April 23, 2024

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[THE INVSETOR] Jang Si-ho, the niece of President Park Geun-hye’s embattled friend Choi Soon-sil, admitted to coercing donations from Samsung Group, in stark contrast to Choi’s denial, during the trial over the corruption scandal involving the president on Jan.17.  

Extortion of money from local businesses is a key charge that President Park faces in her ongoing impeachment trial.

Jang, 37, and Choi, 60, who are both jailed for alleged involvement in the scandal, appeared to shift the liability to each other for abusing power to extort donations from conglomerates for a winter sports center under their control.  

Jang and Choi are accused of colluding with former Vice Culture and Sports Minister Kim Chong to extort more than 1.6 billion won ($1.35 million) in donations from Samsung Electronics through its affiliate Cheil World Wide for the Korea Winter Sports Elite Center. 

Jang admitted to forcing Samsung Group to sponsor the center -- where she served as a secretary-general -- and embezzling some of the donations for her personal gain. 

The admission came a day after an independent counsel into the corruption scandal sought an arrest warrant for Samsung Group’s de facto leader Lee Jae-yong on charges of offering bribes to Choi in return for the Park administration backing a merger of two Samsung affiliates.

The donation for the winter sports center is suspected of being part of the total bribe worth 43.3 billion won that Samsung Group contributed to entities -- including the Mir and K-Sports foundations -- closely linked to Choi and Park. 

Choi, on the other hand, denied colluding with them to coerce the donations from Samsung Group, saying she only intended to help Jang set up and run the winter sports center for a good cause. 

“She did not abuse her authority by collaborating with Jang. She only asked the Vice Culture and Sports Minister Kim to help run the center,” Choi’s lawyer said. 

During the hearing that began at 10 a.m. at the Seoul Central District Court, the accused appeared in prison uniforms and sat side by side. They barely looked at each other, only talking to their lawyers and focusing on the court proceedings. 

Jang and Choi’s appearance at the court came amid speculations that their family ties had deteriorated, as Jang had submitted key evidence against her aunt -- a tablet PC supposedly owned by Choi -- to the independent counsel. 

Choi is standing a separate trial for meddling in state affairs and colluding with the ex-presidential aide An Chong-bum to force big companies to make donations to the Mir and K-Sports foundations she controlled.  

Choi has so far denied all the charges. 

The ex-Vice Minister Kim denied most of his charges, pinning the blame on President Park. He said that Park directly interacted with Samsung Group in raising donations for the winter sports center. 

Kim’s claims come in line with testimonies given by ex-Presidential Secretary An during the hearing at the Constitutional Court on Jan.16. An said Park gave detailed instructions in the process of raising the donations from major companies, implicating her in the alleged bribery. 

“According to An’s memo book, the donation was made through direct communication between Samsung’s management and the presidential office,” Kim’s lawyer said.

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