Prosecution pushes President to cooperate with questioning by Nov. 29
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The prosecution on Wednesday called on President Park Geun-hye to answer questions related to the corruption scandal involving her and a close friend next week, despite her attorney's earlier refusal to face any criminal inquiry.
"We have sent our request to the president's attorney that we want to question Park face-to-face by Nov. 29," a senior prosecutor told reporters, declining to be named. "We are waiting for a reply."
The request came three days after the prosecution implicated the embattled leader as an "accomplice" in a series of the alleged wrongdoings involving Choi Soon-sil and two former presidential secretaries.
Yoo Yeong-ha, Park's attorney, dismissed the allegations against Park, saying they were politically biased and a mixture of "imagination and conjecture." Yoo also said Park would not respond to any direct inquiry by the prosecution. Initially, before the prosecution accused Park of being complicit in the scandal, she was set to answer questions this week.
The president is also suspected of allowing her confidante Choi Soon-sil to gain unlawful access to presidential speeches and documents, some of which were classified as secret.
The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae has said the chief executive wants to dispel all "unfounded" speculation through due legal process, and raised questions about about the fairness of the ongoing probe.
Separate from the prosecutorial review, Park faces an independent counsel investigation into the scandal.
The law on the independent probe took effect on Tuesday. The counsel, to be appointed by the opposition parties, is expected to begin the investigation next month for a period of up to four months. (Yonhap)