Prosecutors on Friday questioned ex-presidential secretary Cho Eung-cheon over a leaked presidential document claiming a former aide to President Park Geun-hye tried to exert undue influence on state affairs.

The leaked internal report alleged that a clique of presidential aides held much sway over the president’s decisions, alienating her Cabinet. The Segye Ilbo newspaper reported the alleged influence-peddling scandal last month, sparking a public backlash.

But Friday’s summons of Cho is expected to add fire to the public criticism, as authorities appear to be kowtowing to President Park.

Park has apparently tried to frame the leak and the ensuing accusations as a political show aiming to hijack the public support of her policies. Park has said the leaked reports are “unconfirmed rumors,” although they were based on papers from her own office.

Prosecutors have been conducting a two-pronged probe into the scandal. One team has been focusing on how the leak occurred, while another team has been fact-checking the contents of the leaked papers that say that the president had an unofficial private advisory council.

The latter team concluded that the reports are factually incorrect. The prosecution is now focusing investigations on how the leak occurred.

Officials suspect that Cho allowed Park Gwan-cheon, a police officer who worked under him at Cheong Wa Dae, to leak the documents to the media. Law enforcement officials will try to extract confessions from Cho by comparing his statements to those by police officer Park, who is under prosecution custody.

Cho has said that up to “60 percent” of the contents in the leaked documents are based on facts. He also reportedly told his higher-ups about the reports earlier this year, before the leaks occurred.

Friday’s questioning was the second time prosecutors have called in Cho, who was initially summoned on Dec. 5 as a witness. The questioning continued into the late hours of Friday.

The incident has been dubbed “Chung Yoon-hoi gate.”

Chung, an ex-aide to the president when she served in the parliament, has been named as the leader of the alleged behind-the-door clique by the leaked papers. He illegally influenced personnel decisions of top government positions using the position, the paper said.

Authorities aim to finish related probes by Jan. 4 as the detained Park’s arrest warrant expires on that date. They are also expected to take into account a parliamentary hearing on Jan. 9.

The main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy and President Park’s ruling Saenuri Party have subpoenaed Presidential Chief of Staff Kim Ki-choon and Lee Jae-man, another Cheong Wa Dae official linked to the scandal.

The Saenuri Party initially opposed holding the hearing, but agreed on the basis that it would take place after the prosecution finished their investigation.

By Jeong Hunny (hj257@heraldcorp.com)