South Korean president accused of corruption refuses to testify at her impeachment trial

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South Korea's Constitutional Court is investigating President Park Guen-hye
She is accused of having a corrupt relationship with a confidant Choi Soon-sil
Choi's daughter Chung Yoo-ra has been arrested by police in Aalbourg, Denmark
Park has been asked to attend a second court hearing on Thursday morning

By Associated Press and Darren Boyle for MailOnline

Published: 05:50 EST, 3 January 2017 | Updated: 06:12 EST, 3 January 2017

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South Korean President Park Geun-hye refused to testify today at her impeachment trial despite claiming she will defend herself against corruption charges.

The Constitutional Court delayed a hearing this morning following Park's refusal to appear.

She has been asked to turn up on Thursday when some of her former aides are due to testify.

President Park Guen-hye, centre, briefed the media on Sunday on her plan to defend her reputation, denying all allegations of corruption, however, she failed to show up for this morning's proceedings and has been asked to turn up on to court on Thursday

One of President Park's lawyers begins to pray before the start of this morning's hearing

Police stood guard outside the Constitutional Court of South Korea which delayed the hearing

The court cannot compel Park to appear, but following a second refusal they are entitled to begin the case in her absence.

Chief prosecutor Kweon Seong Dong asked by the president refused to appear in court when she was willing to brief reporters two days ago on the allegations, rejecting claims she had acted in a corrupt fashion.

He said: 'It's not good etiquette to the justices and also inappropriate for the president, as the defendant of the impeachment trial, to say this and that to the media outside of court.'

Lee Joong-hwan, Park's lawyer, said she does not plan to appear Thursday and will probably not testify during the impeachment trial.

The trial in the Constitutional Court must decide within six months of her December 9 impeachment whether Park should permanently step down or should be reinstated to office.

If the court formally removes Park from office, a presidential election will be held within 60 days.

Park has been accused of colluding with confidante Choi Soon-sil to extort money and favors from companies and allowing the friend to manipulate government affairs.

Chung Yoo-ra, pictured, the daughter of Choi Soon-sil, was arrested by Danish police

Chung is facing extradition back to South Korea following her arrest in Aalbourg

Prosecutors, pictured, crticised Park's decision to snub this morning's court hearing

Chief Justice Park Han-chul, centre, will rule on whether Park should be removed from office

Choi, Choi's niece, and several former government and presidential officials have been indicted, and a special prosecution team has been investigating bribery suspicions between Park and business giant Samsung.

The investigators want to bring home Choi's daughter, Yoora Chung, who was arrested in Denmark on an international warrant, as they look into the suspicions that Samsung sponsored Choi in exchange for government favors.

Cho June-hyuck, Seoul's Foreign Ministry spokesman, said that the ministry is preparing for the extradition of Chung, and that her passport will be invalidated if she doesn't hand it in by next Monday.

Speaking to Korean reporters in Denmark, Chung said she's willing to return to South Korea if she could continue to be with her 19-month-old-son. She also said Samsung took back a horse and car it had provided her.

The Constitutional Court, pictured, cannot compel Park to attend, but following a second refusal, they can hear the case in her absence and possibly rule that she should be removed from office or re-instated to her position within a six-month time frame

Her Danish lawyer, Jan Schneider, said Chung denied any wrongdoing and that an appeal of her arrest had been filed.

The country's former health minister was arrested on allegations he forced the National Pension Service to support a merger between two Samsung affiliates last year. The deal shaved the fund's stake in one of the companies by an estimated hundreds of millions of dollars, but allowed Samsung scion Lee Jae-yong to promote a father-to-son succession of leadership and boost corporate wealth at the group.

Lee has apologized for the use of corporate funds to buy a horse for Chung, an equestrian athlete, but denied that Samsung sought favors from Choi or Park's administration. There are also questions as to why Samsung financially supported a winter sports center run by Choi's niece and a sports management firm Choi established in Germany.