S. Korean prosecutors to interrogate Park

Seoul, Jan 17 (IANS) South Korean prosecutors independently investigating a corruption scandal involving impeached President Park Geun-hye will interrogate her in February, an official said on Tuesday.

Lee Kyu-chul, spokesman of the independent counsel team, said a face-to-face interrogation of Park could be conducted as late as the beginning of February, Xinhua news agency reported.

The prosecutors for the first time set the timing of investigation of Park, indicating its probe into the presidential scandal is getting to the point.

It remains to be seen whether Park would accept a formal request for interrogation, which the counsel team has yet to make.

Park had agreed to be quizzed by prosecutors before the launch of the probe, but she later rejected any face-to-face interrogation.

The impeached leader has been identified as a criminal accomplice to her longtime confidante Choi Soon-sil, who has been detained for meddling in state affairs behind the scenes and extorting money from conglomerates.

The independent counsel on Monday requested an arrest warrant for Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong for multiple counts, including bribery.

Lee is accused of bribing Choi and her daughter in return for getting support from the national pension fund in the 2015 merger of two Samsung affiliates to create a de-facto holding company.