Top Seoul business leaders face public grillings in presidential graft scandal
Seoul — South Korea MPs kicked off an unprecedented series of hearings on Monday to grill the business elite grilled over a corruption scandal engulfing President Park Geun-Hye, who faces impeachment. Powerful heads of family conglomerates such as Samsung and Hyundai will be among those testifying at a parliamentary inquiry before Friday’s impeachment vote to oust the president. The hearings opened after millions of people demonstrated in the capital Seoul, calling for Park to go. Park is accused of colluding with confidante Choi Soon-Sil to arm-twist big corporations into "donating" nearly $70m to two dodgy nonprofit foundations. Choi, indicted on charges of coercion and abuse of power, is accused of taking some of the donations for personal use. She denies all charges, and is to appear at the televised hearings on Wednesday, the first time she answers questions in public on the scandal. Tuesday’s testimony will be devoted to interrogating corporate bigwigs, including Samsung group...
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