By Lee Hyo-sik
Samsung, Hyundai Motor, SK, Lotte and other conglomerates are on edge over the prosecution’s ongoing investigation into the two controversial foundations set up by Choi Soon-sil, a confidant of President Park Geun-hye.
Family-controlled business groups are worried that they may be the target of the widening probe for having offered tens of billions of won to the scandal-ridden Mir and K-Sports foundations.
The companies have been accused of providing the money to the foundations, which are suspected of having been controlled by Choi, in exchange for undue business favors, a charge that they flatly deny.
Officially, they declined to comment on the matter, citing the sensitivity of its nature. But privately, they argue that they did not know about Choi’s affiliation with the two foundations, saying they gave the money at the request of the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), the lobby group for Korea’s large business groups.
According to the prosecution, Wednesday, FKI Vice Chairman Lee Seung-chul said he was told by former senior presidential secretary for policy coordination Ahn Jong-beom to ask member companies to “make a contribution” to the Mir Foundation and the K-Sports Foundation. Previously, he had said the FKI voluntarily initiated a campaign to collect money for the foundations.
Ahn, who had initially denied any involvement in the controversial fund-raising, has admitted that President Park ordered him to press companies to raise money.
In order to confirm their claims, investigators will likely summon those involved in the fund-raising at 19 business groups, which offered money to the foundations, for questioning. The prosecution already quizzed executives from Lotte Group and SK Group about why they decided to contribute the large sums of money and whether they were aware of Choi’s involvement at the time.
The 19 conglomerates raised a combined 48.6 billion won ($42.2 million) for the Mir Foundation and 28.8 billion won for the K-Sports Foundation. Samsung Group gave a total of 20.4 billion won to the two, followed by Hyundai Motor Group with 12.8 billion won, SK Group with 11.1 billion won, LG Group with 7.8 billion won, POSCO with 4.9 billion won, Lotte Group with 4.5 billion won and GS Group 4.2 billion won.
When contacted by The Korea Times, the companies were extremely cautious about commenting on the issue, expressing concerns over the possibility that they may be subject to the investigation.
An SK Group official refused to comment on the matter, saying that he is not aware of anything. Officials at GS Group and others also echoed the SK official’s view, saying that they will closely monitor the prosecution’s probe.
A POSCO official said the steelmaker decided to give 4.9 billion won at the FKI’s request, thinking that the money would be used to finance a number of culture and sport-related projects.
An official at one of the large business groups, who declined to be named, said the prosecution should not extend its probe into the business circle, saying that companies are also victims in the escalating Choi scandal.
“Businesses raised the funds in the spirit of goodwill, thinking that the money would be used to implement projects to advance the nation’s culture and sports industries,” the official said. “As far as I know, nobody knew Choi was pulling the strings. Many are just hoping that the scandal will not have adverse effects on corporate activities when the economy is struggling to stay afloat.”