Kim Hong-Gul to be Summoned Today Afternoon

The second special investigative office of the Seoul District Public Prosecutor`s Office (DPPO), which is investigating the allegations against the third son of President Kim Dae-Jung, Hong-Gul, exposed on May 14 that the prosecution notified Hong-Gul to appear before the prosecution in the afternoon of May 15.

Accordingly, it is known that Hong-Gul will arrive on May 15 and call in the Seoul DPPO right after the arrival at the airport.

The prosecution has gained evidences that Hong-Gul involved in various influence peddling through CEO of Future City President Choi Kyu-Sun and received kickbacks in return for it (in charge of receiving kickbacks with illegal mediation), and Hong-Gul is also likely to be charged with tax evasions.

The prosecution will file an arrest warrant around the 18th of May when the suspicions against Hong-Gul are confirmed.

The prosecution notified the summoning date through defense lawyer Cho Seok-Hyun who was appointed as the defense lawyer of Hong-Gul in the day, and defense lawyer Cho visited the prosecution`s office to discuss the summoning procedure and others.

In other hand, the prosecution exposed on May 14 that inspector of the National Sports Promotion Foundation alias Mr. Lee and former director-general of the sports bureau of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MCT) alias Mr. Bae have been summoned to be inquired about whether Tiger Pools International (TPI) had lobbied to the MCT or the foundation during the process of being selected as the lottery operator.

The prosecution also called in chief the Korea Electronic Parts Research Center alias Mr. Cho who inspected a report pointing out the problems in TPI to question him about the circumstance of the inspection.

The prosecution considers it highly probable that Hong-Gul and Choi had interfered in the selection process of the operator, and it is probing whether politicians might be involved in the matter.

A related person of the prosecution said, `The allegation of irregularities in the operator selection of TPI is the main and essential point of the investigation, but it takes a lot of time in tracking the accounts traces and for the confirmation of shareholders list.`

Myoung-Gun Lee Jin-Kyun Kil gun43@donga.com leon@donga.com