April 19, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] The special counsel team investigating the influence-peddling and corruption scandal involving President Park Geun-hye is cooperating with German authorities to extradite Chung Yoo-ra, the daughter of Choi Soon-sil, it said on Dec.21.

“The court has issued a warrant to arrest Chung on charges of business obstruction,” Lee Kyu-cheol, a spokesperson for the special counsel team, told reporters. “We are cooperating with the German prosecution to locate her, invalidate her passport and freeze her assets.”

A 19-year-old dressage player, Chung is suspected of receiving special treatment in the education and sports circles due to her mother’s ties to the president.

Accelerating the investigation into Chung, the independent counsel team is working to both invalidate Chung’s passport and ask for the German prosecution’s cooperation to find her in the country.

If the German court approves the arrest warrant, the German prosecution can extradite her to Korea. If not, the cancellation of Chung’s passport can lead to deportation.

Chung has so far refused to return to Korea and did not attend a parliamentary inquiry into the scandal last week.

But Chung’s lawyer Lee Kyung-jae, who also represents her mother Choi, did not specify when Chung will return, saying he has not been in contact with her recently.

“We are going to check the charges first and think about how to respond to it. I don’t know when she will return. She has the freedom to make a choice,” he said.

The German prosecution is also looking into Choi and Chung’s dubious process of accumulating assets in the country through Choi’s paper company Widec Sports. Choi and Chung can face up to a 5 year jail term in Germany for money-laundering. Choi and Chung are suspected of receiving 2.8 million euro in sponsorship from Samsung Group through their paper company to purchase horses and cover Chung’s dressage training fees in Germany. But allegations suggest they spent much of it for personal use.

The independent counsel raided earlier in the day a state-run National Pension Service in connection with the merger of Samsung Group’s two affiliates. Choi, who has never held a government post and has no policy background, allegedly influenced the agency to approve the merger in return for Samsung Group’s financial support for her daughter.

Chung is also accused of being illegally accepted into Ewha Womans University and given overly generous marks without attending classes or turning in assignments, due to her mother’s status.

But Lee’s lawyer claimed that Chung’s acceptance into the university might be subject to criticism, but it is not a crime. “It is just that the public are venting anger at it,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Education Ministry said on Dec.21 that Chang Si-ho, Choi Soon-sil’s niece who was arrested over influence-peddling and extortion, also received special favors in being accepted into Yeonsei University.

Just like Chung, she was admitted to the school as a student athlete in 1998 and was able to graduate from the university despite her poor academic record, along with 115 other students, according to the 10-day inspection result.

The ministry asked for a criminal investigation into the school over such irregularities. It also decided to impose punishment such as a reduction of the admission quotas or curtailment of financial support from the state on the university.

By Ock hyun-ju/The Korea Herald (laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)