Choi Soon-sil's niece to be freed
Jang Si-ho
By Jung Min-ho
The niece of Choi Soon-sil, the central figure of the influence-peddling scandal that removed former president Park Geun-hye from power, is expected to be released from jail Thursday.
Jang Si-ho, who helped prosecutors with their investigation into the scandal by providing inside information, is expected to walk out of the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, as the prosecution decided not to seek a new arrest warrant for her.
Her lawyer said the current warrant will expire Wednesday.
Jang was indicted on Dec. 8 on charges of receiving a bribe of 1.6 billion won ($1.2 million) from Samsung through a children’s sports center she managed.
She will be tried on the charges without physical detention.
Jang initially denied all the allegations against her and actively defended herself during the National Assembly’s special hearings on the scandal.
But she later changed her attitude and started cooperating with prosecutors in their investigation.
When Choi was denying the legitimacy of the evidence on her tablet PC, which contained files from Cheong Wa Dae, Jang provided prosecutors with another tablet PC that showed Choi’s influence-peddling in critical state matters and her connection with Samsung.
Jang also revealed information about the secret mobile phones Choi used to communicate with Park and with presidential secretaries.
Evidence and information gained from her helped investigators get a clearer picture of the scandal so they could arrest some of the key suspects.