Police Bribe Case Informant Suspected

The case in which Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) Secretary General Jo Jae-hwan, 57, was caught receiving 400 million won in cash from Choi Nak-do, 68, who planned to run for Gimje mayor, is raising a multitude of suspicions.

The police knew beforehand the time and location of their meeting, as well as the exact amount of money to be delivered. But the police kept emphasizing at various times that there was neither a report nor a tip. Then where did the police acquire the information?

When Choi came to Seoul from Gimje, he borrowed the car of a hometown acquaintance Mr. Shin, 51, and used another car when getting out of the hotel. The owner of the latter vehicle is still unknown, raising suspicions of the owner’s identity.

Police stated, “Before Choi met with Secretary General Jo, he met with another person in the hotel, and used his car to get out,” but refused to tell the identity of that third person.

How Did Police Know?—

Some media reported that police were tipped off on the purpose of the 400 million won that Choi was gathering by asking others, including Shin, but the police strongly deny these reports.

An official of Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency asked, “The reward for reporting election law violators goes up to 500 million won, but if there was an informant, do you think he or she would keep quiet?”

According to him, the tip for the investigation came three to four hours before the actual money transfer by information obtained by police.

On letting Choi leave the hotel, the official explained, “We searched both Choi and Shin’s car but we did not find anything in particular, so we thought our information was wrong. It was difficult to take any action before the cash box was found inside Secretary General Jo’s car.”

Growing Suspicions—

Nevertheless, even if no evidence was found in Choi’s car, there were 17 undercover police agents inside the hotel, and it is curious why any of them did not trail Choi. One also wonders why Choi did not tell Secretary General Jo about the police investigation while he was leaving the hotel.

The police should also announce who the third person that Choi met before handing the money to Secretary General Jo is.

In a phone interview with Dong-A Ilbo on April 23, the police admitted for the first time that Choi met with a “third person” before meeting with Secretary General Jo. The car that Choi used was also registered to this person. Choi had arrived at the hotel 50 minutes before meeting Secretary General Jo.

Changing Story: “It was Special Party Membership Fee”—

Secretary General Jo, who was caught red-handed on April 20, said at first, “I gave the car keys to Choi because he told me that he would load some gifts into my trunk compartment, and I did not know what was inside,” but changed his story two days later.

A police official said, “While undergoing an additional investigation, Secretary General Jo claimed that the money received from Choi was a special party membership fee. If it is in fact a special party membership fee, if it is reported until the end of the year, it will not become a problem. However why would anyone pay a special party fee at night in a hotel just like a drug transaction?”

The police requested a detainment warrant for Secretary General Jo on April 22 on charges of violating political fund laws. The warrant will be examined at 10:30 a.m. on April 24.

Jae-Myoung Lee egija@donga.com