Slush Fund Criminal Paid for PM’s Golf

The man who paid for Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan’s golf outing last Wednesday was a businessman who engaged in illegal slash fund dealings, according to a Dong-A Ilbo investigative report yesterday.

“As far as I know, the businessman paid for the entire outing,” said a source involved in the event. “But I don’t know if he paid by check or cash.”

Even though there is the possibility that Lee paid for his own golf outing, nothing has been confirmed so far.

Upon receiving the news, a source from the prime minister’s office said, “I don’t think that they went ‘Dutch’ when they played with the prime minister,” adding, “The prime minister usually pays by offering a free round of golf later.”

A source from the Korea Independent Commission Against Corruption (KICAC), which coordinates government official anti-corruption initiatives, said, “Even though offering a free golf outing could be regarded as suspicious behavior, it is only subject to punishment when the providers do business with the officials,” adding, “Therefore, rather than finding out who paid for the golf outing, whether they are doing business with each other should be the first thing to check.”

Lee’s golf partners that day were “Y,” who was jailed on charges of stock price manipulation; “K,” who was fined for involvement in illegal slush fund activities; and Jeong Sun-taek, the former presidential secretary of cultural affairs and the current principal of the Korean-German Culture Girls’ High School.

“Y” came under the spotlight recently because on Thursday, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) fined him 3.516 billion won for violations of the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act.

Because of this, some people are questioning whether “Y” attempted to lobby Lee to reduce his fine while they playing golf.

Suspicion is increasing that there might have been an attempt to conceal this because other members of the group who played golf that day gave different statements.

Lee Gi-woo, vice minister of Education and Human Resources Development, played golf in a different group and said, “I joined the game instead of ‘Y’ because I was informed that ‘Y’ cancelled.”

However, Lee Gang-jin, the prime minister’s secretary for publicity, said, “We have no idea if ‘Y’ played golf or not.” Other participants also said, “‘Y’ may have been in a different group,” or, “I don’t know.”

Meanwhile, some are also saying that “M,” the president of a university located in Busan, also played golf with Lee, but “M” is denying the charges.

Yong-Hwi Jo Dong-Bin Seok silent@donga.com mobidic@donga.com