The nation’s incumbent culture minister and a former top presidential official Tuesday faced questioning over the Park Geun-hye administration’s alleged blacklist of cultural figures critical of the government.

The allegation that the administration discriminated against certain artists is a serious breach of constitutional values, which may lead down to the influence-peddling scandal involving the president, according to the special investigators.

Minister Cho Yoon-sun and former Presidential Chief of Staff Kim Ki-choon appeared at the independent counsel’s office on suspicions they had abused their power and obstructed the exercise of rights by others.

“I will fully cooperate with the investigation,” Cho told reporters while entering the building. “I hope that the investigation will reveal the truth.”

Kim, who arrived at the building some 30 minutes after Cho, declined to comment.

Cho, a key figure at the center of the blacklist allegation, is a known Park loyalist, having served as spokesperson during the presidential transition period and then as senior presidential secretary for political affairs after the administration set sail.

She was named to her current ministerial post in September last year, shortly before the corruption scandal involving the president’s confidante Choi Soon-sil broke out.

The culture minister is suspected of keeping the disputed blacklist and making administrative decisions based on it during her years at Cheong Wa Dae as presidential senior secretary.

Investigators suggested the list was first drafted by the office of the presidential secretary for public communication, under the direction of then-Chief of Staff Kim, and supervised by Cho.

It is considered crucial to first prove the connection between Cho and the list in order to expand the investigation to Kim and then to the president herself.

The list first rose to public attention when the special prosecutors were looking into the allegations that former Culture Vice Minister Kim Chong had made illicit personnel measures based on the personal interests of Choi.

The controversial list is said to include nearly 10,000 people, including renowned cultural figures such as film director Park Chan-wook who won the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 2004.

Author Han Kang, winner of the Man Booker International Prize in 2016, was also listed, presumably for one of her novels that describes the May 18 Democratization Movement in Gwangju.

Cho came under fire not only for her alleged involvement in the blacklist but also for perjury during a parliamentary hearing session.

After denying knowledge of the list on Nov. 30, Minister Cho reversed her stance on Jan. 9 by admitting the plausible existence of such a list, though she continued to deny her participation in it.

“It seems that there was such a list to exclude (state) support for (specific) artists,” she said.

The special prosecutors earlier said they had found circumstantial evidence from a ministry official’s computer, indicating that the ministry’s chief had led the drafting and managing of the list.

As both Cho and Kim kept silent on a number of key questions, investigators said they may carry out a cross interrogation, after which they will decide on whether to request the court for an arrest warrant.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)