President Park Geun-hye of the Republic of Korea speaks during a joint press conference with President Obama in the East Room of the White House on Oct. 16, 2015 in Washington, D.C.

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea's embattled president replaced her prime minister and two other top officials on Wednesday in a bid to restore public confidence amid a political scandal involving her longtime friend. Key points: Choi Soon-sil has been detained after being questioned by prosecutors

It has been alleged that she profited from ties to President Park Geun-hye

A man rammed a government office with an excavator to "help [Choi] die"

Prosecutors are investigating allegations that Choi Soon-sil used her friendship with President Park Geun-hye to influence state affairs by gaining access to classified documents, and benefited personally through non-profit foundations. State prosecutors on Wednesday asked a local court to issue a warrant to formally arrest Ms Choi, although they said it was too early to say if their investigation would be widened to include the president, saying they were “not yet at the stage to talk about it”. Ms Park said last week she had given Ms Choi access to speech drafts early in her term and apologised for causing concern among the public. South Korean media speculate that Park’s friend, Choi Soon-sil, who is not officially in the government, manipulated government affairs and pushed businesses to donate millions of dollars to two foundations that she controlled, although she didn’t have any government post. Protesters have been calling for Park to resign since revelations last week that her confidante and spiritual adviser Choi Soon-sil may have seen secret government documents and influenced policy

In an apparent attempt to stem the scandal Wednesday, Park named three new senior officials to her cabinet.
Choi Soon-sil, the woman at the centre of a South Korean political scandal involving her friend President of Korea Park Geun-hye, is detained for questioning.