First she denied the charges. Then she said the investigators were biased. She promised to co-operate. Then she was too busy. South Korea’s president has bolstered her reclusive and eccentric reputation in her handling of a long-running corruption scandal. This week a special prosecution team was forced to accept evidence submitted by the Blue House, the presidential office. They had been hoping for a court order permitting them to search the premises and seize evidence themselves. Swallowing that setback may give them extra negotiating clout when it comes to a more important twist in the story: the imminent face-to-face questioning of the president. The prosecutors must finish their probe by the end of the month, and are eager to hurry things along. They will be hoping to press her in particular on the allegations that first caused the influence-peddling scandal to erupt, of bribery relating to Choi Soon-sil, a former confidante.