Police Official Probed in Lobbying Case

The Seoul Central District Public Prosecutor’s Office said yesterday that it has found additional clues indicating that Choi Gwang-sik, a broker and an assistant manager of the National Police Agency, traded tens of millions of won with Yun Sang-rim (54, currently under arrest), who has been implicated in a political lobbying scandal, and who is currently under investigation.

The prosecution discovered that Choi transmitted money to Yun’s borrowed-name bank account by tracking his bank-account activity.

Choi recently said that he wired 20 million won from the bank account of Park, his friend and a businessman, with Park’s help at Yun’s request in July 2005.

Prosecutors have found circumstantial evidence that Kang Hee-do, Choi’s secretary and a police lieutenant who committed suicide on January 21, transferred money between Choi and Yun many times, and are currently investigating.

The prosecution told Kang to appear in the prosecutor’s office to explain the money transactions between Choi, Kang, Park and Yun on January 20, but Kang didn’t appear and killed himself instead.

Prosecutors recently questioned Park, a friend of Choi, about how and why he sent money, and will summon him again for additional questioning in the near future.

Meanwhile, Kang was found hanged with an electric wire on the tree on a hill near his hometown in Wonju-city, Gangwon province at 10: 55 a.m. on January 21.

The police found Kang’s suicide note in his desk drawer at the National Police Agency office in Migeun-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul that afternoon.

In the five-page suicide note addressed to his family, Kang wrote, “I don’t know Yun Sang-rim well. He called me sometimes. If the call didn’t get through to me, he would call two or three times a day. I would like to go to the world without the news and the prosecutors.”

In a phone conversation with Dong-A Ilbo, Choi said, “The money Kang sent to my friend Park was accumulated for the purpose of investing in a fund and for his own use, and the money Park sent to Yun was given at the request of Yun, who needed money urgently at the time. There is no connection between the two.”

Choi added, “The prosecution is investigating this matter in order to taint the police’s reputation because it already knows that two transactions are not connected. As my reputation and the reputation of the organization I work for have been tainted as a result, I will make up my mind on what action to make next.”

Jae-Myoung Lee woogija@donga.com egija@donga.com