April 26, 2024
Economy
[IMPEACHMENT] Park appears to prolong impeachment trial
[THE INVESTOR] As the President Park Geun-hye’s impeachment trial gains speed with one additional hearing per week, Park’s lawyers again applied for a long list of witnesses in an apparent attempt to prolong the proceedings on Jan.23.
The nine-judge court took a subtle jab at them, asking them to first offer long overdue explanation on some of the key allegations -- Park’s role in setting up the Mir and K-Sports foundation, her friend Cho Soon-sil’s assistance in Park‘s state management and Park’s whereabouts during the seven-hour period at the time of the sinking of the Sewol Ferry.
Amid growing testimonies that may implicate President Park over the corruption scandal, Park’s lawyers asked the court to bring in 39 more witnesses to court including ex-chief of presidential secretary Kim Ki-choon and ex-presidential aide Woo Byung-woo.
Kang Il-won, a lead Justice in the impeachment trial, said: “What makes a difference if the witnesses appear? The witnesses (you asked for) have consistently testified that the presidential office took a lead (in extorting) donations.”
Park, who was impeached by the parliament on Dec. 9, was stripped of substantial executive powers, but remains immune from criminal liability. Critics say that she is attempting to prolong the proceedings to restore support from the conservative bloc.
The court is set to decide whether to accept additional witnesses at the next hearing scheduled for Wednesday. It has already quickened court proceedings by adopting statements of 46 suspects and witnesses at the prosecutorial questioning as valid evidence.
The eighth hearing of the impeachment trial brought in Ex-Vice Culture Minister Kim Chong, TV commercial director Cha Eun-taek and Lee Seung-cul, vice chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries as witnesses.
They are all accused of assisting Choi Soon-sil, President Park’s longtime friend and central figure in the scandal, to extort money and favors using her ties to the president.
Park’s alleged collusion with Choi in coercing donations from local firms for the entities Choi controlled is one of the key charges for her impeachment.
During the hearing, Kim Chong, the ex-vice culture minister, admitted to being given orders from the presidential office to work with the K-Sports Foundation and the Blue-K, which Choi owned and used to embezzle donations, for its nationwide sports project.
Park herself mentioned the name of Chung Yoo-ra, Choi’s daughter, to Chong. He said, “I was shocked because the president herself said that the government should support a talented athlete like Chung Yoo-ra.” Choi allegedly abused her ties to the president to get Chung accepted into a prestigious university.
On Monday, an independent counsel team investigating the corruption scandal brought in Yoo Jin-ryong, ex-culture and sports minister, accelerating its probe into Park‘s involvement in the blacklist allegations.
He, who stepped down from the post amid a fallout with the president, earlier testified that he had seen the blacklist of cultural figures critical of the Park administration while serving as a minister.
The counsel team suspects Park of ordering high-ranking government officials to create and manage the blacklist.
The parliamentary impeachment committee plans to revise the version of the impeachment bill on Wednesday to possibly add the blacklist allegation, which could implicate Park for abuse of authority, as an additional charge against her.
The independent counsel team also started to investigate allegations that Choi paid for Park’s clothes, which could constitute a bribery between the two.
According to the counsel team, Park wore the clothes Choi picked and paid for from a dress shop in southern Seoul during presidential events and overseas trips. The clothes shop was raided and its employees were questioned earlier this month.
The counsel team, meanwhile, is set to seek a warrant to apprehend Choi, who is already in jail, on Thursday, as she has refused to respond to the investigators’ summons for questioning.
By Ock Hyun-ju/The Korea Herald (laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)
The nine-judge court took a subtle jab at them, asking them to first offer long overdue explanation on some of the key allegations -- Park’s role in setting up the Mir and K-Sports foundation, her friend Cho Soon-sil’s assistance in Park‘s state management and Park’s whereabouts during the seven-hour period at the time of the sinking of the Sewol Ferry.
Amid growing testimonies that may implicate President Park over the corruption scandal, Park’s lawyers asked the court to bring in 39 more witnesses to court including ex-chief of presidential secretary Kim Ki-choon and ex-presidential aide Woo Byung-woo.
Kang Il-won, a lead Justice in the impeachment trial, said: “What makes a difference if the witnesses appear? The witnesses (you asked for) have consistently testified that the presidential office took a lead (in extorting) donations.”
Park, who was impeached by the parliament on Dec. 9, was stripped of substantial executive powers, but remains immune from criminal liability. Critics say that she is attempting to prolong the proceedings to restore support from the conservative bloc.
The court is set to decide whether to accept additional witnesses at the next hearing scheduled for Wednesday. It has already quickened court proceedings by adopting statements of 46 suspects and witnesses at the prosecutorial questioning as valid evidence.
The eighth hearing of the impeachment trial brought in Ex-Vice Culture Minister Kim Chong, TV commercial director Cha Eun-taek and Lee Seung-cul, vice chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries as witnesses.
They are all accused of assisting Choi Soon-sil, President Park’s longtime friend and central figure in the scandal, to extort money and favors using her ties to the president.
Park’s alleged collusion with Choi in coercing donations from local firms for the entities Choi controlled is one of the key charges for her impeachment.
During the hearing, Kim Chong, the ex-vice culture minister, admitted to being given orders from the presidential office to work with the K-Sports Foundation and the Blue-K, which Choi owned and used to embezzle donations, for its nationwide sports project.
Park herself mentioned the name of Chung Yoo-ra, Choi’s daughter, to Chong. He said, “I was shocked because the president herself said that the government should support a talented athlete like Chung Yoo-ra.” Choi allegedly abused her ties to the president to get Chung accepted into a prestigious university.
On Monday, an independent counsel team investigating the corruption scandal brought in Yoo Jin-ryong, ex-culture and sports minister, accelerating its probe into Park‘s involvement in the blacklist allegations.
He, who stepped down from the post amid a fallout with the president, earlier testified that he had seen the blacklist of cultural figures critical of the Park administration while serving as a minister.
The counsel team suspects Park of ordering high-ranking government officials to create and manage the blacklist.
The parliamentary impeachment committee plans to revise the version of the impeachment bill on Wednesday to possibly add the blacklist allegation, which could implicate Park for abuse of authority, as an additional charge against her.
The independent counsel team also started to investigate allegations that Choi paid for Park’s clothes, which could constitute a bribery between the two.
According to the counsel team, Park wore the clothes Choi picked and paid for from a dress shop in southern Seoul during presidential events and overseas trips. The clothes shop was raided and its employees were questioned earlier this month.
The counsel team, meanwhile, is set to seek a warrant to apprehend Choi, who is already in jail, on Thursday, as she has refused to respond to the investigators’ summons for questioning.
By Ock Hyun-ju/The Korea Herald (laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)
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