Police Rushes to Put Mr. Choi in Custody

The Seoul District Prosecutors Office is trying to discover the whereabouts of Mr. Choi Taek-Kwon to investigate the suspicion on the 100,000 won bribe-taking of Vice Justice Minister Shin Kwang-Ok. The former staff of the New Millennium Democratic Party was indicated as a deliverer of the money.

A high ranking official of the Seoul District Prosecution admitted that the Prosecution had a testimony from Mr. Jin Seung-Hyun, the owner of MCI Korea, that Mr. Jin "delivered 100,000 won through a third person to Vice Minister Shin, who was then a Senior Secretary to the President."

The official said, "After the testimony, the Prosecution was considering the time for summon. However, Mr. Choi disappeared after the press report. But we expect him to appear in the Prosecution soon." The Prosecution ordered to block him from departing the nation.

In terms of the lobby method, the Prosecution said, "when Mr. Jin gave money to lobbyists like Mr. Choi, he did not specify a person. Rather, the lobbyist said "I know Mr. so-and-so" and received money. Later the lobbyist noticed him saying that "I gave the money to Mr. so-and-so."

The Prosecution is planning to grill Mr. Choi about the way he received 100,000 won from Mr. Jin, whether he really delivered the money to Vice Minister Shin, and whether he lobbied through other high officials.

The Prosecution will also investigate whether Vice Minister Shim, then Senior Secretary to the President, made a frequent phone call to ask about the process of the investigation during the first investigation of the Jin Gate last year.

Responding to the question whether the Prosecution will track the bank accounts of Vice Minister Shin, the Prosecution said, "There will be no exception if suspicion is found valid."

Meanwhile, Vice Minister Shin, who took a day-off previous day, stated at a press conference in the Justice Department office that "I will cooperated with the Prosecution since this case is a simple fraud case by Mr. Choi, who used my name to take money from Mr. Jin."

Vice Minister Shin also mentioned about his relationship with Mr. Choi, "I had lunch with him about 4-5 time together when I was a Senior Secretary. But, on hearing that he is selling my good name, I distanced myself from him."

Kim eung-Ryun srkim@donga.com