Crisis deepens as South Korean president faces probe into ties with cult-like group
by Compiled from Wire Services
ISTANBULNov 04, 2016 - 12:00 am GMT+3
by Compiled from Wire Services
Nov 04, 2016 12:00 am
The chaos encircling Seoul's presidential office deepened as it was revealed South Korean President Park Geun-Hye risks facing a probe into whether her longtime friend, Choi Soon-Sil had exerted any influence over the government.
Despite holding no government post, Choi Soon-Sil, the daughter of a shadowy religious figure, has allegedly vetted presidential speeches, had access to classified documents and used her influence for personal gain by donating millions of dollars to two foundations that she controlled.
Prosecutors on Wednesday asked a court for a warrant to arrest Choi Soon-sil and are seeking to charge her with abuse of power and attempted fraud, the court and prosecution officials said. Choi was detained late on Monday. She had told South Korea's Segye Ilbo newspaper last week that she received drafts of the president's speeches following Park's election victory, but denied she had access to other official material, influenced state affairs or benefited financially.
Meanwhile, Samsung - by far the south's largest business conglomerate - also faces allegations that it separately offered millions of euros to Choi to bankroll her daughter's equestrian training in Germany.
The scandal has shaken the presidency, exposing Park to public outrage and ridicule and, with just over a year left in office, seen her approval ratings plunge into single digits.
In an effort to deflect rising public criticism, Park had been urged to create a neutral cabinet by bringing in members from outside her ruling conservative Saenuri Party.
She has reached across the traditional political divide with a host of new appointments, including tapping the liberal Kim Byong-Joon as her new prime minister, a largely symbolic post. She announced on Thursday her pick for chief of Staff, Han Gwang-Ok, a former aide to late President Kim Dae-Jung, in an appointment the presidential Blue House said would help get the rattled administration back on track. But the opposition has dismissed the reshuffle as a smokescreen.
They have called for a full investigation of Park's relationship with Choi, vowing to block the new prime minister's nomination by wielding their combined parliamentary majority. The media has portrayed the 60-year-old Choi as a Rasputin-like figure, who wielded an unhealthy influence over Park that continued after her presidential election victory in December 2012. Choi is the daughter of late religious leader Choi Tae-Min, who was married six times, had multiple pseudonyms and set up his own cult-like group known as the Church of Eternal Life.
He befriended a traumatized Park after the 1974 assassination of her mother - who he said had appeared to him in a dream. Park treated him as a mentor and subsequently formed a close bond with his daughter.
Choi flew back to Seoul from Germany on Sunday to submit to herself for questioning, saying after she fighting her way through a scrum of press and protesters that she had "committed a deadly sin," Yonhap reported.
Prosecutors are seeking a warrant to formally arrest Choi - who they have deemed a flight risk and "unstable" - before the emergency detention period expires.
The scandal comes as South Korea, Asia's fourth largest economy, faces slumping exports and high unemployment amid rising nuclear and missile threats from North Korea.
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