By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
A former chief lawyer of Samsung Group submitted Wednesday to the special investigation team a list of 30 Samsung executives whom he alleges played key roles in bribing public officials, according to his lawyer.
The whistleblower, Kim Yong-chul, presented himself to the independent counsel, saying he brought documentary evidence for the conglomerate's lobby allegation.
Kim's lawyer said the list includes not only officials at Samsung's strategic planning office, which is believed to have led the group's alleged slush fund creation and bribery, but also executives of some Samsung affiliates.
``Each of them assumed some role in providing bribes to politicians, tax officials and more. It will help investigators trace the bribery routes,'' the lawyer said.
The submission of the list came after a priests' group supporting Kim made public the names of three people allegedly involved in the bribery including Cheong Wa Dae secretary Lee Jong-chan and National Intelligence Service director-nominee Kim Sung-ho, who allegedly received bribes from Samsung regularly, and Hwang Yougn-key, former chairman of Woori Bank and former president of Samsung Securities, who helped the group open accounts under false names and keep slush funds in them.
Entering the counsel's office, Kim told reporters, ``The core of the case is not the bribery. Opening accounts under false names would not have been possible if the tax office or financial regulators had done their jobs properly. It is a systematic problem. If the probe is not conducted properly, the nation will become more insensitive to large-scale corruption.''