Chung Yoo-ra returns home today
Choi’s daughter to be taken into custody upon arrival
The daughter of the central figure in the scandal that cost former President Park Geun-hye her job will return home today, after hiding out in Denmark for eight months.
Chung Yoo-ra, the 21-year-old daughter of Choi Soon-sil, Park’s longtime friend, is expected to arrive at Incheon International Airport at 3:05 p.m.
Prosecutors will take her into custody upon arrival, and decide whether to request an arrest warrant for further questioning.
According to the Ministry of Justice, Tuesday, five officials have already contacted her in Denmark. They will depart from Copenhagen Airport at 4:25 p.m. (local time) and spend five-and-a-half hours at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam before flying to Incheon.
When the major influence-peddling scandal involving her mother started to make headlines in Korea, Chung moved to Aalborg in Denmark from Germany, Sept. 28. But local police apprehended her in January for illegally staying there, after a Korean journalist tipped them off.
Park Young-soo, the special prosecutor appointed for the scandal, tried to bring her to Korea through extradition proceedings, but she slowed the process with legal action. Eventually, however, she decided to return and withdrew an appeal against her deportation.
Chung is suspected of having received special favors from Ewha Womans University in admissions and grading, owing to her mother’s connections with the former president. Also, she allegedly conspired with Choi in receiving bribes from major companies, including Samsung.
Many of those who allegedly provided her with favors, including former Ewha President Choi Kyung-hee and Samsung Electronics Vice Chair- man Lee Jae-yong, have already been arrested.
Now all eyes are on Chung, who is thought to be aware of Choi’s secrets and her friendship with the former president. Her testimony is expected to affect the trials of key suspects in the scandal and the direction for future investigations.
Much of the scandal remains a mystery, and the public is especially curious about how much money Choi actually has. There have been reports her assets exceed 800 billion won ($711 million), but many suspect that is far less than what she is hiding overseas.
Her elder sister Choi Soon-deuk reportedly has even more. Given that the sisters did not have regular jobs, many wonder how they accumulated such a massive amount of money.
Prosecutors will take Chung to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning.
Noh Seung-il, a former official at the K-Sports Foundation which was controlled by Choi, said prosecutors may be able to find out a lot from Chung from a recent media interview. Noh described her as a “rugby ball that can bounce in any direction.”