Lawyer to Challenge Lee Myung-bak
By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
The family and lawyer of Kim Kyung-joon, who claimed a leading presidential candidate was involved in a financial scam he perpetrated, plan to hold a press conference today, saying they cannot accept the result of the prosecution's investigation.
They said the investigation, which was concluded in favor of Grand National Party nominee Lee Myung-bak, was unfair.
Kim's lawyer Oh Jae-won said Wednesday that he would hold a media conference at 11 a.m. to refute the result.
Prosecutors concluded that Kim alone engaged in stock manipulation, embezzled corporate funds and forged documents while running BBK and Optional Ventures Korea, and cleared Lee of allegations that he took part in the fraud as the actual owner of BBK.
``The prosecution reached a different conclusion from that which Kim claimed. I'll tell more about Kim's claims and answer reporters' questions,'' Oh said.
Kim Kyung-joon's sister Erica Kim and his wife Lee Bo-ra will hold a briefing in Los Angeles early this morning.
Right after the prosecution's announcement, Erica Kim told Yonhap, ``I expected it. They showed again that all men are not equal under the law,'' adding she will disclose evidence of Lee's involvement.
The family previously held a briefing and disclosed some documents, which failed to back up Kim's claim.
``Prosecutors said my brother testified he owned all BBK shares, but as far as I know, he did not make such testimony until his handwritten note was made public Tuesday. I think the disclosure influenced the probe result announcement,'' she said.
On Tuesday, a weekly magazine disclosed a note that was secretly handed over to his mother on Dec. 2 when she met him in jail. According to the note, the prosecution tried to persuade him to cover up Lee's offenses, promising him a shorter jail term in return.
The prosecution denied this, saying all interrogations were videotaped. A prosecutor said that after the magazine report, they asked Kim whether prosecutors actually made such proposal, and that Kim said no. ``On the contrary, Kim first asked us whether we could release him if he admitted the charges, and we told him that Korea does not have a plea bargaining system,'' he said.