Pal sits out S. Korea hearing
Park’s confidante cites panic disorder in refusing to testify
SEOUL, South Korea — The jailed confidante of President Park Geun-hye refused to attend a Wednesday hearing in which lawmakers took turns grilling a K-pop music director, a fashion designer and nearly a dozen others over a scandal that threatens to topple South Korea’s leader.
Choi Soon-sil, Park’s friend of 40 years, cited a panic disorder for her refusal to attend the hearing Wednesday.
Prosecutors say Park, who faces an impeachment vote Friday, let Choi control government affairs and extort companies. Park denies it.
On live TV, lawmakers in a hearing room jammed with reporters sent a squad of about 20 security officers with orders that Choi and 10 other witnesses attend the hearing.
A niece of Choi later appeared at the hearing but others refused to attend, National Assembly officials said. They could face jail or fines, but witnesses who have refused to attend past hearings mostly have been fined.
Choi is being held at a jail near Seoul. She and two of Park’s former presidential advisers have been indicted. One of the two ex-aides allegedly pressured big companies to donate millions of dollars to foundations controlled by Choi, while the other is accused of passing confidential government documents to Choi. The two men, both held at another jail, also refused to testify Wednesday.
Thirteen people caught up in the scandal were at the hearing, including two of Choi’s former associates and former presidential chief of staff Kim Ki-choon. Choi’s niece, Chang Si-ho, ran a sports foundation that allegedly received illicit state financial support and other favors.
With key witnesses absent, lawmakers questioned Kim about a 2014 ferry disaster that has long dogged Park’s government because of what’s widely believed to have been a botched rescue effort. The sinking killed more than 300 people, mostly high school students on a field trip.
Opposition lawmaker Kim Kyung-jin grilled Kim Ki-choon about an allegation that he told junior presidential secretaries that efforts to recover bodies from the wreckage should be stopped because it would be a burden to the government. The lawmaker cited what he called a memo left by a late Park secretary. Kim Ki-choon denied making such an instruction.
“It will be hard for you go to heaven after you die. You need a lot of self-reflection,” the lawmaker replied.
Other witnesses included Cha Eun-taek, a music video director who has been charged with using his ties with Choi to win key culture-related projects from government agencies, and Ko Young-tae, who ran a company that made bags and clothes that Park used during overseas trips at the introduction of Choi.
If impeached, Park’s presidential powers will be suspended and the country’s Constitutional Court will have up to 180 days to rule on whether to formally unseat her.
On Tuesday, Park told ruling party leaders that she is willing to accept the outcome if she’s impeached and would make “every available effort” to prepare for a court process. The comments suggest Park is bracing for a Constitutional Court procedure that could determine her fate, according to South Korean media outlets.