President Park Geun-hye’s former confidante Chung Yoon-hoi appeared at a Seoul court as a witness in the ongoing trial of Sankei Shimbun’s former Seoul bureau chief, Tatsuya Kato, who has been indicted for defaming Park.

Chung told reporters at the Seoul Central District Court on Monday that he “would only tell the truth.” The Sankei newspaper had alleged ― citing rumors in the stock brokerage industry ― that Park was staying outside the presidential office at the time the ferry Sewol capsized with a man seen to be one of her key advisers.

In its Aug. 3 online edition, the Japanese newspaper said that she had allegedly left the office for about seven hours on April 16, when the ferry sank.

Chung, 60, had been an adviser to Park since 1998, when the president entered the Assembly after winning the by-election for the Dalseong district constituency in Daegu.

He also reportedly contributed to Park’s 2012 presidential election victory through low-key campaign activities.

While the prosecution is expected to ask judges to punish Kato for publishing baseless information in a vicious manner, the attorney for the defendant stressed that the report was for the benefit of the public and there was no intention of defamation.

In a statement, Sankei Shimbun claimed that it had referred to statements from the National Assembly and a column in a Korean newspaper.

Kato earlier said that he hoped that “the trial in Korea, which is governed by law, would proceed strictly according to law and evidence.”

By Kim Yon-se (kys@heraldcorp.com)