Police Cover-up of Multimillion Dollar Robbery

It was recently found that the three burglars, who robbed the mansion of Kim Young-wan last July, got away with Kim`s safes. The police, however, previously announced that they fled without having stolen anything. Kim is currently abroad to avoid being in the spotlight of the ongoing bribery scandal investigation.

In order to prevent negotiations of the stolen securities receipts, Kim filed a lost claim with the court last December, and the police finally arrested the suspects trying to cash them in.

It is suspected that the police covered up the second robbery, in which a considerable amount of money has also gone missing.

Upon the second robbery, private security company employees arrived at the mansion after about five minutes. Prior to their arrival, however, one of the employees dispatched confirmed that police officers were already there, and told him that Kim was robbed of his safes.

"The burglars got away with the safes in the wall of the living room and the bedroom,” he said. “I don`t know whether they broke them or took them altogether."

At the time of the second robbery, Kim`s maid Bang was alone at home. Upon hearing the alarm system, police officers and security company personnel arrived at the scene almost simultaneously. Bang however, refuses to confirm any facts.

A source familiar with the case said on condition of anonymity: "A dealer was trying to sell the stolen securities receipts early this March. I reported it to the police, but I don`t know whether the instruments were the ones stolen last July."

"It is true that several frames lay broken on the bedroom floor and the wallpaper was torn apart. The robbers seemed to have tried to rip open the safes," confirmed a police officer dispatched to the scene. "We do not know whether or even how the safes were actually taken or not."

The mansion is the home of Kwon No-kap, a powerful figure in the Kim Dae Jung administration, who lived there for 20 months.

Kim first bought the newly built mansion in 1989, and sold it to a Korean-Japanese citizen named Hah in December of 1998. Right upon returning from Japan in November of 1999, Kwon moved in, and left in July, 2001.

All throughout, Kim maintained a very close relationship with Kwon. "I did not know who Kwon and Kim were. Actually, I had no idea who lived there. My niece took care of all matters related to the mansion. He sent 350 million won to me as rent," Han said, in a telephone interview with the Dong-a Ilbo.