Kang Keum-won Lent 2 Billion Won to the Roh Campaign

Ahn Dae-hee, a senior prosecutor heading the presidential campaign contribution investigation by the Central Investigation Bureau at the Supreme Public Prosecutor`s Office, said on November 13 that the bureau has evidence that Kang Keun-won, chairman of the Changshin Textile Co. supplied Sun Bong-sul, President Roh’s hometown friend and owner of Jangsoochun Co., with several hundred million won. The prosecution will summon Kang Keum-won on November 15 to investigate the case.

The prosecution will also investigate new revelations that chairman Kang Keum-won lent two billion won to the Millennium Democratic Party during the presidential race last year.

Chairman Kang Keum-won, a long-time supporter of President Roh, informed the press room of the Supreme Public Prosecutor`s Office, “I lent two billion won to Rep. Lee Sang-soo of the pro-government Uri Party, the former secretary-general of the Millennium Democratic Party, during last year’s presidential race.”

“Right after President Roh became the sole candidate, it was discovered that there were 30 billion won available according to Millennium Democratic Party bookkeeping, but there were no funds at all in the safe. So Lee Sang-soo asked me to lend him two billion won around December 6 last year, on the condition that he would pay it back when the Party received its government subsidies. I transferred two billion won to the company’s account after receiving an I.O.U.” said chairman Kang Keum-won. “The loan was paid back with interest right before the presidential election on December 12 last year, a fact known to more than 100 people in Busan,” he said.

However, suspicion has been raised over when chairman Kang Keum-won actually received his loan payment, due to reports that chairman Kang Keum-won told the Busanilbo press that very morning, “I lent two billion won to the Millennium Democratic Party, and recently received that money back with interest.”

The prosecution has decided to investigate whether the Millennium Democratic Party really spent most of the 30 billion won presidential election funds right before the presidential election at the beginning of December, as chairman Kang Keum-won claimed. There are also plans to investigate why chairman Kang Keum-won sent several hundred million won to Mr. Sun.

Moreover, the prosecution has decided to summon and reinvestigate Kim Sun-chul, the chairman of the Chamber of Commerce in Busan who is under suspicion of providing huge sums of money to Choi Do-sul, a former aide to President Roh who is now under arrest.

Meanwhile, it was reported on November 13 that the prosecution is now seizing the bank account records of some conglomerates suspected of supplying presidential election funds to the Millennium Democratic Party and the opposition Grand National Party during last year’s presidential election.

The prosecution took measures to prevent 10 people in charge of company funds from leaving the country, including Kang Yoo-sik, the vice-president of the LG Group, who is believed to have connections to the political campaign contribution scandal. The prosecution plans to summon and investigate the 10 individuals one by one.

The prosecution will also summon Kim Young-iel, the former secretary-general of the opposition Grand National Party who had refused his summons, on November 14 at 2 p.m.

The prosecution plans to ask the the opposition Grand National Party to submit documents related to the financial support it has received, but does not exclude the possibility of a search and seizure investigation in case the opposition Grand National Party declines.

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