Park apologizes over 'Choi Soon-sil' scandal; controversy still lingers

By Park Si-soo

President Park Geun-hye on Tuesday apologized to the nation over a high-profile influence-peddling scandal involving her long-time confidant Choi Soon-sil.

"Regardless of the reasons involved, I am sorry that (the scandal) has caused national concerns," Park said. "I deeply apologize to the people."

Choi, who is believed to be staying somewhere in Germany, has been kept informed of Park's secret decisions and public speeches through emails sent to her from the presidential office, Cheong Wa Dae.

The controversial emails reportedly contained nearly 200 classified presidential documents, including 44 drafts of presidential speeches. Choi is believed to have edited the speech drafts and sent them back to Cheong Wa Dae for Park to read.


The president acknowledged that Choi had helped her prepare for public speeches during her presidential election campaign and the early part of her presidency.

"During the last presidential election campaign, she (Choi) has offered me personal comments about my campaign activities, mostly speeches and publicity efforts," Park said.

"For some period of time after my inauguration, I had asked for her opinion over some materials, but after the secretarial staff at Cheong Wa Dae was fully established, I stopped (asking for her help)."