DSME suspected of influencing journalist with luxury trip

Rep. Kim Jin-tae of the Saenuri Party shows photos of a luxury hotel in Rome, Italy, where Song Hee-young, chief editorial writer of Korean daily Chosun Ilbo, allegedly stayed during a tour paid by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering in 2011, at a press briefing in the National Assembly in southern Seoul, Monday. Kim claimed that Song’s luxury tour involving a yacht and a private jet was a lapse of professional ethics. / Yonhap

By Kim Bo-eun

A PR expert’s corruption and lobbying allegations appear to be widening to include journalists.

Rep. Kim Jin-tae of the ruling Saenuri Party said Monday Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME), through PR agency News Communications, provided a trip worth 200 million won to Song Hee-young, chief editorial writer of top local daily the Chosun Ilbo, in 2011, in return for favorable coverage of the troubled shipbuilder.

The revelation comes amid a widening investigation into the lobbying scandal involving the PR agency’s head, Park Soo-hwan, who was arrested last week on charges of receiving illegal business gains from companies in return for lobbying high-profile policymakers.

“I earlier spoke of a prominent journalist’s involvement in the scandal surrounding News Communications President Park," Kim said at a press conference at the National Assembly. “I had no choice but to disclose the journalist’s name because he refuted the allegations.”

Kim said the DSME offered the trip to Europe to Park and Song. The trip, which was ostensibly about covering Greece’s debt crisis, included stops at tourist sites in Venice, Rome, Naples, Sorrento and London, as well as yacht sailing and golfing. Park and Song also took first-class seats. Kim, however, said he could not reveal his sources, and only cited he had been tipped off.

Park and Song were reportedly joined in Europe by DSME officials, including former CEO Nam Sang-tae.

Kim said the group sailed a luxury yacht from Naples to Sorrento, citing daily rental fees of the yacht amount to around 22,000 euros or 33 million won, applying the exchange rate at the time.

“It is questionable whether it was necessary to sail a luxury yacht or play golf to report on Greece’s debt crisis,” said Kim.

Song earlier denied the allegations, citing the “favorable” editorial to DSME in question was published before he went on the trip, but expressed his intention to resign hours after Kim’s press conference.

Kim said there had been consistent favorable editorials of the shipbuilder by Song.

The lawmaker also said Song’s wife attended a vessel naming ceremony for the shipbuilder in 2009, raising suspicions of longer ties between DSME and Song.

Meanwhile, Park was arrested on Friday over fraud. The PR expert is known to have close connections with business and government officials, including Min Yoo-sung, former president of the Korea Development Bank (KDB), the largest shareholder and main creditor of DSME.

DSME paid News Communications 2 billion won in PR fees from 2009 to 2011, which is reportedly far more than what the agency had provided in services, raising suspicions that the fees were actually used in Park’s lobbying to key policymakers for Nam to extend his term as CEO.