The Special Independent Prosecutor's Office investigating the Choi Soon-sil scandal keeps leaking details of its investigations. They seem to be asking President Park to resign or they will slowly reveal all that they know. They have told us about portions of telephone conversations and the ex-Presidential Secretary Ahn Jong-bom's notebooks. In the notes, there were memos on orders from the President in relation to the Samsung's merger.
Now, they have released the details of their investigation into influence peddling in the Samsung companies merger. They say that this is only one step in the process of transferring control of Samsung to vice-chairman Lee Jae-yong and explained how he might have committed perjury during the recent National Assembly Investigative Hearings in the Choi Soon-sil scandals.
Read all about it in the Hankyoreh News article: Samsung’s Lee Jae-yong may have perjured at National Assembly hearing
The Joongang Daily News investigated further into the contract between Samsung and the German sports company owned by Choi Soon-sil. Over $800,000 from Samsung was used to pay for Choi's personal expenses for seven months in Germany. For more details, go to Joongang Daily News: Samsung signed suspicious deal with Choi
The Special Prosecutor is also looking into President Park's financial association with the family of Choi Soon-sil over the forty years that they have know each other. A stepson of Choi Tae-min (Choi Soon-sil's father) stated, shortly before he died, that a truckload of money and bonds were transported out of the Presidential residence on the night Park Chung-hee was assassinated. Before this, the Choi family were poor. Right after, the daughters started buying buildings in southern Seoul.
Forty years of leaving behind evidence, almost got caught many times, but always managed to get off. The times have definitely changed in Korea. These people are going to be caught and jailed, even if they know or are the President. We still have plenty of bad, or put more kindly, misled people, but the tide is turning. It should have continued from President's Kim Dae-jung and Noh Moo-hyun, but it got backtracked.
Former President Noh did not embargo, or force the press to publish things. He did not influence prosecutors, or police. He did not appoint his own director to the intelligence agency, but promoted from within. He installed a computer system, so that no one could erase Presidential records and other things. He never met anyone one-on-one in meetings and always had witnesses in attendance. He wanted transparency and freedom. I think that is why most of the rich and powerful, especially the ruling Saenuri party and President Park hate him and always try to discredit him. I get a lot of flak for saying that.
