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| Former presidential secretaries An Chong-bum, left, and Jeong Ho-seong are taken from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office to a detention center, early Sunday, for their alleged involvement in the scandal surrounding President Park Geun-hye's confidant Choi Soon-sil. / Yonhap |
By Kim Bo-eun
Investigations into the swirling scandal centering on President Park Geun-hye's confidant Choi Soon-sil are picking up speed, following the arrest of two ex-presidential aides on charges of granting Choi personal benefits and access to classified documents.
The arrest and questioning of An Chong-bum, former senior presidential secretary for policy coordination, and Jeong Ho-seong, former secretary for private presidential affairs, is expected to serve as a stepping stone toward uncovering any role of President Park in the scandal.
While many believe Choi's "unimaginable privilege" would not have been possible without the President's direct involvement, Park said in her second nationally televised apology Friday that she is willing to undergo investigation.
A local court issued an arrest warrant for An, who the prosecution took into custody Wednesday after questioning over his alleged involvement in coercing conglomerates into donating funds to two foundations allegedly set up as personal fundraising vehicles for Choi.
An faces charges of forcing 53 conglomerates belonging to the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) to "donate" a total of 80 billion won ($70 million) to the Mir and K-Sports foundations, together with Choi.
Choi allegedly set up the foundations to funnel money to shell companies she set up in Germany and use the money as training expenses for her daughter Chung Yoo-ra, a dressage competitor.
Prosecutors are looking into whether An and Choi were in direct contact with each other in the fundraising process. They said earlier they do not know each other and denied complicity, and if the testimonies are true, this raises the question of the intermediary role President Park may have played.
Earlier, prosecutors found that Park had a private meeting with seven chiefs of top conglomerates including Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor and LG, after a luncheon with 17 company heads at Cheong Wa Dae on July 24 last year. Cheong Wa Dae said Park explained the foundations' "good purpose" of cultivating sports and culture and sought their assistance, and the companies voluntarily donated funds to the foundations.
Prosecutors are also investigating allegations that An pressured conglomerates to raise an additional 20 billion won on top of the then-collected 60 billion won for the foundations just days ahead of their establishment in October last year.
Meanwhile, Jeong, arrested on charges of giving classified state files to Choi, is expected to provide answers on how the files were handed over to Choi, who does not hold a government post. In the President's first official apology, she acknowledged Choi had accessed drafts of her speeches. Choi is also believed to have accessed documents on security, diplomacy and many other state affairs.
Jeong has been in charge of writing Park's speeches since she became a lawmaker in 1998. He drew up several of the files saved on Choi's tablet PC, which a local broadcaster had recovered and reported on last month, igniting the scandal.
Choi has been claiming she has nothing to do with the tablet PC.
Prosecutors will also question Jeong over allegations that Choi frequented Cheong Wa Dae without undergoing necessary security check procedures.
Choi was arrested Thursday and is undergoing questioning.
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