South Korea prosecutors to question Park over scandal

Tens of thousands of protesters hold up signs calling for the resignation of South Korean President Park Geun-Hye during an anti-government rally following presidential scandal in central Seoul on November 12, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / JUNG YEON-JE

South Korean prosecutors plan to question President Park Geun-Hye this week over a corruption scandal that has engulfed her and triggered massive protests calling for her resignation, a report said Sunday.

“We need to question the president Tuesday, or Wednesday at the latest,” Yonhap news agency quoted an official with the Seoul prosecutors’ office as saying, adding they had sent a notice to her office and were waiting for a response.

If Park agrees, she will be the first South Korean president to be questioned by prosecutors while in office.

The scandal centers on Park’s shadowy confidant, Choi Soon-Sil, who is accused of using her ties with the president to strong-arm local firms into donating millions of dollars to two non-profit foundations Choi then used for personal gain.

Park faces allegations that she helped Choi raise funds for the dubious foundations and allowed her to meddle in state affairs even though the 60-year-old has no official title.

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The scandal that emerged late last month has sparked nationwide fury with tens of thousands of protesters taking to the street to call for Park’s resignation.

The latest rally on Saturday drew one million people, according to organizers, making it the largest public protest in South Korea in nearly three decades./rga