Special Corruption Scandal Probe Will Be Extended by 30 Days

Kim Jin-heung of the independent counsel team probing the alleged corruption of those close to President Roh came to the conclusion that charges against a former close aide to President Roh, Choi Do-sul, who accepted of 30 billion won, Sun & Moon and its 9.5 billion won worth of donations to the Millenium Democratic Party (MDP), and a proprietor of the K nightclub in Cheongju, Lee Won-ho, who donated five billion won to the MDP, are not supported by major suspicions,

The independent counsel team decided to delay its investigation, which will be completed on March 5, by 30 days since the summoning of related persons and tracing of bank accounts were not finished yet. It also stated that it would report this to President Roh and finish the investigation by April 4.

Kim, a special investigator, said through an interim announcement that “we investigated the data thoroughly and summoned related persons, but did not find the foundation to support these suspicions.”

Kim, however, mentioned that it is now continuously investigating related persons and their accounts as the evidence of Choi’s acceptance of additional illicit funds was partially revealed. It is also tracing about 100 bank accounts, including that of Lee, a former secretary to the president for policy process re-engineering, in order to verify whether or not he was involved in the swindled installment sales for Sun & Moon’s golf course memberships and the lending fraud of 11.5 billion won from the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation.

Regarding Sun & Moon’s requesting tax reduction, the independent counsel team plans to summon Hong, the former director of the National Tax Service who was arrested and indicted for accepting 50 million won under the pretext of tax reduction from Sun & Moon on February 25, and investigate intensively whether or not those close to President Roh intervened in this process of requesting tax reduction.

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