Officials trace massive campaign fund

It was confirmed through a bank account audit by the Prosecutors' Office that tens of billions of won from the National Security Planning Agency, now the National Intelligence Service, have been provided to the ruling New Korea Party during the 1996 general elections.

As a result, it is expected to create a stir in the political circle over the use of the fund. The office confirmed the fact and estimated that it would amount to more than 40 billion won.

Still, it is yet to be confirmed that if it is the agency's own budget or funds it raised from corporations. In this connection, the office is planning to investigate then-head of the NSPA Kwon Young-Hae and Kim Ki-Sup, who is in charge of operation at the NSPA, to find out more about the fund-raising and how the fund was offered to the ruling party.

It was known that the Prosecutor's Office discovered the fact while pursuing the funds of Choi Man-Suk, who has allegedly received US$11 million from France's Alstom since 1993 in connection with his lobbying activities for designation of the company as supplier for the Seoul-Busan High-Speed Train project.

The office also confirmed that the massive fund had been offered to Hwang Myung-Soo, then chairman of the defense committee of the National Assembly, who concurrently was vice chairman of New Korea Party's election campaign committee.

In 1993, when Hwang was secretary general of New Korea Party, he received large amounts of money from Alstom, which asked for nomination of the company as supplier of the bullet train program.

In this process, the Prosecutor's Office confirmed that the NSPC raised tens of billions of won and offered the money to more than 100 candidates of the New Korea Party through money laundering.

Of the money, about 10 billion won was handed to the party through Gyeong Nam Merchant Bank, and the rest went through money laundering by other financial institutions.

Since last May, the office has been tracing the fund. However, it is not yet confirmed who delivered the NSPA fund to the New Korea Party or the source and character of the money.