Ex-President Secretary to Be Summoned
By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
A former presidential secretary will be summoned this week for questioning over a bribery scandal involving a Busan-based developer.
The Busan District Prosecutors' Office said Monday that it will question Chung Yoon-jae, a former protocol secretary for President Roh Moo-hyun, and other political, government, and financial industry figures who allegedly helped businessman Kim Sang-jin obtain huge loans and make contracts for large-scale construction projects.
Kim, the head of Hanlim Construction, was arrested last Friday on charges of fraud as he allegedly collected huge investments after fabricating the firm's documents.
The developer earlier told investigators that he delivered 20 million won to Chung as ``political funding'' in late 2003. Chung said it was a legal political contribution, which he reported to the authorities.
The connection between Chung and Kim was disclosed last month when Chung Sang-gon, former Busan Regional Tax Office chief, was arrested for receiving a 100 million won bribe from Kim. The former presidential secretary arranged a meeting between the two at a restaurant in August last year where the bribe was offered.
Before his arrest, Kim told a local broadcaster that he gave money to other political figures besides the former secretary, and the prosecution is investigating who they are and why Kim gave them money.
Analysts note that the scandal is getting bigger as evidence is being found indicating Kim ``lobbied'' people in various fields. The prosecution is investigating five officials at a police station in Yeonje, Busan, where one of the Kim's construction projects is ongoing, as they had dinner with Kim in May.
The police officials claimed there was no influence peddling or bribery between them and Kim. But the prosecution suspects Kim might have sought favors to settle a case of violence resulting from a fraudulent contract he signed with another company.
The prosecution also found that Kim offered 100 million won to the chief of the Yeonje Ward Office in June, asking for a business favor, but the chief returned the money the next day.
The prosecution plans to investigate more officials at ward offices and Busan city government to whom Kim is suspected of giving kickbacks.
It will also question employees from Kibo Technology Fund and the Korea Veterans' Association which invested huge sums of money in Kim's firm despite its low credit rating, and officials from Kookmin and Woori banks, which gave favorable loans to Hanlim.