2 former aides of Park arrested as S. Korea scandal widens
SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of — South Korean prosecutors on Sunday formally arrested two former presidential aides as they bring their investigation over a bizarre political scandal that has engulfed the nation a step closer to President Park Geun-hye.
Park has issued consecutive apologies following suspicion that she allowed her longtime friend and daughter of a late cult leader to manipulate power from the shadows. But the apologies did little to assuage simmering public anger, which culminated in the largest anti-government rally in the capital in nearly a year on Saturday when tens of thousands of people demanded that Park step down.
The Seoul Central District Court granted prosecutors’ request for the arrest of Ahn Jong-beom, Park’s former senior secretary for policy co-ordination who is suspected of pressuring companies into making large donations to non-profit organizations controlled by Park’s friend, court spokesman Shin Jae-hwan said.
The court also issued an arrest warrant for Jung Ho-sung, another former presidential aide accused of passing on classified presidential documents to Choi Soon-sil, whose close relationship with Park triggered the scandal.