Hanwha Chairman Kim Seung-youn to Appear in Court

As the Supreme Public Prosecutor`s Office (head: Park Sang-gil) conducts an investigation into the alleged acquisition scandal of Korea Life Insurance by Hanwha Group, it summoned Hanwha’s Chairman Kim Seung-youn on February 17. At around 1:00 p.m. on the same day, Chairman Kim appeared in the Supreme Public Prosecutors’ Office building and went into an investigation room after some words to reporters. He said, “I apologize for raising a scandal. I will disclose the details in the office.”

Prosecutors conducted an in-depth investigation into the following: whether or not Chairman Kim was involved in settling an “inside contract” with Australia’s Macquarie Life Ltd when he was forming the Hanwha Consortium for the acquisition of Korea Life Insurance; and whether he had prior notice of the operation or whereabouts of 750 million won, presumed to be used for political lobbying based on circumstantial evidence, out of Hanwha’s total slush fund of 8.75 billion won.

Reportedly, as soon as the investigation on whether or not to provoke judicial power is over, the prosecutors’ office is expected to indict Lee Bu-young, the former chairman of the ruling Uri Party, without physical restraint based on his alleged infringement of the Political Finance Law.

Chairman Kim, who was under investigation by prosecutors regarding the election campaign fund last August, was indicted without physical restraint based on the charge of providing an illegal political fund of one billion won to Representative Suh Chung-won of the Grand National Party last year. In November 2004, he was fined 30 million won by the Seoul High Court.

jin0619@donga.com