South Korean President Park Geun-Hye will not answer questions from prosecutors over a snowballing influence-peddling scandal, her lawyer said Monday.
Prosecutors describe Park and her secret confidante, Choi Soon-Sil, as co-culprits in the scandal. They are accused of coercing top Seoul firms to donate over $60 million to non-profit foundations, which Choi then used for personal gain.
Choi was charged last week with coercion and abuse of power, AFP reported.
The scandal has sparked nationwide fury, with hundreds of thousands taking to the streets to call for Park's ousting.
A parliamentary vote to impeach her could take place as early as this week as a growing number of ruling party politicians back the opposition-led campaign to oust the president.
Park earlier vowed to cooperate "sincerely" with the legal probe but has rejected a series of requests in recent weeks by prosecutors to make herself available for questioning.
"We regret that we can't cooperate with the request from prosecutors to hold face-to-face questioning on November 29," Yoo Young-Ha, Park's lawyer, told reporters.
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