Niece of central figure in Park Geun-hye impeachment rescued after falling from 12th floor residence
Published: 05 Sep. 2025, 12:58
![Jang Si-ho, niece of Choi Seo-won, formerly known as Choi Soon-sil, walks out of Seoul High Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul on July 24, 2020. [YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/09/05/18332fa7-17da-484e-bc5f-ae81692b30f1.jpg)
Jang Si-ho, niece of Choi Seo-won, formerly known as Choi Soon-sil, walks out of Seoul High Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul on July 24, 2020. [YONHAP]
Jang Si-ho, 46, the niece of Choi Seo-won — formerly known as Choi Soon-sil and a central figure in the state corruption scandal involving former President Park Geun-hye — was rescued after falling from a 12th-floor residence in southern Seoul on Thursday.
Jang fell from a residential building in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, around 6 a.m. Thursday and landed on the ledge of the 11th floor, according to fire authorities. She was rescued and transported to a hospital without major external injuries.
Authorities are investigating the circumstances of the fall, including whether it was a suicide attempt. Police declined to confirm details, citing internal policy.
Jang was a key figure in the so-called Park Geun-hye—Choi Soon-sil gate, a political scandal that emerged in October 2016, related to the unusual access and political influence Choi had with Park.
In 2017, Jang was sentenced to two years and six months in prison for coercing large corporations and public enterprises to support the Korea Winter Sports Elite Center, which she ran with Choi.
In 2018, an appellate court overturned her conviction for embezzling state subsidies through the center and reduced her sentence to one year and six months.
Last year, Jang was investigated by police for allegedly spreading false rumors that she had a personal relationship with Kim Young-chul, then deputy chief prosecutor of the Seoul Northern District Prosecutors’ Office, who had been dispatched to the special counsel team probing the state corruption scandal.
Kim denied allegations that he had pressured Jang or coached her testimony, as well as claims of any personal meetings, and filed a defamation complaint against her with the Seocho Police Precinct in May last year.
In November 2024, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) cleared Kim of all charges, including subornation of perjury, disclosure of official secrets and abuse of authority.
If you or someone you know is feeling emotionally distressed or struggling with thoughts of suicide, LifeLine Korea can be contacted at 1588-9191 or the Crisis Counseling Center at 1577-0199. The Seoul Global Center offers English-language counseling, contact 02-2075-4180 (+1) to arrange a session. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY OH SO-YEONG [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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