Byeon Yang-kyoon, a former budget and planning minister and Roh’s ex-top policy planner, enters the Seoul Western District Prosecutors Office building in Seoul Wednesday to be questioned over the allegation that he had exercised influencepeddling to support Shin Jeong-ah, a former assistant professor at Dongguk University. / Korea Times Photo by Hong In-kie

By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter

The prosecution summoned former presidential policy planner Byeon Yang-kyoon for the second time Wednesday after questioning him for the first time last Sunday.

The summons came after a local court rejected the prosecution's request to issue an arrest warrant for former assistant professor Shin Jeong-ah, Byeon's alleged long-time romantic partner.

Byeon is suspected of having abused his power to get Shin employed as an assistant professor at Dongguk University and as a director for the 2008 Gwangju Biennale, and to help the university receive a huge amount of government subsidies in exchange for her employment.

Prosecutors questioned the former budget and planning minister over the allegation that he exercised influence to financially support the Heungdeok Buddhist Temple in Ulju county in Ulsan, of which the head monk is Yeongbae, chief of Dongguk University's board of directors.

The monk allegedly protected Shin when other professors of the school questioned her academic credentials before hiring her in 2005.

In early May, the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs asked Ulju county office if the ministry could provide a government subsidy to Heungdeok Temple, according to county office workers.

But the office could not find the legal grounds to support the individually run temple. The ministry then told the office to find other projects the county needed to promote, and the office applied for a subsidy to rebuild a bridge nearby the temple. One billion won in state funds was quickly allocated to the project.

The ministry said it did not know that the bridge was near the temple.

The prosecution raided Yeongbae's home, office, and the temple.

According to prosecutors, Shin said during questioning that she had spoken with Byeon on the phone on July 16 right before departing for New York. Shin said that she told Byeon she would go to the U.S. and solve the diploma suspicion, but Byeon tried to dissuade her, recommending she stay and consult with law firms.

She denied have called him while staying in the U.S.

The prosecution is looking into whether Byeon helped her flee to New York to try to cover up the case.

A prosecutor said that Byeon is denying all allegations against him and that he is likely to destroy evidence. He said prosecutors would decide whether to seek an arrest warrant for him after further questioning of Shin.

The prosecution will also investigate why Dongguk University did not file a complaint against Shin immediately after learning of her forged degrees. The school said on July 11 that it confirmed the bogus degrees, but filed the complaints 12 days later, giving Shin time to flee to New York.

In the meantime, Shin admitted that her Yale diploma was a fake, her lawyer Park Jong-rok said. ``She acknowledged it was her fault to totally rely on a tutor in writing and submitting the thesis,'' he said.

But she denied the allegation that she embezzled funds from Sungkok Art Museum where she worked as a curator.

Shin is now resting at Kangdong Catholic Hospital, eastern Seoul, after being freed by the prosecution.

A doctor said Shin was dehydrated as she had not eaten properly due to anxiety, saying she may not be able to undergo questioning for a while.

Upon arriving at the hospital late Tuesday night, she asked hospital staff to get her some snacks, shampoo, a toothbrush and toothpaste, indicating she may be hospitalized for a while.

According to Park, Shin said she would rather be in jail than become a public target of hatred. Park also said that Shin is not in contact with Byeon or his lawyer at all.

rahnita@koreatimes.co.kr