Maestro Chung Myung-whun will be questioned later this week on defamation accusations by the former head of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, the Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office in charge of the case said Monday.

“Maestro Chung will be summoned for questioning as the accused at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday,” a prosecutor said.

The accusations against Chung and his wife, surnamed Koo, were made in March by former SPO CEO Park Hyun-jung, who quit as SPO chief over alleged sexual and verbal harassment of SPO members in December 2014.

At that time, 10 SPO members had filed a complaint with the police against Park over the allegations. But Park’s charges were cleared due to lack of evidence in August last year.

Chung’s wife is suspected of ordering Chung’s secretary to write and spread an anonymous letter that told of Park’s alleged wrongdoings.

Chung countercharged Park with defamation later. Since March last year, the conductor has also been under a probe into alleged embezzlement.

Amid the legal wrangling, the maestro resigned as the SPO music director after 10 years of service at the end of last year.

The prosecution confirmed the background of Park’s accusation by summoning her last month, and notified Chung and his wife, who are currently staying in France, to show up at the prosecution for questioning. Chung’s wife has reportedly refused to comply with the prosecution’s order. (Yonhap)