"Shadow Power Broker" Choi Seo-won’s Elder Sister Choi Sundeuk Dies...Funeral Held Today

Died on the 22nd at the age of 74

Choi Seo-won (formerly known as Choi Soon-sil), who was labeled the "shadow power broker" of the Park Geun-hye administration, lost her elder sister Choi Sundeuk on the 22nd. She was 74.

According to Soonchunhyang University Hospital on the 24th, Choi’s funeral procession concluded at 12:00 p.m. that day, and she was cremated at around 2:00 p.m. The cause of death was reported as acute pneumonia.

Choi was the daughter of the late Choi Tae-min, who was known as former President Park Geun-hye’s "spiritual mentor."

Mr. Choi Sunduk. Yonhap News Agency

When it became known that former President Park had proxy prescriptions issued for injectable drugs under the names of the two sisters, Choi was questioned by prosecutors as a reference witness during the state corruption scandal.

The deceased’s daughter is Jang Siho, who was indicted on charges including coercing Samsung Group into providing more than 1.6 billion won in sponsorship funds to the Korea Winter Sports Elite Center, where she worked. However, in a remand trial in 2020, she was acquitted of the coercion charge.