Choi Soon-sil
Choi Seo-won | |
|---|---|
| Born | Choi Soon-sil 23 June 1956 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | Chung Yoo-ra |
| Parent(s) | Choi Tae-min (father) Lim Seon-yi (mother) |
| Criminal information | |
| Criminal status | Incarcerated at the Seoul Detention Center |
| Convictions |
|
| Criminal penalty | 20 years imprisonment and a ₩18 billion fine |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 최서원 |
| Hanja | 崔瑞元 |
| RR | Choe Seowon |
| MR | Ch'oe Sŏwŏn |
| Former name | |
| Hangul | 최필녀, 최순실 |
| Hanja | 崔畢女, 崔順實 |
| RR | Choe Pilnyeo, Choe Sunsil |
| MR | Ch'oe P'illyŏ, Ch'oe Sunsil |
Choi Seo-won (Korean: 최서원; born 23 June 1956 as Choi Soon-sil; Korean: 최순실; pronounced [t͡ɕʰø.sun.ɕil]) is a South Korean businesswoman known primarily for her involvement in the 2016 South Korean political scandal, stemming from her influence over the 11th President of South Korea, Park Geun-hye. In 2018, a court sentenced Choi to 20 years in prison on corruption charges. Due to Choi's concurrent involvement in her father's religious cult, reporting media have called her "South Korea's Rasputin", in reference to Russian mystic Grigori Rasputin.