Prosecutors on Wednesday requested an arrest warrant for Choi Soon-sil, President Park Geun-hye’s confidante suspected of meddling in state affairs and siphoning public funds.
Choi, a 60-year-old civilian who is a longtime friend of Park and the daughter of Park’s late mentor Choi Tae-min, is accused of regularly accessing presidential documents, exerting influence on government policies and receiving favors the president herself condoned.
Choi was taken into custody late Monday on 48-hour detention, hours after she appeared before the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office in southern Seoul for questioning.
Already dubbed the “shadow president” by public and the media, Choi has denied most of the charges. She claimed a tablet PC with records of receiving emails containing presidential documents did not belong to her, although it contained her selfies and other personal files.
Song Gi-ho of Lawyers for a Democratic Society, also known as Minbyun, said Wednesday that Cheong Wa Dae had told him Choi does not have clearance to handle classified information. This means whoever showed Choi the classified presidential documents could be punished by up to two years in prison or up to five years in prison if the documents were related to diplomatic secrets.
She was provisionally charged with obstructing the exercise of rights and attempted fraud. The court is to deliberate on the warrant Thursday at around 3 p.m. and is expected to reach a decision later that day.
If the court grants the prosecution a warrant, it has up to 20 days to investigate the suspect and decide whether or not to indict her.
Earlier in the day, investigators summoned former Senior Presidential Secretary for Policy Coordination An Chong-bum on his alleged involvement in raising funds worth some 80 billion won (S$97 million) for Mir Foundation and K-Sports Foundation, which was allegedly a cover to siphon money to Choi.
“I will take responsibility for any wrongdoings,” he told media after appearing for questioning.
He refused to comment on whether he forced local conglomerates to make donations to the foundations, whether he knew Choi personally and whether he had acted under Park’s orders. Choi has claimed she has no personal connection to An.
While An denied the allegations, testimonies of those involved in the scandal have indicated otherwise.
Jung Hyun-sik, a former secretary-general of the K-Sports Foundation, said he requested 8 billion won from SK Group under orders from An and Choi. Officials from Lotte Group reportedly told the prosecution it had been coerced to “donate” 7 billion won.
– The Choi Soon-sil scandal explained
Lee Seung-cheol, vice chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries, reportedly also told investigators that Cheong Wa Dae officials had asked the FKI to pressure the companies.
But according to local news agency Newsis, An said he contacted the companies regarding the two foundations under direct orders from Park, and was never in contact with Choi. He reportedly also said there was a “direct deal” between Choi and Park, in an apparent refusal to take the fall for the president.
Data by local conglomerate watch website Chaebul.com showed that 53 corporations had donated to the foundations. Of those, 12 were logging deficits.
Investigators are also mulling summoning Park’s aide Jeong Ho-seong for questioning next week. Local media reported last week that he had delivered a thick folder of files to Choi from the presidential office nearly every night, which were then returned to Cheong Wa Dae and made into actual policy.
Prosecutors are also looking into allegations that Samsung Electronics handed some 3.5 billion won to Choi via a paper company jointly established by Choi and her daughter Chung Yoo-ra.
Chung is suspected of receiving unlawful favors while attending Ewha Womans University and of receiving a loan from KEB Hana Bank.
The prosecution on Tuesday visited eight banks with a search warrant to acquire financial transactions of those suspected of being linked to the scandal, including TV commercial director Cha Eun-taek, who is accused of exerted influence on state-backed projects using his ties with Choi.
The Education Ministry has also launched an investigation into Ewha Womans University on allegations surrounding Chung.
