Former vice culture minister quizzed over influence-peddling scandal

A former vice culture minister was questioned by prosecutors Wednesday over his alleged involvement in the influence-peddling scandal surrounding President Park Geun-hye's close friend that has been rocking the country.

Kim Chong appeared before the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office as a suspect to undergo questioning over allegations that he gave business favors to Choi Soon-sil, suspected of having been a behind-the-scenes power broker in the current administration. In return, he is accused of asking Choi to influence the posting of officials.

"I will fully respond to all the (allegations) raised during the prosecution's investigation," he told reporters before entering the prosecutors' office, declining to comment further. 

Former Vice Culture Minister Kim Chong enters the Seoul Central District Prosecutors` Office in Seoul on Nov. 16, as a suspect to undergo questioning over an influence-peddling scandal surrounding President Park Geun-hye`s longtime friend. (Yonhap)

Prosecutors are also looking into whether he was involved in favors given to a foundation controlled by Choi's niece.

Before being named vice minister in 2013, Kim was a professor in the department of sports industry at Seoul's Hanyang University.

Kim is known to have wielded strong influence over the sports industry until he offered to resign late last month, in the wake of the scandal.

Prosecutors here have been accelerating their probe into the snowballing scandal centered around Choi, currently in custody over various allegations of unlawful activities raised against her.

State prosecutors plan to question President Park to determine what she knew about her friend's activities, as well as her involvement. The chief executive appointed a legal counsel who will accompany her in what will be the first ever prosecutorial questioning of a sitting South Korean president in the country's history. (Yonhap)