Ex-Roh aide held on new graft charge 

 

 

 Prosecutors yesterday detained one of Roh Moo-hyun's key associates as they prepare to summon the former president, possibly late this week, to investigate his alleged corruption.

 

They found Chung Sang-moon, Roh's friend and former secretary, keeps hundreds of millions of won in secret bank accounts. They suspect he may have received the money illicitly from businesses.

 

Chung is widely believed to be a middleman between Park Yeon-cha, a businessman indicted for bribery, and Roh and his wife Kwon Yang-suk.

 

This is the second time Chung has been in custody. Prosecutors sought an arrest warrant for him April 9. He took about 1.3 billion won from Park between 2006 and 2007. Prosecutors had claimed that he pocketed 300 million won and delivered the remainder to the president.

 

A court refused to issue the warrant after the former first couple said Chung delivered all the money to Kwon.

 

Prosecutors recently found that the 300 million won remains in one of the borrowed-name accounts whose real owner is Chung.

 

Roh and his wife lied to block the arrest of Chung, who is crucial to the scandal, prosecutors suspect.

 

"In a foreign country, such a falsification would be punished for obstructing prosecution," Hong Man-pyo, senior prosecutor in charge at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, told reporters.

 

Prosecutors are looking into whether the remainder in his accounts was his or was meant to go to Roh. Prosecutors plan to seek an arrest warrant against Chung today.

 

Prosecutors are struggling to find evidence that the former president received bribes.

 

They claim Chung relayed $1 million and 300 million won from Park to Roh. Roh said his wife received it without his knowledge.

 

Prosecutors are gearing up to summon Roh as early as this weekend, sources said.

 

Observers say the prosecution may try to avoid questioning Roh just before the April 29 by-elections in order not to affect the outcome. The main opposition Democratic Party has argued that the inquiry was politically motivated.

 

Investigators have also been probing the $6 million Park gave to one of Roh's in-laws and wife, which they suspect may have been channeled to Roh.

 

Roh has claimed through postings on his internet homepage that he was not aware of the money transfer during his presidency. Critics have denounced the claim as an attempt to evade bribery charges subject to a sentence of 10 years or more.

 

Roh earlier stated that his wife Kwon borrowed $1 million from Park through his former secretary Chung in June 2007. Yeon Cheol-ho, the husband of Roh's niece, received $5 million from Park in February last year, just days before Roh left office.

 

Prosecutors have tentatively concluded that the $5 million Yeon received from Park has actually been managed by Roh's son Geon-ho. They found that $3 million of the money was forwarded to a firm where Geon-ho is listed as a major shareholder.

 

Some of the $3 million was then invested into a firm where Geon-ho held a stake and into another owned by the brother of Roh's wife.

 

Prosecutors have been also probing the three-way meeting in which Changshin Textile chairman Kang Keum-won, another key sponsor of Roh, Park and Chung met in August 2007 to discuss the establishment of a foundation to help Roh after his presidential term expired.

 

Kang told media that Park during the meeting suggested using his slush funds worth $5 million in Hong Kong, which was believed to be forwarded to Yeon later.

 

Other than bribery allegations, Roh is also facing questioning in connection with two accusations. In July last year, a conservative civic group accused him of leaking state presidential records. Roh had made available his presidential documents at his residence in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province.

 

In December last year, a family of the late Nam Sang-guk, former president of Daewoo Construction, filed a defamation suit against Roh.

 

Nam threw himself into the Han River in March 2004 while being investigated for bribery. His suicide came immediately after Roh rebuked Nam for having attempted to bribe his brother during a news conference.

 

Source: Korea Herald