By Lee Hyo-sik
Prosecutors raided the union office of KT Linkus, a public phone service provider, Wednesday, on suspicions of it providing illegal political funds to lawmakers.
The Seoul Western District Prosecutors’ Office sent investigators to the union office in Yongsan, confiscating computer hard disks and financial documents, including records of banking transactions.
Union leaders are suspected of giving illicit funds to politicians without obtaining consent from members. Prosecutors launched a probe into the case after receiving complaints from the National Election Commission that the union leadership provided money to several lawmakers in the name of union members who were not aware of the political contribution. The contributions are reportedly worth hundreds of millions of won.
``It is too early to say what we are looking into. The ongoing investigation is not about the creation of a slush fund or illegal lobbying toward politicians. It has nothing to do with KT either,’’ a prosecution official said. Investigators plan to summon union officials for questioning as soon as they complete analyzing the seized materials.
KT Linkus is an operator of public phones across the country, 100 percent owned by KT, Korea’s second largest wireless service provider.