Three people with ties to South Korean President Park Geun-hye have been indicted for their role in a political corruption scandal. Park, however, will not be charged because of a law that makes the president immune from prosecution.

South Korean prosecutors announced Saturday there was enough evidence charge Choi Soon-sil, a friend of the president, and former aides An Chong-bum and Chung Ho-sung.

Lee Young-ryol, the prosecutor who led the corruption probe, said Choi and An are being charged with abuse of power, fraud and coercion. Chung faces charges related to leaking classified documents to Choi through email, phone and fax.

"Park cannot be charged with any 'crime' as a sitting president in accordance with Korean constitution but prosecutors will continue to investigate Park Geun-hye," Lee said.

According to the South Korean constitution, the president cannot be charged with a crime while holding office except for insurrection or treason. </s> South Korean prosecutors on Sunday said they believe President Park Geun-hye conspired in criminal activities of a secretive confidante who allegedly manipulated government affairs and exploited her presidential ties to amass an illicit fortune — a damning revelation that may convince opposition parties to push for her impeachment.

Prosecutors are planning to soon question Park, who has immunity but can be investigated, said Lee Young-ryeol, chief prosecutor of the Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office.

Prosecutors on Sunday formally charged Park’s longtime friend, Choi Soon-sil, on suspicion of interfering with state affairs and bullying companies into giving tens of millions of dollars to foundations she controlled.

In a televised news conference, Lee said that based on the evidence, “the president was involved as a conspirator in a considerable part of the criminal activities by suspects Choi Soon-sil, Ahn Jong-beom and Jung Ho-sung.” He was referring to two presidential aides who also were formally charged Sunday for allegedly helping Choi.

“However, because of the president’s impunity from prosecution stated in Article 84 of the Constitution, we cannot indict the president. The special investigation headquarters will continue to push for an investigation of the president based on this judgment,” Lee said.

Park is facing growing calls to resign over the scandal critics say has undermined the country’s democracy. Emboldened by huge protests in recent weeks, opposition parties have been stepping up pressure on Park to quit.

Opposition parties have so far refrained from seriously pushing for Park’s impeachment over fears of triggering a backlash from conservative voters and negatively impacting next year’s presidential election.

However, there are growing voices within the opposition saying that an impeachment attempt is inevitable because it’s unlikely Park will resign and give up her immunity.

Ahn Jong-beom, Park’s former senior secretary for policy coordination, has been under suspicion of pressuring companies into making large donations to foundations Choi controlled.

Jung Ho-sung, another former presidential aide who was also indicted, has been accused of passing on classified presidential documents to Choi, including information on ministerial candidates.

Prosecutors are also seeking to indict Cha Eun-taek, a famous music video director who allegedly used his close relationships with Choi to win lucrative government culture projects, and former vice sports minister Kim Chong, suspected of providing business favors to sports organizations controlled by Choi.

Kim is also under suspicion of influencing the ministry’s decision to financially support a sports foundation run by Choi’s niece, who prosecutors detained Friday.

On Saturday, police said about 170,000 people turned out for the latest anti-Park protest in streets near City Hall and a boulevard fronting an old palace gate in Seoul.

Demonstrators also marched in streets near the presidential offices, carrying candles and illuminating cellphones, and shouting “Park Geun-hye step down” and “Arrest Park Geun-hye.”

Park’s term lasts until Feb. 24, 2018. If she steps down before the presidential vote on Dec. 20, 2017, an election must be held within 60 days. </s> FILE - In this Nov. 18, 2016, file photo, protesters wearing masks of South Korean President Park Geun-hye, left and Choi Soon-sil, Park's longtime friend, in Seoul, South Korea. South Korean prosecutors on Sunday, Nov. 20, 2016, said they believe Park conspired in criminal activities of a secretive confidante who allegedly manipulated government affairs and exploited her presidential ties to amass an illicit fortune - a damning revelation that may convince opposition parties to push for her impeachment. The placards held by the protesters read: "Park Geun-hye should step down." (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean prosecutors on Sunday said they believe President Park Geun-hye conspired in criminal activities of a secretive confidante who allegedly manipulated government affairs and exploited her presidential ties to amass an illicit fortune — a damning revelation that may convince opposition parties to push for her impeachment.

Prosecutors are planning to soon question Park, who has immunity but can be investigated, said Lee Young-ryeol, chief prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office.

Prosecutors on Sunday formally charged Park's longtime friend, Choi Soon-sil, on suspicion of interfering with state affairs and bullying companies into giving tens of millions of dollars to foundations and businesses she controlled.

In a televised news conference, Lee said that based on the evidence, "the president was involved as a conspirator in a considerable part of the criminal activities by suspects Choi Soon-sil, Ahn Jong-beom and Jung Ho-sung." He was referring to two presidential aides who also were formally charged Sunday for allegedly helping Choi.

"However, because of the president's impunity from prosecution stated in Article 84 of the constitution, we cannot indict the president. The special investigation headquarters will continue to push for an investigation of the president based on this judgment," Lee said.

Park's office had no immediate comment Sunday.

Park is facing growing calls to resign over the scandal critics say has undermined the country's democracy. Although emboldened by a wave of mass protests, opposition parties have so far refrained from seriously pushing for Park's impeachment over fears of triggering a backlash from conservative voters and negatively impacting next year's presidential election.

However, there are growing voices within the opposition saying that an impeachment attempt is inevitable because it's unlikely Park will resign and give up her immunity.

Ahn Jong-beom, Park's former senior secretary for policy coordination, was charged with abuse of authority, coercion and attempted coercion over allegations that he pressured companies into making large donations to foundations and companies Choi controlled.

Jung Ho-sung, the other former aide who was indicted, was accused of passing on classified presidential documents to Choi, including information on ministerial candidates.

According to Lee, Choi and Ahn conspired to pressure companies into giving a combined 77.4 billion won ($65.5 million) to the Mir and K-Sports foundations, two nonprofits that were under Choi's control. The companies couldn't refuse because they feared doing so would result in business disadvantages, such as difficulties in gaining government approval for projects or being targeted in tax investigations, Lee said.

Additionally, Choi and Ahn pressured the Lotte Group into giving 7 billion won ($5.9 million) to the K Sports foundation to finance the construction of a sports facility in the city of Hanam, which was to be operated by The Blue K, a company established by Choi, Lee said.

Auto giant Hyundai and telecommunications company KT were forced to contract 13 billion won ($11 million) worth of their advertisements to Playground, an ad agency virtually run by Choi, Lee said. Hyundai was also forced to buy 1.1 billion won ($931,000) worth of supplies from an auto parts maker run by Choi's friend. Ahn and Choi also tried but failed to take over the shares of an advertisement company previously owned by steelmaker POSCO, Lee said.

Prosecutors are also seeking to indict Cha Eun-taek, a famous music video director who allegedly used his close relationship with Choi to win lucrative government culture projects, and former vice sports minister Kim Chong, suspected of providing business favors to sports organizations controlled by Choi.

Kim is also under suspicion of influencing the ministry's decision to financially support a sports foundation run by Choi's niece, who prosecutors detained on Friday.

On Saturday, police said about 170,000 people turned out for the latest anti-Park protest in streets near City Hall and a boulevard fronting an old palace gate in Seoul.

Demonstrators also marched in streets near the presidential offices, carrying candles and illuminating cellphones, and shouting "Park Geun-hye step down" and "Arrest Park Geun-hye."

Park's term lasts until Feb. 24, 2018. If she steps down before the presidential vote on Dec. 20, 2017, an election must be held within 60 days. </s> South Korean prosecutors said on Sunday they had indicted a friend of President Park Geun-hye and two former aides in a corruption scandal engulfing her administration, in a heavy setback to her fight for political survival.

Choi Soon-sil, Park’s friend, and former presidential aide An Chong-bum are charged with abuse of power in pressuring conglomerates to contribute funds to foundations at the center of the scandal, said Lee Young-ryeol, head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office.

Lee said that his team believed Park had an accomplice role in the case but added that she cannot be indicted because she has constitutional immunity.

“We will continue to investigate the president,” Lee told reporters, declining to give further details.

Under the constitution, a sitting president cannot be indicted unless on charges of treason, but the conclusion by the prosecutors that Park was involved in the case prompted fresh calls from opposition parties for her to step down.

The main opposition Democratic Party and the centrist People’s Party said Park she will face impeachment proceedings if she refuses to resign. But they stopped short of saying they would immediately initiate such a move.

Analysts said the prosecutors’ conclusion about the president’s involvement increased the prospect that she would face impeachment.

“It provided a legal basis for impeachment proceedings, not only her moral and political liabilities,” said Kim Jun-seok, a political science professor at Dongguk University in Seoul.

Park is unlikely to voluntarily step down because she would lose immunity against prosecution, Kim said.

“Then, the only option that is left for politicians given the worsening public sentiment is impeachment,” he said.

South Korea’s presidential Blue House did not have an immediate comment. Lee did not say when the prosecutors will question Park.

The indictments had been expected. Choi has been accused of conspiring with An to exert improper pressure on dozens of the country’s biggest conglomerates to help raise 77.4 billion won ($65.59-million) on behalf of two non-profit foundations she controlled, according to the prosecutors.

Park’s presidency has been rocked by allegations that Choi used her ties to the president to meddle in state affairs and wield improper influence, but she has resisted calls to resign.

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Seoul on Saturday in the fourth straight weekend of protests against her.

Prosecutors also indicted a second former presidential aide, Jeong Ho-seong, with leaking classified information to Choi.

An and Jeong both stepped down late last month as the crisis deepened.

Park has pledged to co-operate in the investigation but pushed back on the prosecutors’ plan to question her last week.

South Korea’s parliament has approved a bill to appoint a special prosecutor, who will take over from state prosecutors and conduct a separate and a more wide reaching probe. The special prosecutor is expected to begin work next month. </s> South Korea’s political crisis is deepening after prosecutors accused President Park Geun-hye of collusion in a corruption and influence-peddling case involving a close confidante dubbed her “shaman adviser”.

Although she cannot be charged because of presidential immunity except in cases of insurrection or treason, opposition rivals are calling for her impeachment and nearly one million Koreans rallied in Seoul calling for her to step down for a fourth successive weekend.

A special investigation team appointed by public prosecutors said that Ms Park’s confidante Choi Soon-sil was indicted on charges of abuse of power, coercion, attempted coercion and attempted fraud, while two senior former aides An Chong-bum and Chung Ho-sung were also formally charged.

“We have booked the president as a suspect, believing that she had been an accomplice with (Choi and her aides),” Lee Young-ryeol, chief of the Seoul central district prosecutor’s office, said in a televised news conference.

Prosecutors had not been allowed to question the president face-to-face despite repeated requests, he said.

“We still decided to press charges against the three suspects, who are in pre-trial detention, based on the vast evidence we have investigated so far, including testimonies, a work memo book and records of conservations from mobile phones,” said Mr Lee.

Ms Choi was Ms Park’s spiritual adviser for many years. She succeeded her father Choi Tae-min as head of the shadowy Church of Eternal Life. Her father was seen as playing a Rasputin-like role in the life of the young Park Geun-hye in the 1970s, claiming he could talk to her dead mother Yook Young-soo, who was assassinated in 1974. Ms Park’s father, the dictator Park Chung-hee, was killed in 1979.

Ms Choi was arrested in November, accused of using her relationship with Park to acquire 77.4 billion won (€62 million) in donations for her foundations by putting pressure on some of South Korea’s biggest “chaebols” or industrial conglomerates, including carmaker Hyundai, retail giant Lotte, steelmaker Posco and telecom giant KT.

Shortly before her arrest Ms Choi apologised and said she had committed a “deadly sin”.

The presidential Blue House has strenuously denied the allegations, describing them as a “house of cards”.

“The results announced by the prosecutors’ office are not true at all and are based on speculation and imagination,” Park’s spokesman Jung Youn-kuk told a briefing on Sunday.

Her lawyer Yoo Yeong-ha has rejected calls for her to undergo questioning, telling the Yonhap news agency he will prepare for the interrogation so it can take place sometime this week.

Park’s approval rating remained at an all-time low of five per cent last week, according to local pollster Gallup Korea.

The Korea Joongang Daily said the prosecution’s decision to label Park a co-conspirator offered legal grounds for lawmakers to move ahead with a presidential impeachment motion.

Moon Jae-in, who is seen as a popular contender for the presidency and former leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, said at a meeting of eight opposition presidential candidates that the case for impeachment was strong.

“If the president declared that she would resign, we would help her leave the office with dignity,” he said. </s> South Korean President Park Geun-hye's choice for prime minister says Park can be the subject of the ongoing investigation into a snowballing influence-peddling scandal involving her longtime friend.

The comments by Kim Byong-joon Thursday came as opposition lawmakers are stepping up their demands that prosecutors directly investigate Park to get to the bottom of the scandal.

South Korean media speculate Park's friend, Choi Soon-sil, pulled government affairs from the shadows and pushed businesses to donate millions of dollars to two foundations that she controlled.

Kim told a televised conference that he thinks it's possible to have Park investigated. He says there are different interpretations of a constitution provision that grants sitting presidents immunity from criminal lawsuits.

But he says the procedures and methods of any such probe of the head of state must be carefully done.

South Korean prosecutors have detained a former senior aide of President Park Geun-hye as they widen their investigations into a snowballing political scandal on whether the president's longtime friend was pulling government strings from the shadows.

Ahn Jong-beom is the second person detained over the scandal that has triggered mounting calls for Park's resignation. Earlier this week, prosecutors detained Park's friend, Choi Soon-sil, and requested an arrest warrant for her.

South Korean media speculate Choi, who has no government position, made policy recommendations for Park and pushed businesses to donate millions of dollars to two foundations she controlled.

A Seoul prosecution office said Thursday it has detained Ahn while questioning him over his alleged involvement in extracting $70 million of company donations.

Prosecutors have to determine whether to seek an arrest warrant for Ahn or release him by Friday. </s> SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean prosecutors are likely to question President Park Geun-hye this week over suspicion that she let a shadowy longtime confidante manipulate power from behind the scenes, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported Sunday.

If would be the first time that a sitting president has been questioned by prosecutors. The explosive scandal is the most serious challenge for Park, whose public apologies have done little to calm public anger.

Yonhap’s Korean-language service quoted an unidentified prosecution official as saying prosecutors want to question Park face-to-face on either Tuesday or Wednesday at the latest. The report said that prosecutors conveyed their position to Park’s office and were awaiting a response.

The president’s office had no immediate comment on the report.

In addition to allegedly manipulating power, the president’s confidante, Choi Soon-sil, the daughter of a late cult leader who emerged as Park’s mentor in the 1970s, is also suspected of exploiting her presidential ties to bully companies into donating tens of millions of dollars to foundations she controlled.

Choi was formally arrested on Nov. 3 on charges of fraud and abuse of power. Prosecutors have until Nov. 20 to formally charge her.

On Saturday, hundreds of thousands of people flooded Seoul’s streets to demand Park’s resignation in what may be South Korea’s largest protest since it shook off dictatorship three decades ago.

In an attempt to stabilize the situation, Park said Tuesday that she would let the opposition-controlled parliament choose her prime minister. But opposition parties say her words are meaningless without specific promises about transferring much of her presidential powers to a new No. 2.

Under South Korean law, the president has immunity from prosecution except in cases of treason, but she can be investigated.

Park has 15 months left in her term. If she steps down before the end of it, an election must be held within 60 days. </s> (CNN) South Korean President Park Geun-hye will be investigated "as a suspect" in a growing political corruption scandal, prosecutors said on Sunday, as three people with ties to Park were officially indicted.

But whatever their findings, Park will not be charged due to a law that makes the president immune from prosecution.

South Korean prosecutors announced Sunday there was enough evidence charge Choi Soon-sil, a friend of the president, and former aides An Chong-bum and Chung Ho-sung.

Lee Young-ryol, the prosecutor who led the corruption probe, said Choi and An are being charged with abuse of power, fraud and coercion. Chung faces charges related to leaking classified documents to Choi through email, phone and fax.

"Park cannot be charged with any 'crime' as a sitting president in accordance with Korean constitution but prosecutors will continue to investigate Park Geun-hye," Lee said.

Park will become the nation's first sitting president to be investigated as a suspect, CNN's Paula Hancocks said.

According to the South Korean constitution, the president cannot be charged with a crime while holding office except for insurrection or treason.

A spokesperson for the Blue House blasted the investigation as one that has "ignored fairness."

"Her rights of getting a fair chance of due legal process has been taken away," the Blue House spokesperson said.

When Choi's father died, she succeeded him as leader of the Eternal Life Church. For years, she has given Park spiritual guidance.

Choi, who was arrested in early November, faced accusations that she used her relationship with Park to acquire millions of dollars in donations for her foundations.

Prior to her arrest, Choi had issued an apology and said that she had "committed a deadly sin," according to CNN affiliate YTN.

"My apologies to the public," she said at the time. "Please forgive me."

Park has apologized multiple times for her role in the scandal.

Park has ordered the resignation of 10 of her senior secretaries -- aides who coordinate policy -- as political turmoil gripped the country.

Multiple aides to President Park have resigned in the wake of the scandal, including four senior secretaries responsible for political affairs and policy coordination.

Park also sacked the country's prime minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, replacing him with Kim Byong-joon, a professor at Seoul's Kookmin University.

Massive demonstrations have taken place across South Korea to demand Park's resignation, according to the country's Yonhap news agency.

Earlier this month, protesters gathered around the presidential compound in the South Korean capital of Seoul to vent their anger at President Park.

It was one of the biggest anti-government protests the country has seen in decades, according to Hancocks

Following that demonstration, Park's spokesman said the President had "heard the voices of the people yesterday with gravity and deeply realizes the seriousness of the current situation."

He added that Park was considering ways to "normalize the state of affairs and fulfill her responsibility as President."

In a statement, a spokesperson from the Blue House called the prosecutor's remarks "regrettable," given the perception that the president has committed a crime.

"What the Prosecutors' office have said today is not true and that they have ignored the facts and it is only based on speculation and imagination," the spokesperson said.

Nevertheless, Park still planned to cooperate with prosecutors for questions this week to order to "prove her innocence."

During the scandal, the spokesperson noted the likelihood of the president getting a fair chance of due legal process has been taken away. </s> SEOUL — Former South Korean President Park Geun-hye — who was ousted from office earlier this month — was arrested on Friday.

“Major crimes have been ascertained and there is a concern that the suspect might attempt to destroy evidence,” Judge Kang Bu-young said in a text message to reporters.

“The court recognizes the need, necessity and reasonableness of the suspect’s arrest.”

Prosecutors announced Monday that they were seeking to arrest Park on charges relating to abuse of power, accepting bribes and leaking important information. Park had been held in a temporary detention facility at the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office Building ahead of the court’s decision.

Park will be taken to Seoul Detention Center, which is located just outside Seoul and where her confidant Choi Soon-sil and some of the high-profile figures embroiled in an ongoing scandal, including Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong, have been detained.

“The suspect abused the mighty power and position as president to take bribes from companies and infringed upon the freedom of corporate management and leaked important confidential official information,” the statement from the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office said.

Park has not yet been formally indicted, prosecutors told CNN, and it’s unclear when that will occur.

Park was removed from office on March 10, after South Korea’s Constitutional Court upheld a decision to impeach her for alleged corruption.

The former president was accused of helping a confidant raise donations from companies for foundations she had set up.

The scandal dominated the headlines in South Korea and prompted mass protests when it emerged late last year. The controversy centered around Park’s friend and close adviser, Choi Soon-sil, who is alleged to have significant and inappropriate influence over Park. Choi is currently on trial for abuse of power and fraud.

The Constitutional Court’s impeachment ruling stripped Park of her presidential immunity and cleared the way for prosecutors to seek her arrest.

A presidential election will be held on May 9 to choose a new leader. </s> South Korea’s Special Prosecutor’s Office on Monday sought an arrest warrant against Samsung chief Jay Y Lee, who is accused of paying bribes worth millions to President Park Geun-hye’s friend, who is at the centre of an extortion scandal. Jay Lee is also accused of embezzlement and perjury, according to the application for an arrest warrant, Reuters reported.

The vice chairman of Samsung Electronics faces allegations of paying bribes worth 43 billion won (more than Rs 200 crore) to organisations with links to Choi Soon-sil, the president’s long-time friend and confidante. He had allegedly paid bribed to ensure the merger of two company affiliates as well as his control of the family business – he became the de facto head of the Samsung Group after his father was incapacitated by a heart attack in 2014.

Spokesman for the prosecution Lee Kyu-chul said that the office had evidence to prove that both Park Geun-hye and Choi Soon-sil had profited from payments made by the Samsung chief. “The special prosecutors’ office, in making this decision to seek an arrest warrant, determined that while the country’s economic conditions are important, upholding justice takes precedence,” he added.

Samsung – South Korea’s largest conglomerate, generating about 17% of the country’s revenue – has denied the accusations: “It is especially hard to accept the special prosecutor’s assertion that there was improper request for a favour related to the merger or succession of control,” the company said in a statement. Shares of Samsung Electronics ended 2.14% lower after the news broke.

The South Korean Parliament had impeached President Park Geun-Hye on December 9, following accusations of colluding with Choi Soon-sil to extort money in the form of donations from South Korean companies. The money, which was transferred to non-profit foundations controlled by Choi Soon-sil, was allegedly used for personal gains. The president also faces accusations of ordering her aides to leak official state documents to her friend, who has no official position in the South Korean government.

The Constitutional Court of South Korea has six months to decide on whether it will uphold the impeachment motion. Till then, Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn holds the responsibility of running the country. If the court decides to remove Park Geun-Hye from the position, South Korea will have to elect a new president within 60 days of the ruling.
An interim report by South Korean prosecutors implicates President Park Geun-hye in a political scandal involving her close friend Choi Soon-sil. Three people have been indicted in relation to the scandal. President Park cannot be indicted due to a constitutional provision preventing a sitting President being indicted except for treason or insurrection.