President faces questioning this week
Prosecution awaits for response from presidential office
By Jung Min-ho
President Park Geun-hye will be questioned by the prosecution this week over her role in the influence-peddling scandal involving her confidant Choi Soon-sil, prosecutors said Sunday.
According to the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office, investigators are considering questioning President Park on either Nov. 15 or 16 over allegations that she directly ordered her aides to force major firms to cough up money for two foundations controlled by Choi.
Park is the first incumbent head of state ever to be investigated in Korea’s modern history.
“We’ve notified Cheong Wa Dae that we want to question the President on either No. 15 or 16. We are waiting for an answer from the presidential office,” the prosecution said. “We have not decided where and how to conduct the investigation yet. But the ground rule is to do so face to face.”
The prosecution has already arrested two of her former secretaries — An Jong-beom and Jeong Ho-seong — over abuse of authority and revealing state secrets, respectively. They said they were just carrying out her orders.
Previously, many experts said investigators are most likely to send Park a questionnaire; or at most question her in her office.
However, following massive protests held against not only the President but also the prosecution, investigators face growing pressure to do away with any special treatment for Park in their investigation.
Presidential spokesman Jung Youn-kuk said he will be able to respond to the prosecution’s request for questioning on Nov. 15 after considering her schedule and appointing lawyers.
Opposition parties have called on prosecutors to question the President in the same way they do other criminal suspects.
Rep. Lee Seok-hyun, co-head of an internal investigation body of the Democratic Party of Korea, said, “Prosecutors should not consider questioning her in writing because someone else can answer the questions for her, which will not help in finding out the truth.”
He said questioning her in the prosecutors’ office is the most appropriate, or at least in her office.
Ko Yeon-ho, a spokesman of the People’s Party, also urged prosecutors not to give Park special treatment, saying this will fuel the public’s anger. He said they should do everything possible to uncover the truth behind the scandal.
A place other than the prosecutors’ office or the presidential office may be chosen to avoid damaging the President’s image and increasing public anger at the same time.
Much evidence and testimony suggest that Park was directly involved in the scandal, in which Choi allegedly forced the Federation of Korean Industries to raise 80 billion won ($72 million) for the Mir and K-Sports foundations among many other suspected crimes. The question is rather how much the President was involved and why.
While An still insists that he does not know Choi personally, prosecutors have secured audio files of President Park ordering Jeong to give Choi classified government information, which she allegedly exploited to benefit herself.
This means that Park could be charged with abuse of power and leaking critical state secrets, though it would be unconstitutional to prosecute her while in office.
Most constitutional scholars believe questioning Park does not violate the Constitution, which states that an incumbent president cannot be subject to criminal prosecution, but can be investigated.
Since the scandal erupted last month, Park’s approval rating has plunged to a record-low 5 percent, despite her two public apologies, according to local pollster Gallup Korea.