Ex-vice minister, ex-presidential aide questioned over blacklist

Former Vice Culture Minister Chung Kwan-joo

By Ko Dong-hwan

Special prosecutors questioned the former vice-culture minister and the ex-presidential secretary on Saturday as they pressed on with the probe into suspicions the presidential office created a blacklist of cultural figures who were considered not to be in favor of the government.

Former Vice Culture Minister Chung Kwan-joo and ex-presidential aide Shin Dong-churl appeared at the investigation team’s office as the prosecutors are looking into the influence-peddling scandal surrounding President Park Geun-hye and her friend, Choi Soon-sil.

The questioning of the two former officials at the office in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, came following allegations that Cheong Wa Dae created the list and handed it over to the culture ministry to restrict those on the list from receiving government sponsorship.

Lee Kyu-chul, the team's spokesman, confirmed on Friday the existence of the list, stating the investigators are trying to clarify how the list was created, managed and whether those listed were actually hindered from receiving support.

Chung and Shin were questioned by the investigation team earlier last month but this time the prosecutors called them in as suspects, not witnesses.

Led by Independent Counsel Park Young-soo, the investigative team has been intensifying its probe into the alleged blacklist, summoning a number of officials related to the case.

The list is said to have nearly 10,000 people on it, including author Han Kang, winner of the Man Booker International Prize in 2016, and director Park Chan-wook, who won the grand prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 2004.