South Korean prosecutors set up a task forced to investigation into alleged influence-peddling by a close confidante of President Park Geun-Hye.

Choi Soon-Sil holds no government position, but has advised President Park on numerous occasions.  Earlier this week, Park apologized to the country for sharing classified information with Ms. Choi about Seoul's relationship with Japan and the United States, and about negotiations with North Korea.  Prosecutors now want to know if Ms. Choi used her relationship with the president to strong-arm conglomerates into multi-million dollar donations to two non-profit foundations.

Choi is the daughter of a shadowy religious figure Choi Tae-Min, who was also an advisor for Ms. Park from the mid-1970s to his death in 1994.  He was also convicted of fraud, set up his very own cult, and and proclaimed himself a "Maitreya" - or, future Buddha. 

Prosecutors raided Choi's home and the offices of two foundations she established.  But Choi has been in Germany since September and claims to be suffering stress related health issues because of the widening scandal.  "I am suffering from a nervous breakdown and I have been diagnosed with heart issues," she told a South Korean newspaper.  "I could take poison and die here," she added.

The scandal comes at a bad time for Park; household debt is skyrocketing, exports are down, and tensions with the nuclear North are as bad as they've ever been without the two shooting at each other.  With this in mind, opposition lawmakers are suggesting President Park has fallen under the influence of religious crackpots, and some senior members of her conservative Saenuri Party have called on her to step down.

"Angry voices demanding her impeachment are flooding the street," wrote the editors of the Chosun Ilbo newspaper.  "This is not an ordinary lame-duck phenomenon.  This represents a collapse of the president's state administration," the editorial said.

Park has just over a year left in office, with presidential elections slated for December 2017.