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| Lee Young-ryeol, head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office who will lead a special team to investigate a scandal surrounding President Park Geun-hye's confidant, Choi Soon-sil, speaks to reporters at his office in Seocho, southern Seoul, Thursday. / Yonhap |
Investigators raid sports ministry, six other places
By Jung Min-ho
The prosecution belatedly formed a special team to investigate an influence-peddling scandal surrounding President Park Geun-hye's confidant, Choi Soon-sil, Thursday, a month after the allegations of her corruption surfaced.
Prosecutor General Kim Soo-nam ordered Lee Young-ryeol, head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, to lead the team, telling him to "get to the bottom of all suspicions," according to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office.
The formation of a special team came only after JTBC and other news outlets broke a slew of exclusive news articles revealing the link between President Park and Choi.
Lee vowed to thoroughly investigate the case. Choi is suspected of having meddled in state affairs and embezzled funds from the Mir and K-Sports foundations.
"We will make every effort to unearth the truth behind the scandal as suspicions have grown. We will investigate thoroughly, leaving no stone unturned," Lee told reporters.
He also said his team would "explore every method" to bring Choi, who is now staying in Germany, back to Korea.
To avoid controversies about fairness, Lee will report the results of his team's work directly to the top prosecutor, because any interim reports to the Ministry of Justice could be delivered to Cheong Wa Dae.
The number of prosecutors on the case has also been doubled to around 15 and may expand further.
Immediately after its formation, the team raided seven places, including the office of a high-ranking official at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, which approved the establishment of the shady Mir and K-Sports foundations that are allegedly controlled by Choi, literally overnight.
The previous day, prosecutors also raided nine buildings, including the foundations that Choi allegedly used as her personal banks, and the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), which organized corporate "donations" to set up the organizations
The overdue raid, which took place 27 days after a civic group filed a complaint, fomented public distrust over the prosecution, and forced the National Assembly to agree to have an independent counsel look into the case. The special team is expected to carry out its investigation until the special prosecutor is appointed.
The team will investigate whether Choi and her secret advisory group meddled in various state affairs, including having access to highly classified information and state secrets. In addition, the team will look into the allegations that she was behind the establishment and operation of the foundations and who helped her.
The charges could put her behind bars for violating the law governing the security of confidential presidential records, and she could also be prosecuted for embezzlement. And yet many believe that what has been revealed so far might be just the tip of a far larger iceberg.
Most recently, Choi has been accused of taking advantage of confidential information from Cheong Wa Dae to make real estate investments. She reportedly owns expensive buildings in Korea and abroad. No one knows how she made such a large fortune, if it did not come from the information or the foundations.
Regarding whether President Park would be included in the targets of the investigation, Lee said the President is exempted from criminal prosecution during her term.
Choi's daughter, Chung Yoo-ra, is also being investigated as she is suspected of receiving special favors regarding admissions and her grades at Ewha Womans University.
Ko Young-tae, known as one of the members of the secret advisory group and Choi's friend, returned to Korea Thursday. The team plans to question him soon.
Still, many people remain skeptical about the prosecution's willingness to uncover the truth, especially with Woo Byung-woo, a key associate of Choi and President Park, in the position of senior presidential secretary for civil affairs. The post exerts great influence over personnel affairs at the prosecution.
Thus, the ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea are expected to push ahead with the independent counsel plan.
Meanwhile, Justice Minister Kim Hyun-woong said he is looking for ways to find Choi and bring her to Korea for questioning.
The FKI raised about 80 billion won ($72 million) in just two months to fund the Mir and K-Sports foundations; and it took only a single day to get approval for their establishment from the government — usually this would take weeks.
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