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Choi Sun-sil gets out of a car after arriving for questioning at Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office in Seocho district

Choi Sun-sil, the central figure in allegations of behind-the-scenes influence on the Blue House, was summoned before prosecutors on Oct. 31. While she did apologize for “committing a grave offense,” few are likely to believe her questioning is going to result in the full situation coming to light. After concerns over possible evidence destruction early in the investigation, speculation is rife that the swift reactions of the parties implicated - including Choi’s surprise return to South Korea from Europe and appearance before prosecutors - suggest they are following a prewritten scenario. We hope the prosecutors will acknowledge the widespread fears that the Blue House, having already refused a search and seizure, is now presenting Choi as a sacrificial lamb to prevent the investigation from going any farther up the line.

If Choi was at the center of the Mir Foundation and K-Sports Foundation establishment controversy and the leaking of Blue House documents, then another major presence was President Park Geun-hye.

Not only did Park herself admit to having “asked” companies to “increase their investment in culture and sports,” but there are also reported to be accounts from people involved that Choi periodically reported to Park on the two foundations’ operations. Additionally, there are reports that former Blue House Senior Secretary to the President for Economic Affairs Ahn Jong-beom was the “higher-up” who summoned corporation heads to encourage donations, and who increased the funds raised by the Federation of Korean Industries from 30 billion won (US$26.3 million) to 50 billion won (US$43.8 million). Given the evidence, this appears absolutely possible.

There‘s also a strong possibility the leaking of documents wasn’t limited to “speeches and PR materials,” but continued after the Blue House aide system was already fully in place. It’s hard to explain the presence of secretary Jeong Ho-seong - someone Choi installed at the cost of the Chung Yoon-hoi scandal two years ago - right next to the Presidential office without some special involvement by Choi. With administrative office Kim Han-su (a high school friend of Choi’s nephew) and Choi’s own son placed in the Blue House beyond the triumvirate of “Choi’s men,” is it really possible those documents were the only things passed along to her?

Already, the public is beginning to suspect that Choi‘s influenced extended not just to the “Obangnang” pouch (which shows five directions and is commonly used in Shamanist ceremonies) and ceremonial dress at Park’s inauguration ceremony in early 2013, but to areas up to and including foreign policy and national security decisions involving the shutdown of the Kaesong Industrial Complex and the decision to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system.

If Choi‘s actions were violations of the Presidential Records Act and Military Secret Protection Act or crimes of embezzlement and malfeasance, then Park herself is very likely to have been an accomplice to most of them. They may even have constituted bribery and criminal abuse of authority.

But the biggest issue of all is the scandalous way the two of them ran roughshod over the Constitutional order. The Constitution requires major governance decisions involving domestic and internal policy and appointment to go through Cabinet review. This, and the fact that national senior advisory councils are stipulated as presidential counseling bodies in different areas, operates on the assumption that such governance decisions must be rooted in the Constitution and the law. It is a grave crime indeed for the same president who pledged to “honor the Constitution and protect the state” to demolish the absolute basic principle of the Constitutional order.

The public’s wrath has already reached critical mass. The Blue House risks bringing greater disaster on itself if it tries to protect the President by refusing to allow a search and seizure or rashly attempting to conceal or downplay the facts. Instead of simply taking Choi’s word for things, the prosecutors need to carry out an investigation that leaves no place and no person off limits - including the President.

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