hankyoreh

Reporters and members of civic groups jostle outside of Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office in Seocho district

With Choi Sun-sil being questioned as a suspect by the prosecutors on Oct. 31, the investigation into the Choi Sun-sil scandal is picking up speed. Choi is at the center of allegations of cronyism and influence-peddling. By selecting Choi as the first suspect to question in the case, the prosecutors are showing their commitment to carrying out a tough investigation.

Since Choi’s meddling in the affairs of state would be inexplicable if not for her special relationship with South Korean President Park Geun-hye, the prosecutors’ investigation could move beyond Choi to determine whether senior officials in the Blue House were involved. The prosecutors’ investigation is currently gaining momentum. On Oct. 29 and 30, prosecutors carried out a raid of the Blue House in executing a search and seizure warrant (the Blue House blocked the search and handed over only selected documents). On Oct. 31, they also issued travel bans on former Senior Secretary to the President for Policy Coordination Ahn Jong-beom and former First Personal Secretary Jeong Ho-seong, who are thought to have been Choi‘s main accomplices.

The two main charges being brought against Choi are meddling in the government (which includes Park’s leaked presidential speeches) and putting the Mir and K-Sports Foundations to her own private use. A handful of other charges have also been brought against Choi, including embezzlement and malfeasance and inciting others to destroy evidence.

In terms of the leaked presidential records that provoked public outrage, Choi received documents including Park’s speeches and cabinet remarks and documents containing secret inter-Korean military dialogue in early 2013, around the time that Park was inaugurated as president. Choi is also accused of having been sent documents from the office of the Senior Secretary to the President for Education and Culture related to the university admission of her daughter Jung Yoo-ra and a draft report reviewing possible sites for additional lifestyle and sports complexes that had been submitted to the Blue House by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. If the investigating prosecutors decide that these accusations are proved, Choi could be charged with violating the Presidential Records Act and with having leaked public secrets.

Regarding charges about Choi’s personal control of the Mir and K-Sports Foundations (which ignited the scandal about Choi’s meddling in the government), Choi used Ahn Jong-beom and the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) to force companies to donate more than 70 billion won (US$61 million). Choi is also charged with having exerted her influence to compel the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to approve the foundations’ establishment in a single day and later of having established companies like Double K and Widec Sports GmbH (in South Korea and overseas) in an attempt to appropriate the foundation’s funds for her own purposes.

Jung Hyeon-sik, former secretary-general of the K-Sports Foundation, said in a recent interview with the Hankyoreh that Choi was the foundation’s owner, while a former CEO at Double K surnamed Cho testified that he had met executives at conglomerates on Choi‘s orders.

The prosecutors have already questioned these individuals several times and have reportedly acquired evidence that Choi was instrumental in establishing the foundations and that she linked them to companies that she owned as part of efforts to gain effective control of foundations set up in the public interest. Some legal professionals believe that Choi may have been guilty of bribery when she exploited her relationship with Park to collect funds from corporations.

If Choi used money from the K-Sports Foundation to pay her daughter Jung Yoo-ra’s living expenses in Germany, she could be charged with embezzlement and malfeasance. It also turns out that Choi established several paper companies in Germany along the way. In connection with this, Choi is being charged with violating the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act and with evading taxes by failing to report gifts.

When the prosecutors requested their first search warrant on Oct. 26, the main crime they accused Choi of committing was reportedly embezzlement. Choi is also being accused of causing evidence to be destroyed after reports began to appear in the news and after the prosecutors launched their investigation.

While Ahn Jong-beom denies allegations that he and Choi conspired to set up the foundations and to solicit contributions for them, several people associated with the events claim that Ahn worked closely with Choi. On Oct. 30, the prosecutors summoned So Jin-se, head of the external cooperation team at the Lotte Group‘s policy office, as a witness and questioned him about the related charges. Ahn is being charged with extortion and abusing his authority.

Jeong Ho-seong is accused not only of sending Park’s speeches to Choi in advance but also of personally delivering stacks of Blue House reports to Choi’s office. The prosecutors are planning to question Jeong and Ahn as early as this week.

The prosecutors’ investigation of Woo Byung-woo (who was relieved of his position as Senior Secretary to the President for Civil Affairs on Oct. 30) is also expected to take place before too long. Woo is suspected of having disregarded or failed to deal with signs that Choi was meddling in state affairs, which would qualify as dereliction of duty. Since Woo was Blue House Secretary for Civil Affairs when allegations of meddling in government were brought against Chung Yoon-hoi at the end of 2014, he would likely have had a solid understanding of what was happening.

Woo is also being accused of having attempted to obstruct the prosecutors’ investigation into charges that Choi’s had manipulated the government, which could lead to charges of abusing his power. While recent reports have claimed that the prosecutors have placed a travel ban on Woo as well, the prosecutors have denied this.

By Choi Hyun-june, staff reporter

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]