State seal maker suspected of lobbying powerful people with gold

By Lee Hyo-sik

The Ministry of Public Administration and Security said Thursday that it will look into whether a person responsible for manufacturing the official state seal in 2007 made stamps out of leftover gold and gave them as gifts to governing party lawmakers and senior government officials during the previous Roh Moo-hyun administration.

The ministry said a production team led by Min Hong-gyu manufactured the official state seal in 2007, the fourth since the foundation of the Republic of Korea in 1948. Min is a famous sealmaker who has dedicated his career to replicating the official state seals, “oksae,” of the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910).

The team was given 3 kilograms of gold, along with copper, zinc and other metals. Out of 3 kilograms of gold, the ministry said 2.053 kilograms were used in making the seal, with around 5 percent of the precious metal lost in the manufacturing process. About 800 to 900 grams of gold were estimated to be left over, worth some 40 million won at market prices.

There has been growing speculation about the whereabouts of the remaining gold. A key member of the official seal production team recently claimed that Min took the unused gold, made stamps out of it and gave them to ruling party lawmakers and government officials.

A person, identified only by his surname Lee, said he was ordered by Min to make a total of 35 14-karat gold seals in late 2007, adding 14 of them were given to lawmakers and other influential figures at the time. Lee also said Min sold some at 15 to 25 million won each, much higher than similar gold-plated stamps priced at around 2 million won.

Among recipients, a prominent lawmaker of the then-ruling Uri Party, indentified by his last name Chung, received the 14-karat stamp from Min. Another governing party lawmaker, a Lee, was given a seal along with three to four senior officials at the Ministry of Public Administration and Security.

Rep. Chung admitted that he received the seal from Min but said he thought it was made out of brass, not gold, while Rep. Lee flatly denied the transaction.

To cope with the growing controversy, Min visited the ministry Wednesday to tell his side of the story. “Some have raised suspicions that I stole left-over gold to make stamps and gave them to those in power as gifts. But it is not true,” Min said.

He said the production team purchased 3 kilograms of gold with the money provided by the government in 2007. “We had to run five trials in order to successfully create the official state seal. In the process, I provided 2 kilograms of my own gold,” Min said, adding he took the remaining gold back and used it all for a ritual ceremony designed to mark the creation of the seal.

But despite his clarification, a ministry official said it will question those involved in the state seal production, adding that if any irregularities are discovered, it will refer the case to the law enforcement authorities.

'금 도장 고위층에 뇌물로 돌렸다'

경찰이 제4대 국새 제작 과정에서 불거진 의혹에 대해 수사에 착수한다.

행정안전부는 19일 국새 제작단이 국새를 만들고 남은 금을 전용하고 금 도장을 만들어 공직자들에게 제공했다는 의혹을 규명하고자 경찰에 수사를 의뢰할 예정이라고 밝혔다.

국새가 당초 알려진 전통식이 아닌 현대식으로 만들어졌고 국새를 제조하고 남은 금 800-900g (4,000만원 상당)을 제작단장인 민홍규씨가 개인적으로 챙겼다는 의혹이 제기됐다.

민씨가 남은 금으로 도장을 만들어 노무현 정권 공직자들에게 돌렸다는 내부 관계자 증언도 나와 국새 제작과 관련한 의혹은 민씨의 부인에도 불구하고 더욱 증폭되고 있다.

이와 함께 행안부는 국새 제작 준비과정부터 최종 단계까지 적절한 관리 감독이 이뤄졌는지 여부에 대해 자체 감사를 벌일 예정이다.