President Park Geun-hye will face prosecutors next week, her lawyer said Thursday, effectively forcing them to indict her confidante Choi Soon-sil, who is at the center of an influence-peddling and corruption scandal, without the president’s testimony.

Investigators have been looking to question Park directly over her alleged involvement in a scandal involving her civilian friend Choi. It concerns evidence that Choi was allowed to meddle in state affairs and misappropriate public funds.

“If it can help wrap up the investigation on allegations related to the president, I will finish preparing for my defense as soon as possible and cooperate so that investigation on the president can take place next week,” said Park’s lawyer Yoo Yeong-ha.

Earlier in the day, the prosecution had delivered a virtual ultimatum on calling in Park for an interview, saying it would be nearly impossible for them to question her over the weekend.

“I think it will be physically difficult (to question Park) during the weekend. If I were to compare it to a newspaper company, today is actually the deadline for stories. After tomorrow, it’s absolutely impossible to make changes,” said an official from the prosecution.

When asked if the indictment of Choi would have to take place without questioning Park, he answered “logically, there is a possibility that will be the case.”

Under Korean law, the prosecution has to indict Choi by Sunday before her arrest warrant expires. This forced the prosecution to consider Friday as the absolute deadline for questioning Park.

Prosecutors originally intended to do so on Wednesday, but Yoo said via a press conference Tuesday that it was impossible because his client needed “considerable time” to prepare.

This sparked criticism from the opposition that Park was evading justice. However, Yoo denied this and said that he and his client simply needed more time.

The official from the prosecution dismissed the possibility of conducting an interview with Park via written questionnaire, saying, “If we were to do it, it would have to be face-to-face.”

He said that Choi would be indicted Sunday, when Park’s former aides An Chong-bum and Jeong Ho-seong are also “likely” to be indicted.

An is accused of pressuring local conglomerates to raise money for the Mir and K-Sports foundations -- allegedly used to channel money to Choi -- while Jeong is suspected of leaking Park’s documents to Choi.

Prosecutors are reportedly seeking to indict Jeong on charge of leaking secrets related to public service, but have said it would be difficult to accuse him of leaking presidential documents as most of them were incomplete or had not been registered in the Cheong Wa Dae database.

Investigators did not rule out the possibility of interviewing Park after the indictment, but indicated the possibility of doing so was not high. It left the door open for revising charges on Choi later on, but also indicated that it was not probable.

The prosecution has been closing in on the president, particularly on her aides accused of playing a part in the scandal that has shaken the country to its very core.

It has requested an arrest warrant for Vice Culture Minister Kim Chong on charge of abusing authority. Kim is suspected of being involved in the establishment and operation of the K-Sports Foundation, while providing favors to it and Choi’s daughter Chung Yoo-ra.

Cho Won-dong, senior economic secretary to Park from 2013 to 2014, appeared before the Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office in southern Seoul for questioning. He was to face questions over allegations that he pressured food and entertainment conglomerate CJ Group to dismiss its vice chairwoman, Lee Mie-kyung.

Cho said that he “did not know” what allegations he was facing, and said he felt “miserable for being here,” while the country’s economy was facing difficulties.

The minutes of his conversation with CJ Group co-Chairman Sohn Kyung-sik showed that Cho urged the move in 2013, saying it was the will of the president. Lee did not resign from her post but left the country for the US and has not returned since.

Lee at the time had been heading the entertainment section of the company, which produced content including the period piece “Gwanghae: the Man who Became the King (Masquerade)” and “The Attorney,” which reflected the life of late liberal former President Roh Moo-hyun. The films had been accused of having a left-leaning political bias.

A former CJ executive told the JoongAng Daily newspaper that Lee had left for the US because she felt it was impossible to come back during the Park administration.

Cha Eun-taek, a TV commercial director with links to Choi, has been involved in various CJ-related projects since Lee’s departure. This has fueled suspicion that pressure was put on the CJ leadership to benefit Cha.

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