Fine collection bills on ex-president passed

By Jun Ji-hye

Chun Doo-hwan Former President

The National Assembly approved on Thursday revisions to a law to enable the collection of unpaid fines owed by former military dictator, Chun Doo-hwan, and other public officials.

“Revisions to the Property Forfeiture Law, which pertains to crimes committed by public officials, will expand the statute of limitations on fines to 10 years from the current three,” said an Assembly official.

Authorities will be also able to collect fines from family members of the people concerned as well as third parties if it is established that they were aware that property in their possession was unlawfully obtained when they acquired it, according to the official.

The revisions were passed 228 to 1, with 4 abstentions, among a total of 233 lawmakers in attendance.

The former president has yet to pay 167 billion won ($150 million) of a total 221 billion won fine that the Seoul High Court ordered him to pay in 1996 for leading an insurrection and accepting bribes while he was in office. This sentence was finalized in the Supreme Court in 1997.

Before the revisions, the legal expiration date for Chun’s fine was Oct. 11. It now extends to 2020 following the Assembly approval.

Chun has so far made an excuse for not paying unpaid fines claiming that all his total wealth in monetary terms is just 270,000 won even though he maintains a luxurious lifestyle.

In addition, it was recently revealed that his eldest son, Chun Jae-kook, owns a paper company in the British Virgin Islands, an offshore tax haven.