Aides to Korean ‘Rasputin’ testify to her power

Seoul / AFP

Friends and associates of the woman at the heart of a corruption scandal engulfing South Korean President Park Geun-Hye told a hearing on Wednesday her influence extended to everything from Park’s wardrobe to senior appointments.
The impeachment-threatened Park has been accused of letting long-time confidante Choi Soon-Sil meddle in a wide range of state affairs, and of ordering aides to leak confidential documents to Choi, who has no official title or security clearance.
The president is also suspected of colluding with Choi in strong-arming major conglomerates into donating funds to two dubious foundations Choi controlled. The scandal has sparked mass rallies across South Korea, with hundreds of thousands of protesters calling Park a “puppet” of the Choi family and demanding she resign immediately.
A major parliamentary hearing on the scandal has summoned the country’s most powerful business tycoons as well as Choi’s close associates, including a prominent K-pop video director and a fashion designer.
Cha Eun-Taek, who once made videos for “Gangnam Style” star Psy, said Choi had once asked him to recommend potential candidates for culture minister and for a presidential adviser on culture. The names he put forward to Choi, including one of his uncles, ended up getting the jobs. “So I thought…’What kind of person could possibly do something like this?'” Cha told lawmakers, describing Choi’s ties with Park as “extremely close”.
Cha also said Choi had often sought his written opinions on cultural issues.
Choi, whose influence over Park has led to her being called “Korea’s Rasputin”, has refused to testify to the investigative parliamentary committee despite warnings from lawmakers that she could be jailed for contempt.