International News

SEOUL, (MILLAT+APP/AFP) – South Korean prosecutors
questioned a former vice sports minister on Wednesday as their probe into the corruption scandal engulfing President Park Geun-Hye spreads to preparations for the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Park is under pressure over her shadowy confidant Choi Soon-Sil, who
is accused of using her personal ties with the president to coerce local firms to donate millions of dollars to non-profit foundations Choi then used for personal gain.
Kim Chong, who served as vice sports minister for three years until
last month, is accused of helping Choi’s foundations win lucrative state contracts.
He was mobbed by reporters as he walked into the Seoul prosecutors’
office Wednesday, TV footage showed.
He is also accused of pressuring a former head of the 2018
Pyeongchang Winter Games organising committee to resign after he refused to award a contract to a firm linked with Choi.
Cho Yang-Ho, the chairman of Korean Air, took the helm at the committee
in 2014 when it was struggling with construction delays and funding problems.