The prosecution on Thursday questioned police Superintendent Park Gwan-cheon and conducted raids in the expanding investigation surrounding former presidential aide Chung Yoon-hoi.

Park, who served on Cheong Wa Dae’s team dealing with discipline within the civil service until February, is accused of having leaked reports regarding Chung to the media.

Chung served the president between the late 1990s and the early 2000s, and the local daily Segye Ilbo claimed that he colluded with incumbent presidential staff including Lee Jae-man, the presidential administrative secretary, to influence state affairs. 

Following the Nov. 28 news report, Lee and other presidential staff filed a defamation suit against the publication, and singled out Park as the source of the information.

In questioning Park, the prosecution is said to be focusing on verifying whether he compiled the reports, and under whose orders, and if he provided information to the media in relation to the defamation charges brought against him.

The questioning, however, may also touch on the charges related to leaking presidential records, which are being looked at in a separate investigation.

Park has denied the allegations and claimed that the concerned documents were accessed by unknown parties before he left Cheong Wa Dae. He has also raised allegations that the current situation arose as a result of an attempt to undermine Jo Eung-cheon. Jo formerly headed the team that compiled the documents in question.

Jo has claimed that about 60 percent of the information contained in the reports is credible.

Both Jo and Park have been banned from leaving the country following the Segye Ilbo report.

Chung has accused presidential staff of drawing up the reports with false information, and has filed a defamation suit against the newspaper.

As Park took to the hot seat, investigators raided a number of locations in Seoul to verify claims made in the media reports.

The locations raided on Thursday, which include a restaurant in southern Seoul, are reported to have been frequented by Chung, Lee and other presidential staff.

From the raids, investigators confiscated information regarding reservations and payments to determine whether Chung and the others in fact gathered at the locations.

Thursday’s raids come a day after ones on Park’s home and his current and previous offices at Dobong Police Station and the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.

In addition, the homes of three police officers implicated in the case were also raided. Since Park came under scrutiny, speculations have arisen that the other officers may have copied the documents in question without Park’s knowledge.

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)