SEOUL -- South Korean prosecutors have raided the Seoul office of Samsung Electronics in connection with a snowballing influence-peddling scandal involving President Park Geun-hye's longtime confidante.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office says Tuesday's raid was part of investigation into the scandal centering on how much Park's friend Choi Soon-sil meddled in state affairs though she doesn't have any government job.

The prosecutors' office gave no further details. Yonhap news agency says the raid was related to a suspicion that Samsung gave Choi's daughter illicit financial help.

Park visited National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun on Monday to discuss how to defuse a political crisis triggered by the scandal. The results of their meeting weren't immediately known.

Tens of thousands of people rallied in Seoul on Saturday, demanding Park's removal from office. </s> SEOUL (AFP/BLOOMBERG) - South Korean prosecutors on Saturday (Oct 29) raided the presidential Blue House, as well as the homes and offices of senior advisers to President Park Geun Hye, as she struggled with a corruption and influence-peddling scandal involving a close family friend.

The crisis centred around Ms Park's long-time confidante Choi Soon Sil has rocked her presidency, thanks largely to a lurid back-story involving talk of religious cults, shamanist rituals and corruption.

In Saturday's raids, prosecutors confiscated computers and documents from the homes of a top presidential adviser and two other aides as well as a deputy culture minister, Yonhap news agency said. They also searched some offices in the presidential Blue House complex, Yonhap said.

The investigators searched the offices of two presidential secretaries at 2pm in Seoul and may continue until Sunday, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said in a text message.

It added that the homes of seven current and former government employees were visited in the morning.

It is the first time the Blue House has been searched since prosecutors unsuccessfully tried to enter the presidential complex in 2012 under President Lee Myung Bak over a corruption scandal involving his retirement home.

The move came ahead of a mass protest in Seoul, organised after it emerged that Ms Park had allowed Ms Choi, who has no official post or security clearance, to meddle in affairs of state.

Thousands of people were expected to turn out for the candle-lit demonstration and call on the president, whose popularity ratings have plunged to record lows, to step down.

Ms Choi is being investigated for using her ties to Ms Park to coerce money out of major conglomerates, but the real shock has been revelations that Ms Park had allowed Ms Choi to vet her presidential speeches and apparently advise her on crucial policy choices.

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Ms Park has publicly apologised and late on Friday she told 10 of her senior advisers to tender their resignations ahead of a reshuffle of her presidential office.

Ms Choi, 60, is the daughter of shadowy religious figure Choi Tae Min, who headed a cult-like group and was a long-time mentor to Park up until his death in 1994.

Media reports have portrayed Ms Choi as a Rasputin-like figure with an inappropriate and unhealthy influence over Park that she inherited from her father.

Ms Choi left the country for Germany in early September as reports of her alleged influence-peddling began to emerge.

An early banner displayed at the venue for Saturday's rally read "Choi come back, Park get out".

Ms Choi's lawyer said she was well aware of the "gravity" of the situation and was "willing to return home to be questioned and punished if she did anything wrong".

Prosecutors have taken in two of Ms Choi's close aides for questioning, including one who told reporters that Ms Choi had been behaving as Ms Park's de facto regent. </s> South Korean prosecutors have arrested a former aide of President Park Geun-hye considered a central figure to an influence-peddling scandal, Yonhap News Agency said on Friday.

Jeong Ho-seong was arrested on Thursday night suspected of leaking confidential documents to Choi Soon-sil, a long-time friend of Park at the center of the scandal.

South Korean prosecutors did not immediately comment on the report. </s> SEOUL — Former South Korean President Park Geun-hye — who was ousted from office earlier this month — was arrested on Friday.

“Major crimes have been ascertained and there is a concern that the suspect might attempt to destroy evidence,” Judge Kang Bu-young said in a text message to reporters.

“The court recognizes the need, necessity and reasonableness of the suspect’s arrest.”

Prosecutors announced Monday that they were seeking to arrest Park on charges relating to abuse of power, accepting bribes and leaking important information. Park had been held in a temporary detention facility at the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office Building ahead of the court’s decision.

Park will be taken to Seoul Detention Center, which is located just outside Seoul and where her confidant Choi Soon-sil and some of the high-profile figures embroiled in an ongoing scandal, including Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong, have been detained.

“The suspect abused the mighty power and position as president to take bribes from companies and infringed upon the freedom of corporate management and leaked important confidential official information,” the statement from the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office said.

Park has not yet been formally indicted, prosecutors told CNN, and it’s unclear when that will occur.

Park was removed from office on March 10, after South Korea’s Constitutional Court upheld a decision to impeach her for alleged corruption.

The former president was accused of helping a confidant raise donations from companies for foundations she had set up.

The scandal dominated the headlines in South Korea and prompted mass protests when it emerged late last year. The controversy centered around Park’s friend and close adviser, Choi Soon-sil, who is alleged to have significant and inappropriate influence over Park. Choi is currently on trial for abuse of power and fraud.

The Constitutional Court’s impeachment ruling stripped Park of her presidential immunity and cleared the way for prosecutors to seek her arrest.

A presidential election will be held on May 9 to choose a new leader. </s> FILE - In this Nov. 18, 2016, file photo, protesters wearing masks of South Korean President Park Geun-hye, left and Choi Soon-sil, Park's longtime friend, in Seoul, South Korea. South Korean prosecutors on Sunday, Nov. 20, 2016, said they believe Park conspired in criminal activities of a secretive confidante who allegedly manipulated government affairs and exploited her presidential ties to amass an illicit fortune - a damning revelation that may convince opposition parties to push for her impeachment. The placards held by the protesters read: "Park Geun-hye should step down." (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean prosecutors on Sunday said they believe President Park Geun-hye conspired in criminal activities of a secretive confidante who allegedly manipulated government affairs and exploited her presidential ties to amass an illicit fortune — a damning revelation that may convince opposition parties to push for her impeachment.

Prosecutors are planning to soon question Park, who has immunity but can be investigated, said Lee Young-ryeol, chief prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office.

Prosecutors on Sunday formally charged Park's longtime friend, Choi Soon-sil, on suspicion of interfering with state affairs and bullying companies into giving tens of millions of dollars to foundations and businesses she controlled.

In a televised news conference, Lee said that based on the evidence, "the president was involved as a conspirator in a considerable part of the criminal activities by suspects Choi Soon-sil, Ahn Jong-beom and Jung Ho-sung." He was referring to two presidential aides who also were formally charged Sunday for allegedly helping Choi.

"However, because of the president's impunity from prosecution stated in Article 84 of the constitution, we cannot indict the president. The special investigation headquarters will continue to push for an investigation of the president based on this judgment," Lee said.

Park's office had no immediate comment Sunday.

Park is facing growing calls to resign over the scandal critics say has undermined the country's democracy. Although emboldened by a wave of mass protests, opposition parties have so far refrained from seriously pushing for Park's impeachment over fears of triggering a backlash from conservative voters and negatively impacting next year's presidential election.

However, there are growing voices within the opposition saying that an impeachment attempt is inevitable because it's unlikely Park will resign and give up her immunity.

Ahn Jong-beom, Park's former senior secretary for policy coordination, was charged with abuse of authority, coercion and attempted coercion over allegations that he pressured companies into making large donations to foundations and companies Choi controlled.

Jung Ho-sung, the other former aide who was indicted, was accused of passing on classified presidential documents to Choi, including information on ministerial candidates.

According to Lee, Choi and Ahn conspired to pressure companies into giving a combined 77.4 billion won ($65.5 million) to the Mir and K-Sports foundations, two nonprofits that were under Choi's control. The companies couldn't refuse because they feared doing so would result in business disadvantages, such as difficulties in gaining government approval for projects or being targeted in tax investigations, Lee said.

Additionally, Choi and Ahn pressured the Lotte Group into giving 7 billion won ($5.9 million) to the K Sports foundation to finance the construction of a sports facility in the city of Hanam, which was to be operated by The Blue K, a company established by Choi, Lee said.

Auto giant Hyundai and telecommunications company KT were forced to contract 13 billion won ($11 million) worth of their advertisements to Playground, an ad agency virtually run by Choi, Lee said. Hyundai was also forced to buy 1.1 billion won ($931,000) worth of supplies from an auto parts maker run by Choi's friend. Ahn and Choi also tried but failed to take over the shares of an advertisement company previously owned by steelmaker POSCO, Lee said.

Prosecutors are also seeking to indict Cha Eun-taek, a famous music video director who allegedly used his close relationship with Choi to win lucrative government culture projects, and former vice sports minister Kim Chong, suspected of providing business favors to sports organizations controlled by Choi.

Kim is also under suspicion of influencing the ministry's decision to financially support a sports foundation run by Choi's niece, who prosecutors detained on Friday.

On Saturday, police said about 170,000 people turned out for the latest anti-Park protest in streets near City Hall and a boulevard fronting an old palace gate in Seoul.

Demonstrators also marched in streets near the presidential offices, carrying candles and illuminating cellphones, and shouting "Park Geun-hye step down" and "Arrest Park Geun-hye."

Park's term lasts until Feb. 24, 2018. If she steps down before the presidential vote on Dec. 20, 2017, an election must be held within 60 days. </s> South Korea’s Special Prosecutor’s Office on Monday sought an arrest warrant against Samsung chief Jay Y Lee, who is accused of paying bribes worth millions to President Park Geun-hye’s friend, who is at the centre of an extortion scandal. Jay Lee is also accused of embezzlement and perjury, according to the application for an arrest warrant, Reuters reported.

The vice chairman of Samsung Electronics faces allegations of paying bribes worth 43 billion won (more than Rs 200 crore) to organisations with links to Choi Soon-sil, the president’s long-time friend and confidante. He had allegedly paid bribed to ensure the merger of two company affiliates as well as his control of the family business – he became the de facto head of the Samsung Group after his father was incapacitated by a heart attack in 2014.

Spokesman for the prosecution Lee Kyu-chul said that the office had evidence to prove that both Park Geun-hye and Choi Soon-sil had profited from payments made by the Samsung chief. “The special prosecutors’ office, in making this decision to seek an arrest warrant, determined that while the country’s economic conditions are important, upholding justice takes precedence,” he added.

Samsung – South Korea’s largest conglomerate, generating about 17% of the country’s revenue – has denied the accusations: “It is especially hard to accept the special prosecutor’s assertion that there was improper request for a favour related to the merger or succession of control,” the company said in a statement. Shares of Samsung Electronics ended 2.14% lower after the news broke.

The South Korean Parliament had impeached President Park Geun-Hye on December 9, following accusations of colluding with Choi Soon-sil to extort money in the form of donations from South Korean companies. The money, which was transferred to non-profit foundations controlled by Choi Soon-sil, was allegedly used for personal gains. The president also faces accusations of ordering her aides to leak official state documents to her friend, who has no official position in the South Korean government.

The Constitutional Court of South Korea has six months to decide on whether it will uphold the impeachment motion. Till then, Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn holds the responsibility of running the country. If the court decides to remove Park Geun-Hye from the position, South Korea will have to elect a new president within 60 days of the ruling. </s> SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean prosecutors will question President Park Geun-hye over a political corruption scandal engulfing her presidency, an official said on Sunday, the first time a sitting president will be questioned by prosecutors over a criminal case.

South Korean President Park Geun-Hye speaks during an address to the nation, at the presidential Blue House in Seoul on November 4, 2016. REUTERS/Ed Jones/Pool

Hundreds of thousands marched in the capital Seoul on Saturday demanding Park resign. Many protesters said Park, whose public support has dropped to the lowest point ever for a democratically elected South Korean leader at 5 percent, was unfit to rule.

Prosecutors are investigating whether Park exerted improper pressure on “chaebol” conglomerate bosses to raise funds for two foundations at the center of an influence-peddling scandal involving a friend of hers, Yonhap reported on Sunday, citing prosecution sources.

They are also probing Park’s friend, Choi Soon-sil, who is alleged to have used her ties to the president to meddle in state affairs and wield influence in the cultural and sports communities, a prosecutor has previously said.

Prosecutors have already questioned the de facto head of Samsung Group SAGR.UL Jay Y. Lee and the chairmen of Hyundai Motor Group (005380.KS) and Hanjin Group HANJ.UL over the scandal, media reports said on Sunday.

“It’s correct we’re planning to question the president but the date is undecided,” an official at the prosecutors’ office told Reuters.

Yonhap news agency quoted a prosecution official as saying Park’s questioning should be done no later than Wednesday.

“Questioning people face-to-face is our principle,” the official said. Park will appear before prosecutors as a witness, Yonhap reported.

Park’s office said it would be Tuesday at the earliest before it will have a position on the prosecutors’ plan and was considering retaining a lawyer for the president.

While some previous South Korean presidents have been mired in scandals or allegations of wrongdoing involving family members during their terms, none were directly questioned by prosecutors while they were in office.

The prosecution office official confirmed the chairman of Hyundai Motor, Chung Mong-koo, was questioned on Saturday but declined to confirm whether the other chaebol bosses had met prosecutors.

A Korean Air Lines (003490.KS) spokesman confirmed that Cho Yang-ho, who is chairman of Hanjin and South Korea’s largest airline, had appeared for questioning but did not elaborate further.

A Hyundai Motor spokesman declined to comment and Samsung Group could not immediately confirm the reports of prosecutors questioning their respective officials.

Park faces intense pressure from the public and parliament to step down over the scandal, but the main opposition parties have not raised the possibility of initiating impeachment proceedings.

The presidential office said earlier on Sunday that Park was “earnestly considering ways to normalize state affairs” and that she had “heard the voices of the people at the rally”.

Slideshow (6 Images)

Park has said she had discussed with conglomerate heads in July last year her desire for them to contribute more for culture without elaborating.

South Korean prosecutors raided Samsung Electronics last week as part of the probe over the scandal and whether the company separately gave millions of euros to a company controlled by Choi and her daughter.

(This story was refiled with full name of Hanjin chairman in paragraph 12) </s> South Korea’s political crisis is deepening after prosecutors accused President Park Geun-hye of collusion in a corruption and influence-peddling case involving a close confidante dubbed her “shaman adviser”.

Although she cannot be charged because of presidential immunity except in cases of insurrection or treason, opposition rivals are calling for her impeachment and nearly one million Koreans rallied in Seoul calling for her to step down for a fourth successive weekend.

A special investigation team appointed by public prosecutors said that Ms Park’s confidante Choi Soon-sil was indicted on charges of abuse of power, coercion, attempted coercion and attempted fraud, while two senior former aides An Chong-bum and Chung Ho-sung were also formally charged.

“We have booked the president as a suspect, believing that she had been an accomplice with (Choi and her aides),” Lee Young-ryeol, chief of the Seoul central district prosecutor’s office, said in a televised news conference.

Prosecutors had not been allowed to question the president face-to-face despite repeated requests, he said.

“We still decided to press charges against the three suspects, who are in pre-trial detention, based on the vast evidence we have investigated so far, including testimonies, a work memo book and records of conservations from mobile phones,” said Mr Lee.

Ms Choi was Ms Park’s spiritual adviser for many years. She succeeded her father Choi Tae-min as head of the shadowy Church of Eternal Life. Her father was seen as playing a Rasputin-like role in the life of the young Park Geun-hye in the 1970s, claiming he could talk to her dead mother Yook Young-soo, who was assassinated in 1974. Ms Park’s father, the dictator Park Chung-hee, was killed in 1979.

Ms Choi was arrested in November, accused of using her relationship with Park to acquire 77.4 billion won (€62 million) in donations for her foundations by putting pressure on some of South Korea’s biggest “chaebols” or industrial conglomerates, including carmaker Hyundai, retail giant Lotte, steelmaker Posco and telecom giant KT.

Shortly before her arrest Ms Choi apologised and said she had committed a “deadly sin”.

The presidential Blue House has strenuously denied the allegations, describing them as a “house of cards”.

“The results announced by the prosecutors’ office are not true at all and are based on speculation and imagination,” Park’s spokesman Jung Youn-kuk told a briefing on Sunday.

Her lawyer Yoo Yeong-ha has rejected calls for her to undergo questioning, telling the Yonhap news agency he will prepare for the interrogation so it can take place sometime this week.

Park’s approval rating remained at an all-time low of five per cent last week, according to local pollster Gallup Korea.

The Korea Joongang Daily said the prosecution’s decision to label Park a co-conspirator offered legal grounds for lawmakers to move ahead with a presidential impeachment motion.

Moon Jae-in, who is seen as a popular contender for the presidency and former leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, said at a meeting of eight opposition presidential candidates that the case for impeachment was strong.

“If the president declared that she would resign, we would help her leave the office with dignity,” he said. </s> Three people with ties to South Korean President Park Geun-hye have been indicted for their role in a political corruption scandal. Park, however, will not be charged because of a law that makes the president immune from prosecution.

South Korean prosecutors announced Saturday there was enough evidence charge Choi Soon-sil, a friend of the president, and former aides An Chong-bum and Chung Ho-sung.

Lee Young-ryol, the prosecutor who led the corruption probe, said Choi and An are being charged with abuse of power, fraud and coercion. Chung faces charges related to leaking classified documents to Choi through email, phone and fax.

"Park cannot be charged with any 'crime' as a sitting president in accordance with Korean constitution but prosecutors will continue to investigate Park Geun-hye," Lee said.

According to the South Korean constitution, the president cannot be charged with a crime while holding office except for insurrection or treason.
South Korean prosecutors raid the presidential Blue House in Seoul amid continuing fallout over President Park Geun-hye's influence-peddling scandal involving cult leader Choi Soon-sil.