South Korean President Park Geun-hye once again came under fire over her suspected usage of an illegal phone under a borrowed name, after her former aide revealed it during her impeachment trial Thursday. 

Former presidential aide Jeong Ho-seong testified before the judges at the Constitutional Court that Park had an illegal phone which was opened under a borrowed name and admitted that he, too, had used an illegal device to avoid possible wiretapping.

In South Korea, registering a phone with a borrowed name is a crime punishable by 3 years in prison or fines of up to 100 million won ($85,400).  

“She used the phone as she was given, but she may not have known it was a burner phone,” Jeong said.

President Park was impeached by the parliament after becoming embroiled in a massive corruption scandal involving her 40-year friend Choi Soon-sil. 

An independent counsel team looking into the scandal suspects that the illegal device may have been prepared and delivered to the president by Choi. 

It also believes that borrowed-name phones may have been commonly used by the shared inner circle of Park and Choi and some presidential staff. 

Choi’s cousin Jang Si-ho, who has been arrested and is standing trial for her involvement in the scandal, has also testified that Choi requested her to open burner phones.

Rep. Ahn Min-suk of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea raised the suspicion during a parliamentary hearing late last year that Jang had registered six illegal mobile phones and that one of them may have gone into the hands of the president. Cheong Wa Dae has flatly denied the suspicion. 

The chairman of the minor opposition People’s Party harshly criticized Cheong Wa Dae and the president, calling them “a crime group.” 

“From the president herself to her aides, it turned out they were using burner phones. Is this a proper nation? Is that what has been going on at the presidential office?” Rep. Park Jie-won said in a party meeting. “I see them only as a gang and a crime group.”

Tthe National Assembly impeached Park on Dec. 9 last year after a massive corruption broke out over allegations that she allowed Choi to meddle in state affairs and abused her authority to coerce large funds from conglomerates in return for favors. 

Jang is also suspected of conspiring with Choi to run paper companies to embezzle funds from donations made by Samsung Group.

By Jo He-rim (herim@heraldcorp.com)