Choi Soon-sil
| Choi Soon-sil | |
|---|---|
| Born |
23 June 1956 South Korea |
| Spouse(s) | Chung Yoon-hoi (1995-2014; divorced) |
| Children | Chung Yoo-ra (daughter) |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 최순실 |
| Hanja | 崔順實 |
| Revised Romanization | Choe Sunsil |
| McCune–Reischauer | Ch'oe Sunsil |
| Birth name | |
| Hangul | 최필녀 |
| Hanja | 崔畢女 |
| Revised Romanization | Choe Pillyeo |
| McCune–Reischauer | Ch'oe P'illyŏ |
| Legal name | |
| Hangul | 최서원 |
| Revised Romanization | Choe Seowon |
| McCune–Reischauer | Ch'oe Sŏwŏn |
Choi Soon-sil (Korean pronunciation: [tsʰwe̞.sun.ɕil]; born June 23, 1956) is the prime person of interest in the 2016 South Korean political scandal involving her influence over the 11th President of South Korea, Park Geun-hye.
Choi is the daughter of a South Korean Shamanistic cult leader, Choi Tae-min. Her ex-husband is President Park's former chief of staff Chung Yoon-hoi, and their daughter is dressage athlete Chung Yoo-ra.
Choi Soon-sil was born on July 23, 1956 as the 5th daughter in Choi Tae-min’s family. Her mother’s name is Im Sun-ie (임선이). She entered Dankook University in 1975, but was reported as an auditor. She married Kim Young-ho (김영호) in 1982 and had a son in 1983. They divorced in 1986. She married Choi Tae-min’s former secretary Chung Yoon-hoi in 1995 and had a daughter named Chung Yoo-ra. Soon-sil and Yoon-hoi divorced in 2014.
Choi’s relationship with Park Geun-hye is estimated to trace back to 1977. At that time, the National College Student Union, which started from a new mindset to “establish an uptight identity, a determined patriotism and an independent value system”, was founded, and Choi was the president. On June 10, 1977, the union held an opening meeting in Hanyang University. During this event the governor of the Saemaul peace corps was sitting on Park Geun-hye’s right side and President Lee Myung-bak was sitting on her left side.
After the 1980s, Choi started managing real estate business and operating kindergartens. In 1983, she acquired 45-pyong (about 149 square meters) of land in Yeoksam-dong, Seoul; in September 1985, she acquired 108-pyong (about 347 square meters) of land in Sinsa-dong and built a 4-story building. A kindergarten used to be operated in this building. In July 1988, she bought a 200-pyong (about 661 square meters) space of land in Sinsa-dong under a joint-contract with someone else. Later, she bought back the joint shares and became the sole owner of the property. From 1992 to 1996, Choi established and operated Jubel GmbH jointly with Chung Yoon-hoi. In July 2003, a building (referred to as M building) with 7 floors above ground and 2 floors underground was constructed with Choi’s investment. Chung Yoon-hoi’s company was a tenant in this building. In February 2008, Choi sold the kindergarten building to a savings bank. In 1989, Choi translated a child-care instruction book called “How To Hold Your Children’s Habit Upright ” with Kim Kwang-Ung (김광웅). This book introduced Choi as the vice president of research center affiliated to the Korea Institute of Culture.
...
Wikipedia