By Jung Min-ho
Prosecutors will indict former President Park Geun-hye today on bribery and other charges related to the scandal centered on her longtime friend Choi Soon-sil.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office will take the case to court after making a public announcement about its investigation results. Prosecutors will disclose the exact charges she will face, and whether Lotte, SK and CJ groups were also involved in bribing her and Choi for business favors.
On Friday, prosecutors questioned So Jin-se, a leader of Lotte’s external affairs unit, over the retail group’s involvement in the scandal.
Little is known about what Park told prosecutors as she was interrogated over the past two weeks. Senior prosecutors — Han Woong-jae and Lee Won-seok — grilled her five times at the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, after she was arrested on 13 charges, March 31.
Ahead of the announcement, Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won are especially on edge. The two were recently questioned over suspicions that they “donated” money to two foundations that Choi controlled to take advantage of her friendship with Park.
While Shin and Chey claim the former president forced them to make “donations” to the Mir and K-Sports foundations, prosecutors believe the money was part of corrupt deals.
The prosecution has also been contemplating how to deal with Woo Byung-woo, the former presidential secretary who has escaped arrest twice.
Woo, the last piece of the puzzle the prosecution has been missing in its investigation, is suspected of aiding and abetting Choi in meddling in state affairs by abusing his power. Yet a court rejected the arrest warrants requested for him, citing a lack of evidence.
This situation has already seriously undermined public trust in the prosecution. Many people suspect Woo still holds considerable influence over the prosecution because he knows many of its “dirty secrets” and shares interests with powerful people within the organization.
It has been revealed that he exchanged dozens of phone calls with Prosecutor General Kim Soo-nam and other senior prosecutors while being investigated over allegations of corruption.
Politicians noticed the public discontent and promised to reform the powerful institution.
People’s Party presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo said Kim should step down immediately, vowing to make sweeping reforms of the prosecution if he is elected.
Democratic Party candidate Moon Jae-in, the frontrunner in the presidential race, also said the prosecution would be his “No. 1 target” for reform.