The woman at the center of a scandal roiling South Korea yesterday met with prosecutors examining whether she used her close ties to South Korean President Park Geun-hye to pull government strings from the shadows and amass an illicit fortune.
“Please, forgive me. I’m sorry,” Choi Soon-sil, a cult leader’s daughter with a decades-long connection to Park, said inside the Seoul prosecutor’s building, according to Yonhap news agency, as she wept. “I committed a sin that deserves death.”
Choi, wearing a bucket hat and scarf, her hand pressed to her mouth, was nearly knocked off her feet several times as she tried to walk through a massive crowd of media, protesters and security surrounding the building’s entrance. YTN TV station reported that Choi lost her shoe as the throng converged on her.
Photo: AFP
“Arrest Choi Soon-sil” and “Park Geun-hye should resign,” protesters shouted.
The scandal exploded last week when, after weeks of speculation, Park acknowledged that Choi had edited some of her speeches and provided public relations help.
Widespread media reports say that Choi, who has no official ties to the administration, might have had a major role in government affairs.
Investigators are trying to determine the scope of access Choi had and whether she was given sensitive presidential documents. They have raided the homes of some officials in the presidential Blue House as part of the investigation.
Park has fired some of her top aides to try to contain the fallout as thousands of people have protested in the streets, and some lawmakers and the public have called for her resignation or impeachment.
It is not clear how much influence Choi had, but many South Koreans believe there is much more to the story than Park has acknowledged and the frenzy surrounding the scandal threatens her presidency.
Choi, 60, on Sunday returned home from seclusion in Germany. It is unclear if there will be any details revealed from her meeting with prosecutors.
Choi has previously said she helped Park, but did not know if she was seeing confidential information.
Choi’s attorney, Lee Kyung-jae, told reporters earlier that Choi “apologizes deeply for causing the people humiliation and despair.”
Choi has been close to Park since Choi’s father, the leader of a religious cult, attached himself to Park by reportedly convincing her that he could communicate with her assassinated mother. The man who later murdered Park’s father, Park Chung-hee, is said to have claimed that he staged his attack in part because Park Chung-hee would not keep Choi’s father away from the young Park Geun-hye.
Media reports said the younger Choi used her connection to Park to pressure businesses to give money to two nonprofit organizations she controlled, the Mir and K-Sports foundations; she then allegedly used some of the organizations’ official funds for personal purposes.
South Korean media speculated that the two foundations collected about 80 billion won (US$70 million) in donations from South Korea’s largest business groups in just a few months.
The president of Ewha Womans University has also resigned amid protests over allegations that Choi used her connections with the president to get her daughter into the elite school and then secure special academic treatment.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source