A presidential document claiming a former aide to President Park Geun-hye tried to exert undue influence on state affairs was fabricated by a senior police officer, prosecutors said Monday.
The document centers around allegations that Chung Yoon-hoi, who was President Park’s adviser before she was elected, pulled strings to try and replace the president’s current chief of staff, Kim Ki-choon.
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| Senior Prosecutor Yoo Sang-beom announces the results of the investigation into the presidential document leak at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors` Office in southern Seoul on Monday. Yonhap |
Announcing the interim outcome of their probe, investigators at the Seoul District Prosecutors’ Office said that they have concluded that Supt. Park Gwan-cheon authored and leaked the document.
The document was then handed over to the president’s younger brother, Ji-man, who is also the chairman of EG Group, an electronic materials producer, under the orders of former presidential secretary Cho Eung-cheon.
Cho was indicted on charges of leaking confidential information, and violating the Presidential Records Management Act, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said they have also charged a police officer, surnamed Han, with copying the document and giving it to a Hanwha Group employee, who eventually leaked it to the media.
Park Gwan-cheon had already been indicted with physical detention on charges of leaking confidential information, violating the law governing presidential documents, hiding official documents, and making false accusations, they said.
The prosecution concluded that Chung, who holds no official position in the Park administration, had never met with a coterie of 10 key presidential aides since October 2013 to receive briefings on state affairs.
Also, prosecutors said Park Gwan-cheon had authored the document alleging that Chung hired a man to follow the younger Park.
The allegations of Chung’s behind-the-scenes intervention in state affairs became a major scandal for the Park administration ahead of the start of its third year in power in February. (Yonhap)
