stock here: HT Cuttlefish, who knew? South Korea has been horribly corrupt for decades, but not just that, controlled by cults that use the dragon as a symbol.
🕰️ TIMELINE: The Park Geun-hye / Choi Soon-sil Scandal
1960s–1970s: Foundations of Power and Influence
1961 – General Park Chung-hee leads a military coup; becomes de facto ruler.
1963 – Park Chung-hee is formally elected president; begins authoritarian modernization of South Korea.
1960s–70s – Park builds the chaebol system (Samsung, Hyundai, LG), giving them massive economic power.
1972 – Park enacts the Yushin Constitution, securing permanent dictatorial authority.
1974 – First Lady Yuk Young-soo (Park’s wife) is assassinated.
1974 – Cult leader Choi Tae-min approaches the grieving daughter Park Geun-hye, becomes her “spiritual guide.”
1974–1994 – Choi Tae-min and his family gain deep influence over Park; U.S. diplomats later call him a “Korean Rasputin.”
1979 – President Park Chung-hee is assassinated by the KCIA director, partly due to frustration with Choi Tae-min’s influence over the family.
1990s–2000s: Choi Family Influence Continues
1994 – Cult leader Choi Tae-min dies; his daughter Choi Soon-sil inherits his influence over Park Geun-hye.
2007 – A leaked U.S. embassy cable warns that if Park becomes president, the Choi family will control her “body and soul.”
2013: Park Geun-hye Becomes President
2013 Feb – Park Geun-hye is elected South Korea’s 11th president—promising clean, transparent, corruption-free leadership.
Behind the scenes, Choi Soon-sil is already receiving confidential briefings and influencing decisions.
2014–2015: Abuse of Power Grows
2014 Apr – The Sewol ferry disaster kills 304 people (mostly students).
Park’s administration allegedly pressures media to soften criticism of its response.
This period later becomes part of the corruption investigation.
2016: The Scandal Explodes
Summer–Fall 2016 – Journalists discover hints of Choi Soon-sil’s involvement in presidential affairs.
Oct 2016 – JTBC reporters find Choi’s abandoned Samsung tablet in Germany.
It contains:
- 44 presidential speech drafts
- Confidential documents
- Evidence of influence peddling
- Evidence of bribes from chaebols (e.g., $36M from Samsung)
Oct 24, 2016 – Public revelation of the tablet.
Oct 25, 2016 – Park denies wrongdoing, then admits Choi “helped with speeches.”
Late Oct 2016 – Massive public protests begin—eventually millions gather weekly.
2016–2017: Political Meltdown
Nov–Dec 2016 – Parliament begins impeachment proceedings.
Dec 9, 2016 – National Assembly votes to impeach Park.
2017: Removal from Office
Mar 10, 2017 – The Constitutional Court unanimously upholds impeachment.
Park Geun-hye becomes the first president removed from office in Korean history.
2017–2018 – Trials reveal:
- Choi Soon-sil controlled daily presidential briefings
- She sold government influence for money
- Chaebols paid bribes for favors
- Government documents were funneled to her before official review
Apr 2018 – Park is sentenced to 24 years (later increased to 25).
2018 – Choi Soon-sil is sentenced to 3 years + later an additional 20 years.
2021–2022: The Controversial Pardon
Dec 24, 2021 – President Moon Jae-in unexpectedly pardons Park Geun-hye.
Mar 24, 2022 – Park is officially released from prison.
Moon says the pardon was meant to promote “national unity,” despite earlier promising not to pardon corruption convicts.
SUMMARY IN ONE LINE
A dictator’s daughter shaped by a cult, elevated by chaebols, became president, governed through a secret power broker, fell in a historic corruption scandal, was imprisoned, and then pardoned in the name of unity.