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| Ahn-Young Joon/AP |
The scandal poses a setback for Park, who already is dealing with criticism that her leadership is similar to the heavy-handed style of her late dictator father, former President Park Chung-hee. Critics say the current president's poor communication with the public and lack of transparency on the personnel decisions she makes are to blame for the scandal.
The scandal centers on former aide Chung Yoon Hoe, who, according to local media reports, allegedly met regularly with 10 of Park's associates at a Seoul restaurant to try to exert influence on her personnel management. Chung was Park's chief adviser when she was in the legislature, but has never worked at the presidential Blue House.
The reports are based on leaked documents from an office headed by a presidential aide, Cho Eung-cheon, who's reportedly close to Park's younger brother, Park Ji-man. The Blue House says the documents contain groundless rumors.
On Dec. 15, prosecutors brought in Park Ji-man for questioning, the latest in a slew of high-profile figures who have been summoned since a local newspaper first reported the allegations late last month. Surrounded by a throng of journalists ahead of questioning at a Seoul prosecutors' office, Park, who is the head of an oxidized steel-making company, said he would tell investigators what he knows, but gave no further comments.
His summoning came two days after one of three police officers being investigated over their roles in the document leaks was found dead in an apparent suicide. A suicide note suggests that another police officer under investigation was contacted by Blue House officials who were trying to convince him to admit to charges that he helped leak the documents. The presidential office has denied the speculation.
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