April 19, 2024
Economy
[IMPEACHMENT] Special probe on Choi scandal relies on daughter's repatriation
[THE INVESTOR] Seeking to elucidate the alleged backscratching relationship between scandal-ridden presidential confidante Choi Soon-sil and the nation’s top conglomerate Samsung, investigators are now counting on repatriating a crucial witness -- Choi’s daughter Chung Yoo-ra.
So far, Chung’s two-way strategy has been to resist repatriation for as long as possible and shift all blame to her mother, claiming ignorance of under-the-counter deals.
Despite her alleged estrangement from her detained mother, Chung is also considered to be one of few who could push Choi to break her silence and admit to her irregularities.
But the key challenge is whether or not Chung will be brought back home in time, especially by the end of February, when the ongoing independent counsel investigation of Choi’s corruption scandal is due to close.
Prosecutors, while struggling to add momentum to the investigation, admitted a plausible scenario is either for Chung to return voluntarily or for the Danish court to decide on her expulsion.
“In case we demand for an expatriation and Chung files a suit in disobedience, the entire process may drag on,” Lee Kyu-cheol, spokesperson for the independent counsel, told reporters on Jan.3.
“Considering the passport return order has been delivered to her, we expect that she may either decide to fly back home or be banished by the Danish government.”
Expatriation of criminals from European states to Korea often takes two or three months at most, according to diplomatic officials.
While the current independent counsel investigation is scheduled to last until late February, a Constitutional Court judgment is also under way to deliberate on President Park Geun-hye‘s impeachment.
In a bid to add pressure upon Chung, the Foreign Ministry said on Jan.3 that it ordered her to turn in her passport by Jan. 9. Her passport is thus to be nullified from Jan. 10.
Chung was earlier arrested in the northern Danish city of Aalborg on Jan.1, local time, on charges of staying illegally.
The disputed 21-year-old equestrian is suspected of using her mother’s ties to the president to receive a number of favors, including her admission to Ewha Womans University and financial support from Samsung Group.
She is also suspected of assisting her mother in siphoning off the money, funneling it through a dubious sports company.
But Chung, who is currently under the custody of local law enforcement, declined to respond to Korean investigators’ summons.
Citing the existence of a 19-month son, she demanded a non-arrest guarantee, which investigators denied, stating that Chung is clearly a suspect in the given case.
While defending her case in the Danish court so as to terminate her custody, Chung pushed the blame to her detained mother, arguing she had only acted upon her guidance.
“I only signed a set of documents as my mother told me to,” she reportedly said in court, claiming ignorance of her mother’s influence-rigging with her university professor or sponsor Samsung.
By Bae Hyun-jung/The Korea Herald (tellme@heraldcorp.com)
So far, Chung’s two-way strategy has been to resist repatriation for as long as possible and shift all blame to her mother, claiming ignorance of under-the-counter deals.
Despite her alleged estrangement from her detained mother, Chung is also considered to be one of few who could push Choi to break her silence and admit to her irregularities.
But the key challenge is whether or not Chung will be brought back home in time, especially by the end of February, when the ongoing independent counsel investigation of Choi’s corruption scandal is due to close.
Prosecutors, while struggling to add momentum to the investigation, admitted a plausible scenario is either for Chung to return voluntarily or for the Danish court to decide on her expulsion.
“In case we demand for an expatriation and Chung files a suit in disobedience, the entire process may drag on,” Lee Kyu-cheol, spokesperson for the independent counsel, told reporters on Jan.3.
“Considering the passport return order has been delivered to her, we expect that she may either decide to fly back home or be banished by the Danish government.”
Expatriation of criminals from European states to Korea often takes two or three months at most, according to diplomatic officials.
While the current independent counsel investigation is scheduled to last until late February, a Constitutional Court judgment is also under way to deliberate on President Park Geun-hye‘s impeachment.
In a bid to add pressure upon Chung, the Foreign Ministry said on Jan.3 that it ordered her to turn in her passport by Jan. 9. Her passport is thus to be nullified from Jan. 10.
Chung was earlier arrested in the northern Danish city of Aalborg on Jan.1, local time, on charges of staying illegally.
The disputed 21-year-old equestrian is suspected of using her mother’s ties to the president to receive a number of favors, including her admission to Ewha Womans University and financial support from Samsung Group.
She is also suspected of assisting her mother in siphoning off the money, funneling it through a dubious sports company.
But Chung, who is currently under the custody of local law enforcement, declined to respond to Korean investigators’ summons.
Citing the existence of a 19-month son, she demanded a non-arrest guarantee, which investigators denied, stating that Chung is clearly a suspect in the given case.
While defending her case in the Danish court so as to terminate her custody, Chung pushed the blame to her detained mother, arguing she had only acted upon her guidance.
“I only signed a set of documents as my mother told me to,” she reportedly said in court, claiming ignorance of her mother’s influence-rigging with her university professor or sponsor Samsung.
By Bae Hyun-jung/The Korea Herald (tellme@heraldcorp.com)
