By Jun Ji-hye
Opposition lawmakers as well as media have already begun their own investigations to see if outgoing U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is suitable as a presidential candidate.
Ban, who will finish his term of office at the international organization by the end of the year, will return home on Jan. 15, according to his aides. He is expected to engage in various political activities right away as a leading conservative presidential candidate.
The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) said Monday that it will set up a task force soon to verify Ban's qualifications.
The move came after the weekly Sisa Journal magazine reported allegations, Saturday, that Ban received $230,000 in bribes from Park Yeon-cha, an entrepreneur who was at the center of a bribery scandal involving the late President Roh Moo-hyun and his aides.
Ban and his aides reacted strongly to the allegations, saying "maligning" forces are attempting to tar him on purpose, and that they are considering taking legal action.
But opposition lawmakers say Ban has lived as a bureaucrat and largely in diplomatic circles, meaning that his qualifications as a politician have never been scrutinized. They noted that Ban did not undergo a National Assembly confirmation hearing when he was appointed as foreign minister in 2004, as there was no hearing system for the Cabinet nominees.
"Ban needs a strict verification process," said Rep. Ki Dong-min of the DPK. "The prosecution should disclose its investigation records into the Park Yeon-cha bribery case."
The comment referred to a fresh allegation raised by the local daily JoongAng Ilbo, Monday, that Park testified he gave money to Ban during the prosecution's questioning in March 2009. But the prosecutors did not place such testimony on the record, the daily said.
Ban's aides again denied the allegation, but there are other suspicions circulating about the career diplomat.
The Sisa Journal reported, quoting unidentified Korean residents living in New York, that Ban's son received preferential treatment when getting a job at SK Telecom's New York office. The magazine also said employees of the office have been mobilized to help the son's life there, including booking games on a luxurious golf course for him.
The verification process against Ban is expected to become even more intense after he returns home as suspicion is still abounding on his ties to Sung Woan-jong, who was at the center of a major lobbying scandal last year.
Sung, the former chairman of Keangnam Enterprises, a construction firm, committed suicide last year after leaving a note listing names of politicians close to the impeached President Park Geun-hye he paid large amounts to.
Both Ban and Sung hail from Chungcheong Province and are known to have had a close relationship. According to a Kyunghyang Shinmun interview conducted right before Sung's death, he professed a special connection with Ban.
Ban's nephew was also tried for a scam using his uncle's name and was ordered by a court in October to pay damages of $590,000 to Keangnam Enterprises on charges of fabricating documents that allegedly expressed the Qatari government's intention to buy a high-rise building belonging to the firm.
The nephew, who was an executive of a U.S. real estate investment company in 2014, was accused of receiving the money from Keangnam in exchange for arranging the sale of the skyscraper in Vietnam to the Qatari government. In the process, he reportedly told Keangnam that he could use the influence of his uncle to directly contact the Qatari emir.
Meanwhile, one of Ban's aides told reporters that Ban is willing to hold an informal discussion with the DPK's Moon Jae-in, who is also a leading presidential hopeful representing the opposition camp. The aide said such a discussion can tell which of the two are better, saying, "It will not take that long."
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| Ban Ki-moon |
Ban, who will finish his term of office at the international organization by the end of the year, will return home on Jan. 15, according to his aides. He is expected to engage in various political activities right away as a leading conservative presidential candidate.
The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) said Monday that it will set up a task force soon to verify Ban's qualifications.
The move came after the weekly Sisa Journal magazine reported allegations, Saturday, that Ban received $230,000 in bribes from Park Yeon-cha, an entrepreneur who was at the center of a bribery scandal involving the late President Roh Moo-hyun and his aides.
Ban and his aides reacted strongly to the allegations, saying "maligning" forces are attempting to tar him on purpose, and that they are considering taking legal action.
But opposition lawmakers say Ban has lived as a bureaucrat and largely in diplomatic circles, meaning that his qualifications as a politician have never been scrutinized. They noted that Ban did not undergo a National Assembly confirmation hearing when he was appointed as foreign minister in 2004, as there was no hearing system for the Cabinet nominees.
"Ban needs a strict verification process," said Rep. Ki Dong-min of the DPK. "The prosecution should disclose its investigation records into the Park Yeon-cha bribery case."
The comment referred to a fresh allegation raised by the local daily JoongAng Ilbo, Monday, that Park testified he gave money to Ban during the prosecution's questioning in March 2009. But the prosecutors did not place such testimony on the record, the daily said.
Ban's aides again denied the allegation, but there are other suspicions circulating about the career diplomat.
The Sisa Journal reported, quoting unidentified Korean residents living in New York, that Ban's son received preferential treatment when getting a job at SK Telecom's New York office. The magazine also said employees of the office have been mobilized to help the son's life there, including booking games on a luxurious golf course for him.
The verification process against Ban is expected to become even more intense after he returns home as suspicion is still abounding on his ties to Sung Woan-jong, who was at the center of a major lobbying scandal last year.
Sung, the former chairman of Keangnam Enterprises, a construction firm, committed suicide last year after leaving a note listing names of politicians close to the impeached President Park Geun-hye he paid large amounts to.
Both Ban and Sung hail from Chungcheong Province and are known to have had a close relationship. According to a Kyunghyang Shinmun interview conducted right before Sung's death, he professed a special connection with Ban.
Ban's nephew was also tried for a scam using his uncle's name and was ordered by a court in October to pay damages of $590,000 to Keangnam Enterprises on charges of fabricating documents that allegedly expressed the Qatari government's intention to buy a high-rise building belonging to the firm.
The nephew, who was an executive of a U.S. real estate investment company in 2014, was accused of receiving the money from Keangnam in exchange for arranging the sale of the skyscraper in Vietnam to the Qatari government. In the process, he reportedly told Keangnam that he could use the influence of his uncle to directly contact the Qatari emir.
Meanwhile, one of Ban's aides told reporters that Ban is willing to hold an informal discussion with the DPK's Moon Jae-in, who is also a leading presidential hopeful representing the opposition camp. The aide said such a discussion can tell which of the two are better, saying, "It will not take that long."
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