Ruling party urges Park to form new Cabinet with political foes

Saenuri Party floor leader Chung Jin-suk speaks about the party’s emergency meeting to discuss the Choi Soon-sil scandal. The meeting was held at the party’s headquarters in Yeouido, Sunday. The ruling party will push scandal-ridden President Park Geun-hye to reshuffle the Cabinet to include her political foes. / Yonhap

By Park Si-soo

The ruling Saenuri Party has decided to push scandal-ridden President Park Geun-hye to reshuffle the Cabinet to include her political foes, as part of efforts to find a breakthrough for a snowballing influence-peddling scandal that has put Park’s leadership on the brink of collapse.

The ruling party has also decided to find ways to detain Choi Soon-sil, the alleged eminence grise who sparked the scandal, to ensure the prosecution’s “smooth and thorough” investigation into the case.

“Our party will be proactive and enthusiastic when it comes to dealing with the scandal,” said Saenuri spokesman Kim Sung-won. “Opposition parties will have to show a responsible attitude in dealing with the case, rather than just stirring up controversy.”

The spokesman called on opposition parties to join “forces and wisdom” with the ruling party to settle issues related to the government’s budget for next year during an ongoing parliamentary session, whose closure is just one month away.

None of opposition parties has responded to the suggestion yet.

Choi, 60, a long-time confidant of President Park who has no government job, is suspected of having collected a substantial amount of money from big Korean companies and illegally meddling in confidential state affairs for years by taking advantage of her close relationship with Park.

She made a surprise return to Seoul from Germany on Sunday morning, ending her overseas “hiding” with her daughter since the scandal surfaced last month. Other key suspects staying overseas are expected to follow, including Cha Eun-taek, an advertising director and friend of Choi who is in China.

Choi’s lawyer said her return was “voluntary” but few seem to take this at face value. The dominant view is that Choi’s return was decided after a “deal” had been done under the table.