SEOUL, South Korea, Dec. 26 (UPI) — South Korea’s impeached ex-President Park Geun-hye on Tuesday refused questioning in prison over allegations that she accepted illegal payments from the country’s intelligence agency.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office said a team of investigators had visited the ex-president in her prison cell in Seoul Detention Center. They said Park agreed to enter the investigation room at 10 a.m. for a meeting but refused to make a statement before returning to her solitary cell.
After having her prison term extended by six months in October, due to the risk of flight and destruction of evidence during her trial, Park has been refusing to attend court sessions, citing health reasons.
The former leader, who was ousted from presidency in March, faces a string of charges, including corruption, abuse of power, extortion and leaking state secrets in cahoots with her longtime friend Choi Soon Sil.
Since then, new allegations have emerged of Park receiving regular payments from the National Intelligence Service’s special activities fund reserved for classified operations.
Prosecutors say the $3.52 million were paid through Park’s aides from May 2013 to July 2016 and the fund was likely intended for personal use or illegal political campaigns.
Prosecutors have indicted two of Park’s ex-secretaries and three former directors of the NIS who served during her presidency.
Former NIS directors Nam Jae Joon and Lee Byung Kee testified that the payments were made to the presidential office, while denying that they were bribes. Another former NIS chief, Lee Byung Ho, said the money was delivered under the former president’s orders.
Prosecutors said Tuesday that they plan to review the additional incriminating evidence before deciding whether they will press further charges against the ex-president.
