South Korea holds final hearing on political scandal

The special committee of the South Korean National Assembly on January 9 held its final hearing related to the political scandal of President Park Geun-hye.

A special committee of the National Assembly of South Korea has summoned 20 people involved in the political scandal involving President Park Geun-hye and her close friend Choi Sun-sil. However, only a professor at Ewha Womans University and the former head of the K-Sports Foundation managed by Choi Sun-sil were present.

President Park Geun-hye faces a political scandal for allowing her close friend Choi Sun Sil to interfere in internal government affairs and gain personal benefits. Photo: Reuters

Most key figures, including Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Cho Yoon-sun, former senior secretary to President Park Geun-hye Woo Byung-woo and former President of Ewha Womans University Choi Kyung-hee, were absent for personal reasons.

At this hearing, the Special Committee of the National Assembly of Korea also approved a proposal to extend its mandate by one month. The current mandate of the committee will end on January 15. However, this proposal needs to be approved at the plenary session of the National Assembly.

Since its inception on November 17 last year, the committee has conducted a series of hearings to clarify allegations that President Park Geun-hye let her close friend Choi Sun-sil interfere in the government's internal affairs and seek personal gain. However, the previous hearings were inconclusive due to the absence of many key figures involved in the scandal.

According to VOV