The special investigators’ probe into the President Park Geun-hye scandal is increasingly taking shape, but there is one key suspect and witness still missing from the picture -- the daughter of Park’s friend Choi Soon-sil believed to have been the greatest beneficiary of her mother’s influence-peddling.
The key question now is whether Chung Yoo-ra, Choi’s 20-year-old daughter, will be summoned back home for questioning, in particular over the alleged back-scratching relationship between Choi and the nation’s top conglomerate Samsung.
Over the weekend, Chung had been arrested in Denmark, where she turned out to have been in hiding since September last year.
The Danish court, after holding a brief hearing, extended her custody for another four weeks until the end of this month.
But so far, Chung’s response has been to try to resist summons for as long as possible and shift all the blame onto her mother, from whom she claims to be estranged.
With the ongoing independent probe due to end in late February, her actions were largely deemed a stalling tactic to shun questioning and to escape custody.
Investigators vowed every effort to bring her back, but admitted that a forced return may be difficult, given the tight timeline.
“In case we demand an extradition and Chung files a suit in disobedience, the entire process may drag on,” Lee Kyu-cheol, spokesperson for the independent counsel, told reporters Tuesday.
The remaining options are either for Chung to fly back home of her own will or for the Danish government to banish her from the country. Chung was arrested in the northern Danish city of Aalborg, on Sunday, local time, on charges of staying illegally.
In a bid to add pressure on Chung, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that it has ordered her to turn in her passport by Monday, after which her passport will be nullified.
While resisting being questioning, Chung has also been making a series of remarks, admitting her mother’s irregularity charges but denying her involvement in the process.
“I thought I’d be expelled (from Ewha Womans University) in 2016, as I hardly ever attended classes and knew none of the teaching staff,” she told reporters at the Danish court on Monday, local time.
“I moved to Germany, two months after giving birth, and then to Denmark. I know nothing about my grades or how they were evaluated.”
Chung came under fire for receiving favors not only in entering the prestigious college but also in her academic grades, despite her nonattendance and attitude.
She also claimed to have no knowledge on the covert connection between her mother and Samsung.
“My mother asked me to sign a couple of documents and I did as told,” Chung said.
“What I know is that Samsung sponsored a horse and that I rode it, that is all. I have no idea whatsoever how all the money involved was operated.”
Choi and Chung are reported to be estranged from each other, following disputes caused by Chung’s premarital pregnancy.
