aging clinic in an upscale Seoul neighborhood.
Park is under intense pressure from an angry public to step down over allegations that she allowed a friend, Choi Soon-sil, to use their relationship to meddle in state affairs and exert improper influence in the cultural and sports communities.