S Korea officials want woman at heart of scandal to testify

Choi and two of Park’s ex-presidential advisers have been indicted. One of the two ex-aides allegedly pressured big companies to donate millions of dollars to foundations controlled by Choi, while the other is accused of passing confidential government documents to Choi. Both men refused to testify Wednesday.

Fourteen people caught up in the scandal are at the hearing, including two of Choi’s former associates and ex-presidential chief of staff Kim Ki-choon.

With many key witnesses absent, lawmakers grilled Kim about a 2014 deadly ferry disaster that has long dogged Park’s government over what’s widely believed to have been a botched rescue effort. The sinking killed more than 300 people, mostly high school students on a field trip.

Opposition lawmaker Kim Kyung-jin screamed as he grilled Kim about an allegation that he told junior presidential secretaries that efforts to recover bodies from the wreckage should be stopped because it would be a burden to the government. The lawmaker cited what he called a memo left by a late Park secretary. Kim Ki-choon denied making such an instruction, causing Kim Kyung-jin to erupt.

“It will be hard for you go to heaven after you die. You need a lot of self-reflection,” the lawmaker said.

If impeached, Park’s presidential powers will be suspended and the country’s constitutional Court has up to 180 days to rule on whether to formally unseat her.

On Tuesday, Park told ruling party leaders that she is willing to accept the outcome if she’s impeached and would make “every available effort” to prepare for a court process. The comments suggest Park is now bracing for a constitutional Court procedure that could determine her fate, according to South Korean media reports.

Associated Press writer Kim Tong-hyung contributed to this report.

Hyung-Jin Kim, The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

S Korea officials want woman at heart of scandal to testify

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