Rep. Song Young-jin Was Bought Off With 200 Million

The Second Division of the Special Investigations Office of the Seoul Regional Prosecutor’s Office headed by Senior Prosecutor Chae Dong-wook announced on January 14 that it is investigating a case in which a representative of the Construction and Transportation Committee in the National Assembly may have received bribes from Daewoo Construction.

This coincides with the office’s investigation into allegations surrounding Rep. Song Young-jin of the Uri Party.

The prosecution suspects that the representative may have received bribes from Daewoo Construction related to his committee work.

The prosecution also announced that Rep. Song, who had previously ignored the summons and disappeared, has sent a message expressing that he will appear at the prosecution’s office at 10 a.m. on January 15.

Rep. Song was suspected of receiving 200 million won in bribes regarding a construction contract for Daewoo Construction in 2002.

However, Rep. Song insists that although he received a campaign contribution of 150 million won, it was “not related to the contract.” Rep. Song worked in Lee In-je’s camp during the presidential candidate election in the Democratic Party in 2002.

“We don’t plan on asking him what he used the money for,” prosecutors said.

Jin-Young Hwang buddy@donga.com