By Oh Young-jin
Staff Reporter
Former Prime Minister Han Myung-sook may face an additional charge of bribery for receiving an expensive set of golf clubs, prosecutors said Tuesday.
The prosecutors said Kwak Young-wook, former CEO of Korea Express, a logistics company, claimed that he gave a golf club set worth over 10 million won to the former prime minister, who has been indicted for receiving $50,000 from Kwak for helping him get an executive post at a state-affiliated company.
Kwak told the prosecutors that the gift was given soon after Han was appointed as minister of gender equality in 2001. Han later moved to the environment ministry, and in 2006 became the country's first woman prime minister, under the late President Roh Moo-hyun.
The revelation came at a time when the prosecutors were hard pressed to substantiate its charge against Han, who is considering running for Seoul mayor in the June 2 local elections, representing a party created by Roh followers.
At the time, Kwak was quoted as saying, "Now that you are a government minister, you should learn to play."
The prosecutors confirmed Kwak's purchase at a golf shop. Han refused to answer on the subject when confronted by the prosecutors.
Han's lawyers also refused to comment.
The first court hearing for Han is scheduled for Thursday.
According to the prosecution, Han received $50,000 in two separate envelopes at the prime minister's residence on Dec. 20, 2006 from Kwak, who asked her to use her influence to get him appointed as the CEO of Korea Coal Corp. Previously, it had claimed that Kwak asked for a CEO post in a subsidiary of the state-run Korea Electric Power Corp.