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South Korean President’s Lawyers Ask Court to Summon 39 More Witnesses

© REUTERS / Chung Sung-Jun/PoolChoi Soon-sil, the woman at the centre of the South Korean political scandal and long-time friend of President Park Geun-hye, appears for her first trial at the Seoul Central District Court on January 5, 2017 in Seoul, South Korea
Choi Soon-sil, the woman at the centre of the South Korean political scandal and long-time friend of President Park Geun-hye, appears for her first trial at the Seoul Central District Court on January 5, 2017 in Seoul, South Korea - Sputnik International
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Lawyers of South Korean President Park Geun-hye asked the Constitutional Court Monday to question 39 other witnesses, which is considered by critics as an effort to delay the court decision, local media reported.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — During the eighth hearing of the trial on the president’s impeachment over a corruption scandal involving her friend Choi Soon-sil, Park’s attorney Lee Joong-hwan suggested bringing 39 more witnesses to the investigation, including former Presidential Chief of Staff Kim Ki-choon and former Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs Woo Byung-woo, who is connected to Lotte conglomerate suspected of funding Choi under pressure from the president’s office, the Yonhap News Agency reported.

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"Former Chief of Staff Kim is linked to all the grounds for impeachment, while former Senior Secretary Woo is linked to the investigation into Lotte," Lee was quoted by the news agency as saying.

Chief Justice Park Han-chul accepted the request and said would summon six witnesses while postponed consideration of the rest.

Critics believe the delay would enable the president to avoid an investigation by a special prosecutor and regain public support. Conservatives, loyal to Park, suspect the investigation may be biased, according to the media outlet.

Park was impeached by the parliament on December 9, 2016. The court has six months to decide upon the validity of the impeachment. If it is proved valid, presidential elections will be held within two months.

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