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S Korean President's 'Shadow Adviser' Refuses to Undergo Questioning

© REUTERS / Kim Hong-JiChoi Soon-sil, the woman at the centre of the South Korean political scandal and long-time friend of President Park Geun-hye, arrives for a hearing arguments for South Korean President Park Geun-hye's impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court in Seoul, South Korea, January 16, 2017
Choi Soon-sil, the woman at the centre of the South Korean political scandal and long-time friend of President Park Geun-hye, arrives for a hearing arguments for South Korean President Park Geun-hye's impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court in Seoul, South Korea, January 16, 2017 - Sputnik International
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The "shadow adviser" of impeached South Korean President Park Geun-hye refused on Monday to appear for questioning requested by the investigation team, local media reported citing its sources.

Choi Soon-sil, the woman at the centre of the South Korean political scandal and long-time friend of President Park Geun-hye, appears for her first trial at the Seoul Central District Court on January 5, 2017 in Seoul, South Korea - Sputnik International
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S Korean President's Jailed 'Shadow Adviser' Slams Investigators
MOSCOW (Sputnik) According to the Yonhap news agency, the special prosecutors team, led by Independent Counsel Park Young-soo, is planning to seek one more arrest warrant to question Choi Soon-sil in an attempt to accelerate the investigation.

Earlier in January, Choi slammed the investigation team over alleged attempts to force her into confessing collusion with the president, in violation of democratic norms.

Choi has been refusing to be questioned by the investigators for nearly a month.

Political scandal around the South Korean president broke out in late October 2016, when media reported that Park had allowed her friend Choi, who held no official post, to edit her speeches thus letting the "shadow adviser" influence the country's policy. Moreover, Choi is accused of pressuring big South Korean corporations and extorting money from them for her non-commercial funds.

On December 9, the South Korean parliament voted to impeach the president in the wake of the scandal. The court has six months to decide upon the validity of the impeachment. If it is proved valid, presidential elections will be held within two months.

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