검찰, 박 前대통령 본격수사 착수… 21일 오전 9시 반 출석하라 통보
State prosecutors have told Korea's disgraced former president to show up for questioning... next Tuesday.
The grilling over her involvement in the massive corruption scandal will mark the fourth summons of a former president in Korea's Constitutional history.
Prosecutors also put the spotlight on two of the country's biggest business groups as part of their widening probe.
Hwang Hojun reports. A new investigation has begun into the massive corruption scandal that led to President Park Geun-hye's impeachment -- this time led by a special team under the state prosecutor's office.
The team notified former President Park and her legal team... that she is being summoned to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office for questioning on Tuesday, March 21st, at 9:30 a.m.
She will be questioned on 13 charges,... including abuse of power and bribery,... leveled against her during the initial probe by the prosecution and a separate investigation by an independent counsel.
She is accused of letting her confidante, Choi Soon-sil, a civilian with no official government position, meddle in state affairs,... and colluding with Choi to extort money from conglomerates.
Park has denied all 13 charges.
Park's legal team has said she will fully cooperate with the investigation.
If she appears for the summons, Park will become the fourth former president to be questioned by prosecutors,... following Chun Doo-hwan, Roh Tae-woo and Roh Moo-hyun.
But, experts are saying, even if she shows up, it will be a complicated situation for the prosecution as well.
"Even Lee Jae-yong, the vice chairman of Samsung electronics has been arrested and is on trial for paying bribes. That's a considerably more minor crime than accepting a bribe. Considering that, if a warrant isn't issued for Park's arrest, just because she's a former president, people will think that's not fair. On the other hand, some people also may think arresting a former president who's been just sacked is cruel political retaliation."
Meanwhile, on a separate track of the probe, the prosecutors have also commenced their investigation of Lotte and SK Group,
They suspect the two conglomerates and the former president of improper dealings by "donating money" to foundations controlled by Choi.
Investigating companies other than Samsung was initially part of plans by the independent counsel, but they were never able to... due to a lack of time.
Hwang Hojun, Arirang News.
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