FIRST DAY IN COURT FOR CHOI-SOON-SIL, WHO DENIES CHARGES|韓親信干政案開庭 崔順實遭押後首現身

Dec. 19 was the first day of trial for South Korean President Park Gyeun-hye's confidante, Choi Soon-sil. She is charged with extortion, fraud and abuse of power, yet she denied all of them. This is Choi's first public appearance since October. Meanwhile, President Park has appealed to the constitutional court which is reviewing her impeachment. She too denied all the charges against her. On Dec. 19, Choi Soon-sil, South Korean President Park Gyeun-hye's confidente appeared at Seoul's Central Court for the first day of her trial on charges including extortion and fraud. This was the first time Choi had appeared in public since being arrested in October and she wore white prison clothing. Choi is not only accused of abuse of power, by pressuring large enterprises to donate to foundations promoted by Park, but also of leaking government classified documents. This scandal has led to the impeachment of President Park Geoffrey by Congress. Through her lawyers, Choi denied the charges. Two co-defendants in the same case, Park s senior secretary for policy coordination , Ahn Jong-beom (An Zhongfan) and presidential aide, Jung Ho-sung, did not appear in court, so the case adjourned and is expected to re-open on Dec. 29. President Park herself has appealed her impeachment at the Constitutional Court with a 26 page document citing five unconstitutional items and eight violations of the facts, and asking the Constitutional Court to reject or dismiss the impeachment trial. Choi has been characterized by the South Korean media as a gossiping friend, but Park emphasized that it was natural to talk to friends and was not an abuse of public office, and the negative image was a product of the media as the final decision always rested with the President. The opposition said that this was absurd. TRANSLATED BY：CLARE LEAR 南韓首爾中區法院，19號首次針對朴槿惠閨密崔順實干政案開庭審理。現年60歲的崔順實，身穿白色囚服，神情憔悴，頭髮略顯凌亂，在女性法警陪同下步入法庭，這也是崔順實10月遭檢方扣押後首次公開露面。 崔順實不僅被控濫權，施壓大型企業捐款給朴槿惠推動的基金會，還洩漏政府機密文件，這起干政醜聞也讓總統朴槿惠遭到國會正式彈劾。針對涉嫌詐欺，勒索企業，操控國家大政等一切指控，崔順實在法庭上透過律師，全盤否認，由於同案另兩名核心被告，朴槿惠的秘書長安鐘範，附屬秘書鄭虎成19號都沒出庭，因此無法進行三人對質，全案預計29號將再次開庭。 另一方面，針對國會通過的彈劾案，朴槿惠16號向憲法法院遞交26頁的答辯書，強調彈劾案中舉出5項違憲跟8項違法行為全非事實，要求憲法法院否決或駁回彈劾審判的請求。崔順實被南韓媒體稱為廚房內閣，在餐桌上跟朴槿惠無話不談，朴槿惠強調，部分人士任命參考了好友的意見，這也並不屬於濫用公務員任免權，即使在施政過程中聽取了崔順實的意見，這也是社會觀念上被允許的事情，因為最終決定權還是在總統手中。對朴槿惠的答辯內容，南韓在野黨痛批荒唐至極。 記者 靳元慶 報導