CHEONGJU, South Korea, Nov. 9 (Korea Bizwire) – “Mass depression” is the term experts are now using to describe the failing confidence, soaring rage and disappointment that Koreans feel amid the country’s somber state of affairs. “I hardly believed the Choi Soon-sil scandal when it first hit the airwaves,” said 69-year-old Park (full name undisclosed), [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 8 (Korea Biziwre) – President Park Geun-hye on Tuesday effectively jettisoned her prime minister-designate, caving in to mounting calls to withdraw the “unilateral” nomination, which aggravated a political deadlock sparked by a corruption scandal involving her confidante. During her rare visit to National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun, Park called on the legislature to [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 8 (Korea Bizwire) – Prosecutors raided Samsung Electronics Co.’s offices in Seoul on Tuesday amid allegations that it provided illicit favors to the daughter of Choi Soon-sil, President Park Geun-hye’s close friend at the center of an influence-peddling scandal. The prosecution said it raided the offices in charge of external affairs, located in [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 7 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s financial authorities on Monday announced a shift to an emergency operation mode to cope with a host of challenges facing Asia’s fourth-largest economy. Yim Jong-yong, tapped as the nation’s finance minister, described the current situations as a crisis that’s like “stepping on thin ice.” Yim, chairman of [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 2 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s political uncertainties over an unfolding influence-peddling scandal could increase downside risks to the country’s economic growth, a report said Wednesday. Citigroup said the scandal involving President Park Geun-hye’s longtime confidante could shrink consumer sentiment, which in turn could further slow the economic growth rate in the fourth [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 1 (Korea Bizwire) – A 45-year-old man referred to as Jung (full name undisclosed) drove his excavator into the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office building in Seoul Tuesday, injuring a security guard and damaging the building’s entrance. The driver left Sunchang County, North Jeolla Province, early Tuesday morning in a truck carrying the excavator. He [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 1 (Korea Bizwire) – Prosecutors on Monday placed Choi Soon-sil, a confidante of President Park Geun-hye, under emergency detention after grilling her for hours on allegations of interfering in state affairs and peddling influence. Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office has 48 hours in which to decide whether it will seek a warrant to [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 31 (Korea Bizwire) – Choi Soon-sil, a confidante of President Park, appeared at the state prosecutors’ office on Monday for questioning with regards to allegations of her involvement, interference, and influence over the South Korean president and in state affairs. “I am so sorry,” she told reporters before entering the prosecutors’ office. “I [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 31 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s financial authorities are looking into whether a local bank has extended preferential loans to the daughter of President Park Geun-hye’s friend at the heart of a massive influence-peddling scandal, officials said Monday. Chung Yoo-ra, a college student, is alleged to have taken out foreign exchange loans with [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 31 (Korea Bizwire) – Choi Soon-sil, a confidante of President Park Geun-hye, was summoned for questioning over charges of abusing her personal connections for influence and interfering in state affairs, prosecutors said Sunday. A special investigation team of prosecutors summoned the South Korean woman to report to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office [...]