A woman who appears to be Choi Soon-sil, longtime confidant of President Park Geun-hye, walks toward customs at Incheon International Airport on Sunday morning after a flight from Heathrow Airport in London. Choi, suspected of peddling influence and interfering in state affairs, returned to Korea after hiding in Europe for nearly two months. / Screen Capture from YTN



By Park Si-soo



Choi Soon-sil, the alleged eminence grise who sparked a snowballing influence-peddling scandal involving President Park Geun-hye, returned to Seoul Sunday morning.

Choi arrived at Incheon International Airport at 7:30 a.m. from the U.K, said her lawyer Lee Kyung-jae.

The lawyer earlier said Choi would hold a press conference today, but delayed it because Choi needed time to deal with travel fatigue.



"Choi returned to Seoul to cooperate with the prosecution's investigation," the lawyer said. "She will fully cooperate with the investigation.

"Choi is very exhausted due to the long flight, so she asked the prosecution to give her one free day to take care of herself."



The prosecution said Choi would not be summoned today.



Chung Yoo-ra, Choi's daughter who reportedly received preferential treatment in admission and grades at Ewha Womans University, has not returned yet.