Oracle Newspaper

Daughter of South Korea's
'Rasputin' arrested in Denmark
Jan 2, 2017, 09.56AM IST AFP
SEOUL: The daughter of Choi
Soon-Sil, the woman at the
centre of a corruption scandal
that led to the impeachment of
South Korea's President, has
been arrested in Denmark after
months in hiding, Seoul
prosecutors said Monday.
Chung Yoo-Ra, the 20-year-old
daughter of the woman dubbed
South Korea's "Rasputin", is one
of the figures in the influence-
peddling scandal that sparked
massive street protests
demanding the removal of
President Park Geun-Hye.
Danish police arrested Chung
Sunday night for overstaying her
visa, Korean prosecutors said,
adding they were in talks with
Danish authorities to have her
deported to Seoul.
Choi, a secret confidante of Park,
is accused of using her ties with
the president to force top firms
including Samsung to "donate"
nearly $70 million to non-profit
foundations Choi then used as
her personal ATMs.
She is also accused of using her
influence to secure her
daughter's admission to an elite
Seoul university, with a state
probe revealing the school had
admitted Chung at the expense
of other candidates with better
qualifications.
The revelation touched a raw
nerve in education-obsessed
South Korea and prosecutors
sought to question Chung over
her admission to Ewha Women's
University in 2014.
Park stands accused of colluding
with Choi to extract money from
the firms and also of letting her
meddle in state affairs including
nominations of top officials, but
the president denies all charges
against her.
Parliament voted on December 9
to impeach Park over the
scandal and her executive
powers have been handed to an
acting president, Prime Minister
Hwang Kyo-Ahn.
The impeachment case is being
considered by the Constitutional
Court -- which has up to six
months to reach a ruling -- but
hundreds of thousands of South
Koreans have joined weekly
protests calling for Park's
immediate departure from
office.
If the impeachment is
confirmed, a presidential
election will have to be held
within 60 days.
Choi, daughter of a controversial
religious figure who was close
to Park until his death in 1994, is
awaiting trial on charges
including coercion and abuse of
power.
Several professors at Ewha
Women's University, including a
former school president, have
been investigated for giving
Chung preferential treatment.
One professor was arrested over
the weekend for allegedly giving
Chung a good grade for a class
she never attended and forcing
his teaching assistants to forge
exam records for her.
Top Samsung managers were
also investigated as part of the
scandal, following accusations
the firm indirectly bankrolled
Chung's equestrian training in
Germany in a bid to curry policy
favour.

Politicians can't seek vote in
name of religion: SC
Politicians are barred from
seeking votes in the name of
religion, caste or creed the
Supreme Court ruled today in a
landmark judgment, ahead of
crucial assembly polls in five
states.