are prosecutors insisting that Park be arrested?

Questioning of Park Geun-hye ends but risk of evidence destruction seen

SEOUL— South Korean prosecutors sought an arrest warrant on Monday for ousted president Park Geun-hye days after questioning her over the corruption scandal and abuse of power that brought her down.

Park, 65, had her removal from office confirmed by the country’s top court earlier this month, ending her executive immunity, and her prosecution has been a key demand of the millions of people who took to the streets to protest against her.

The former president is accused of multiple offenses including bribery, leaking government information and abuse of power.

“The accused abused her enormous power and status as president,” the prosecutors said in a statement.

They said Park was being charged with receiving bribes from companies and infringing upon rights to freedom of corpo- rations “and leaked confidential information on state affairs.”

“These are grave issues,” the prosecutors said.

“A large amount of evidence has been collected so far but the accused is denying most of the charges, and there is a risk of destroying evidence in the future,” it said.

Choi Soon-sil, Park’s secret confidante at the heart of the scandal, is already on trial for forcing top local firms to “donate” nearly $70 million to nonprofit foundations she allegedly used for personal gain.

Fairness

Prosecutors said it would be “counter to the principle of fairness” if Park was not arrested.

If the Seoul central district court approves the warrant, Park will become the third former leader to be arrested over corruption in Asia’s fourth-largest economy, where politics and big busi- ness have long been closely tied.

Two former Army-backed leaders who ruled in the 1980s and 1990s—Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo—both served jail terms for charges including bribery after they retired.

Park was impeached by parliament last December, as the scandal coupled with mounting economic and social frustrations to trigger huge candlelit demonstrations, and the constitutional court later upheld the decision.

Park has been named as Choi’s accomplice for allegedly offering governmental favors to top businessmen who enriched her friend, including Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong, who was arrested and charged with bribery last month.

Trusted friend

Park is also accused of letting Choi, a high school graduate with no title or security clearance, handle a wide range of state affairs including nomination of top officials.

Park, daughter of late dictator Park Chung-hee, is also said to have ordered aides to leak secret state files to Choi, and to have cracked down on thousands of artists who had voiced criticism of her or her father’s iron-fisted rule from 1961 to 1979.

Park grew up in the Blue House, with the first family treated as royalty by some supporters and Park dubbed the young “princess”—a nickname that endured for decades.

Park has repeatedly apologized for the upset caused by the scandal but not admitted any wrongdoing, blaming Choi for abusing their friendship.

An election to choose her successor will be held on May 9 with Moon Jae-in, her rival in 2012 and a former leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, leading polls by large margins.