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| / Yonhap |
The prosecution requested an arrest warrant for former President Park Geun-hye on bribery and other corruption charges, Monday.
Headed by Prosecutor General Kim Soo-nam, it decided to seek a warrant to arrest Park as part of its investigation into the influence-peddling scandal which led to her impeachment and removal from office.
The move comes five days after Park was questioned for more than 21 hours at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in southern Seoul.
A special team investigating the scandal filed the request with the Seoul Central District Court, which will hold a hearing Thursday to review its validity. A decision could come as soon as the next day.
Park is the nation's third president whom the prosecution has sought to arrest, following former leaders Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo.
Park faces a total of 13 charges including bribery, abuse of power, extortion and passing on state secrets to an unauthorized person — her confidant, the jailed Choi Soon-sil.
"The suspect used her status and authority as president to collect funds from corporations, violating their freedom of management. In addition she revealed critical state information to a third party," the prosecution said in a statement.
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"The suspect could destroy evidence, as she has denied committing any criminal acts. Considering that not only her accomplice Choi and aides, but also a provider of the bribes, Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, have been detained, it would be unfair not to seek an arrest warrant for Park."
Choi and Park's former aides An Chong-bum, Jeong Ho-seong, Kim Ki-choon and Cho Yoon-sun have all been detained and are currently on trial. The prosecution also reportedly considered the possibility of Park and other figures involved in the scandal who have not been arrested agreeing to give matching false testimony.
"Considering the above reasons and all circumstances, we have determined that seeking an arrest warrant would accord with law and principle," the prosecution said.
In the prosecution's questioning, Park denied all of the charges against her, either claiming she had not intervened or that she had been involved but only to perform her duties in running state affairs.
Park's flat denial of the charges is also seen as a reason behind the prosecution seeking the warrant.
The swift move is seen as an attempt to indict Park by early April before official campaigning begins for the rescheduled presidential election slated for May 9, in order to minimize the impact of the case on it.
Prosecutor General Kim told reporters last week that: "The issue (of Park's arrest) must be determined based on law and principle, as well as the proceedings of the investigation."
It is unknown whether Park will attend Friday's court hearing.
Even if the prosecution indicts her, Park's trial is expected to take place after the presidential election. If she is convicted of bribery, she will get a minimum prison sentence of 10 years.
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