Hyundai Asan Chairman Chung to Be Possibly Arrested Today

Independent Counsel Song Doo-hwan, who is investigating Kim Dae Jung’s alleged secret checkbook diplomacy with Kim Jung Il, announced yesterday that it would summon for questioning Hyundai Asan chairman Chung Mong-hun, president Kim Yoon-gyu and Hyundai Group president Kim Jae-soo today.

A source familiar with the case confirmed, "As in the case of former presidential aide Lee Kee-ho, Counsel Song does not exclude the possibility of arresting chairman Chung." Therefore, Chung might become the second person to be charged in connection with the checkbook scandal.

The Independent Counsel’s office has reportedly decided to look into the rumored involvement of the former Blue House officials like Lee in Hyundai’s taking out the 400-billion loan from Korea Industrial Bank in June of 2000. The office suspects that they helped or ordered the bank to give the loan to Hyundai.

Independent Counsel Song plans to launch another probe to find out why Industrial Bank granted a considerable amount of monetary support to Hyundai beginning right after the North-South summit, which amounted to 2.3 trillion. Chairman Chung said at the Feb. 16th press conference, "Our wiring to North Korea contributed to the success of the summit." Therefore, the office believes that the monetary support was a quid pro quo for Hyundai’s wiring.

Counsel Song called in former Financial Supervisory Service head Lee Geun-young again yesterday, and questioned him along with former aide Lee to determine whether the Blue House had pressured the bank into giving out the loan to Hyundai, and whether Lee himself had known in advance that the loan was supposed to be sent to the isolated regime in Pyongyang.

But former aide Lee reportedly insisted that the loan had been made in consideration of the possible devastating effects to the national economy from Hyundai’s filing bankruptcy. He also alleged that he did not know the money was supposed to be wired to Kim Jung Il.

The Independent Counsel’s office is said to be reviewing ways to formally charge former aide Lee. As to North Korea’s statement demanding Chung be freed, the Counsel’s staff member said that it would not have any impact on their ongoing investigation.

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