Prosecutors’ Office Offered Deal Last July

On September 24, 2002, Choi Soon-young, former Chairman of Shindong A Group, alleged, “Chief Prosecutor Park Young-kwan of Special Unit 1 of Seoul District Prosecutors’ Office (SU 1) investigated me last year. When he conducted the investigation, he tried to cut a deal with me. He asked for my cooperation in the tax evasion investigation against the media companies.” His remarks are arousing a great controversy.

Former Chairman Choi, in the press conference held at the Seoul District Court just before his first court appearance, said, “Chief Prosecutor Park suggested to me, ‘I will go easy on your case, if you cooperate and hand me over the documents supporting our tax evasion charge against a media company.’’’ He came to the court for unrelated charges against him, accusing him of, for example, stashing his assets overseas.

He added, “Chief Prosecutor wanted a barter with me. He needed some evidence to bring a formal charge against a daily, which I later learned was The Chosun Daily. He made an offer to me. But I rejected it.”

He continued, “This matter will become a big scandal later.” But he would not make any further disclosure and just said, “But the nature of this matter is complicated. I can’t make any further comments on it.” He also avoided making comments on the relationships between The Chosun Daily and Shingdong A Group and on what documents Prosecutor Park actually requested.

In response, Chief Prosecutor Park disputed, “On July 25 of last year, Choi’s defense attorney, whose last name is Cho, asked for my favor in Choi’s case. Mr. Cho was waiting for the court decision on the motion for the arrest warrant. Since he and I went to college together, we just had tea together. What kind of deal could you think of when the motion for the arrest warrant was already filed with the court?”

On July 25 of last year, the SU 1, of which Chief Prosecutor Park was in charge, was conducting a probe into tax evasion charges against The Chosun Daily and The Korea Daily. Later on August 18, it brought formal charges against Bang Sang-hoon, then the president of The Chosun Daily for alleged embezzlement and tax evasion, and arrested him.

In the meanwhile, last year, the SU 1 moved for the arrest warrant for former Chairman Choi, charging him with, among other things, illegally massing assets overseas. But the court denied the motion, holding, “There is no risk of escaping or tempering evidence.” In July of this year, the SU 1, without putting Choi behind bars, brought same charges against Choi in the process of disposing of cases that had not been resolved for a long time.

Jung-Eun Lee lightee@donga.com