Choi will return, cooperate with probe: attorney

With a prosecutorial investigation closing in, Choi Soon-sil’s lawyer told reporters Friday that his client is willing to return to Korea from Germany for questioning upon the request of the authorities.

Choi -- President Park Geun-hye’s old friend and daughter of her late mentor Choi Tae-min -- has no intention of evading justice and is sorry for the confusion that the incident has caused, said attorney Lee Gyeong-jae.

Prosecutors continued to question individuals about the allegations that Choi had meddled in state affairs.

Federation of Korean Industries President Lee Seung-cheol on Friday was also questioned on his role in raising some 80 billion won ($70 million) from large conglomerates for two entities -- Mir Foundation and the K-Sports Foundations. It has been alleged that it was a cover to raise money for Choi.

The investigators are expected to question Lee on whether Ahn Chong-bum, the senior presidential secretary for policy coordination, played a part in the fund-raising. Ahn has denied allegations that he demanded companies to make contributions to the foundations.

Rep. Noh Woong-rae of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea recently revealed a transcript of a conglomerate official saying that Ahn ordered the FKI to have the companies raise funds.

The suspicion that Choi received reports on presidential documents -- some of which carried classified military and diplomatic information -- has shaken the country, with rival parties chorusing for an independent counsel to investigate the matter.

Later in the day, prosecutors summoned Lee Sung-han, a former secretary general of the Mir Foundation, for questioning.

Lee had claimed that Choi received detailed reports of the presidential documents every day and made comments, which later turned into actual policies.

In an interview with local media Wednesday, Choi denied the “shadow president“ allegations and claimed that she has not received any money from the foundations. She referred to Lee as a “crazy person“ and claimed that he demanded she pay him 500 million won.

Ko Yeong-tae, a 40-year-old former fencer who is reportedly Choi’s close aide, came to Seoul from Bangkok Thursday to face questions over his involvement.

He previously famously told local media that “the only thing Choi does well is to correct the president’s speech.“

Park on Tuesday issued a public apology, in which she admitted to receiving help from Choi on some of her early speeches.

Jo In-geun, the former secretary to the president for speechwriting and documentation, claimed Friday that he never suspected Park’s speeches had been tampered with by someone else. He also claimed to have never heard of Choi before the scandal.

“The president is the one who completes the speech, and I never thought the speech was corrected in ‘an unusual way’ before the final draft,” he said.

As part of their investigation, the prosecution on Friday raided eight locations believed to be linked to the scandal, including the home of the former president of the K-Sports Foundation Jung Dong-choon. It already raided the headquarters of the FKI and the two foundations, Choi’s home and office, and offices of the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism.

The Ministry of Education also launched a special probe into allegations that Choi’s daughter had received unlawful favors from Ewha Womans University in regards to her admission and grades.

By Yoon Min-sik (minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)