By Lee Hyo-sik
Investigators are looking into how and why Jeong Chang-soo, former vice minister for land, transport and maritime affairs, withdrew nearly 200 million won ($180,000) in deposits from Busan Mutual Savings Banks and Daejon Savings Banks just before their suspension.
Jeong, who resigned from his post on May 16, is suspected of having been tipped off in advance that the two troubled savings banks would be ordered to suspend their business, officials from the Supreme Public Prosecutors’ Office said Thursday.
But Jeong dismissed the allegation, saying he decided to take out deposits made in his name and those of his family members out of concerns that the banks might go bankrupt. He insisted he had no prior knowledge of the two troubled banks being slapped with business suspension by the financial regulators.
A prosecution official said investigators will probe how and why he withdrew deposits before their maturity. ``Jeong already admitted that he took out deposits prior to the business suspension of the two savings banks,’’ the official said.