Accumulating 650 Billion Won in Two Months after Starting an Investment Firm

In an interview with the weekly news magazine “Sisapress”, Min Kyung-chan, the brother-in-law of President Roh’s elder brother, Kyun-pyeong, and the 44-year-old president of Pu-ryen-sol hospital, recently revealed his accumulation of more than 650 billion won in two months after starting an investment company.

The opposition party is saying that Min’s accumulation of so much capital from the investment firm was only possible due to his family relationship with President Roh. The Grand National Party seems to have taken this fact as a starting point to fire up the issue.

Running the Investment Firm—

Min set clear his will to invest in armature companies and real estate through his newly inaugurated investment firm, SEEDMON, in Yeoksam, Seoul.

“We started with capital of 15 billion won and with an aim of promoting 100 billion. We ended up with more than 650 billion won in just two months, however,” Min said. “We had 70 billion won come in just last week. It worries me to see all the money coming in.”

To the question of the money coming in due to his status as Roh’s relative, he answered, “I know that some investors invested for the wrong reasons, and I would like to give their money back if possible. However, it is hard to do so because the contract cannot be terminated unilaterally.”

Min also added that he has never discussed this investment plan with the president. He acknowledged that “it was hard to overcome the criticism of those who worried about one of Roh’s relative starting a business. However, a year has passed and I feel I can take care of it now.”

President Roh Related Suspicion and Rumor—

Min announced that “my sister, the President’s sister-in-law, having Roh’s baby while working as a staff member in Roh’s office when he was a lawyer is a very harmful rumor.” He disclaimed this rumor by adding that his sister married his brother-in-law, Kyun-pyeong, when the President opened his office. He went on to say that she was an elite civil servant working in KEPC. Min also said that the rumor that Mrs. Roh smoked became the rumor that Roh threw an ashtray because his wife smoked too much. He did not forget to add that Mrs. Roh does not smoke.

Min strongly denied that Roh was related to the Sun and Moon Group’s request for tax reduction. “When Roh was a presidential candidate, I went to see him three times to ask for a bank lease due to my hospital being in danger. Roh strictly refused each time, though,” Min said. “He is not a person to allow unjust asking or wrongdoing even though he was beaten.”

In relation, the GNP announced yesterday that, “the reason for the big money invested in Min’s firm, even though Min is not a professional investor, is because he is a relative of Roh. We cannot ignore the safety investment factor.”

Myoung-Gun Lee gun43@donga.com