Choi Seo-won (Choi Soon-sil) Appeals, "My Wealth is 300 Trillion? Please Strip An Min-seok of His Parliamentary Seat for Raising Conspiracy Theories"

Choi Seo-won (formerly known as Choi Soon-sil), the main culprit of the state affairs manipulation scandal./Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Choi Seo-won (formerly Choi Soon-sil), the main culprit in the state corruption scandal, is reported to have submitted a written statement to the prosecution requesting the removal of Democratic Party lawmaker Ahn Min-seok, who raised suspicions that she was hiding assets worth 300 trillion won. Ms. Kim had previously filed a police complaint against Rep. Ahn in 2019 for defamation by spreading false information.

On the 23rd, Sisa Journal disclosed and reported a written statement believed to have been sent by Choi from Cheongju Women's Prison, where she is incarcerated, to the Cheongju District Prosecutors' Office in Chungbuk.

In the statement, Choi wrote, "I, Choi Seo-won, intend to hold accountable the politician Ahn Min-seok, who continues to spread lies and incite the public, plunging the nation into chaos and disaster, by seeking legal responsibility to revoke his parliamentary seat."

She further criticized Rep. Ahn, saying, "He has used his position as a member of the National Assembly for political ambition and greed, destroying the life of a young person just in their 20s (my daughter Jeong Yoo-ra) and politically sacrificing an entire family."

Earlier, Rep. Ahn raised suspicions through media interviews, claiming that "Choi's hidden assets amount to 2 trillion or 10 trillion won as revealed so far," and that "Choi has hundreds of paper companies (shell companies)."

Rep. Ahn also appeared on broadcasts after visiting five European countries in 2017 to trace Choi's overseas hidden assets, asserting, "The amount of funds controlled by former President Park Chung-hee was 8.9 trillion won in the currency of that time, which exceeds 300 trillion won in today's money, and this can be used to estimate the starting point of the Choi family's wealth."

Ahn Min-seok, member of the Democratic Party of Korea./Photo by Yonhap News

Regarding this, Choi rebutted, saying, "I would like to clarify a few points that he (Rep. Ahn) has claimed without any physical evidence or proof, which are false and unconfirmed," arguing that the allegations made by Rep. Ahn are not true.

Choi stated, "I cannot have hundreds of paper companies, nor do I have the ability to do so. If any were established, their existence, addresses, and names should be presented. I have no hidden assets or overseas paper companies. I hope this injustice is resolved and that he is held responsible for his statements, which amount to indirect character assassination and intentional, malicious killing of a person's reputation."

She also addressed the suspicion that the wealth accumulated by former President Park was inherited by the Choi family, saying, "There is no basis or trace of that. The only assets are the Misung Building, which was a kindergarten, my daughter barely bought a house in Gyeonggi Province, and paid lawyer fees and fines. My daughter is currently facing difficulties. Despite this, they say the inheritance process is complete, so I ask for the exact amount and details of the inheritance process to be disclosed."

Furthermore, regarding the allegation by Rep. Ahn that she was involved in the introduction of THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense), Choi said, "It is not only malicious but a low-level conspiracy theory. If I were involved with THAAD, there would be evidence, and I don't even properly know what THAAD is or the name of the weapon."