Choi Soon-sil, the woman at the center of a scandal rocking South Korea, appeared before prosecutors Monday afternoon to be questioned on the allegations that she exercised influence over President Park Geun-hye in state affairs.

Upon her arrival at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office at 3 p.m., she was surrounded by reporters and a mob of angry protestors. Covering her face with her hands, the tearful Choi uttered, “I’m sorry, please forgive me,” before hurrying inside the building.

“(Choi) will fully cooperate with the prosecutors to ensure a thorough investigation,” said her attorney Lee Kyung-jae.

Choi, a 60-year-old civilian, faces a range of allegations, from bribery, blackmail and illegal use of public funds to a violation of law on presidential documents. In an interview last week, she denied most of the allegations, except that she had edited presidential speeches out of pure intentions.

Lee said Choi’s apology Monday should not be seen as her admitting the accusations.

Choi has been receiving medication for a panic disorder and appears to have heart problems, he said while adding that her daughter Chung Yoo-ra -- a horseback rider embroiled in a favoritism scandal at her university -- will be staying abroad “for a while.”

Local channel JTBC broke the story last week after finding over 200 presidential documents on a tablet PC purportedly used by Choi. The revelation was followed by a shower of media reports and testimonies by Choi’s former and current associates all indicating that Choi had used her four-decade relationship with the president to meddle in state affairs.

According to reports, Choi received, and made modifications to, drafts of Park’s speeches and had access to presidential documents on classified military and diplomatic information.

This included receiving detailed documents beforehand on what Park discussed in a private meeting with her predecessor Lee Myung-bak in December of 2012, days after she was elected president.

Another leg of the Choi scandal is the allegation that the presidential staff -- in cooperation with the Federation of Korean Industries -- raised some 80 billion won ($70 million) for the Mir Foundation and K-Sports Foundation, which was then channeled to Choi.

Amid the snowballing scandal, Park conducted a sweeping reshuffle of the presidential staff by replacing five senior secretaries on Sunday, including Chief of Staff Lee Wong-jong, Senior Presidential Secretary for Civil Affairs Woo Byung-woo and Senior Presidential Secretary for Policy Coordination Ahn Chong-bum.

Woo and Ahn have been barred from leaving the country by prosecutors.

It has also been alleged Choi’s daughter Chung had received unlawful favors and advantages in being admitted to and while attending Ewha Womans University. A media report claimed Choi verbally abused a professor at the university who gave her daughter poor grades and attempted to bribe Chung’s high school teacher.

President Park last week issued a public apology and admitted to letting Choi edit her speeches during an early part of her tenure as president.

But Choi has flatly denied she had daily access to Cheong Wa Dae’s reports on the president. She claimed the tablet PC in which the documents were found did not belong to her, even though it contained her personal photos.

“(Choi) said that it was ‘strange anyway.’ ... She said that she does not use tablet PCs,” said Choi’s lawyer Lee in a radio interview early Monday.

Local TV network JTBC, who acquired the tablet PC in question, refuted Choi‘s claims, saying Choi’s photos were found in a folder that automatically saves photos taken by the device, a strong indicator the photos were directly taken with the tablet PC.

While Choi is swimming in a sea of allegations, it remains unclear how many can be proved by prosecutors. Cheong Wa Dae on Sunday refused the prosecution’s request to search the presidential office, and instead submitted seven boxes of what it said were relevant documents.

Related officials have consistently refused accusations that the Mir and K-Sports foundations were a cover to raise money for Choi.

Choi’s associate Ko Young-tae, who went home Sunday after nearly two days of questioning, told reporters the tablet PC in question does not belong to him and he never saw her use the device.

Her ex-husband Jeong also told local media he had never seen the tablet, but refused to comment further on the matter.

By Yoon Min-sik (minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)