‘Korean Rasputin’ pleads not guilty at first court hearing

Choi Soon-sil, the main accused in a huge corruption scandal in South Korea that led to massive protests and impeachment of the country’s President, pleaded not guilty during the first formal hearing in the case on Thursday.

The hearing followed two preparatory hearings held in December, where Choi, a close friend of South Korean President Park Geun-hye, was charged with abuse of power and attempted fraud, Efe news reported.

Choi, dubbed the “Korean Rasputin”, denied all the charges against her, calling them “unjust”.  Choi is also charged with interfering in state matters, despite not holding any public office and of having pressurised large companies, including Samsung, to donate huge sums of money to non-profit foundations headed by her.