Former President Park may face arrest

By Lee Kyung-min

The prosecution is expected to seek an arrest warrant for former President Park Geun-hye who will be questioned Tuesday over her involvement in the corruption scandal that removed her from office.

A special unit under the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office is said to have internally decided to seek the warrant.

“Filing a request for an arrest warrant appears unavoidable, given the severity of the charges and Park’s continued denial of them despite the arrests and indictments of most of her accomplices,” an official with the prosecution said.

The prosecution is seeking to prove bribery charges. It said Park granted favors to conglomerates in return for them giving a combined 77.4 billion won ($64.4 million) to the Mir and K-Sports Foundations, set up and controlled by her friend Choi Soon-sil.

Park has claimed that the scandal was fabricated, and the money was donated for the public good and to promote the value of “giving back to the community.”

Acting Justice Minister Lee Chang-jae also indicated that the prosecution would seek an arrest warrant for Park.

During a National Assembly emergency hearing session Thursday, Lee said that the questioning of Park will follow “the law and principle.”

Lee said that the warrant will be sought if deemed necessary, adding that he expects Park to appear for Tuesday’s questioning as confirmed by one of her defense lawyers.

Bribery is one of 13 criminal charges Park is facing that also includes abuse of authority and extortion.

The prosecution amended earlier charges that business groups were victims of extortion by Park and Choi. Bribery carries far harsher punishment than extortion or abuse of authority.

Park could face a life sentence. Under the current law, those convicted of bribery involving more than 100 million won ($87,000) are subject to a minimum of ten years in prison and up to life.

The prosecution is fine-tuning hundreds of questions based on multiple scenarios drawn up anticipating Park’s level of cooperation during the face-to-face questioning.

It questioned one current and two former SK Group executives, Thursday, for more than 10 hours each, over their suspected roles in giving money to the two foundations in return for a special pardon for group Chairman Chey Tae-won. He was serving a four-year prison term imposed in 2013 for embezzling 46.5 billion won in company funds.

The group is also suspected of being granted favors in biddings for duty free shop licenses and exemptions from tax audits.

Officials at other major conglomerates, including CJ and Lotte, are likely to be questioned soon.

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-young has already been indicted and arrested on bribery charges.

Separately, the prosecution said its investigation into former presidential secretary Woo Byung-woo is also underway, refuting suspicions that it was reluctant to thoroughly look into the former prosecutor out of respect.

Meanwhile, defense lawyers for Park continued consultation sessions with her before Tuesday’s questioning. Lawyer Yoo Young-ha visited her home in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul, Friday, for the second time after Wednesday, to deliver written questions to prepare her for what is expected to be intense questioning.