Published : Oct. 26, 2016 - 16:58
The South Korean prosecution on Wednesday searched the Seoul home and offices of Choi Soon-sil, the longtime confidante of President Park Geun-hye at the center of a snowballing scandal involving corruption, influence peddling and a confidential data leak.
In an apparent move to speed up its probe after weeks of slow progress, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said it had raided nine locations, including Choi’s house, the offices of the Mir and K-Sports foundations and the headquarters of the Federation of Korea Industries.
Investigators take paper boxes from the K-Sports Foundation building in Gangnam, southern Seoul, Wednesday, as the prosecution begins a search of the foundation's office with regard to the Choi Soon-sil scandal. (Yonhap)
The prosecution said that it was considering whether to expand the investigation team to look into the fresh allegations that Choi had access to classified information about the president’s speeches and state polices.
Prosecutors said that they had also looked into suspect financial transactions among those involved in the scandal and called in for questioning former chiefs of the Korean branch of German-based paper company The Blue K, owned by Choi.
The prosecution said that it seeks to partner up with German police to track down Choi, who left South Korea for Germany on Sept. 3
Choi, who allegedly exerted influence in state affairs behind the scenes, is suspected of using her ties with the president to raise some 80 billion won ($70.6 million) in donations from conglomerates through the FKI for the two nonprofit foundations. She is also suspected of embezzling the donations for personal gain
In what critics see as a belated move, the search and seizure came nearly a month after a civic group filed a complaint against Choi and senior presidential aide Ahn Chong-bum, who is also involved in the corruption scandal.
Despite a series of media reports pointing to her dubious involvement in the launch and operations of the Mir and K-Sports foundations, prosecutors have been seen dragging their feet in investigating Choi, citing a “lack of clear criminal charges.”
“The search and seizure are not the final destination for an investigation. There needs to be clear charges to apply for a search warrant. We cannot ask for the warrant based on media reports,” an official from the prosecution told reporters Wednesday. “There was no external pressure on the probe.”
The prosecution has focused on clarifying suspicions over whether Cheong Wa Dae meddled in establishing the Mir and K-Sports foundations, whether Choi has been involved in embezzling donations.
The focus of the probe into what is locally called “Choi Soon-sil Gate” is expected to widen to allegations that Choi had access to over 200 confidential files, 44 of which were drafts for presidential speeches, found on an abandoned tablet PC used by Choi.
President Park made a rare apology in a televised address a day earlier over the leak of classified information to Choi, who has never held public office.
The prosecution also said it would look into allegations that Choi‘s daughter, Jeong Yoo-ra, was given special favors in entering Ewha Womans University and for her academic records thanks to her mother’s status.
But the probe is likely to face stumbling blocks, with key suspects like Choi and her close aide Cha Eun-taek having fled the country in early September. The prosecution said that it is not aware of their exact whereabouts.
When the prosecution raided Choi’s offices, many of them were reportedly empty, with many of documents, computers having been removed or destroyed.
Calls are growing for a special investigation by an independent counsel into the influence-peddling scandal surrounding Choi, with the opposition bloc accusing the prosecution of its lukewarm efforts to probe the case.
Under the law, an independent counsel can launch an investigation when requested by a majority of parliamentarians or the justice minister. The special prosecution is given 60 days for a probe, which can be extended once for an additional 30 days.
By Ock Hyun-ju (laeticia.ock@herladcorp.com)