Prosecution Probe

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CJ isn’t the only conglomerate involved in the Choi Soon-sil scandal. Samsung and other business groups are also accused of funding Choi's companies and projects, prompting the prosecution to launch probes into many more business giants.

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In September of 2015 Samsung Electronics struck a consulting deal with Core Sports, a sports consulting firm in Germany owned by Choi Soon-sil. The contract deposit was 2.8 million euros. Almost a third of that amount - nearly 790,000 euros - was used to purchase a horse of exceptional caliber, a breed that has never been seen in Korea. Choi Soon-sil's daughter, Chung Yoo-ra, reportedly tried to prepare for the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta with this world-class horse. Samsung, which has denied financially supporting Chung Yoo-ra, now says that it will cooperate fully with the prosecution's investigation. The investigation is being extended to the allegations that Choi had demanded large sums of money from conglomerates through Mir and K-Sports Foundation. Investigators also found that former K-Sports Foundation Secretary-General Jeong Hyun-sik was asked to end a tax audit for Booyoung Group when he was asking for a donation from the business giant in February.

[Soundbite] BooyoungGroup Official(Voice modified) : "We were under tax audit, so we refused, saying that we couldn't afford to donate more money."

The prosecution has set up a team exclusively looking into corporate ties and focusing its probe on the coerced funding from large corporations. Lotte and SK have already been investigated and the prosecution is now questioning executives from some 60 conglomerates, including POSCO, LG, and Hyundai Motor.