President Park Geun-hye on Thursday put her signature on a document to formally request that opposition parties recommend candidates for the independent counsel to investigate the high-profile corruption scandal involving her and her friend.

The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said that it plans to deliver the written request to the National Assembly later in the day.

The move came two days after the law on the special prosecutor took effect. Under the law, the main opposition Democratic Party and the minor People's Party are to recommend one candidate each.

Park is to appoint one of them.

Upon receiving the request, the parties have to recommend their candidates within five days. When they announce their picks, Park is to select one of them within three days.

The independent investigation team, consisting of 105 members including 20 prosecutors, is expected to begin its investigation next month. It has a mandate to investigate the high-profile case for a period of up to four months.

On Sunday, the prosecution cited Park as an accomplice in a string of the alleged wrongdoings involving her confidante Choi Soon-sil and two key former aides.

Cheong Wa Dae has dismissed the prosecution's accusations against Park, saying the allegations are politically biased and a mixture of "imagination and conjecture." It has vowed to establish Park's "innocence" through the upcoming independent counsel probe.

Park faces allegations that she played a role in pressuring local conglomerates into donating large sums of money to two nonprofit organizations. She is also suspected of having allowed her confidante Choi Soon-sil to gain unlawful access to presidential speeches and documents, some of which were classified as confidential. (Yonhap)