South Korea prosecutors likely to question president

Prosecutors are considering opening an official investigation on November 20, when Choi is released from detention.

Park, South Korea’s first female president, is accused of pressuring corporations to donate millions to non-for-profit organisations in the name of Choi, which were then funnelled back to her own holdings, in return for access.

“She is considering ways to normalize state affairs and fulfill her duty as the president”, Jung said. South Korea’s 10 largest business groups accounted for only 3.6% of employed workers in the country as of the end of previous year, according to government data.

Yoo, in addition, said that the unprecedented probe into the sitting president must be carried out in a way that “minimizes” any impact on her official duties.

“We don’t want a puppet for our president”, Lee Bong-jun, 19, said while leading a group of teenage protesters toward the presidential office.

“I’m here to demand Park Geun-hye’s resignation”.

In a Realmeter poll released Monday, Moon was narrowly ahead of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as the leading contender to become the next president.

Choi, whose father was an elusive religious figure and a long-time mentor to Park until his death in 1994, was arrested earlier this month for abuse of power and fraud. The two former aides, known as two of the three gatekeepers of the presidential office, are suspected of working with OR for Choi Soon-sil, the woman at the center of the scandal.

Prosecutors raided the offices of Cheil Worldwide Inc., the advertising unit of the country’s largest business group Samsung, on Tuesday over its alleged involvement in a snowballing influence-peddling scandal rocking the country.

“The questioning of the president is most likely to take place later this week”.

Hyundai chairman Chung Mong-Koo was also questioned, along with the bosses of other powerful conglomerates, Yonhap said.

Park also faces allegations that she helped Choi extract money from local companies including Samsung and Hyundai.

When asked if Park’s apologies meant anything, she said, “It’s a total lie”.

The saga took on a odd twist when rumors swirled of Choi’s links to a religious cult, depicting her as a “shaman” who has been manipulating Park through supernatural means and even comparing her to Russian mystic Rasputin.

“Questioning people face-to-face is our principle”, the official said.

About 80 Saenuri lawmakers yesterday called for the disbanding of the party.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye delivers a speech during a ceremony to mark the anniversary of the 1919 independence movement against Japanese rule over the Korean peninsula, in Seoul March 1.

To initiate an impeachment, a motion backed by a simple majority of the 300-member parliament is needed.