Former president's alleged accomplice to be moved to different prison

Published : Apr 3, 2017 - 15:28 Updated : Apr 3, 2017 - 15:28

The prosecution said Monday they were considering relocating a key suspect in a corruption scandal involving former President Park Geun-hye to a different detention center to keep the two from ever encountering each other in prison.

The prosecutors said they may remove Choi Soon-sil from the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, just south of Seoul, and put her in a different facility located in western Seoul.

Former President Park Geun-hye is taken to a detention house in Uiwang on Friday morning. (Yonhap)

The move comes after Park was also put into the Uiwang detention house following her arrest last week.

The prosecutors earlier said the two had little chance of encountering each other even at the same facility.

The local court, issuing a warrant for the arrest of Park, cited the risk of her destroying potential evidence in the corruption case that led to her impeachment and removal from office on March 10.

Park is suspected of colluding with her friend Choi and former aides for personal gains. The prosecution is widely expected to indict her on at least 13 separate accounts of corruption, coercion and abuse of power.

Choi, a longtime friend of Park, is suspected of colluding with the former president to coerce nearly 80 billion won ($71.8 million) from dozens of local businesses in claimed donations to two non-profit sports organizations she had control over. (Yonhap)