Taking off Investigation on “Passing Money to Lee Kwang-Jae”

Chief Prosecutor So Byeong-cheol from the Investigation Division of Seoul District Prosecutors’ Office announced Tuesday that it will soon summon the former vice chairperson of a travel and leisure business group ‘S,’ Kim Sung-rae, 54, who acknowledged delivering several million won to Lee Kwang-jae, Chief of presidential situation room on national affairs, and will investigate on whether the money was passed on and if any solicitations were involved.

Officials from the Prosecutors’ Office said that they did not have any plans to summon Chief Lee at the present moment.

“Ms. Kim said that the money was not for any requests, but we will soon summon Ms. Kim and investigate the raised suspect,” added an official from the prosecutors’ office.

The Prosecutors’ Office has not taken off the investigation yet, having no clues to the fact that approving the money was for some solicitations, though they already confirmed a statement that Ms. Kim had passed on several million won in June of 2002 to chief Lee, who was then working for the campaign camp of Roh Moo-hyun, who was the running candidate for the Millennium Democratic Party.

General Prosecutor Song Kwang-soo said on October 6, “I will order the Seoul District Prosecutors’ Office to investigate Ms. Kim again,“ at the administration inspection of the Supreme Public Prosecutor’ Office by the Legislation and Judiciary Committee.

In the mean time, the prosecutors’ office has been investigating Mr. Hong, the ex-director of the Office of National Tax Administration (ONTA), who was confined last June under indictment on suspicion of taking bribes of 50 million won from Ms. Kim with the request of tax reduction, and the prosecutors’ office is also investigating other managing staffs of the ONTA after catching suspects of theirs taking cash and other valuable possessions in exchange for solicitations.

Tae-Hoon Lee Young-Hae Choi jefflee@donga.com yhchoi65@donga.com