Keangnam employees to be questioned this week

By Kim Se-jeong

The prosecution will summon seven Keangnam Enterprises workers for questioning this week as part of a widening investigation into bribery allegations surrounding the company’s late former Chairman Sung Woan-jong.

The seven include confidants who managed a slush fund at the behest of Sung for the purpose of bribing politicians.

Sung listed eight politicians, including South Gyeongsang Province Governor Hong Joon-pyo and Prime Minister Lee Wan-koo in a bribery list he wrote before taking his own life on April 9.

The late former chairman’s secretary surnamed Lee, 43, is one of the seven people.

Lee joined Keangnam in early 2000 and became Sung’s secretary in 2012. When Sung became a lawmaker, Lee worked as his chief assistant. After Sung was stripped of his parliamentary position in 2012 for violating election law, Lee stayed with Sung as a personal secretary. He also accompanied Sung on April 3 at the prosecution’s office when Sung was summoned.

Investigators already met with Lee last week and obtained some documents about the alleged bribery scheme. Speculation is rife that the documents contained the list of politicians who received money from Sung.

Park Jun-ho, the chairman of Onyang Hot Spring Hotel in Seonsan, South Chungcheong Province, a Keangnam affiliate, will also be questioned.

A former Keangnam employee, Park has long been the company’s spokesman and coordinated Sung’s meetings with politicians and businesspeople. After Sung’s death, Park took charge of the funeral arrangements.

Park worked at the National Assembly before joining Keangnam in 2003 and made his way into the top management at the company. The prosecution suspects that Park would know more in detail about the list of bribery recipients.

Two vice presidents of the company in charge of the company’s finance will also be questioned.

Vice President Han, 50, is known to be aware of 3.2 billion won which disappeared from the company’s account books. Han was questioned twice before by the prosecution, then for the corruption scandal, and he testified against Sung.

Vice President Yoon, 52, was chosen because he allegedly delivered 100 million won ($92,000) to governor Hong in June 2011 when Hong was running a campaign to become leader of the Grand National Party, the predecessor of the Saenuri Party.

Sung’s driver, who discovered the list on the day Sung killed himself, will also be summoned.