Skip to content
Subscriber Only
Markets

South Korea’s Park Apologizes Amid Influence-Peddling Claims

  • President admits to sharing ‘certain documents’ with friend
  • TV station has reported friend edited presidential speeches
South Korean President Park Geun-hye.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye.

Photographer: Ye Aung Thu/AFP via Getty Images
By

Updated on

South Korean President Park Geun-hye made an unusual apology in a nationally televised address Tuesday, admitting she shared "certain documents" with a close friend who is alleged to have peddled influence over the leader.

In a hastily called briefing, Park said Choi Soon-sil advised her on speeches during her presidential campaign in 2012 and gave her opinion on some documents after Park became president. JTBC cable TV reported Monday that Choi, a private citizen, edited some of her presidential speeches, citing transcripts found in what it said was Choi’s discarded computer.