Prosecutors on Wednesday continued their investigation on embezzlement and illegal coercion allegations involving an aide of Choi Soon-sil, President Park Geun-hye’s confidante.
Cha Eun-taek, once a prominent TV commercial director, appeared before the prosecution Wednesday to be questioned on allegations that he played a role in illegally acquiring the advertisement company Poreka, formerly an in-house firm owned by Posco.
Cha Eun-taek gets out of a vehicle that transported arrested suspects from a detention facility to the prosecutors’ office in front of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors‘ Office in southern Seoul on Wednesday. Cha returned from China late Tuesday night and was immediately arrested. (Yonhap)
Later in the day, investigators requested an arrest warrant for former Korea Creative Content Agency chief Song Sung-gak for threatening a medium-sized ad company that acquired Poreka to hand over 80 percent of the shares to Cha.
An Chong-bum, a former senior presidential secretary for policy coordination who was arrested Sunday, is also being investigated for the same charges.
A recording of a phone conversation with the threatened company CEO and Song shows that Song told him that “there are over 100 ways to ensure that your business does not go well,” while insinuating that the authorities could use tax investigations to penalize him.
Prosecutors on Wednesday also called in an official of Posco on allegation that the company cut its orders for Poreka, after the aforementioned CEO refused to comply with threats.
Cha is also suspected of illegally usurping billions of won from his former companies while using his friendship with Choi to get state projects.
Dubbed the “crown prince” of Korea’s cultural scene, he is believed to have been a member of Choi Soon-sil’s clique that exercised influence over state affairs.
Prosecutors have questioned Cha for over five hours after taking him into custody Tuesday evening. He admitted to reporters that he knew An “a little bit,” but did not comment on his relationship with Choi or whether he interfered in the president‘s personnel choices as rumors suggest.
According to his lawyer, Cha said that he never had a private meeting with the president and denied any acquaintance with Woo Byung-woo, another former presidential aide embroiled in the scandal.
As the investigation expanded to those close to the president, the prosecution on Wednesday raided homes of Park’s former aides Lee Jae-man and Ahn Bong-geun for their possible involvement in allowing Choi to enter Cheong Wa Dae freely and helping her access presidential documents. Jeong Ho-seong, another former Park aide, has already been arrested over the cited allegations.
In relation to suspicions that the presidential staff pressured local firms to give donations to the K-Sports and Mir foundations, which were then channeled to Choi, investigators have summoned officials of corporations for questioning.
Park reportedly had a closed-door meeting with heads of seven major corporations, leading to speculation the president instructed the companies to make sizeable donations. Samsung, Hyundai Motors and SK contributed 20.4 billion won ($17.7 million), 12.8 billion won and 11.1 billion won, respectively, to the eventual 80 billion won fund for the two foundations.
Officials from the companies have been called in for questioning along with those from Hanjin, LG, Hanhwa and CJ.
By Yoon Min-sik (minsikyoon@heralcorp.com)
