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| National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun, second from right, holds a meeting with People's Party interim leader Park Jie-won, left, ruling Saenuri Party floor leader Chung Jin-suk, second from left, and main opposition Democratic Party of Korea floor leader Woo Sang-ho at his office in the National Assembly, Monday. They discussed the opposition parties' move to impeach President Park Geun-hye. / Yonhap |
By Jung Min-ho
President Park Geun-hye has again refused to cooperate with the prosecution's investigation into the influence-peddling scandal involving her confidant Choi Soon-sil, rejecting a final request for questioning.
In a mobile text message to reporters Monday, her lawyer, Yoo Yeong-ha, said President Park will not accept the prosecutors' latest request for in-person questioning because of "scheduling difficulties."
"The President has scheduling difficulties as she prepares for urgent tasks, including who to appoint as an independent counsel, with candidates expected to be recommended by tomorrow," the lawyer said.
The rejection came a week after the prosecution extended its deadline for questioning to Nov. 29, following interim findings, in which the President was identified as an accomplice of Choi.
With an independent counsel expected to take over the prosecution's job of uncovering the truth behind the scandal early next month, time is running out for prosecutors.
However, they said they are confident they can prove the allegations against Park, noting that critical evidence has already been collected.
Although the details of the evidence are unknown, a source from the prosecution told SBS, a local broadcaster, that revealing 10 seconds of the phone conversation records between Park, Choi and Park's former aide Jeong Ho-seong to the public "would be enough for people to storm the streets with torches, instead of candles."
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Perhaps the most powerful card prosecutors can use to question the President is to request an arrest warrant forcing Cheong Wa Dae to hand her over to them.
Ki Dong-min, floor leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), urged the prosecution to do so, saying "there is no other way but to issue an arrest warrant."
"It is obvious President Park has been involved in criminal activities," Ki said Monday. "The whole truth should be uncovered. If the prosecution's investigation is unsatisfactory, a planned independent counsel and the National Assembly will carry on with the job."
However, issuing an arrest warrant for a sitting President may face a constitutional challenge, given the Constitution states a sitting president cannot be indicted unless on charges of treason.
Prosecutors claim to have already found evidence Park conspired in many criminal activities committed by key figures of the scandal, including forcing major companies to cough up 80 billion won ($70 million) for shady culture and sports foundations controlled by Choi. With that, Park could face a charge of abuse of authority after her term.
Now, prosecutors are looking into whether the money was given in return for specific favors from the President. If they can find evidence to prove it, Park will face bribery charges, which is considered a much more serious crime that could put her in prison for life.
While Yoo said the President would cooperate with the investigation by the "politically neutral independent counsel," it is yet to be seen whether she will really do so. There is a chance the President will refuse that investigation as well, claiming the counsel was also politically biased.
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