Prosecution to Question Wife of Ex-Yonsei Head
By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter
The prosecution launched an investigation Tuesday into an allegation that the wife of Yonsei University President Jung Chang-young was involved in a bribery scandal.
Earlier in the day, Jung resigned from his post, taking responsibility for the allegation.
Chung's wife, Choi Yun-hee, allegedly received 200 million won from a woman in return for helping the woman's daughter get into the prestigious school through a school transfer but she returned the money to the mother after the girl failed to get into the university.
The prosecution plans to summon Choi soon for questioning and even Jung, if required, as to whether he knew his wife took the money in exchange for attempting to arrange the girl's admission.
``Although she returned the money, she kept it for about three months, which suggests that there is the possibility she took it as a bribe, something different to what Jung has argued,'' a prosecutor said.
As the prosecution also obtained data and records regarding the school's transfer procedures, the scandal is expected to develop into an investigation of possible corruption in the private university's transfer admissions.
When the allegation was first raised by local news media, Jung denied it, saying it had nothing to do with admissions irregularities.
He admitted that his wife once borrowed 200 million won from an acquaintance as they needed money after their son's business hit financial trouble, but she returned it after learning it was related to the transfer request.
However, in an interview with a local newspaper, the woman who gave the money to Choi claimed that she prepared the money and put it into five different bank accounts under her name and let Choi withdraw the money. She said she met Choi through a neighbor living in the same apartment complex.