SOUTH KOREA: Ousted leader Park grilled for 14 hours in graft probe
Ousted South Korean president Park Geun-hye apologized to the country on Tuesday as she appeared at prosecutors’ offices for questioning as a criminal suspect in a corruption scandal that has gripped the country for months.
Park, 65, became South Korea’s first democratically elected president to be removed from office when the Constitutional Court this month upheld her impeachment by parliament in December.
She has been accused of colluding with a friend, Choi Soon-sil, to pressure big businesses to donate to two foundations that backed her policy initiatives. Park and Choi have both denied wrongdoing.
“I am sorry to the people. I will faithfully cooperate with questioning,” Park said in front of media at the steps of the prosecutors’ office building, her first comments directly to the public since she was dismissed.
The questioning ended 14 hours later, just before midnight, according to Sohn Bum-kyu, one of Park’s lawyers.
