More accusations made against President
Prosecutors say Park ordered aide to help Cha Eun-taek
By Jung Min-ho
Cha Eun-taek
Lee Dong-soo
Prosecutors said Sunday that they believe President Park Geun-hye conspired in additional criminal activities committed by key figures in a major influence-peddling scandal that has engulfed her administration.
According to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, the President ordered An Chong-bum, a former presidential secretary who has already been indicted over abuse of power, to help Cha Eun-taek, a friend of Choi Soon-sil, amass an illicit fortune.
At Park’s behest, An pressured KT, the country’s second-largest telecom firm, to hire Cha’s friends, Lee Dong-soo and someone known only by his surname Shin, as its executives last year. They allegedly helped Playground Communications, an ad company owned by Choi, become KT’s advertising agency, prosecutors said.
Playground Communications then made about 6.8 billion won ($5.8 million) in revenue for making seven ads between March and August this year.
The announcement comes a week after prosecutors confirmed Park conspired in Choi’s criminal activities. Choi allegedly exploited her presidential ties to benefit herself.
Prosecutors said they have indicted Cha on charges of attempted extortion, abuse of power and embezzlement among others. Four others, including Song Sung-gak, former CEO of the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA), have also been indicted on similar charges.
According to prosecutors, Cha and Song blackmailed the owner of Comm. Together, an ad firm and shareholder of Poreka, an in-house ad company for POSCO, to hand over 80 percent of its shares to the company they control.
In doing so, prosecutors said, they exploited their close relationship with the President, who directly ordered An to help them get the shares with the help of KT CEO Hwang Chang-gyu.
When the head of Comm. Together turned down their request, Cha and Song threatened to have government agencies conduct tax evasion inspections into his company.
Cha is also suspected of having embezzled 1 billion won at another of his ad companies, Africa Pictures, to pay off personal debts and finance his child’s overseas education.
In another surprising revelation, Kim Jong-min, Cha’s lawyer, told reporters that his client met with major figures of the Park administration, including former presidential chief of staff Kim Ki-choon, Kim Chong, the former vice minister of culture, sports and tourism who has been arrested over the scandal, and Choi.
In earlier interviews, Kim Ki-choon and Kim Chong claimed that they never met one another.
Cha’s lawyer also said his client played a round of golf with Choi and the mother-in-law of Woo Byung-woo, a former presidential secretary who is being investigated for his role in the scandal, which may help solve the question over how Woo ended up at Cheong Wa Dae.
President Park has yet to respond to their request for face-to-face questioning.
Three key figures in the scandal, Choi, An and Jeong Ho-seong, a former secretary for presidential affairs, have already been indicted on charges of abuse of power, extortion and mishandling of classified information among others.
Park, whom prosecutors recently called a key suspect in the scandal, is alleged to have pressured major conglomerates into making “donations” to Choi’s foundations, which legal experts say could constitute an abuse of authority.
Meanwhile, prosecutors summoned Choi Soon-deuk, Choi Soon-sil’s sister, Saturday, for questioning over her role in the scandal.
Choi Soon-deuk is the mother of Jang Si-ho, who was arrested for pocketing profits from various deals related to the country’s preparations for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games.