朴槿惠的萨满顾问接受韩检方问询

The woman at the centre of a politicAl scandal that threatens to unseat South Korea’s President Park Geun-hye was jostled by crowds as she arrived for interrogation by prosecutors for the first time on Monday.

被许多韩国人称为朴槿惠(Park Geun-hye)萨满顾问的崔顺实（Choi Soon-sil，上图中带帽女子），周一到案接受检方的首次问询。作为一宗可能会导致韩国总统朴槿惠下台的政治丑闻的核心人物，崔顺实在抵达时遭到了众人的推搡。

Choi Soon-sil, dubbed by many in the country as the shaman adviser to Ms Park, seemed to make a confession to the influence-peddling rumours that have destabilised the government in recent weeks, telling the crowd that she was sorry for having committed an unpardonable crime.

崔顺实似乎承认了关于她利用影响力谋私的传闻，她向人群表示，她很抱歉犯下了死罪。这些传闻在最近几周引发了韩国政府的动荡。

But her lawyer later told reporters that she was just trying to express her feelings and it was not an admission of guilt.

不过，崔顺实的律师随后向记者表示，她只是在试图表达自己的感受，并不是在承认罪行。

Ms Choi returned to Seoul over the weekend amid an escalating furore over allegations that she had exerted control over the president on issues from key policy decisions to what clothes and accessories the president should wear.

崔顺实是在上周末返回首尔的，当时，有关她在各种议题上对朴槿惠施加控制的说法引发的轰动正急剧升级。这些议题涉及从关键政策决定到朴槿惠该穿着哪些服饰等各个方面。

Allegations are swirling that Ms Choi used her relationship with Ms Park to press top Korean companies into donating tens of millions of dollars to foundations she controls and that her daughter received preferential admission to a top university.

广为流传的指控称，崔顺实利用她与朴槿惠的关系迫使多家韩国知名企业向她控制的基金会捐赠了数千万美元，她的女儿也被一所顶级大学特招入学。

Ms Choi denies the claims.

崔顺实否认了这些指控。

The frequency of corruption cases in the north-east Asian nation has made them an almost customary affair.

由于国内腐败案频发，韩国人对这类案件基本已习以为常。

Yet this episode stands apart for its mystical overtones.

但这起事件却因其神秘主义韵味而与众不同。

Ms Choi entered the world of high politics through her father, Choi Tae-min, a shadowy religious figure linked to cult activities.

崔顺实是通过其父崔太敏(Choi Tae-min)进入高层政治圈的，崔太敏则是一名与邪教活动有关的神秘宗教人物。

As she was bustled into the Seoul prosecutor’s office on Monday, she apologised to the crowds.

周一，在被簇拥着走向首尔检察官办公室时，崔顺实向在场人群表示了道歉。

I am so sorry, Ms Choi said.

崔顺实表示：对不起。

I have committed an unpardonable crime.

我犯了死罪。

The gap between Ms Choi arriving back in Seoul and her interrogation further inflamed opposition figures, who questioned why she had not been arrested upon her return to the country from Germany on Sunday.

崔顺实返回首尔后隔了一段时间才来接收问询，这令反对派人士愈发愤怒，他们质疑为何不在她上周日从德国返回韩国时就逮捕她。