[Arrest Warrant Requested for Park Geun-hye] Prosecutors, "Park Geun-hye's Acts Are a Serious Crime"

[경향신문] The prosecutors requested an arrest warrant for former President Park Geun-hye (65, photo) for her involvement in the "blacklist" of artists and cultural figures and for her receiving 29.8 billion won in bribes from Samsung.

The request was made six days after the prosecutors interrogated the former president as a suspect, and seventeen days since the Constitutional Court dismissed her from her presidential post. Park may become the third president to be arrested뾲he first arrest of a president in 22 years since 1995.

The Special Investigation Division (headed by Lee Young-ryeol, chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office) of the Prosecution Service announced that they requested an arrest warrant for the former president on the morning of March 27. They determined that they had sufficient grounds to request a general warrant. The prosecutors stated, "The suspect (former President Park) abused her position, taking advantage of her mighty status and powers as the president to receive money from businesses and to violate the freedom of corporate management. She also leaked important official secrets. We determined this (her crimes) to be very serious." They added, "Although the majority of the evidence has been collected, there is concern for a future attempt to destroy evidence since she has denied most of the criminal charges."

"Given that the bribe giver (Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics Lee Jae-yong) as well as her accomplice, Choi Soon-sil, and the public officials who had carried out relevant orders from the former president (former Cheong Wa Dae Senior Secretary for Policy Coordination Ahn Jong-beom, former private secretary Jeong Ho-seong, etc.) have been arrested, it would go against the principle of fairness not to request an arrest warrant (for Park). We determined that requesting the warrant conformed with law and principles," the prosecutors continued. The prosecutors appeared to have refuted those who called for an investigation without an arrest by stressing the gravity of the former president's charges and the fact that her accomplices have all been arrested.

Reportedly, the prosecutors applied fourteen criminal charges against the former president including bribery, abuse of power to obstruct the exercise of a right, coercion, attempted extortion, etc. In particular, the prosecutors included the 20.4 billion won that Samsung handed over to the MI-R Foundation and the K-Sports Foundation; the 7.7 billion won that the company gave to fund Choi's daughter, Chung Yoo-ra's equestrian training; and the 1.6 billion won that Samsung gave to the Korea Winter Sports Elite Center, which Choi actually managed뾞 total of 29.8 billion won뾞s bribes received by the former president. Park is also charged with conspiring with her former private secretary Jeong in leaking confidential official secrets including Cheong Wa Dae documents to Choi and for conspiring with former Chief of Staff Kim Ki-choon in ordering and implementing the creation of a blacklist, a list of certain cultural figures and artists to be excluded from government funding.

Prosecutor General Kim Soo-nam is said to have been receiving reports from the investigation division concerning the evidence, relevant legislation, and the handling of the former president since the former president's questioning on March 21. The prosecutors decided to request the arrest warrant for the former president this day after referring to the opinion of former prosecutor generals and advisors.

The court will decide on whether to issue the arrest warrant for the former president at 10:30 a.m. on March 30. The decision will be made at a warrant review by Judge Gang Bu-yeong (43) of the Seoul Central District Court. If former President Park appears in court this day, she will be the first former president to undergo a warrant review, a policy introduced in 1997.