When asked whether there was a moment in her life she wished she could change, she paused for the first time in the three-hour interview. Until then, she had answered every question without hesitation. After several seconds of silence, Choi Seo-won, formerly known as Choi Soon-sil, spoke softly. A central figure in the 2016-17 state affairs scandal that shook Korea and ultimately led to the impeachment of then-President Park Geun-hye, the first sitting president in the nation's constitutional history to be removed from office, Choi reflected on the decision that changed her life. "If I could go back," she said softly, "I wish I had never met former President Park Geun-hye when we were in college." The Hankook Ilbo met Choi, now 70, on June 29 in a conference room at Soonchunhyang University Hospital in Seoul's Yongsan District, where she was accompanied by her attorney. Speaking publicly for the first time since the scandal erupted a decade ago, Choi said her rapidly declining health had prompted her to break her silence. "I feel my health worsening by the day, and I don't think I have m