South Korean president Park Geun-hye colluded with her close confidante in a major influence-peddling scandal that has engulfed her government, prosecutors said on Sunday, as they laid out charges against Park’s longtime ally and two former presidential aides. Park’s ally Choi Soon-sil and one of the president’s former aides were arrested earlier this month on charges of fraud, coercion and abuse of power. Lee acknowledged that prosecutors could not formally charge Park for now but vowed to continue to investigate her. Park earlier promised to answer prosecutors’ questions – making her the first South Korean president to be quizzed by prosecutors while in office. The scandal has sent Park’s public approval rating plunging to five per cent – the lowest for any sitting South Korean president.

Source: The Guardian November 20, 2016 06:56 UTC