Tens of thousands of South Koreans took to the streets in cities across the country on Saturday,demanding President Park Geun-hye to step down from office, as the mystery surrounding the president’s close confidante, Choi Soon-sil, the woman currently at the heart of a swirling political scandal, continues to unfold.
昨天，在韩国多地上演了大规模示威活动，数万民众走上街头抗议并要求朴槿惠下台。与此同时，此次丑闻的核心人物崔顺实身上的层层疑云也逐步被揭开。
At least 10,000 people marched through downtown Seoul on Saturday evening, holding signs saying “Park Geun-hye, resign,” “Who’s the real president?” and “We can’t raise kids in this country!”
周六晚上，一场声势浩大的万人游行活动在韩国首都首尔市的市中心展开，民众手持“朴槿惠下台”“谁是真正总统？”及“我们不能让子女在这样的国家成长”等标语来表达他们的愤怒。
The protests came after Park ordered 10 of her senior aides to resign over a scandal that is likely to deepen the president’s lame-duck status ahead of next year’s election. Her approval rating has plunged to an unprecedented low of 17 percent Thursday, according to a local pollster Gallup Korea.
而就在此前，朴槿惠已下令10名青瓦台高级助理集体辞职。深陷亲信干政丑闻“跛脚”（注：由于任期将满等原因而无实权的官员或政府）总统朴槿惠的处境或许会在明年大选到来之前更加艰难。上周四的一份韩国盖洛普民意测验显示，她本人的支持率已经降到了17%这一历史最低水平。
In a surprise televised public apology that sparked frenzied social media reaction on Tuesday, the 64-year-old leader admitted she received help on state affairs from a long-time friend, Choi.
本周二，韩国总统朴槿惠向全体国民发表致歉讲话，承认了亲信崔顺实曾经就国务问题给予她很多帮助。消息一出，立刻在各大社交媒体上引起了轩然大波。
Choi, who holds no government job, provided advice on speeches and public relations issues during the 2012 presidential election campaign and continued to assist for a certain period after the 2013 in auguration, Park said.
朴槿惠承认没有任何政府职务的崔顺实曾经在2012年总统竞选中给了她很多关于演讲与公关事务的建议，而在2013年发表就职演说后的一段时间内，她也不时向崔顺实征求过意见。
“I am shocked and my heart is breaking for causing public concern,” Park said in a live telecast. “I’ve done so [shared the documents] out of pure heart so that I could carefully review [the documents].”
在这一电视直播讲话中，朴槿惠说“对于让国民如此担忧，我很惊讶也很心痛，我这样做的目的很单纯，只是为了更仔细地审阅这些文件。”
Park, however, only appeared to bow to the public after a South Korean TV network, JTBC, reported Monday that it had obtained a personal computer abandoned by Choi that contained 44 files carrying drafts of some of Park’s speeches, remarks at cabinet meetings and other public comments. Some of the speech drafts included highlighted parts, suggesting that Choi had made some changes to the original texts, according to the report.
但这样的鞠躬道歉似乎远远不够。周一，韩国JTBC电视台报道称记者在崔顺实一台废弃的电脑中发现了44份朴在各个场合的演讲稿，而其中一些稿件有明显修改痕迹，也就意味着崔順实曾对原文进行过改动。
And the drama goes beyond tinkering with speeches.
而这出年度狗血“韩剧”也绝不仅仅是修改演讲稿这么简单。
Prosecutors are also looking into a number of foundations set up by Choi, which allegedly exploited her ties to the president to coerce companies like Samsung to make large donations for her personal benefit.
检方目前正在调查崔顺实成立的几家公益财团，崔被指利用与总统的关系胁迫包括三星在内的多家公司大量募捐，以牟取私利。
Choi previously denied any wrongdoing in an interview with South Korea’s Segye Times newspaper, in Germany, where she had hid to “protect” the daughter, who is also embroiled in controversy. Choi returned to Seoul on Sunday morning to “cooperate with the prosecution’s investigation”, according to her lawyer Lee Kyung-jae.
崔顺实此前在德国接受韩国《世界日报》访问时拒绝认错。崔已于周日早些时候返回首尔。据崔的辩护律师李炅在说，崔顺实此次回国是为配合检方进行调查，而她出境赴德只为“保护”同样身陷争议的女儿郑某。
Interestingly, much of the public outrage now gripping the nation all started with Choi’s daughter.
有意思的是，揭开这场闹剧序幕的正是郑某。
President of the nation’s prestigious woman’s college, Ewha Woman’s University, was forced to resign this week as students protested Choi’s daughter Chung’s preferential treatment and shady admission — which seemed to give her extra credit for being a champion dressage competitor.
韩国梨花女子大学校长本周因牵扯违规特招崔顺实之女等系列丑闻，遭到学生和教授们的抗议，在国会要求进行彻查的呼声中辞职。
Media has since scrutinized the ties between Park and Choi.
媒体从此开始一路深扒。
Park’s connection to Choi stretches back decades. Choi is the daughter of a religious figure whose relationship with the Park family had long been the subject of lurid rumors.
朴槿惠与崔顺实的渊源可以追溯到数十年前。崔顺实的父亲是一名宗教领袖，关于他与朴家的关系各种耸人听闻的谣言却从未停止。
Choi Tae-min, was the founder of an obscure sect called the Church of Eternal Life. He remained a close friend of Park’s father Park Chung-hee, the late South Korean president, until his death by assassination in 1979. The man who shot him, Kim Jae-gyu, the head of the Korean Central Intelligence Unit, later claimed that one of his motives for killing Park Chung-hee was due to his inability to rid himself of Choi’s influence.
崔太敏是一个叫做“永生教”的无名教派教主。直到朴槿惠父亲朴正熙1979年遇刺身亡前，他一直同这位韩国铁腕总统有着密切联系。据刺杀朴的前韩国中央情报部部长金载圭称，他下定决心刺杀朴正熙的原因之一正是他受崔太敏影响太深。
Choi Tae-min befriended Park Geun-hye soon after her mother, Yuk Young-soo, was killed during an assassination attempt on her husband in 1974.
在1974年朴槿惠的母亲陆英修被刺杀之后，崔太敏就已趁机接近当时还是个小女孩儿的朴槿惠。
Choi told Park that her mother had appeared in his dreams, asking him to help her. He became a mentor to Park, helping her run a pro-government volunteer group called “Movement for a New Mind.” Choi also introduced his daughter to Park, and the two women have been friends ever since.
崔太敏告诉朴槿惠，“已故的陆英修女士托梦给我，让我好好照顾她的女儿。”之后就顺理成章地成为了后者的精神导师，并以朴的名义经营亲政府志愿组织“新心奉仕团”。崔还将自己的女儿引荐给了朴槿惠，自此开启了两个女人长达40年的“友好时代”。
But what irritated the South Korean people most was the influence Choi wielded in Park’s policy making.
但最让韩国民众愤怒的无关乎闺蜜私情，而是崔顺实对总统政治事务的操控。
This week, Hankyoreh newspaper quoted a former employee of one of Choi’s foundations, Lee Seong-han, as saying that Choi even had her own team of advisers who meddled in critical government decisions, including the appointment of cabinet ministers and the closing of the Kaesong industrial park, a joint project between South Korea and DPRK, after the latter’s nuclear test in January.
据韩国《民族日报》近日报道，崔顺实财团前雇员李晟汗爆料称崔顺实甚至有自己的智囊团干预政府各项决策，包括内阁部长的任命，和早在一月朝鲜核试验后，关闭朝韩合作项目开城工业园的决定等等。
“Choi effectively told the president to do this and do that,” the newspaper quoted Lee as saying, “there was nothing the president could decide alone.”
李晟汉在接受采访中透露“事实上总统没有一件事情是独立决策的，崔一直在告诉总统做这个做那个。”
Park’s office has not commented on the report.
青瓦台方面目前没有就该报道作出回应。
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