South Korean president refuses to answer questions in graft probe
Seoul — South Korean President Park Geun-Hye will not answer questions from prosecutors over a snowballing influence-peddling scandal rocking her presidency, her lawyer said on Monday. Prosecutors describe Park and her secret confidante, Choi Soon-Sil, as co-culprits in the scandal. They are accused of coercing top Seoul firms to donate over $60m to non-profit foundations, some of which Choi allegedly used for personal gain. Choi was charged last week with coercion and abuse of power. The scandal has sparked nationwide fury, with hundreds of thousands taking to the streets to call for Park’s ousting. A parliamentary vote to impeach her could take place as early as this week as a growing number of ruling party politicians back the opposition-led campaign to oust the president. Park earlier vowed to co-operate "sincerely" with the legal probe, but has rejected a series of requests in recent weeks by prosecutors to make herself available for questioning. "We regret that we can’t co-ope...
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