Former Presidential Chief of Staff Kim Ki-choon on Wednesday claimed no knowledge of any irregularities in the country’s highest office during a parliamentary hearing on a sweeping scandal that threatens to end Park Geun-hye’s presidency.

Kim, who was the conservative president’s right-hand man for 16 months until February 2015, said he had never met Choi Soon-sil, the now-infamous friend of Park accused of manipulating power from behind the scenes.

“I am ashamed and sorry for not properly assisting the president and for failing to stop the country fall into this situation,” Kim said.

The former presidential aide asserted that he did not know what the president was doing inside the presidential residence on April 16, 2014, when the ferry Sewol sank in country’s southwestern waters. The accident left 295 dead and nine missing, most of them high school students on a school trip.

The related questions specifically referred to the recent set of reports that Park spent about 90 minutes having her hair done during her unexplained hours before appearing in public. Cheong Wa Dae admitted that hair designers visited Park, but claimed the hairdo took just 20 minutes.

Kim was among the 13 witnesses attending the hearing Wednesday, along with Choi’s associates Ko Young-tae and Cha Eun-taek.

But 12 key witnesses including Choi herself did not show up for the occasion, citing poor health and other reasons. The parliamentary investigation committee issued an order to bring in the absent witnesses.

By Jo He-rim (herim@heraldcorp.com)