South Korea holds final hearing on political scandal

The special committee of the South Korean National Assembly held its final hearing on January 9 regarding 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, which Choi Sun-sil controlled, were present.

President Park Geun-hye is facing 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 Women's University Choi Kyung-hee, were absent for personal reasons.

At the hearing, the Special Committee of the National Assembly also approved a proposal to extend its mandate by one month. The current mandate of the committee ends on January 15. However, this proposal needs to be approved by 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 allowed her close friend Choi Sun-sil to interfere in government affairs and gain personal benefits. However, the previous hearings were inconclusive due to the absence of many key figures involved in the scandal.

According to VOV