17 November 2016, 08:09 GMT
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — South Korea’s prosecutors suspect President Park Geun-hye played a part in the corruption scandal surrounding her long-time friend Choi Soon-sil who was indicted on Sunday, local media said.
A prosecution team announced interim results of their inquiry on Sunday, according to the Korean news agency Yonhap. Choi, Park’s confidante and daughter of her late mentor, stands accused of extorting donations from local businesses to nonprofits and trying to transfer money to her firm.
Choi is also suspected of having interfered with the country’s home affairs, including correcting drafts of President Park’s public speeches.
7 November 2016, 11:29 GMT
However, the prosecution cannot indict the country's president as she is immune from prosecution under the local legislation.
"Based on such judgment, the special probe team will continue investigating the president," Lee Young-ryeol, the head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, said at a press conference as quoted by the media.
The presidential office told Yonhap that the results of the probe are "very regrettable."
