Ex-President Wants Early Summons
By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
Former President Roh Moo-hyun has asked prosecutors to summon him for questioning as soon as possible to conclude their investigation into his alleged involvement in a bribery scandal.
Moon Jae-in, Roh's former secretary and his lawyer, said Friday that the ex-head of state is becoming exhausted from the prolonged probe. ``Roh and his wife have not been able to leave their home for 20 days due to the intensive media coverage. The prosecution has not specified the date of the summons but rather keeps delaying it, exhausting them,'' Roh's lawyer said.
He said Roh would send answers to the prosecution's written questions by the weekend. The former President was asked to clarify allegations that he received at least $6 million from Taekwang CEO Park Yeon-cha..
Prosecutors also allege that Roh's elder brother Geon-pyeong attempted to seek his influence in the appointment of the nation's tax agency head.
The elder Roh allegedly told prosecutors that he visited the former head of state at Cheong Wa Dae during his presidency and asked him to appoint a specific figure as the commissioner of the National Tax Service (NTS).
Prosecutors disclosed the testimony Friday during the opening of the trial of Park Jeong-gyu, Roh's former secretary, who was arrested for taking bribes from the scandal-ridden CEO of Taekwang.
The senior Roh allegedly asked his younger brother to promote Park's in-law, Kim Jung-bok, to the top tax post, at the Taekwang CEO's request. Kim was then head of the Jungbu Regional Tax Office.
The influence-seeking failed, and Kim was instead appointed vice minister at the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs in June 2005.
``When Park Jeong-gyu, the former secretary for Roh, took the bribe from the Taekwang chief, it was rumored that Cheong Wa Dae was considering appointing Kim. But Park denies the rumor, so we need testimony from Roh Geon-pyeong about what exactly happened,'' prosecutors said, asking the court to call the elder Roh as a witness.
The former presidential secretary was arrested on charges of taking 100 million won in department store gift vouchers from the Taekwang head at a Seoul hotel in December 2004. The prosecution suspects Park Yeon-cha gave him the vouchers to seek his influence for Kim's promotion.
During the hearing, the former secretary admitted to accepting the vouchers but claimed, ``I was quite drunk at the time and intended to return them later, but my wife used them.''
The court accepted the prosecution's request and will have Roh Geon-pyeong stand as a witness at the next hearing on May 13.
The influence-peddling allegation is expected to deal another blow to the reputation of the former President, who took the office with a pledge of ``clean politics.''
In the meantime, Sejoong Namo Tour Chairman Chun Shin-il, a long-time confidant of President Lee Myung-bak, denied the allegation that he took bribes from the Taekwang chief CEO in exchange for stopping a tax audit on the company. Chun is the second aide of President Lee to be allegedly involved in the scandal, following former presidential secretary Choo Bu-ghil.
``When I went to the Beijing Olympics last August as the head of the Korea Wrestling Federation, Park, who was vice head, gave me 20 million won in yuan, telling me to use it in giving gift money. I had no reason not to take it, and it did not have any legal implications,'' he said.
He also denied another allegation that he paid three billion won as a special donation to the Grand National Party by proxy for President Lee.