SEOUL — South Korean president Park Geun-hye is at the center of a firestorm over her relationship with Choi Soon-sil in a cronyism scandal that sounds more like a Korean drama.

Park has been accused of letting Choi, a close confidant of 40 years, edit her speeches, gain access to classified documents and dictate important economic, defense and foreign policies, the Guardian reported.

Choi is alleged to have secured her daughter a place at a top university while at the same time using her influence over Park to solicit $70 million for two of her non-profits from companies like Samsung and Hyundai.

Park has tried to defuse the situation by forcing 10 of her presidential aides to resign, but calls for her to resign are just heating up.

Choi was arrested this week after she arrived at the office of local prosecutors for questioning, according to Reuters.

Officials worried that Choi might be a flight-risk and could destroy evidence, so they placed her under emergency detention without a warrant, Yonhap news agency reported.

Thousands of citizens protested in Seoul on Saturday demanding Park resign over the scandal.