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| Yeo Hwan-seop, the head of a special team of prosecutors, announces the results of an investigation into bribery allegations involving former Vice Justice Minister Kim Hak-ui, at the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office, Tuesday. Yonhap |
By Kim Hyun-bin
A special team of prosecutors indicted former Vice Justice Minister Kim Hak-ui, Tuesday, on charges of receiving 170 million won ($143,700) and sexual favors in bribes from a construction contractor, six years after the case was first made public.
However, they failed to confirm the allegation that Kim raped a woman, surnamed Lee, and that presidential officials at the time interfered with the investigation.
The former vice minister is accused of receiving bribes worth 170 million won, including 31 million won in cash, from a construction contractor named Yoon Jung-cheon between January 2007 and February 2008.
Yoon allegedly also arranged sex parties for Kim and other ranking officials at his holiday home in Wonju, Gangwon Province, along with prostitutes.
According to the team, Kim pressured Yoon to forgive a 100 million won debt owed to the latter by Lee. Lee allegedly had sex with Kim, but then said she would make this public as a rape allegation unless the debt was erased. Yoon allegedly did so in return for Kim's promise to grant him favors in future legal issues.
The team said Kim received escort services provided by Yoon on multiple occasions between 2006 and 2007, recognizing this as bribery.
He was also charged with accepting 39.5 million won from another business man surnamed Choi between August 2003 and May 2011.
Yoon was charged with offering the kickbacks, and also indicted for raping Lee in November 2007 and forcing her to provide sex to influential figures including Kim.
The sexual service allegations emerged in 2013 when Kim was tapped for the vice minister post, after a video clip was leaked showing a group of men with one perceived to be Kim at a sex party with around 30 women in a remote villa owned by Yoon.
He was embroiled in investigations by the police and the prosecution in 2013 and 2014, but was cleared due to a "lack of evidence." This has led to suspicions that Cheong Wa Dae supported Kim and attempted to cover up the case by interfering with the investigations.
The special prosecution team looked into the allegations that Kwak Sang-do, a former presidential secretary for civil affairs and now a lawmaker of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, abused his power to cover up the Kim scandal.
However, Kwak was cleared of the suspicion due to a lack of evidence.
The team also examined allegations that former Prosecutor General Han Sang-dae and former chief of the Daegu High Prosecutors' Office Yoon Gap-geun may have also been bribed by Yoon. But it said it could not find any evidence to launch a formal investigation.
