Choi Do-sul Under Suspicion of Receiving Additional Money

The investigation headquarters of the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office revealed on November 6 that the prosecution is now investigating the suspicion that Choi Do-sul, ex-general secretary of President Roh, received a large amount of illegal money from Kim Sung-chul, the president of the Chamber of Commerce in Busan.

The prosecution dispatched an investigation team to Busan and underwent a lightning seizure and investigation of Kim Sung-chul’s construction company as of this morning.

Kim Sung-chul has been a subject of discussion, since the issue was raised by Rep. Hong Jun-pyo of the opposition Grand National Party (GNP), over questions against the government in the National Assembly in the course of insisting upon the suspicion that Mr. Choi Do-sul accepted an additional 30 billion won. Rep. Hong insisted that Mr. Kim had visited the Blue House three times, including in June, and met with Moon Jae-in, the ex-chief presidential secretary of civil administration, in order to help local construction companies receive orders from public constructions.

However, the prosecution said that the suspicion of Kim Sung-chul supplying money has no concern with “receiving 30 billion won” which was raised by Rep. Hong Jun-pyo.

The prosecution also raised the suspicion that, in addition to SK, Mr. Choi received 70-80 million won from local entrepreneurs in Busan, including a high school classmate, after the presidential election last year. Consequently, the prosecution obtained clues of Choi accepting money from three or four local entrepreneurs, including Kim Sung-chul, and is now confirming this.

“The prosecution does not have a spark of thought of only loosely investigating the scandals around President Roh, and there is a possibility of an additional disclosure of Choi Do-sul receiving money,” said Moon Hyo-nam, the chief investigator of the planning section of investigation.

Meanwhile, Rep. Hong Jun-pyo, the chief of the committee of strategic plan of the GNP insisted, “I know that the prosecution summoned and investigated Mrs. Choo, Choi Do-sul’s wife, at the beginning of August, and the prosecution should publicize what the prosecution had investigated.”

“The prosecution should reveal whether the investigation of Mrs. Choo was related to Choi Do-sul’s discharge from the Blue House on August 17,” said Rep. Hong to journalists.

Tae-Hoon Lee Min-Hyuk Park jefflee@donga.com mhpark@donga.com