Rep. Kim Young-il’s Residence Raided

The Central Investigation Department of the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office yesterday raided Rep. Kim Young-il’s residence in Seocho-gu, Seoul, the district whose lawmaker served as a secretary general of the Grand National Party (GNP) during the presidential election last year.

The prosecutors will summon Rep. Kim on December 29 and question him on the actual amount and the uses of money received from Samsung, LG, SK and Hyundai Motor etc.

On the same day, prosecutors also searched the offices of Lotte Hotel in downtown Seoul, Lotte Constructions’ Jamshil Branch and vehicles of the top management of the Lotte Group Management Planning Dept.

The prosecution uncovered some evidence that Lotte Group had raised billions of won in slush funds through its affiliate Lotte Engineering and Construction, and therefore summoned some executives of the company for questioning on the collection of secret funds and illegal donations to political parties during the presidential election.

The prosecution also found clues that Ahn Hee-jung, the former close aide to President Roh Moo-hyun, had accepted a check for 100 million won from Sun & Moon Group in November of last year, cashed it with the help of an official from “K” bank and President Roh’s associate in high school, known as Kim. Prosecutors will indict Ahn on Dec. 29 and plan to announce the outline of size and origin of presidential election funds that Ahn had received during the period.

Along with the probes, Moon Byung-wook, the President’s associate in high school and Chairman of Sun & Moon Group, was also indicted on charges of evading taxes amounting to 1006.9 million won and embezzling 1.3 billion won of corporate funds.

After confirming how Moon processed the receipts of bribes to five or six politicians, prosecutors will decide to punish those involved on charges of bribery and violating the Political Funds Law.

Meanwhile, regarding Hyundai’s secret funds, the prosecution indicted Kwangju Mayor Park Kwang-tae and GNP lawmaker Rep. Lim Jin-chul but did not physically detain them on charges of special crime for taking bribes.

As a chairman of the Industrial Resource Committee of the National Assembly in July 2000, Park had allegedly received 30 million won in exchange for accepting solicitation from Hyundai Construction Company to “assist the construction at Youngkwang city in Jeonnam Province.” Rep. Lim is accused of receiving 20 million won in cash from Hyundai in a bid to release Chung Mong-hun, the chairman of board of directors of Hyundai Asan, from being called as a witness during the national audit from September to October in the same year.

Wi-Yong Jung Jin-Kyun Kil viyonz@donga.com leon@donga.com