State prosecutors raid scandal-ridden foundations

State prosecutors on Wednesday raided two nonprofit foundations allegedly linked to a controversial figure with close ties to President Park Geun-hye amid a widening scandal over corruption suspicions.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office said it raided a total of nine places, including the Mir Foundation and the K-Sports Foundation in southern Seoul, suspected of raising a combined 80 billion won ($70 million) from conglomerates with the help of the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), the country's big business lobby group.

There have been allegations that the money at the foundations -- established in 2015 and early this year, respectively -- was funneled to Choi Soon-sil, who is suspected to be the behind-the-scenes power broker of the current administration. Her house and the FKI office were also included in the raid.

Prosecutors said they have confiscated related documents and hard disks so they can conduct a thorough investigation.

The raids came a day after Park offered a rare public apology over a leak of dozens of presidential speeches to Choi before they were made public.

Acknowledging her ties to Choi, which go back decades, the president said she asked for consultation "out of the best intent" to be more thorough in her works.

Still, the controversy has been growing after local broadcaster JTBC, who first reported on the document leak, said late Tuesday that there were other documents handed over to Choi, indicating her possible broader intervention in state affairs.

Choi -- the daughter of Park's late mentor Choi Tae-min and ex-wife of Park's former secretary Chung Yun-hoi -- does not hold any official government position.

Park earlier said Choi helped her from the time she was a lawmaker until the early stage of her presidential term, without elaborating on the specific dates.

Also on Wednesday, prosecutors summoned a former head of The Blue K, where Choi is known to be the owner, to investigate whether any money was unlawfully funneled to her. Blue K is suspected of trying to get funding from the Mir and K-Sports foundations. (Yonhap)