My Take
Choi Soon-sil is one of those figures who became globally infamous almost overnight — before 2016, most people outside South Korea had never heard of her, and then suddenly she was everywhere. A Dankook University graduate with a resume that reads like a random assortment (businesswoman, restaurant owner, translator, real estate investor), she had been quietly wielding extraordinary influence over President Park Geun-hye for years, allegedly reviewing presidential speeches and steering government policy with zero official authority. When that came out, it was genuinely jaw-dropping — the kind of scandal that sounds like fiction. The 2018 conviction for corruption and a 20-year sentence confirmed what the public already suspected. Whatever you think of Korean politics, her story is a masterclass in how proximity to power, without any accountability, can unravel an entire government.
Overview
Choi Seo-won (Korean: 최서원; born 23 June 1956 as Choi Soon-sil; Korean: 최순실; pronounced [t͡ɕʰø.sun.ɕil]) is a South Korean businesswoman known primarily for her involvement in the 2016 South Korean political scandal, stemming from her influence over the 11th President of South Korea, Park Geun-hye. In 2018, a court sentenced Choi to 20 years in prison on corruption charges.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Choi Sun-sil
- Name (Japanese)
- 崔順実
- Reading
- 不明
- Born
- June 23, 1956 (age 69)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Cancer / Monkey
- Origin
- South Korea, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- businessperson / cult leader / real estate entrepreneur / translator / restaurant owner
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Dankook University
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
- Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%B4%94%E9%A0%86%E5%AE%9F
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.