Choi Seo-won claims tablet PC was not hers, calls prosecution 'witch hunt' in interview

Choi Seo-won, formerly known as Choi Soon-sil, who was identified as the hidden power broker during the Park Geun-hye administration and is serving a 21-year prison sentence, has spoken out to proclaim her innocence.

In an interview released Saturday through the YouTube channel "Lee Young-don TV," Choi addressed the various allegations that have surrounded her over the past decade, claiming she is "a victim of massive fabrication and a witch hunt."

Choi strongly denied any connection to the tablet PC that became a key piece of evidence in the state affairs manipulation case. "I never owned one and do not know how to use one," she said, adding that prosecutors and the court had indicted her over the device without ever showing it to her in person. She also said a tablet PC belonging to Jang Si-ho — which contained photos of Jang's cousin — had nothing to do with her and was "completely fabricated."

On allegations that Samsung and other large conglomerates provided bribes in the form of equestrian support, Choi said Samsung's backing was simply support provided through the equestrian association for Olympic preparations, and that she had never even seen the horses. She expressed particular outrage over the charge of "implicit solicitation" applied in the ruling, saying she had been convicted of bribery and had all her assets confiscated on what she called the absurd logic that two parties had shared an unspoken understanding.

Regarding allegations of admissions fraud at Ewha Womans University involving her daughter Chung Yoo-ra, Choi said Chung had been legitimately admitted as an Asian Games gold medalist and had simply followed the same training schedule as other student athletes. She pointed to former lawmaker Ahn Min-seok as the source of the false claims that she said gave rise to the admissions fraud narrative.

Choi also dismissed as groundless rumors allegations that she holds secret Swiss bank accounts and hidden assets worth trillions of won. "If I have trillions of won in hidden assets, please find them and donate them to the national treasury or keep them," she said, adding that she had sold off all her previous assets — including a kindergarten building — to pay fines, surcharges and taxes, and that she now has not a single won in her bank account.

She also addressed speculation that she had acted as a shaman or spiritual adviser to former President Park, and allegations that she had been involved in arranging cosmetic procedures for Park, saying she is a longtime Christian and has no idea what shamanism even is. On the relationship between her late father, Pastor Choi Tae-min, and Park, she said it was simply a teacher-student relationship in which her father served as a fatherly adviser to Park, who had lost her parents at an early age.

Choi, who said she underwent spinal surgery while incarcerated and has since suffered paralysis in her right leg as a complication, spoke of the pain of her bedridden life. She said post-surgical infection and paralysis have made it difficult even to sit up, and lamented that despite being widely reported to have hidden trillions of won, she now faces the prospect of being removed from the hospital because she cannot afford medical bills running into the tens of millions of won.