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President Park Geun-hye at her last cabinet meeting at the Blue House on Dec. 9

President Park Geun-hye was found to have had former Blue House Senior Secretary to the President for Economic Affairs Cho Won-dong order the resignation of CJ Group vice chairperson Lee Mi-kyung from the company’s management front lines.

Prosecutors completed their more than two-month-long investigation on Dec. 11 and delivered their records to the team of special prosecutor Park Young-soo with a suggestion for additional investigation of former Presidential Chief of Staff Kim Ki-choon and Senior Secretary to the President for Civil Affairs Woo Byung-woo.

Based on its investigation of Choi Sun-sil’s government interference scandal, the prosecutors’ special investigation headquarters under chief Lee Yeong-ryeol announced on Dec. 11 that Cho had allegedly committed attempted coercion by contacting CJ Group chairman Sohn Kyung-shik around July 2013 to demand Lee’s resignation from the management front lines on orders from Park, citing an investigation and other factors. Prosecutors booked Cho without detention on the charges.

Prosecutors also said Park was in a “conspiratorial relationship” with Cho. Park was also found to have issued orders to Cho for Sohn‘s resignation as Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) chairman, although Cho only demanded that Lee step down.

The revelation brings the number of charges against Park up to eight, including obstruction of the exercise of rights through the abuse of power for forcing Samsung and other companies to donate to the Mir and K-Sports Foundations and leaking of confidential information in public duties for having former Blue House secretary Jeong Ho-seong pass materials related to Cabinet ministers on to Choi.

Prosecutors delivered their investigation records and evidentiary materials to the special prosecutor’s team with the conclusion that Park’s pressure for additional Mir Foundation contributions from SK chairman Chey Tae-won and Lotte Group chairman Shin Dong-bin and Samsung’s payment of 8 billion won (US$6.8 million) in support to Choi and daughter Jung Yu-ra constituted third-party bribery. Prosecutors also said Choi - who is now under detention - improperly entered the Blue House on ten occasions between March and November 2013 in the vehicle of Blue House administration officer Lee Yeong-seon.

During their investigation, prosecutors recovered 236 recordings from Jeong’s mobile phone and acquired 17 notebooks belonging to former Blue House Senior Secretary to the President for Policy Coordination Ahn Jong-beom, with 510 pages of material. The Jeong recordings were confirmed to have included 11 recordings of third-party conversations, including Park, Choi, and Jeong working together to prepare Park’s inaugural address. Ahn‘s notebooks, which were kept between Jan. 2015 and Oct. 2016, reportedly contain details about Blue House meetings and orders from Park.

After concluding its investigation on Dec. 11, the prosecutors’ investigation headquarters indicted 11 suspects in total, including Choi and former Vice Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Kim Jong. Other charges not fully investigated by the prosecutors - including allegations of bribery against Park, the offering of bribes by Samsung and other chaebol, Jung Yu-ra’s improper admission to Ewha Womans University, and Park’s dereliction of duty during a still unaccounted-for seven-hour period on Apr. 16, 2014, the day of the Sewol ferry sinking - are now left for the special prosecutor to follow up on.

By Kim Min-kyung, staff reporter

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