Ko Young-tae claims tablet PC is not his

Ko Young-tae -- one of the closest figures to the controversial presidential confidante Choi Soon-sil accused of meddling with state affairs -- returned home Monday afternoon after a second probe that lasted 24 hours.

Ko has surfaced as a key figure in the corruption scandal that is shaking the nation after Choi denied ownership of the tablet PC in which confidential documents including unedited manuscripts of the president’s speeches were found.

Choi, 60, claimed the laptop was Ko’s, saying she does not even know how to operate a tablet PC.

Ko Young-tae (Yonhap)

Ko, a former fencing player and now the chief of a handbag manufacturing company that supplies products to the president, was summoned for two probes that each lasted 40 and 24 hours.

As he was leaving the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office on Monday, Ko told reporters that the tablet PC was not his.

He said he has “truthfully told the prosecutors what he has seen and experienced,” and that “everything will come to light once the probes are over.”

Ko and Choi are rumored to have met at an entertainment house where young men target rich middle-aged women as clients.

Ko told reporters that he came to know Choi “while supplying the president with bags” at around the end of 2012.

He said he had never seen Choi use the tablet PC.

Regarding his position at the foundation The Blue K, Ko said he was “merely a staff member, not a representative.”

Meanwhile, Choi reported to the Prosecutors’ Office for questioning at 3 p.m.

By Lim Jeong-yeo (kaylalim@heraldcorp.com)