By Jung Min-ho
Prosecutors have launched an investigation into two foundations accused of having been used as fundraising vehicles by influence peddlers close to President Park Geun-hye.
According to the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office, Friday, it has questioned current and former officials of the Mir and K-Sports foundations, which are suspected of being used for this purpose by Park's aides, including her long-time confidant Choi Soon-sil.
After weeks of political pressure from the opposition parties and civic groups, the prosecution recently set up a team of five prosecutors to look into the allegations surrounding the foundations.
Chung Tong-gu, the first chairman of the K-Sports Foundation, was among the people who were summoned for questioning. He said he left the position after less than a month because there was nothing he could do.
"Why would I stay in the foundation where I can't do anything? So I left," he was quoted as saying. "I just could not get control. You know what I'm talking about."
Investigators also called in two current officials from the Mir Foundation. On Thursday, two officials of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, were questioned for playing a key role in creating the foundations.
Suspected of having inappropriately peddled influence in the creation and operation of the foundations, Choi is at the center of the scandal. Other than Choi, her daughter Chung Yoo-ra and her friend Cha Eun-taek, it is still unclear who else was a beneficiary of the foundations' money.
Choi is suspected of using the money to run shady businesses in Korea and Germany, which is expected to be another focus of the investigation.
Under the pretext of promoting Korean culture and sports to the world, the Mir and K-Sports foundations were established in October 2015 and January this year, respectively.
The Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), the lobbying arm for conglomerates, raised about 80 billion won ($72 million) for the foundations in just two months; and it took a single day to get approval for their establishment from the ministry. Such a process usually takes several weeks at least.
This is why many speculate that Cheong Wa Dae is behind the foundations. An Chong-bum, President Park's senior secretary for policy coordination, has been accused of playing a key role in pressuring the FKI to raise the money for them.
While An keeps insisting that it was voluntary donations, Bahk Byong-won, chairman of the Korea Employers' Federation, claims otherwise, saying the government "twisted the arms" of big firms to do so.
Following the disclosure of special favors given to Chung in the admissions process, her grades and many other things at Ewha Womans University, Choi Kyung-hee the school's president, resigned.
During a meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, Thursday, President Park denied any links to the scandal-ridden foundations.
Prosecutors have launched an investigation into two foundations accused of having been used as fundraising vehicles by influence peddlers close to President Park Geun-hye.
According to the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office, Friday, it has questioned current and former officials of the Mir and K-Sports foundations, which are suspected of being used for this purpose by Park's aides, including her long-time confidant Choi Soon-sil.
After weeks of political pressure from the opposition parties and civic groups, the prosecution recently set up a team of five prosecutors to look into the allegations surrounding the foundations.
Chung Tong-gu, the first chairman of the K-Sports Foundation, was among the people who were summoned for questioning. He said he left the position after less than a month because there was nothing he could do.
"Why would I stay in the foundation where I can't do anything? So I left," he was quoted as saying. "I just could not get control. You know what I'm talking about."
Investigators also called in two current officials from the Mir Foundation. On Thursday, two officials of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, were questioned for playing a key role in creating the foundations.
Suspected of having inappropriately peddled influence in the creation and operation of the foundations, Choi is at the center of the scandal. Other than Choi, her daughter Chung Yoo-ra and her friend Cha Eun-taek, it is still unclear who else was a beneficiary of the foundations' money.
Choi is suspected of using the money to run shady businesses in Korea and Germany, which is expected to be another focus of the investigation.
Under the pretext of promoting Korean culture and sports to the world, the Mir and K-Sports foundations were established in October 2015 and January this year, respectively.
The Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), the lobbying arm for conglomerates, raised about 80 billion won ($72 million) for the foundations in just two months; and it took a single day to get approval for their establishment from the ministry. Such a process usually takes several weeks at least.
This is why many speculate that Cheong Wa Dae is behind the foundations. An Chong-bum, President Park's senior secretary for policy coordination, has been accused of playing a key role in pressuring the FKI to raise the money for them.
While An keeps insisting that it was voluntary donations, Bahk Byong-won, chairman of the Korea Employers' Federation, claims otherwise, saying the government "twisted the arms" of big firms to do so.
Following the disclosure of special favors given to Chung in the admissions process, her grades and many other things at Ewha Womans University, Choi Kyung-hee the school's president, resigned.
During a meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, Thursday, President Park denied any links to the scandal-ridden foundations.
