Maestro Chung Myung-whun was questioned by the Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office Thursday morning regarding his alleged involvement in the ousting of former Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra CEO Park Hyun-jung in December 2014.
“I believed what my colleagues of 10 years had told me,” Chung told reporters outside the Prosecutors’ Office, in reference to the 10 SPO members who had filed charges against former CEO Park over allegations of sexual and verbal harassment.
After a months-long investigation by Seoul police, the charges against Park were dropped due to lack of evidence. However, Chung’s wife, surnamed Koo, is currently suspected of having ordered her husband’s secretary to spread false rumors about the former CEO.
Maestro Chung Myung-whun is approached by reporters upon his arrival at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors‘ Office on Thursday. (Yonhap)
“I have come here today because there needs to be a thorough investigation so that these matters can reach a conclusion,” said Chung who arrived in Seoul from Munich, Germany on Wednesday.
After being forced to resign as head of SPO, Park filed a suit against the 10 SPO members who had brought complaints against her. She also filed a suit against Chung for allegedly defaming her reputation in interviews with the media. The conductor went on to countersue Park for defamation as well.
Besides the allegations of defamation, the acclaimed conductor has also been under investigation since March last year on suspicions of embezzlement.
On Tuesday, the law firm Jipyong, which represents Chung, released an official statement claiming it would take “strict actions against all groundless slander and the spreading of false accusations.”
The statement highlighted that a number of local media outlets had reported that the maestro had disposed of his assets and fled the country, adding that they had ended up retracting their articles after “reviewing all the facts.”
Chung is scheduled to undergo yet another separate police questioning on Friday into the alleged embezzlement of SPO funds. Despite the ongoing legal battles, Chung is scheduled to conduct the SPO as part of the Lotte Concert Hall’s opening performance on Aug. 18 and 19.
By Julie Jackson (
juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)