Seoul : South Korean President Park Geun-Hye colluded with her close confidante in a major influence- peddling scandal that has engulfed her government, prosecutors said on Sunday, as they laid out charges against the longtime ally and two former presidential aides, reports AFP.
The scandal has sparked nationwide fury, with hundreds of thousands taking to the streets to call for Park’s resignation, providing a stark challenge to her authority.
“The president played a collusive role in a considerable portion of the criminal activities involving the (three) people,” said Lee Young-Ryeol, who is leading a probe into the scandal. Park’s ally Choi Soon-Sil and one of the president’s former aides were arrested earlier this month on charges of fraud, coercion and abuse of power. Another presidential aide was arrested for leaking confidential state documents.
Choi, 60, has been accused of using her personal ties with Park to meddle in state affairs and coerce local firms to “donate” tens of millions of dollars to dubious non-profit foundations she then used for personal gain. Park faces allegations that she helped Choi extract money from the firms and ordered her aides to leak state documents to Choi, who has no official title or security clearance. Under Seoul’s constitution, the incumbent president cannot be charged with a criminal offence except insurrection or treason but she can still be probed by prosecutors and potentially charged after leaving office.
