South Korean prosecutors arrested the culture minister on Saturday, on suspicion of abuse of power for drawing up a blacklist of artists, writers and entertainers critical of the country’s impeached president, Park Geun-hye, Reuters reports.
Cho Yoon-sun became the first sitting minister ever to be arrested, the special prosecutor’s team said, adding that she would be questioned in the afternoon.
Faced with a spreading political crisis, the government and state entities used the blacklist as “guidelines” to penalize artists and censor content, the special prosecutor’s office told reporters last week.
Seoul Central District Court said on Saturday in a text message to reporters that minister Cho was arrested because her crime had been “verified and there were concerns over destruction of evidence”.
The special prosecutor’s office on Wednesday asked the court to issue warrants to arrest Cho and a former presidential chief of staff on suspicion of abuse of power and perjury.
Notably South Korean President Park Geun-hye was impeached by parliament in December after accusations that she colluded with long-time friend Choi Soon-sil to pressure big businesses to donate to two foundations set up to back the president’s policy initiatives.
Park, 64, remains in office but has been stripped of her powers while the Constitutional Court decides whether to uphold the impeachment.