Choi Soon-sil 'willing to face investigation'
Federation of Korean Industries Vice Chairman Lee Seung-cheol arrives at the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office in Seoul, Friday, for questioning on the Choi Soon-sil scandal. / Korea Times photo by Shin Sang-soon
By Kim Bo-eun
Choi Soon-sil, President Park Geun-hye’s confidant at the center of a massive scandal, said she is willing to come to Korea to face prosecutors’ questioning, her legal representative said, Friday.
“She is aware of the gravity of the situation and will appear for questioning when summoned by the prosecution and tell the truth,” lawyer Lee Kyung-jae said to reporters in Seocho-dong, southern Seoul.
He said prosecutors have not yet notified Choi of their plan to summon her.
“Both Choi and I think that telling the truth is the way to clear suspicions and prevent further social confusion,” he said.
He added Choi is willing to receive punishment if investigations find her guilty and she does not intend to flee at all.
Choi is staying in Germany and has been receiving medical treatment for mental shock, he said.
“She only wishes for (investigative authorities) to show clemency to her daughter,” he said. Choi’s daughter, Chung Yoo-ra, is also accused of favoritism in admissions and grades at Ewha Womans University.
Earlier in the day, prosecutors summoned a vice chief of the nation’s major business lobby, for questioning over his involvement in the scandal.
The special team under the prosecution grilled Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) Vice Chairman Lee Seung-cheol over his role in raising funds for the Mir and K-Sports foundations, which were allegedly set up by Choi and used as her personal fundraising vehicles.
“I’ll fully cooperate with the investigation,” he told reporters before entering the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office building in southern Seoul. He declined to comment further.
The FKI raised 80 billion won for the foundations from conglomerates in a mere two months, raising suspicions that high-profile figures exerted pressure on the business lobby.
Prosecutors questioned Lee over Choi’s involvement in the establishment and management of the foundations.
Lee is said to have played an important role in mobilizing funds from top conglomerates. He is also being questioned over the roles of senior presidential secretary for policy coordination An Chong-bum, and Cha Eun-taek, an advertising director and friend of Choi, in the influence-peddling scandal.
Earlier in September at the National Assembly audit, Rep. Noh Woong-rae of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) disclosed recordings of a testimony from an official at a conglomerate revealing that An had instructed the FKI to collect funds from the corporation and then the FKI allocated specific amounts of donations to be made by each of the member corporations.
An is denying the allegations, claiming the funds were voluntary donations from the conglomerates.
The approval for the two foundations also raised suspicions of Cheong Wa dae’s involvement, as it only took a single day, whereas the process would usually take weeks.
It is also alleged that Lotte Group, a member of the FKI, provided 7 billion won to the K-Sports Foundation in May but received it back soon afterward. This was in addition to the 4.5 billion won that the group had earlier “donated” for the establishment of the two foundations.
Lotte said K-Sports Foundation officials requested the amount so it could build a physical education center to train athletes, but the money was refunded in less than 10 days, with the foundation claiming the project was scrapped.
Suspicions have arisen over the foundation’s request for funds, which was made when the prosecution was planning an investigation into Lotte over its alleged irregularities. It is suspected that the foundation requested the money in return for exercising influence in the investigation.
Prosecutors also questioned Ko Young-tae, a close friend of Choi, who voluntarily appeared before special investigators late Thursday after entering the country earlier in the day.
Ko is suspected of being involved in the management of The Blue K and Widec Sports _ paper companies Choi set up in Korea and Germany allegedly to funnel money from the foundations.
The investigating team also questioned Lee Sung-han, former secretary general of the Mir Foundation, who earlier said that Choi led a secret advisory group for President Park, having access to classified state documents. He said Ko and Cha were members of the group.
Choi, who allegedly peddled her influence in state affairs, is also suspected of orchestrating culture-related state projects, for which the government allocated 180 billion won in its budget.
Cha was in charge of key projects, and many of his acquaintances were given high-profile culture-related positions around the time when Choi allegedly drew up the plans.