MBC PD Indicted for Bribery
By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
A chief program director of MBC was indicted Friday on charges of receiving bribes from entertainment companies in exchange for preferential treatment of their entertainers.
Koh Jae-hyeong, producer of the hit show ``Sunday, Sunday Night,'' allegedly took some 30 million won in cash between 2005 and 2006 from Fantom Entertainment and other agencies. In return, Koh had their entertainers appear on his show.
In April 2005, he also purchased shares of Fantom at 1,000 won per share, lower than the market price of 1,400 won, and sold them three months later, earning 123 million won in profit, according to the prosecution. When purchasing the stocks, Koh had the head of another entertainment firm pay.
In August of the same year, Koh allegedly bought stocks of Good Entertainment under his sister's name after obtaining inside information that the company would have a backdoor listing.
The director is also suspected of having regularly gambled with entertainment firm managers at bars or hotels in Seoul and casinos in Macau since 2006. Prosecutors suspect he received more than the 30 million won under the pretext of gambling.
In part of the investigation into the lobbying scandal, prosecutors earlier arrested a KBS program director, Lee Yong-woo, for taking 200 million won from entertainment firms. They will also seek an arrest warrant for a former head of the broadcaster's entertainment department, Park Hae-seon, for receiving kickbacks in exchange for giving year-end music awards to specific singers.