[Photo by Namkung Jinwoong = timeid@ajunews.com]
Prosecutors placed a confidant of South Korea's disgraced President Park Geun-hye under questioning Wednesday for his alleged role in collecting money from dozens of conglomerates to establish public foundations linked to a corruption scandal.
Ahn Jong-Beom, who stepped down Sunday as a senior presidential aide, has been portrayed as a key figure in a corruption scandal involving Park's longtime friend, Choi Soon-sil, accused of meddling in state affairs.
Choi, who was placed under emergency arrest, is also suspected of embezzling money from the two foundations, Mir and K-Sports, created with 77.4 billion won (68 million US dollars) donated by dozens of conglomerates.
"I feel distressed. I will take responsibility for my wrongdoing," Ahn said as he appeared in the office of prosecutors. He did not reply to a flurry of questions from journalists if businessmen had been forced to chip in for the establishment of the foundations.
There have been unverified reports that Ahn supported Choi's company "The Blue K" based in Germany.
According to Chaebul.com and the Federation of Korean Industries, the country's largest conglomerate, Samsung Group, funded 12.5 billion won while the Hyundai auto group donated 8.5 billion won.
The investigation focuses on whether Ahn used his position and influence in wresting money from businessmen who will be summoned for questioning. Corporate donations, voluntary or not, have long been a controversial issue in South Korea due to concern about collusive ties between businessmen and politicians.
Aju News Park Sae-jin = swatchsjp@ajunews.com
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
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