Cheong Wa Dae Urged for Runaway

Choi Kyu-Sun, CEO of the Future City Environment, testified that a secretary to the President urged him to stow away to overseas by Choi Sung-Kyu, Superintendent of Special Investigation of the Police.

Mr. Choi K.S. who are suspicious of being involved in many scandals related to Kim Hong-Gul, third son of the President, testified at the court review of his arrest warrant yesterday that `Mr. Choi S.K. delivered the words of Lee Man-Young, Secretary to the President for Political Affairs, “we decided to stow [you] away at the Cheong Wa Dae meeting. Everything is prepared in Pusan. What do you think of going abroad?”`

If his testimony turned out true, Cheong Wa Dae might have organizationally tried to hide the related persons including Hong-Gul in foreign countries.

However, Secretary Lee denied that “I have been with Mr. Choi for only a few minutes while paging Secretary Roh since he was not in his office when Mr. Choi S.K. came to see Secretary Roh In-Su. I did not even talk with him anything.”

Secretary Lee also said, “I have known Mr. Choi since 1997 but it was not even a good time to talk about a serious matter because there were many people around us when he visited Cheong Wa Dae on 11th.”

Secretary Lee was born in Gurye, South Cholla, and was a press reporter of Chosun Ilbo. He became an aide of Rep. Kim Hong-Il in 1998 and moved to Cheong Wa Dae in April last year.

Kang Ho-Sung, Mr. Choi`s lawyer, also said after the warrant review by the court, “It is absurd. I don`t understand where such rumors come from. Mr. Choi never speak the word, Cheong Wa Dae.”

Judge Lee Hyun-Seung, who reviewed the warrant, commented, “I cannot make a comment on his testimony.”

Mr. Choi also testified that “a person made a phone call to me the day before I was prohibited to leave the country to say “Go to the U.S. for now” but I refused to leave the country because I am not guilty.”

Myoung-Gun Lee gun43@donga.com · Jung-Eun Lee lightee@donga.com