April 23, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] The special prosecutor’s team on Feb. 28 named President Park Geun-hye as suspect in the extensive corruption scandal pivoting on her longtime friend Choi Soon-sil, rounding off its three-month investigation and handing the case back to state prosecutors.

It also decided to indict Lee Jae-yong, heir apparent of the nation‘s most powerful conglomerate Samsung Group, along with four other executive-level officials of the group, for their backscratching connection to the feud-ridden presidential confidante.

“President Park will be booked as a suspect in the bribery allegations (involving Choi), as the two may be seen as accomplices,” Lee Kyu-chul, spokesperson for Independent Counsel Park Young-soo’s team, told reporters in a briefing.

The charges raised against Park will thus be handed over to the Supreme Court‘s special investigation unit for further inquiry, he explained.

The suspended state chief, who is currently awaiting for the Constitutional Court’s final ruling in her impeachment, yet has the constitutional immunity to criminal prosecution.

But with the state prosecution taking on the case, she may now face summons once she is permanently removed from power. The court decision on whether or not to oust Park is expected to come on March 10-14.

Investigators also confirmed that they will send 18 more suspects to trial, over their alleged connection to the presidential corruption case. The list included key Samsung officials, as well as Samsung Electronics vice chairman Lee.

This fixed the total number of indicted suspects indicted at 31, the largest-ever since South Korea first introduced an independent counsel system in 1999.

As for the detailed results of its past 90 days of investigation, the team is to make an official report on Monday next week, Lee said.

The billionaire heir to the Samsung Group is now indicted on charges including funneling tens of millions of dollars to nonprofit foundations run by Choi in exchange for political favors that would help him tighten his control over the company.

The group’s controversial merger between two affiliates in 2015 was allegedly made with the help of the state-run National Pension Service, the largest shareholder of Samsung C&T, which is one of the affiliates.

Other charges against Lee include having provided -- or pledged to provide -- a total of 43 billion won ($37.5 million) to Choi’s daughter, Chung Yoo-ra, in the form of sponsoring her equestrian career in Germany. 

In connection to the investigation, four other senior executives of Samsung, including corporate strategy office Vice Chairman Choi Ji-sung and President Chang Choong-ki, were indicted on the same day.

Also on the arraignment are the so-called “secret doctors” of President Park, including the general practitioner Kim Young-jae and former presidential consulting physician Kim Sang-man -- both of whom are accused of secretly performing cosmetic treatments on the president -- the former President of Ewha Womans University Choi Kyung-hee and other professors for allegedly giving favors to Choi’s daughter in university admission.

As for Choi, who was indicted by state prosecutors last November on charges of abuse of power, coercion and attempted fraud, the probe team said it has added more charges against her including taking bribes and concealing criminal proceeds.

In the meantime, the special prosecutor’s probe into Park’s former aide Woo Byung-woo still remains unresolved, though it is ready to be handed over to state prosecutors as from Feb. 28. Woo had allegedly abetted -- or at least condoned -- Choi’s attempted fraud and abuse of power while serving as a senior presidential secretary for civil affairs from 2015 to 2016.
Following massive street rallies amid South Korea’s biggest political corruption scandal, President Park approved the launch of independent counsel Park Young-soo’s team last December before she was suspended of powers.

In addition to indictment on Feb. 28, the probe team had indicted 13 high-profile figures, including Choi Soon-sil, former chief of staff Kim Ki-choon and former Culture Minister Choo Yoon-sun.

By Bak Se-hwan/The Korea Herald (sh@heraldcorp.com)