Probe into ex-president and DAS begins

By Jung Min-ho

Joo Jin-woo

After years of speculation about its ownership, prosecutors began a reinvestigation into DAS, a car parts maker many suspect of de facto belonging to former President Lee Myung-bak.

According to the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office, Tuesday, it created a team of 10 investigators to look into suspicions surrounding the firm, including whether Lee abused his power to protect its funds.

Given that Lee is at the center of the suspicions, he may well be questioned soon.

DAS is officially owned by Lee’s eldest brother, Lee Sang-eun, but many believe he is nothing but a “cover” for the real owner ― the former president.

On the first day, investigators questioned Joo Jin-woo, a journalist who has been investigating the suspicions.

“The prosecution asked me to provide information about the former president,” Joo said as he entered the prosecutors’ office. “My documents and hard drives show what Cheong Wa Dae did to recover DAS’s 14 billion won ($13 million) and the people who were involved in it.”

“I heard Lee Myung-bak is having a meeting with a justice minister, high-ranking prosecutors and many others about how to respond. It’s time for an apology, not a meeting.”

DAS invested 19 billion won in the establishment of investment consulting firm BBK in 1999. But BBK, now defunct, caused 5,500 investors to lose about 100 billion won through stock rigging two years later.

While the victims were engaged in a lawsuit against BBK, DAS alone received 14 billion won in damages from its president Kim Kyung-joon through his personal Swiss bank account.

Many accused Lee Myung-bak of abusing his power to get the money back, claiming that he did so because he owns DAS.

Kim Kyung-joon later claimed that he was pressured by Lee Myung-bak to send the money to DAS.

Suspicions about the firm’s ownership started to emerge in 2007 when Lee was a presidential candidate. The next year, Jung Ho-yeong was appointed as the special prosecutor to look into the case but the investigation ended fruitlessly. Jung was later accused of covering up DAS’ illegalities, including its slush fund of 12 billion won.

Earlier this month, the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy and the Lawyers for a Democratic Society filed a complaint against the Lee brothers and Jung with the prosecution, claiming that Jung deliberately did not try hard enough to investigate DAS’ illegal activities and try to find out who owns it.