President Park Geun-hye is officially a suspect in a criminal investigation, South Korean prosecutors investigating the alleged influence-peddling and corruption scandal involving her confidante Choi Soon-sil said Friday.



The investigators said that Park was an accomplice to a substantial share of the crimes allegedly conducted by Choi and two of Park’s former aides, An Chong-bum and Jeong Ho-seong. The three were indicted Sunday on charges such as abuse of power, coercion, attempted fraud and leaking government secrets.



“About the president, the special investigative team decided that she had colluded with Choi in a ‘significant’ part of the crimes by Choi, An and Jeong,” said Lee Young-ryeol, chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, without specifying which of the charges Park is being accused of. “But due to an incumbent president’s Constitutional privilege that grants an exemption from prosecution, we cannot indict her.”



Lee made it clear that the authorities would investigate the conservative president as a suspect, although specifics of the inquiry are still unclear as it marks the first-ever case of an incumbent president being questioned by the prosecution.



Park is being suspected of allowing her civilian friend Choi -- who is a daughter of Park’s late mentor Choi Tae-min -- to edit presidential documents, siphon public funds via nonprofit organizations and use their relationship for illegal benefits.



Park has denied the allegations and claimed that An and the companies voluntarily helped with fundraising.



“As a lawyer, I cannot accept any part of the prosecution specifying the president as an accomplice,” said Park’s attorney Yoo Yeong-ha, adding that the charges against Park were a result of “pure imagination and speculation.”





Prosecution officials watch TV on Sunday as Seoul's chief prosecutor Lee Young-ryeol announces the interim results of its investigation into the Choi Soon-sil scandal involving President Park Geun-hye. (Yonhap)



“If a certain individual had attempted to benefit in the process of establishing foundations, it has nothing to do with the president. ... She did not know of Choi’s business affairs, and Choi using K-Sports and other organizations for her own gain was beyond her imagination.”



He also denied accusations that the benefits given to Choi and her family had been intended to support Park, after she finishes her term as president.



Yoo said that he has lost faith in the prosecution and vowed not to comply with its request to directly investigate Park, instead he said he would prepare for the investigation by an independent counsel.



Cheong Wa Dae echoed Yoo’s comments, saying that the accusations were groundless, while expressing “deep regret” over the prosecution “claiming that the president had committed a grave felony.”



Investigators had sought to question Park face-to-face prior to indicting Choi before the deadline Sunday, but the president insisted on being questioned the following week.



“Choi and An abused their authority over 53 member companies of the Federation of Korean Industries, forcing them to donate 77.4 billion won ($65.8 million) for the establishment of the Mir Foundation and K-Sports Foundation,” Lee said. He highlighted the irregular nature of the process by saying that the corporations and the amount that they were asked to donate was decided in just one week, and that the sum increased from 30 billion won to 50 billion won for no apparent reason.