By Lee Hyo-sik
After suffering a series of setbacks in its quest to put former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook behind bars in 2010, the prosecution has begun a new offensive against the key aide to the late the former President Roh Moo-hyun to turn the ongoing legal battle to its favor.
Prosecutors are now trying to prove that the former premier accepted 970 million won in illegal political funds in March 2007 from Han Man-ho, the president of the now-bankrupt Hansin Construction in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, who was jailed for embezzlement and other irregularities after his company went under.
It is their second attempt to indict the ex-premier. In April last year, the Seoul Central District Court cleared Han of charges that she had received $50,000 from Kwak Young-wook, the former CEO of Korea Express, in December 2006 at a luncheon at her office in exchange for helping him gain a top post at a state-run company.
Following the verdict, investigators brought new charges against Han Myeong-sook, despite strong criticism from opposition parties and civic groups.
In July, they indicted her without physical detention, due to promises of a strong backlash from the opposition parties if they sought to detain her forcefully. The former prime minister has denied the allegations.
Everything had seemed to be in place for the prosecution to wage a new battle against the ex-premier until its key witness, the jailed businessman, changed his testimony in court. During the prosecution interrogations, Han said he gave 900 million won to a close aide of the ex-premier, identified only by her surname Kim.
But in court, former CEO Han testified that he never gave money to either the former prime minister or her associates, dealing a severe blow to the prosecution.
To turn the tide in their favor, investigators presented new evidence during a court hearing on Tuesday to prove that the jailed CEO lied under oath.
They turned in a CD that had a conversation on it between Han and his mother at a detention center in July last year, as well as copies of the CEO’s letters to acquaintances.
According to the prosecution, Han told his mother that those who took over his company treated him badly, adding he was discontent with the way he was treated by investigators.
Han reportedly said he could not help but make statements against the prosecution in court for him to survive. The prosecution also said he told his fellow inmates at the detention center that he would reverse his testimony in court.
The businessman previously told investigators on 70 occasions that he had provided a total of 970 million won in political funds to the former premier.
Yet in a court hearing on Dec. 20, Han changed his statements against the ex-premier, insisting prosecutors coerced him to give false testimony against her. He has maintained this position since then.
However, the prosecution argues that Han changed his testimony because investigators refused to accept his demands that law enforcement authorities help him get his company back in return for providing damaging statements against the former prime minister.
“After Han realized that he would not be able to get any help from the investigators, he changed his position. We will thoroughly probe Han and individuals that interacted with him to prove that the businessman lied under oath. We plan to summon six individuals as witnesses in the next hearing,” a prosecution official said.
In response, Han said in Tuesday’s hearing that prosecutors fabricated key evidence, including the time and the place of the money exchange, to support his false testimony against the former premier.
The hearing began Tuesday afternoon and lasted into the early hours of Wednesday because both sides were engaged in a war of words.
“In the first prosecution questioning, I just said I gave her 900 million won. The following day, investigators made up all the supporting evidence in an hour. Everything I told the prosecution is a lie,” Han said. The next court hearing will be held on Jan. 11.