Pressure builds on South Korean president

By Alex Jensen

SEOUL

South Korean President Park Geun-hye faced growing pressure Saturday as some of her current and former aides had their homes and offices raided by prosecutors over a scandal that has led critics to suggest that the country's own “Rasputin” has been running state affairs.

Investigators confiscated computers and documents, according to local reports.

Yonhap News Agency reported that the Blue House itself was not directly raided but the presidential office apparently submitted documents on request.

Park apologized this week over a media revelation that she had sent drafts of presidential speeches to be vetted by unofficial confidante Choi Soon-sil -- compared with controversial Russian icon Grigori Rasputin.

Aside from being viewed as a shadowy figure guiding the president, Choi is accused of using her relationship with Park to force businesses to donate money to a pair of nonprofit foundations.

Choi's daughter also allegedly received preferential treatment at a top Seoul university, sparking protests that have snowballed into rallies calling for the president's resignation or impeachment.

With Park's approval rating dropping below 20 percent for the first time, it remains to be seen whether the pending reshuffle of her chief of staff and senior secretaries will be enough to stifle the unrest.

Saturday's demonstration involving thousands of protesters might prompt memories of last November's rally when one of the participants was hit by a police-fired water cannon and subsequently passed away.