Prosecutorial investigation into President Park Geun-hye's confidante gained momentum Thursday as prosecutors raided government agencies and private entities involved with the case following the launch of a special investigation team earlier in the day.
The prosecution’s special investigation squad seized documents and materials at the offices of the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism as well as houses of board members from the K-Sports and Mir foundations, nonprofit groups known to be run by Choi Soon-sil, President Park’s longtime friend.
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Choi Soon-sil is interviewed by Segye Ilbo at a hotel in Germany (Segye Ilbo) |
Among the allegations involving Choi is that the 60-year-old woman, who has never served in public office, abused her power in raising illicit money from conglomerates. She is also suspected of having peddled influence to have her daughter admitted to a private college and of leaking confidential documents from Cheong Wa Dae.
The Cultural Ministry has been accused of offering special treatment to the two private entities led by Choi, who allegedly twisted the arms of The Federation of Korean Industries, a business lobby group, to raise money worth 80 billion won ($72 million) from conglomerates including Samsung, Hyundai and LG.
“We will do our utmost to get to the bottom of the case. There will be no exception to our investigation,” said Lee Young-ryul, who leads the special investigation tem. “I feel a grave sense of responsibility for running the investigation on the national scandal.”
Prosecutor Lee said that his team would seek to bring Choi, who is said to live in Germany, back to Korea using “every means available.” Earlier in the day, Justice Minister Kim Hyun-woong testified before lawmakers that the authorities have coordinated with their German counterparts to extradite her.
The move came amid mounting criticism that the investigation was long overdue as the probe took place about a month after the charges against Choi were filed. Choi had already left Korea to Germany then.
Mindful of the public pressure, Prosecutor General Kim Soo-Nam ordered “prompt and thorough” investigation led by the special investigation squad, whose report to Kim will be limited to the results, not developments, of the investigation.
The decision appeared to stem from the concern that Woo Byung-woo, the senior presidential secretary for civil affairs whose job involves overseeing prosecutors, could meddle in the investigation amid the allegation that Woo himself was involved in the cronyism scandal.
The prosecutor’s special investigation team is expected to work until an independent counsel is appointed.
Historically, prosecutors have launched special probe teams targeting political and business scandals. Most recently, the special squad was organized in 2007 to investigate whether Samsung operated slush funds to offer bribes to high-profile government officials, including higher-ups in the prosecution.
By Yeo Jun-suk (
jasonyeo@heraldcorp.com)
