Friend at center of scandal to answer probe

The woman at the center of a deepening political crisis around South Korean President Park Geun-hye will cooperate with prosecutors investigating allegations that she had improper control over state affairs, her lawyer said on Sunday.

Choi Soon-sil returned to South Korea early on Sunday from Germany, where she had been staying, her lawyer told reporters.

"Choi has expressed through her attorney that she will actively respond to prosecutors' investigation and will testify according to the facts," Lee Kyung-jae, her lawyer, said on Sunday morning.